Live right now at www.seattlechannel.org: The City Council Budget Committee is talking about changes to the mayor’s proposed cuts in the Department of Neighborhoods. Assistants are presenting the proposed changes: First, they re-added a coordinator who was to be cut from the Historic Preservation program; next, came restoration of more than $300,000 that was to be cut from the Neighborhood Matching Fund program. None of this is final until the council votes on its official plan in about two and a half weeks. Still to come: A discussion of possibly canceling the plan to close the Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction and cut the job of its Neighborhood District Coordinator; we’ll continue to add updates here. The full agenda, with supporting documents, is here.

2:16 PM: They are now discussing the Southwest NSC’s fate. The council’s assistant is noting that the location in The Junction is on a month-by-month basis (because of the proposed Conner Homes development, which, she added, may be delayed further – “That hasn’t been moving too quickly,” observed West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen). “And if the development takes place, we’ll have the extra property taxes to fund the new location,” added Council President Richard Conlin cheerily. Now on to the proposed cut of Neighborhood District Coordinators’ jobs (including Stan Lock, who works out of the Southwest NSC in The Junction) – they’re talking about keeping those jobs, but at 80% time, and they want the mayor to explain how neighborhood engagement would play out without these jobs. “This allows us to make a rational policy choice, instead of just sweeping them away,” observed Councilmember Tim Burgess.

2:35 PM UPDATE: They’ve moved on to SDOT – and the first item is about the proposed street-parking changes. Councilmember Jean Godden has suggested she’d like to see the top parking rate be $4 instead of $5.

3:10 PM: Though no official votes are being taken, there seems to be more sentiment about NOT starting paid Sunday parking – studying it as a possible addition later. Councilmember Nick Licata says the public should be “cut a little slack” given they’ll already be asked to start paying for parking all the way till 8 pm on other nights.

4:22 PM: They’re still talking transportation – right now, the proposed increase in the commercial parking tax.

4:45 PM: Today’s meeting is over. Next week, it’s “Round 2,” which means final decisions on changes – so NOTHING is final till then, even items that were well-received in meetings like today.

(King County Councilmember-elect Joe McDermott thanking commuters at 35th/Fauntleroy this afternoon)
Without any really close local races, nothing has changed in terms of potential outcomes … but in case you’re tracking something else, we thought you’d want to know that King County is now out with today’s vote count. If you’re watching the statewide race for U.S. Senate, with the latest vote counts, Sen. Patty Murray is now two points ahead of Republican challenger Dino Rossi, 51% to 49%. P.S. The county says turnout already has exceeded projections – they thought they’d get about 68 percent of the ballots back, and they’re already up to 71 percent.

Though the final vote count will take weeks, most of last night’s King County/Seattle results were fairly clear, and further counting is not likely to change the outcome. One such issue: The defeat of County Proposition 1, which sought to raise the sales tax to get money that county leaders said would stave off more budget cuts for public safety and human services. With that measure failing 44% yes to 56% no, two county councilmembers involved in the budget process have just released a statement warning of “draconian” cuts as a result (note that many of these services are provided by the county for city residents too, so this isn’t just an unincorporated-area issue) – read on for the statement:Read More

7:59 PM: Here’s where we’ll track tonight’s other races – for example, 34th District State House Position 1, with incumbent Democratic Rep. Eileen Cody challenged by “reluctantly Republican” Ray Carter (those results will be here) – and the city/county/state ballot measures, just in case you are browsing here inbetween visits to regional/national sites (like The Seattle Times [WSB partner], with plenty of home-page election coverage). More to come!

8:15 PM: Early results show Sen. Patty Murray (D) behind Dino Rossi (R). But King County’s first batch of returns hasn’t posted yet.

8:27 PM: With the King County numbers now in, Murray is leading Rossi 52 percent to 48 percent, according to the Secretary of State’s office. In the 34th District State House 1 race, it’s Cody over Carter, 78 percent to 21 percent. The tallies on the Times home page show the income tax and liquor initiatives all losing, the candy-tax-repeal initiative winning. Per the King County site, the Seattle Schools levy is passing in a big way, 64 percent “yes.”

9:01 PM: Checked on King County Prop 1, the sales-tax increase for public safety. Losing big, with 56 percent “no.”

10:05 PM: You can check all the statewide ballot measures’ results by going here. The bail-denial measure is way ahead, with 85% yes. Referendum 52, which sought to validate a state bill to spend money to retrofit schools for energy efficiency (among other things), is losing. Both privatizing-liquor-sales measures are behind, though 1105 is losing bigger than 1100. And as for everything else – definitely an anti-tax mood.

