It's the 2019 version of Jabe's voters' guide! If you find this useful, please forward/post it far and wide, especially if you have some undecided friends willing to think about the recommendations. (Even better are undecided friends willing to blindly follow the recommendations.) The fine print:
- The views expressed here are mine and mine alone, etc., etc..
- I focus on ballot measures (though there are few this year), but sometime comment on a few important/interesting candidate races.
- If you want my half-informed opinions on other races (or just want off this list) send me an email.
- For details and generally good summaries, check out the State and King County Voters' Pamphlets.
- For generally good candidate and issue summaries and links, check out Fuse's Progressive Voters Guide.
- The following will make a lot more sense if you have your ballot in front of you.
Thanks!
Only have 60 seconds? The Reader's Digest version:
- Referendum 88: Breaking news! Racism found to still exist! Vote YES!
- Initiative 976: Eyman has finally united us! Vote NO!
- Advisory Vote #20-31: Can we build a wall against Eyman? Vote Maintain.
- Senate Resolution 8200: A no-brainer constitutional amendment. Vote APPROVED!
- King County Prop 1: As you fall to the floor, gripping your chest in pain... Vote YES!
Have 20 minutes? Here's some more detail.
Referendum 88: Breaking news! Racism found to still exist. Vote YES!
First, to explain how this got on your ballot (and with thanks to the most excellent Ballotpedia web site), I-1000 was an initiative to the legislature which the state legislature approved during the 2019 legislative session. The legislature voted along party lines with the usual exception of Tim Sheldon (faux-D from District 35, who caucuses with the Senate R's not the D's) and the disappointing (but sadly unsurprising) exceptions of Mark Mullet (D Senator from District 5) and Brian Blake (D Representative from District 19). As an aside, someday I hope we wake up and replace Mark Mullet who has also opposed climate action and clean fuels among many other things.
Opponents of I-1000 then filed Referendum 88 to require a statewide vote on I-1000. So that's where we are. If we vote yes on R-88 then the legislatively approved I-1000 stands, otherwise it is vetoed.
As to the merits of I-1000, I'll just say that it is common sense legislation recognizing that, shockingly, if you are a person of color or a member of any of a number of other groups that have been discriminated against for a few decades or centuries, you still face huge hurdles – economic, educational, housing, health, you name it – and also recognizing that affirmative action is often a necessary remedy to somewhat level the playing field. I-1000 is very limited, allowing affirmative action only in government hiring, contracting, and education, and not permitting quotas. Affirmative action is already legal in 42 other states.
Supporters of R-88 (and thus of I-1000 and of restoring the state's ability to use affirmative action when necessary) include not just the expected orgs – like the ACLU, the NAACP, and the labor unions – but more centrist entities – like the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and Microsoft. If you want to read more, here are a bunch of editorials from both red and blue parts of the state:
- Tacoma News Tribune: Yes on R-88
- The Columbian: Yes on R-88
- Even the Yakima Herald: Yes on R-88.
- And even that wolf in sheep's clothing – the Seattle Times – managed to get it right with this spot-on quote: "As former Gov. Dan Evans, the Republican who created the state Commission on Civil Rights in 1965, testified in a public hearing last spring, 'the door of opportunity is still just ajar and not fully open. We can do better than that, and I believe that Initiative 1000 is a responsible measure that will help us throw the doors of opportunity wide open.'"
Initiative 976: Eyman has finally united us. Vote NO!
This is Eyman's latest attempt to bring the state to its knees by cutting off necessary investment in critical and long-neglected infrastructure. I don't even want to spend much breath on this. Sadly, history suggests that Washington's voters – all of you excepted of course – will have the "Grog not like taxes, taxes bad!" reaction they usually have out of context and approve it. But Eyman will at least have finally united every leader and organizations against him...
This is the only state-wide initiative in a long time where even the right-wing Association of Washington Businesses is on the correct side of it. The list of opponents to Eyman's I-976 is overwhelming and includes: every major labor group, environmental group, state business organization (AWB, Washington Roundtable, Chambers of Commerce of Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, Vancouver, ...), Microsoft, Amazon, ...
For more information check out this FAQ from the No campaign. And while it will take more than one election cycle for me to forgive the Seattle Times (which is to say the Blethen's) for their many terrible endorsements (see Dino Rossi) over the years, they again got this one quite right.
