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West Seattle politics 2202 results

4 major events today & tonight
April 10, 2008 2:57 am
|    Comments Off on 4 major events today & tonight
 |   Development | West Seattle Art Walk | West Seattle politics

BE A MASTER OF DISASTER: As mentioned previously, we’re working with community leaders between now and mid-May to nudge you to take a few simple steps to be ready for the unthinkable, just in case. Next step: Go to West Seattle Library (aka the Admiral branch) for tonight’s SNAP (Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare) event, 6:30 pm. And get ready to find out more about your official neighborhood gathering place – where you would go for information and help if something major happened; the location list is almost done and dates are being set for you to drop by, get familiar, and get info, within the next few weeks.

HAVE A SAY IN TWO MAJOR JUNCTION-AREA DEVELOPMENTS: The Conner Homes proposal for California/Alaska/42nd (most recent WSB coverage here) and the Harbor Properties proposal for 38th/Alaska (most recent WSB coverage here) both come before the Southwest Design Review Board tonight for “early design guidance.” If you want to speak your mind about how these developments should look, this is the time and place. Both meetings are at Chief Sealth High School, with Conner on the agenda at 6:30 and Harbor at 8 pm. (If you frequently attend these meetings, as we do, you will be interested to note the SWDRB has two new members — just noticed on the webpage — including West Seattle architect Brandon Nicholson.)

artwalk.jpgWEST SEATTLE ART WALK – MORE ADMIRAL PARTICIPANTS! It’s the second Thursday of the month, which means West Seattle Art Walk time, and as we reported last weekend, the Art Walk just keeps expanding — with five Admiral participants tonight (see the full list of participants in all locations here) as well as more than a dozen others in and around The Junction. You’ll find special events at many locations; 6-9 pm tonight. (And while you’re out on the Art Walk, look for registration forms for 2008 West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day — available starting tonight, at these locations and online — more on that a little later this morning.)

GOVERNOR’S CAMPAIGN KICKOFF AT THE “OTHER” SSCC CAMPUS: Governor Gregoire is officially running for re-election, and West Seattle’s State Senator Joe McDermott is inviting WS supporters to her next event — 3:45 pm today at South Seattle Community College’s Duwamish Apprenticeship and Education Center, 6770 E. Marginal Way S., at the Safety Lab in Building A (just inside the entrance.) Sen. McDermott also sent us this photo he took at a Gregoire event the other day in Auburn:

gregoiremcdermott.jpg

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Stage set for a showdown over another parks levy?
April 8, 2008 3:34 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | West Seattle politics

We reported March 20 about City Council President Richard Conlin telling the Delridge District Council that the council had commissioned a poll to find out if citizens support another Pro Parks Levy (most councilmembers do, the mayor doesn’t) since the original’s expiring. Poll results are out this afternoon and the council says it’s pro-levy, 2-to-1.

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3 ways to get involved: Schoolhouse, parking, charter
April 7, 2008 5:35 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Junction parking review | Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

schoolhousefoto.jpgFAUNTLEROY SCHOOLHOUSE: Finally got word from Seattle Public Schools about the date/time of the official public hearing on the district’s plan to sell the schoolhouse, mentioned at the community meeting 2 weeks ago (WSB coverage here): It’s not on the district website yet, but SPS spokesperson David Tucker tells WSB the hearing is set for 6:30 pm April 29, at the schoolhouse.

rpzsign.jpgRESIDENTIAL PARKING ZONES: As mentioned in our coverage of the impending Junction-area parking review (most recent update here), there’s a chance RPZ’s would be considered for the residential neighborhoods around the business district, which already report major parking crunches because of “park-n-hiders” and construction workers. The city is now officially reviewing RPZ policy and inviting you to fill out this online survey.

COUNTY CHANGES: Did you know there’s a hearing in West Seattle tomorrow night on more than a dozen amendments proposed to the King County Charter? Might sound dry but on the other hand, some of ’em might affect your life (see the list here). We somehow managed not to hear about the hearing till Julie Enevoldsen (thank you!) told us about it this afternoon. 6:30 pm tomorrow, Emerald Room at The Hall at Fauntleroy.