Let’s say you get home from work tonight and realize you still haven’t voted but don’t want to take the chance it won’t get postmarked in time. The King County Elections drive-up dropbox alongside Boeing Field isn’t all that far. We hadn’t been there before, so we drove over a little while ago in order to be able to semi-coherently explain what/where to look for, in case you want to take your ballot there too. It’s at 9010 East Marginal Way, on the Boeing Field side of the street, a couple blocks north of the Museum of Flight. From south West Seattle, we took the Highland Park Way route to the 1st Avenue South bridge northbound, from which you take the Michigan exit and then an immediate right on East Marginal:

The dropbox is on the airfield (east) side of the Elections building, and signs will point you to the lot on the building’s north side that you must drive through to get there:

As you can see in the top photo, the dropbox itself is a mailbox-style “snorkel” setup- you can drive right up and put your ballot envelope in the slot. (No stamp needed if you do this, though you’ve probably burned gas worth more than the first-class stamp would’ve cost you.) Speaking of the U.S. Postal Service: The Riverton Heights branch in SeaTac is still open till almost midnight, so if you just absolutely can’t get to a dropbox (here’s the full countywide list) before 8 pm, you can try going to Riverton Heights – map and address here – by 11:45 pm – if your ballot really does get postmarked November 2nd, it’ll still count. But the first and only vote count for election night (with subsequent ones each afternoon thereafter) is scheduled for 8:15. Once the numbers are up, we’ll publish the results; you add the reaction!

Turnout doesn’t seem like the right word any more, since we vote by mail, but whatever you call it, King County Elections expects a record number of votes – 720,000, 68 percent of those registered, way beyond the 650,000 mail ballots returned for the presidential election two years ago. So far, King County says more than 400,000 ballots have come in – and you have about 23 more hours to vote. We say “about” because you might be able to get your ballot postmarked November 2nd if you get it late tomorrow night to the post-office branch that usually does that – but why take a chance? Drop it in the mail earlier in the day, or take it to one of the county dropboxes (which, KC Elections warns, will be closed promptly at 8 pm). If you already have sent your ballot in, you can check on its status by going here; the county also wants to remind voters that they may check with you regarding problems with the signature on your mail ballot, so if you get a message from them, get back to them fast to make sure your ballot will count, before the final vote is certified on November 23rd. First round of results is due out around 8:15 pm tomorrow night; we’ll be following key races here. P.S. If you’ve voted and you have a website or someplace else you want to display King County’s “virtual sticker” at left, grab the code here and go for it!

Five days to go till your ballot HAS TO be in – either by mail (postmarked no later than Tuesday) or by dropbox (by 8 pm Tuesday). One quick mention: If you are still making up your mind about the initiatives, there’s a new fact-checking site launched as a University of Washington project, assembled by graduate students, and it even looks at the refenda on the ballot. Check it out at factcheckwa.org. (Note – this is about the statewide measures only, not the local ones like the King County and Seattle Public Schools propositions.) P.S. King County is offering a digital “I Voted” sticker – get it here.

The official Election Day – with vote-by-mail, it’s more like Voting-Ends Day – is two weeks from tomorrow. You should have received your ballot by now; if you have already mailed it back in or dropped it off, King County’s online ballot tracker will start reporting today on whether it’s been received (here’s where to check). And if you’re still researching who and what to vote for – remember there are two voter guides this year – online, you can find the King County guide here (or a custom version by entering your info on the right side of this page), while the state guide is here. Your ballot has to be either in a dropbox by 8 pm Tuesday, Nov. 2, or postmarked by that date (we’ll check when it gets closer, but last election there was one post office in the city that was postmarking up till midnight). One more voting note: For those with disabilities, the county’s accessible voting center at Elections HQ in Tukwila is now open, weekdays through Election Day – full details, hours, and location here.

In our daily election countdown coverage this time around – on the same day King County sent out ballots, the two candidates in this area’s most closely watched race joined the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle for lunch. From left, Joe Fitzgibbon, club president West Niver, and Mike Heavey, with tokens of the Kiwanians’ appreciation – certificates, and books for One Page Ahead. It was a cordial forum for the two finalists in the 34th District State House Position 2 race – perhaps the strongest point of differentiation between the two Democrats that could have been drawn by someone with no prior knowledge of the race is that Heavey’s a West Seattleite and Fitzgibbon is not. Both were offered seven minutes for an opening statement, and were asked to focus on the jobs crisis – Fitzgibbon took almost the full allotment, Heavey ran about four and a half – we recorded both on video, minus a bit of their respective introductions (Heavey mentioning his father had been a Kiwanian, Fitzgibbon detailing his work with Rep. Sharon Nelson, whose seat they’re running for):