Advisory Votes #20-31: Can we build a wall against Eyman? Vote Maintain.
As our reader's will recall from every single past edition... As a result of Eyman's 2007 initiative 960, the legislature can't even perform its constitutionally mandated job, and eliminate an unjustifiable tax exemption or extend an existing fee, without also asking the public for their non-binding, purely-symbolic, time-wasting, money-wasting opinion. It even requires misleading "black is white and night is day" language referring to increases in state revenues as "costs".
For the first time in a long time, the legislature got a lot of really good stuff done in the 2019 legislative session. To be fair, most of the legislation was passed along party lines so if you are conservative, knock yourself out and vote "no" on some of these. And I personally oppose one of the bills passed (#21/House Bill 1324). But it won't make a particle of difference. So I'm voting Maintain to all, even the one I wish the legislature hadn't passed, because I believe in letting the legislature do its job, especially in cases where it acts with strong bipartisan majorities.
As I have limited time this year, I will borrow liberally from the Fuse Progressive Voters Guide to describe the underlying legislation that we are asked to cast meaningless votes on:
Advisory Vote #20 on House Bill 1087: Senate: Yeas 26, Nays 22; House: Yeas 55, Nays 41. "Most seniors cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket for the long-term medical care they need. A bipartisan group of lawmakers moved to build upon the state's Paid Family and Medical Leave program through Second Substitute House Bill 1087. This legislation created a new long-term insurance benefit that will address the looming crisis of seniors who cannot afford the care they need."
Advisory Vote #21 on House Bill 1324: Senate: Yeas 40, Nays 9; House: Yeas 94, Nays 0. As noted above, this is the one bill I wish the legislature hadn't passed and I agree with the following assessment from Fuse. It is a green-washed giveaway to Big Timber, which still has a stranglehold on the state legislature. But since the legislature passed this overwhelmingly, I am going to vote Maintain to protest the stupidity of these Advisory Votes. "House Bill 1324, also known as the Washington Rural Development and Distressed Opportunity Zone Act, ... extends a business and occupation tax preference for timber companies. In addition, part of HB 1324 raises a small amount of revenue from timber companies for salmon recovery, which is what led to Advisory Vote 21. While the salmon recovery provision is laudable, HB 1324 will primarily serve as an unnecessary tax cut for timber companies at a time when we need to be investing more in affordable housing, education, health care, and other priorities."
Advisory Vote #22 on House Bill 1652: Senate: Yeas 26, Nays 22; House: Yeas 62, Nays 35. "Washington is the latest state to adopt a recycling program for leftover architectural paint. The Legislature passed ... House Bill 1652 to add a small recycling fee to the price of paint to fund the program. This law will ensure that hundreds of thousands of gallons of paint will be disposed of responsibly and no longer pollute our environment."
Advisory Vote #23 on House Bill 1873: Senate: Yeas 35, Nays 13; House: Yeas 56, Nays 42. "Manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of vape products have not been paying regular tobacco taxes. The Legislature passed ... House Bill 1873 to remedy this and create the Essential Public Health Services Account. Electronic cigarettes, electronic devices, and vape pens will now be classified and taxed as tobacco products. This account will fund health services, tobacco and vape product control and prevention, and enforcement by the state liquor and cannabis board to prevent the sale of vape products to minors. This legislation is even more important after several reports of lung injuries linked to vaping in Washington state as well as hundreds around the country."
Advisory Vote #24 on House Bill 2158: Senate: Yeas 25, Nays 22; House: Yeas 52, Nays 46. "The Legislature passed ... House Bill 2158 to increase funding for higher education, including financial aid, raises for community college faculty, and a student loan program for middle-class students called the Washington College Grant. The Washington College Grant would replace the State Need Grant, which runs out of money every year and leaves thousands of eligible students without any money. The Workforce Education Investment Act is designed so that businesses that benefit the most from a highly-educated workforce will contribute to the cost of higher education."
Advisory Vote #25 on House Bill 2167: Senate: Yeas 25, Nays 24; House: Yeas 53, Nays 43. "Washington's low-income families pay six times more in taxes than the wealthiest residents. To begin to balance our tax code, the Legislature passed ... House Bill 2167 to increase the business and occupation tax on financial institutions that reported a net income of $1 billion or more during the previous calendar year. We think it's reasonable for these extremely profitable companies to pay a little more in taxes to support the services working families rely on."
