People Power Washington – Police Accountability’s Policing and Public Safety Voter Guide is out! (Disclaimer: I worked on this guide.) Even if you already know who you want to vote for in November, I suggest taking a look when you have a few free moments. You can learn a lot by reading the candidate questionnaire answers, and we’ve also included many issue explainers to get you up to speed on local issues that are relevant to this election cycle. The guide covers King County, Seattle, Burien, and Kenmore. Feel free to share with your friends and communities!
Seattle Public Safety Survey
This year’s Seattle Public Safety Survey is now available to take online. Taking this survey is an…interesting experience. Some of the questions had me scratching my head. That being said, I do recommend you take the time to do it to make sure your views are being represented.
Election News
With ballots out and the election in less than two weeks, election news is flying fast and thick, and there are plenty of candidate forums and debates between which to choose. The Northwest Progressive Institute also released some polling on the Seattleraces, which shows all three of the more progressive candidates trailing, although the race between Oliver and Nelson looks quite close.
The Washington Observerreported on the Seattle City Attorney race, saying, “Seattle’s moneyed donor class, along with some of the Eastside’s moneyed donor class, quite suddenly developed a passionate interest in a race that had previously been sort of an overlooked experiment in the unintended consequences of the city’s democracy-voucher program.” Trump Republican Ann Davison has been attracting a bunch of money through the Seattle For Common Sense PAC: $300k to be precise. True, the Voices United PAC is supporting Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, but only to the tune of $10k so far.
Per the mayor’s office right now, SPD only ended the night with 7 holdouts on the vaccine. That doesn’t mean people who are still in the accommodations process (for religious exemptions) will necessarily keep their jobs, and that figure is significantly higher.
All the hype about SPD hemorrhaging officers because of the city vaccine mandate turned out to be just that: hype. We’ll have to wait and see if the accommodations process ends with significantly more officers leaving, but the current number of seven seems like a pretty cheap price to pay for increased public health, even for those who want the SPD to grow in size.
Meanwhile, Seattle budget season continues! Next week there will be all-day budget meetings on October 26, 27, and 28 starting at 9:30am, during which CMs will be discussing their proposed amendments to the budget. There will be a chance for public comment at the beginning of each of these meetings, and a more precise schedule for each day should be released soon.
The Washington State Patrol, a century old this year, doesn’t look a lot different than when it started: white and male. For years, people inside and outside WSP have warned…
None of the maps proposed by members of the state Redistricting Commission would create a Yakima Valley district where most eligible voters are Latino, a new analysis finds.
