the mayor elect at trick or vote. hot!
The Bus sends out big congrats to Mike McGinn, Seattle’s fresh new mayor. McGinn’s campaign was truly grassroots – he had an all-volunteer campaign staff and practically no money (he was outspent by his opponent, Joe Mallahan 3:1).
We all know the unstoppable power of volunteers, so congrats McGinn! We look forward to working with ya on all issues of the Bus.
Ryan Lewis is an award winning producer, photographer and designer. Macklemore is one of Seattle’s most heartfelt hip hop artists as well as one of the most talented. The Vs. EP is the two artists collaboration, available by donation on November 27th. The EP is an attempt to bring “indie culture” to hip hop fans. Re-imagining songs by artists like Beirut, Arcade Fire, The Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many more. (Click on the picture for the download link for the duo’s first song, “Otherside”)
Whew. Election week never really ends, does it? The time between every round of ballot counts out feels like a lifetime. Well, luckily it’s almost the end of the week, and we have a better sense of how the year ended up for us. And it’s good. REALLY good.
In Spokane, two of the Bus’s favorite candidates, Jon Snyder and Amber Waldref, pushed through and came out victorious in their runs for City Council, bringing a progressive majority to that body for the first time in eons. Amber finished strong, winning with 62.8% of the vote. Jon was much closer – winning with 53.5% of the vote, making it just a 1,116 vote margin of victory. When the Bus was in Spokane, we knocked on almost twice that number of doors, and our phone calls reached even more. Congratulations Jon and Amber!
In Snohomish County, Dave Somers was successful in his re-election to the County Council with 53.6% of the vote, a difference of 1,820 votes. On our Bus trip for Dave, we knocked on well over that number of doors. With his win, solidifies the progressive majority on the Snohomish County Council, and can continue his work as a tireless advocate for responsible growth and environmental protection – contrats, Dave!
In Tacoma, the results are still coming in, but Marilyn Strickland is holding – and even slightly increasing – her lead in the mayoral election. After Thursday’s update, her lead is at 369 votes, extremely close. On the Bus’s first trip of the year, we knocked on five times that number of doors. We’ll be watching the next couple of days in Tacoma with bated breath and fingers crossed. Go Marilyn!
In Yakima, we continued to build the political power of young people by helping support the first school bond measure to pass in decades (a campaign led by high school students!), and supporting the amazing Ben Soria in his run for City Council. Yakima and Central Washington are the future, and the Bus is a part of making it happen!
In King County, a late surge of young progressive voters carried Dow Constantine to victory, with an impressive 58% of the vote. Congratulations, Dow – we’re looking forward to seeing you in the County Exec’s office!
And of course, there are the two massive statewide initiatives that the Bus was involved with. Initiative 1033, Tim Eyman’s potentially destructive measure went down to a flaming defeat, with the No on 1033 vote earning 56% of the vote! By voting no, Washington voters preserved funding for schools, health care, and environmental protection
And Referendum 71, upholding domestic partnership rights for couples all across Washington, won with a resounding 52% of the vote. This win is the first time a major statewide measure regarding GLBTQ rights has resulted in a victory for equal rights. In the county. It’s major, and it marks what we hope is a turning point in the tide of electoral results.
We were so proud to be involved with these campaigns, and between Trick or Vote, phone banking, and our online advocacy, we contacted tens of thousands of voters.
Thank you again to you, the awesome volunteers who made all this possible, and we’ll keep you updated as results continue to come in!
Photo by Braden VanDragt/Seattle PI
What a year. What an election. Across the board, progressive candidates and issues swept to victory. Whether it was voters rejecting Tim Eyman’s viciously regressive I-1033, affirming domestic partnership rights, or electing smart, progressive candidates to office from Spokane to Seattle, this was a stunning statement. And there’s something special going on: on the national level we saw a movement to the right – key races in New Jersey, Virginia and New York saw regressive candidates winning. But not in Washington. Here, the progressive movement stood together, and the results were evident.
Washington is not the rest of the nation – something special is happening here. Call it the Washington Way – a growing and dynamic understanding of the strength of progressive values, and the power of good ideas done well.
It is a testament to the organization of the progressive community – we have never been as united as we were this year, and it showed. When Yakima County rejects Initiative 1033, it’s not simply the changing of the times – it’s smart organizers working in concert to connect people, ideas and resources. And when Spokane elects two young, progressive candidates to its city council, it’s not simply because they are smart and capable – it’s also because the progressive community came together and built something. It is, dare we say it, a movement.
When the Bus kicked off this year, we had one major goal, and that was to keep the momentum that built to a fever pitch during last year’s presidential election. There was an energy in the progressive community that we knew needed to be captured, and a fire that needed very conscious stoking to keep alive. And look: we did. The progressive flame is burning brighter than it has in years. Young, smart candidates will be stepping into office. Equal rights have been successfully validated at the ballot box.
And this is just the beginning. The coordination, intelligence, and raw progressive talent in Washington is growing in leaps and bounds. We’ve found ourselves, we’ve found our way forward, and we’re ready to go. Let’s enjoy this feeling, let’s take some time to reflect on what worked well, and let’s recharge. But let’s also keep our heads up and our eyes on the horizon – we’ve still got work to do.
Good on you, Washington.
This is it.
Logics, Geo (of Blue Scholars fame) and Fice are three of Seattle’s hottest MC’s and when they get together on one track, you know it will be special. Download Here (Link Via Raindrophustla).
After months of protest and something called the “birther” movement, someone has finally figured out Barack Obama’s heritage. Seventh grader BridgeAnne d’Avignon from Watsonville, California has deciphered with her grandfather that Obama is related to every single United States president except for Martin Van Buren. d’Avignon found out that every single US President, except for Van Buren, is related to John “Lackland” Plantagenet, former King of England and one of the signers of the Magna Carta. It’s gonna be hard to argue Obama’s legitimacy knowing he’s related to every other US President except for one, but I’m sure they’ll find a way.
(Picture from KSBW.com)
Nuff respect due.
Okay folks, it’s Monday. We’re now 36 hours out from Trick or Vote, and we still can’t get over how awesome the day was!
Over 200 volunteers came out on a gorgeous (beautiful! stunning!) autumn day to knock on doors, get candy, and tell voters to approve Referendum 71, and vote no on Initiative 1033. And we succeeded massively: together we made over 8,700 voter contacts in one afternoon, talking to voters and distributing literature in every corner of the city! Combine that with our Trick or Vote events in Spokane and Tacoma, and we contact just under 10,000 voters! Ten thousand! So amazing.
This is huge: as of today, just 20% of ballots have been received. That means the people we talked to on Saturday needed that extra reminder, that gentle face-to-face interaction, and the smile that comes with having been Trick or Voted. That means thousands of voters turning in their ballots and voting to approve R-71 and vote no on I-1033. That’s absolutely massive.
So thank you, Trick or Voters. Tomorrow is election day, and when you see a higher turnout from progressive voters in Seattle, you’ll know you were a huge part of it. You did it.
And on that note: check out these awesome pictures, there’s more on the way, so consider this an appetizer!
Thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who came out to Trick or Vote yesterday! Together we got hella candy, ate hella thai food, and knocked on HELLA doors. Thousands and thousands of soon-to-be voters will now be turning in their ballots, thanks to you!
We’ll be putting up a full recap and pictures soon, and in the meantime, enjoy this coverage by KING 5!