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City/county councils’ Viaduct meeting: WS-related toplines
April 7, 2008 11:44 am
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

SCENIC_Alaskan_Way_AWV1.jpgThe King County Council–Seattle City Council joint meeting on The Viaduct just concluded a moment ago, lasting a little more than 2 hours. As was hinted at the Seattle Council briefing on The Viaduct that we covered downtown one month ago (read our story here), the information presented today was more about related elements such as the Urban Mobility Plan — ways that we will get around either without, or despite, The Viaduct. And it did provide some glimpses into West Seattle’s possible transportation future — near-future (another Viaduct meeting in WS was just announced for next month) and far-future:Read More

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One more caucus note: Cameo by Clinton campaign chair
April 7, 2008 10:54 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle online | West Seattle politics

This factoid didn’t make it into our original caucus report (see it, and its dozens of followup comments, here) — it was mentioned to us briefly on Saturday that Terry McAuliffe, national Clinton campaign chair, had dropped by the West Seattle High School gathering between 9 and 10 am, before the meeting officially started. We didn’t arrive till just after 10, so missed him. But eagle-eyed Cami MacNamara (editor of the Alki News Beacon) spotted photographic proof in, of all places, this Baltimore Sun political blog post (which focuses on the fact McAuliffe was photographed posing with Obama fans). P.S. Additional caucus photos are also up at the 34th District Democrats’ site; much of the discussion about Saturday’s process has centered on the ability to affect it by getting involved with the group – its next meeting is 7 pm this Wednesday, The Hall at Fauntleroy.

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City/county councils’ Viaduct meeting under way
April 7, 2008 9:43 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Transportation | West Seattle online | West Seattle politics

The joint King County Council-Seattle City Council meeting on the Alaskan Way Viaduct has just begun; West Seattle’s County Councilmember Dow Constantine is co-chairing. You can watch online here; we’re monitoring and will summarize later.

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Caucusing, round 2: A (long) day with the Democrats
April 5, 2008 6:47 pm
|      44 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

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We’ve never before gone to a political caucus or convention beyond the precinct level (Feb. 9 caucuses this year, WSB coverage here). There’s a first time for everything, and so we are back from a long day at the 34th Legislative District Democratic Caucus at West Seattle High School. If you thought the February caucuses were lively, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve packed into a high-school gym with more than 1,000 people — and “packing in” was a challenge long before everyone entered the WSHS doors:Read More

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SDOT on 34th/Morgan: “My staff will be out there today”
April 1, 2008 12:44 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   High Point | Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Video thumbnail. Click to play
Click To Play

We videotaped that close call in mid-January while reporting on the situation at 34th/Morgan, where kids from the growing High Point area cross Morgan to head south on 34th toward West Seattle Elementary. Neighborhood and pedestrian-safety activists have been fighting a long time to get improvements at that corner, where there’s no marked crosswalk and no “school zone” lights. Denise Sharify from Neighborhood House testified this morning to the city council’s Special Committee on Pedestrian Safety, asking for help. Councilmember Nick Licata, who surveyed High Point pedestrian-safety challenges with Sharify and others last November (WSB coverage here), asked SDOT’s Wayne Wentz what’s being done — Wentz said that’s not supposed to be a school crossing; the city would prefer that kids go to 35th and cross at the signal (which would be backtracking for most). Well, Licata noted, things change, and intersections should be re-evaluated. Wentz promptly replied, “My staff will go to the location by the end of the day.” We’ll drop by a few times to see if we bump into them; if we don’t see them, we’ll check with the city tomorrow to see if the promise was kept.

