November 2010
Initiatives
Nixed all the initiatives except for the income tax. I need initiatives sponsored by Tim Eyman and the BIAW like I need a hole in my head, and I know enough about John Carlson to know that whatever he says to do, I need to do the opposite. Approved the referendums and resolutions, as well as all the local stuff, except King County Charter Amendment 3. That was tough to understand, but I get a bad feeling about splitting up a package. It's like the sheriff's making a political move against the Executive's office.
Judges
Now, Supreme (and other) Court Justices. We really need to start retiring some of these worse-than-do-nothing incumbents, with Justices Jim Johnson and Richard Sanders heading the unwanted list. I wonder if the people who keep voting in those two creeps really know about the sort of people they're voting for. I'm going with a write-in for Stan Rumbaugh against Jim Johnson, and voting for Charlie Wiggins to replace Richard Sanders. Justice Madsen's done okay, so I'll vote to keep her.
Researching judges is always complicated. They come across like sphinxes, and you have to dig fairly deep sometimes before anything meaningful comes to light. Then, when you find the ones you don't want running unopposed, trying to find a write-in candidate is a chore.
A lot of these unopposed judges give me bad feelings. I've voted for LaSalata in the past, because perennial nutcase Richard Pope was running against him. Pope's a little busy this season, dealing with mental competency hearings and restraining orders, so I no longer feel compelled to cut LaSalata any slack. The Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct "admonished Judge LaSalata for engaging in discourteous and intolerant behavior in his official capacity." That was in September. Garrow's record seems to favor the big over the small, and that's true even when the big is a phone spammer. Linda Jacke appears to have some problems with legalese: reasonable in normal human beings, but unforgivable in the very creatures that make us suffer through jargon that's barely English when our livelihoods are on the line. Peter Nault's decisions make it look like he's actually in bed with spammers and almost inexplicably soft on DUIs. Not good.
That leaves uncontested candidates David Steiner, C. Kenneth Grosse, and Michael Spearman. I couldn't find anything on Steiner, while Grosse and Spearman actually had a few things going for them. I'll be voting for Grosse and Spearman at least.
In the contested races, Larry Mitchell was endorsed by Mayor Marchione, veritably gaining the Kiss of Death for me. I'm voting for Donna Tucker. John L. O'Brien was endorsed by Frank V. LaSalata above, so I'll go with his opponent: Michael Finkle.
Legislature
The senatorial race is a no-brainer: I like Murray as a senator better than I like Gregoire as a governor, and I like Gregoire as a governor better than I like the thought of Rossi as either a senator or a governor. I have a rule: never vote for an incumbent if I can't think of at least two things they've done for me. Murray far exceeds that number, and she was one of the small minority of senators to have the guts to vote no on the Iraq War. Really, if we were going to have that vote again today, it's not hard to imagine Rossi voting yes, and that's pretty much where he's going to be on future votes.
As for Reichert, has he done anything I agree with? On the votes that matter, I keep seeing him on the opposite side of my beliefs. Here's my bi-annual vote against you, Mr. Reichert.
Now we get to the subject of all those negative lawn signs that have been littering up the roadsides. Lots of hate against Rodney Tom so here's a vote for him; and Ross Hunter so here's a vote for him, too. There were a lot of signs right outside my home directed against Jay Inslee, but, um, wrong congressional district. Otherwise I'd vote for him.
Deb Eddy seems to have escaped the negative lawn sign campaign, strangely enough. I almost feel like I shouldn't vote for a legislator who hasn't been smeared by a lawn sign now, but she's done some good stuff during her time, and I wouldn't mind seeing her for another go-round.
Nixed all the initiatives except for the income tax. I need initiatives sponsored by Tim Eyman and the BIAW like I need a hole in my head, and I know enough about John Carlson to know that whatever he says to do, I need to do the opposite. Approved the referendums and resolutions, as well as all the local stuff, except King County Charter Amendment 3. That was tough to understand, but I get a bad feeling about splitting up a package. It's like the sheriff's making a political move against the Executive's office.
Judges
Now, Supreme (and other) Court Justices. We really need to start retiring some of these worse-than-do-nothing incumbents, with Justices Jim Johnson and Richard Sanders heading the unwanted list. I wonder if the people who keep voting in those two creeps really know about the sort of people they're voting for. I'm going with a write-in for Stan Rumbaugh against Jim Johnson, and voting for Charlie Wiggins to replace Richard Sanders. Justice Madsen's done okay, so I'll vote to keep her.
Researching judges is always complicated. They come across like sphinxes, and you have to dig fairly deep sometimes before anything meaningful comes to light. Then, when you find the ones you don't want running unopposed, trying to find a write-in candidate is a chore.
A lot of these unopposed judges give me bad feelings. I've voted for LaSalata in the past, because perennial nutcase Richard Pope was running against him. Pope's a little busy this season, dealing with mental competency hearings and restraining orders, so I no longer feel compelled to cut LaSalata any slack. The Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct "admonished Judge LaSalata for engaging in discourteous and intolerant behavior in his official capacity." That was in September. Garrow's record seems to favor the big over the small, and that's true even when the big is a phone spammer. Linda Jacke appears to have some problems with legalese: reasonable in normal human beings, but unforgivable in the very creatures that make us suffer through jargon that's barely English when our livelihoods are on the line. Peter Nault's decisions make it look like he's actually in bed with spammers and almost inexplicably soft on DUIs. Not good.
That leaves uncontested candidates David Steiner, C. Kenneth Grosse, and Michael Spearman. I couldn't find anything on Steiner, while Grosse and Spearman actually had a few things going for them. I'll be voting for Grosse and Spearman at least.
In the contested races, Larry Mitchell was endorsed by Mayor Marchione, veritably gaining the Kiss of Death for me. I'm voting for Donna Tucker. John L. O'Brien was endorsed by Frank V. LaSalata above, so I'll go with his opponent: Michael Finkle.
Legislature
The senatorial race is a no-brainer: I like Murray as a senator better than I like Gregoire as a governor, and I like Gregoire as a governor better than I like the thought of Rossi as either a senator or a governor. I have a rule: never vote for an incumbent if I can't think of at least two things they've done for me. Murray far exceeds that number, and she was one of the small minority of senators to have the guts to vote no on the Iraq War. Really, if we were going to have that vote again today, it's not hard to imagine Rossi voting yes, and that's pretty much where he's going to be on future votes.
As for Reichert, has he done anything I agree with? On the votes that matter, I keep seeing him on the opposite side of my beliefs. Here's my bi-annual vote against you, Mr. Reichert.
Now we get to the subject of all those negative lawn signs that have been littering up the roadsides. Lots of hate against Rodney Tom so here's a vote for him; and Ross Hunter so here's a vote for him, too. There were a lot of signs right outside my home directed against Jay Inslee, but, um, wrong congressional district. Otherwise I'd vote for him.
Deb Eddy seems to have escaped the negative lawn sign campaign, strangely enough. I almost feel like I shouldn't vote for a legislator who hasn't been smeared by a lawn sign now, but she's done some good stuff during her time, and I wouldn't mind seeing her for another go-round.