Advisory Vote #26 on Senate Bill 5581: Senate: Yeas 37, Nays 11; House: Yeas 58, Nays 36. "Washington legislators have moved to update our tax laws in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that allows states to force internet retailers to charge sales tax in all states, even if the retailer is not physically located in the state. ... Senate Bill 5581 eliminates a tax advantage that out-of-state sellers long enjoyed over local companies."
Advisory Vote #27 on Senate Bill 5993: Senate: Yeas 27, Nays 22; House: Yeas 50, Nays 48. "Washington state has more than 13,000 known or suspected contaminated sites. The Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) became law in 1989 and has supported efforts to clean up more than 7,000 contaminated sites. The MTCA is funded by a voter-approved tax on hazardous substances such as petroleum products and pesticides. This year, the Legislature passed ... Senate Bill 5993 to update the law to improve transparency and increase funding for clean air, clean water, and toxic cleanup programs."
Advisory Vote #28 on Senate Bill 5997: Senate: Yeas 25, Nays 22; House: Yeas 55, Nays 43. "Senate Bill 5997 closed a longstanding loophole that allowed many out-of-state shoppers to avoid paying sales tax in Washington. Visitors from states without a sales tax can still request a remittance from the Washington Department of Revenue."
Advisory Vote #29 on Senate Bill 5998: Senate: Yeas 26, Nays 22; House: Yeas 58, Nays 36. "This legislation is one step towards balancing our upside-down tax code by making Washington's real estate excise taxes (REET) progressive. Instead of a flat rate of 1.28 percent, property sales of less than $500,000 are reduced to a 1.1 percent tax rate, sales between $1.5 and $3 million would be taxed at 2.75 percent, and properties sold for more than $3 million would be taxed at 3 percent. All the funding from ... Senate Bill 5998 will be dedicated to the Education Legacy Trust Account."
Advisory Vote #30 on Senate Bill 6004: Senate: Yeas 27, Nays 21; House: Yeas 52, Nays 46. "This legislation eliminates a tax break for travel agents and tour operators for businesses who earn $250,000 or more per year. Businesses that earn less than $250,000 will continue to pay the lower rate. ... Senate Bill 6004 will bring more revenue to the state and ensure that large out-of-state and online businesses pay their share."
Advisory Vote #31 on Senate Bill 6016: Senate: Yeas 27, Nays 19; House: Yeas 76, Nays 22. "This legislation passed ... Senate Bill 6016 to reauthorize and narrow a sales tax exemption for certain international investment management companies. In order to receive the tax exemption, a business must have more than 25 percent of employees in the state, at least 500 full-time employees worldwide, and gross revenue of more than $400 million."
Senate Resolution 8200: A no-brainer constitutional amendment. Vote APPROVED!
I'll just paste in the State's own description of the resolution, passed overwhelmingly by the legislature (37-11 in the Senate, 91-7 in the House). It's pretty self-explanatory (think magnitude 8 earth quakes and tsunamis):
"The legislature has proposed a constitutional amendment concerning legislative powers in times of emergency. This measure would add 'catastrophic incidents' to the specified times of emergency that the legislature may take certain immediate actions to ensure continuity of state and local governmental operations."
King County Prop 1: As you fall to the floor, gripping your chest in pain... Vote YES!
...it will be too late to think "Wait, Eyman was wrong, investing in society is good!" I will just paste in the statement, from King County's voting guide, for this simple renewal of an existing tax and associated service:
"The Medic One levy is not a new tax. It continues funding for a program that provides critical emergency services for everyone in King County. King County voters have supported Medic One by passing levies for over 40 years. At the proposed levy rate, owners of a $500,000 home will pay $133 a year for world class emergency medical care to be at their side within minutes."
Other races where I have strong recommendations.
No recommendations that I am moved to state publicly this year. But email me if you know me and want my sometimes unorthodox, sometimes even informed, opinions. Like the one where why I might end up voting for a certain city council candidate, despite my own deep objections to her, because I despise even more the blatant attempts by Amazon and other members of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce to own the city council, using memes that would delight Grover Norquist and Newt Gingrich and that cause long-term harm to all sorts of progressive issues. And this in a city that has tried so hard to make elections fairer.