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The next West Seattle caucus: Less than 1 week away
March 30, 2008 9:44 pm
|      21 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

obamabarack.jpgclintoncolormug.jpgWith the Democratic presidential-nomination race not quite over yet, there’s still some potential for drama next Saturday, when more than 1,000 delegates chosen at 34th Legislative District precinct caucuses February 9 (WSB coverage with reader reports/photos here) will gather at 10 am at West Seattle High School for the districtwide Democratic caucus. If you’re one of those delegates, your phone’s likely been ringing off the hook with campaign calls making sure you’ll be there. The 34th District Democrats have tons of info on a special section of their website, as always, including the fact that those 1,000-plus delegates will elect 51 people (and 26 alternates) to move on to the King County Democratic Convention, which is also at WSHS, 2 pm April 13. As for the Republicans — no suspense there any more, but half their delegates are still coming from the caucus process; the 34th District meeting was yesterday. The next big GOP meeting is the King County Republican Convention in Auburn on April 12.

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Q from Councilmember Rasmussen: Viaduct-closure effects?
March 24, 2008 2:53 pm
|      49 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

So how did the weekend closure of The Viaduct affect you? City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, a fellow West Seattleite, wants to know — as he works with the city Transportation Department to make sure WS is a priority with all the transportation planning that’s under way now. Among other things, he’s wondering – did you find yourself in one of the backups that happened even with all the advance warning? Did you get enough advance warning – and/or enough warning while it was happening (the warning lights, signs, etc.)? What alternate routes did you find yourself using? Did you have to change your plans or drop plans because of the shutdown? Anything else you want to say about it — don’t hold anything back! Post comments here.

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Do we need another Pro Parks Levy? (and other park issues)
March 10, 2008 6:03 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | West Seattle politics

As the P-I reminds us this morning, the Pro Parks Levy is about to expire, and the mayor and council disagree on whether to ask us if we want a new one. What did Pro Parks do, you ask? Here’s the city map of the West Seattle parks projects the money’s gone toward, for starters:

parkmap.jpg

The clickable version of that map, and the list of specific projects, can be found here. It’s all unfolded over the 8-year life of the levy, passed by Seattle voters in 2000, and some of the West Seattle projects aren’t done yet — Junction Plaza, Myrtle Reservoir, Ercolini Park, and Morgan Junction, which incidentally has a public meeting this Wednesday for comment on this final schematic design:

morganparkschematic.jpg

Back to Pro Parks in general: Are these all the parks we need, or is there more to be done, meriting a new Pro Parks Levy? Some councilmembers say yes; the mayor says no, focusing instead on proposals to bolster Pike Place Market and Seattle Center; public meetings on both are coming up shortly, including two West Seattle gatherings (Seattle Center, this Thursday @ Youngstown Arts Center; Pike Place, 3/18 at West Seattle Library). The council’s Parks Committee is chaired by West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who is quoted in the P-I as saying:

“We really have to gauge what the public wants and what they would be willing to accept.”

Sounds to us like that means, speak up now. The council’s contact info is here; the mayor’s contact info is here. (Last side note, uncovered as we researched links for this post — remember the meetings last year working toward a Strategic Action Plan for the Parks Department? Another round of meetings is coming up in April and May, including half a dozen in West Seattle, all listed here and also added to the WSB Events page.)

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West Seattle reps split on store beer/wine-tasting bill
March 9, 2008 1:17 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

The State House has given thumbs-up to the grocery-store beer/wine tasting bill, discussed here last month after e-mail from concerned Admiral resident Liz Wilhelm. At the time, she wrote “thank goodness none of our 34th District legislators support this bill” — but in addition to State Sen. Joe McDermott having voted for it in the State Senate (before Liz’s note), one of West Seattle’s two State House members, Rep. Eileen Cody, voted for it Friday. The other one, Rep. Sharon Nelson, voted no; roll-call links are on the bill’s official status page. A few interesting excerpts from the legislative staff report on the bill:

The pilot project is for 30 stores with at least six tastings (but no more than once per month) at each location between October 1, 2008, and September 30, 2009.