After each presented his statement from the front of the Kiwanis Club’s usual meeting place (back room at Be’s Restaurant in The Junction), the floor was open for Q/A. Among the questions – whether the state had squandered federal stimulus money. Both acknowledged that, instead of creating “new” jobs, much had gone to existing programs, but, as Heavey summarized it, “a job loss prevented is a job created.” Their answers more or less also dovetailed on a question about cuts in occupational training – they agreed on its value; Fitzgibbon noted, “We get stuck in a trap if we say ‘every kid needs to go on to college’.” Asked about liquor privatization, Heavey noted they both are on the record as opposing both current ballot measures; he said he’s morally opposed to anything that might mean young people have more access to alcohol, while Fitzgibbon allowed that while he’s not in favor of scrapping the state-run system, there are things that could be done better. In their closing statements before the one-hour lunch meeting ended, they both alluded to the grueling campaign, with Heavey saying, “It’s been a tough election, but a journey worth taking,” and Fitzgibbon acknowledging it’s “not an easy choice” between the two. The next candidates’ forum for these two in our area is a week from today, Oct. 21st, sponsored by the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council at Greenbridge YWCA, doors open at 6 pm.

NOTE: With a few visitors on hand for the candidates’ forum, president Niver prefaced that part of the program with an overview of the many community efforts with which the Kiwanians are involved – you can check out their upcoming programs and events at their website, kiwaniswestseattle.org.

Our quick notes in the daily countdown to the November 2nd election is a few hours later than usual today because there are several things to preview: First, as we’ve been mentioning, King County expects to mail ballots today – so voting could start as soon as tomorrow … One of the two local races for open seats, 34th District House Position 2, will be showcased in West Seattle today – the weekly Kiwanis Club of West Seattle meeting includes a candidate forum with contenders Joe Fitzgibbon and Mike Heavey (more details in our original preview) … The 34th District Democrats‘ monthly meeting is tonight, 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy; along with Get Out The Vote plans, their online agenda notes a guest appearance by King County Council chair Bob Ferguson for county-budget Q/A … And if you haven’t made up your mind in the 34th District House #2 and King County Council #8 races yet, remember to keep the calendar open for the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s doubleheader forum at the Greenbridge YWCA (just over the Highland Park/White Center line) a week from tomorrow, 7 pm October 21st. … “Social media” watch: Only Twitter/Facebook update in those two races in the past day – Fitzgibbon tweeted yesterday. … Election news to share? Let us know. (No attack/counter-attack, though, thanks, plenty of that elsewhere.)

In our daily/nightly election update, with three weeks till E-Day, and just days till voting starts, a grab bag of links: The county issued its official reminder of impending ballots … President Obama is coming back to Seattle Oct. 21 to campaign for Sen. Patty Murray (remember what happened last time) … The City Council endorses both ballot measures involving $ for schools (or projects in/at them) … “Social media” watch: Only 1 candidate of the 4 in our area’s Big Two races posted a social-media campaign-page/account update on Monday – King County Council District 8 candidate Diana Toledo posted a “ballot’s on the way” reminder on Facebook … Event watch: Next candidate forum in West Seattle is Wednesday, with 34th District State House Position 2 hopefuls Joe Fitzgibbon and Mike Heavey at the West Seattle Kiwanis luncheon (full details here).

In our daily/nightly countdown to the November 2nd general election, a reminder that your ballot likely will show up in the mail before the week’s over. You have till November 2nd to get it postmarked/mailed, or dropped off, but in case you’re an early-bird type: For the former, just remember, you need 1 first-class stamp. For the latter, while the county added more drop boxes for this election – after cutting way back for the primary, to only two, there are now 11 for the general election (listed here). None in West Seattle or White Center, however (before the cutbacks earlier this year, there had been one at Delridge Neighborhood Service Center and one at White Center Library); we asked the county why our area doesn’t merit one, and to date have not received a clear answer, just an explanation of the criteria in general:

– Voter use at previous location
– Population densities and distribution (existing and future)
– Proximity to transit services
– Access and safety
– Public facility available to host box
– Designated urban center per adopted regional land use and transportation plan

Without one in WS or WC, the nearest ones will be at the King County Administration Building downtown and county Elections HQ on East Marginal in Tukwila (here’s the map with all drop-box locations – they’re all scheduled to be open 24/7 until 8 pm November 2nd).

In our nightly/daily spotlight on the impending election – November 2nd is technically Election Day, but voting starts just days from now, since King County is scheduled to mail ballots at midweek – a quick look at one of the statewide ballot measures you’re not hearing so much about. Seems there are ads all over the place for the liquor and tax initiatives – but then there are a few others you’re being asked to vote on, including Engrossed Substitute House Joint Resolution 4220, which requires voter approval/rejection since it’s a proposed amendment to the state constitution. From the ballot:

This amendment would authorize courts to deny bail for offenses punishable by the possibility of life in prison, on clear and convincing evidence of a propensity for violence that would likely endanger persons.

You can read the full text of the proposed constitutional amendment here. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. 4220 is a result of last year’s Lakewood Police massacre, as this Tacoma News-Tribune editorial reminds us – the killer had gotten out on bail days before killing the four officers. You can read the arguments/rebuttals for and against, by choosing 4220 in the left-side list on the state Voters’ Guide page.