The pilot project locations must be equally allocated between independently-owned and chain grocery stores. To be eligible, the primary activity of the store must be the retail sale of grocery products for off-premises consumption and the store must have a fully enclosed retail area of at least 9,000 square feet. …

Control of sampling will be by hand stamps. Tastings will not be a party event.

P.S. If you’re wondering about another bill discussed here — the speeder-cam bill – it doesn’t appear to have moved out of State House committee-land.

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City councilmember blogs about Schwartz sentence
March 2, 2008 8:09 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

One of the city council’s newest members, Tim Burgess, blogged tonight about the light sentence given to West Seattle rabbi Ephraim Schwartz for the November 2006 47th/Admiral crash that killed Tatsuo Nakata — who worked as chief of staff for the then-councilmember that timburgess1.jpgBurgess defeated a year later, David Della. In his blog post, titled “Wrist Slap for Traffic Death,” Burgess (left) — a former detective — recaps our city’s pedestrian-vehicle crash stats, as well as calling the Schwartz sentence “inappropriate.” (Side note: Before publishing this, we looked to see which other city councilmembers blog; looks like only Sally Clark. Her newest post is mostly about Burgess’ blogging, which she seems to be saying he does too often; not sure what that’s about, since if you scroll down his main page, you’ll see he doesn’t even post daily.)

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Seen in West Seattle traffic: Sign(s) of the political times?
February 22, 2008 12:36 pm
|      24 COMMENTS
 |   Seen around town | West Seattle politics

obamabushcheney.jpg

Spotted by the WSB Sales Guy while out on rounds.

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Grocery-store beer/wine tasting bill bubbles back to life
February 21, 2008 6:03 am
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle politics

(update since this original report – it passed)

It’s tanked in the state Legislature a couple times in the past few years, but Admiral resident Liz Wilhelm points out that the bill to allow grocery-store beer/wine tastings is back. In fact, it’s up for a hearing in the State House Committee on Commerce and Labor in Olympia at 8 am today, according to the bill’s official webpage. Liz has a lot to say about it:Read More

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Our official Election Results post: Check ’em, discuss ’em
February 19, 2008 8:01 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle politics

We’re out covering a meeting and won’t be able to add narrative to this post for a while — but now that the polls are closed, here are the links where you should be able to find results from the state’s presidential primary: Statewide results here, King County results here. 9 PM UPDATE: Statewide results so far, Obama 50%, Clinton 47% on the D side; McCain winning the R side by a mile. 2:30 AM UPDATE: Those numbers (Obama/Clinton) have held all night long.

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One West Seattle-specific shoutout in “State of the City”
February 19, 2008 10:40 am
|    Comments Off on One West Seattle-specific shoutout in “State of the City”
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

This hour, Mayor Nickels delivered the 2008 “State of the City” address. seattlelogo.jpgIts full text is online; we see just one West Seattle-specific shoutout, a mention of Myrtle as one of the reservoirs getting new parks along with covers. (WSB coverage of the last Myrtle public meeting is here.) More intriguingly, he ends the speech saying he will be asking for citizens’ thoughts on a “Customer Bill of Rights” for the city (this news release has some details); certainly WSB-ers have had much to say about the city’s responsiveness or lack of same – what do you think such a “Bill of Rights” should include?

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Happening today/tonight: Election, RapidRide, crimefighting
February 19, 2008 6:03 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

ELECTION: Presidential primary, 7 am-8 pm if you haven’t voted by mail; more info here.

RAPIDRIDE: Last of 4 West Seattle open houses to share information and take comments for this phase of Metro’s West Seattle RapidRide bus-service planning, 6-7:30 pm @ Southwest Library.

CRIMEFIGHTING: West Seattle Community Safety Partnership, under new leadership elected last month, invites you to tonight’s meeting, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct. If you have a neighborhood crime or nuisance concern and would like to ask local police what’s being done, or what can be done, about it — this hour is well worth your time. (WSB coverage of last month’s WSCSP meeting is here.)

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What you need to know about tomorrow’s primary
February 18, 2008 12:42 pm
|    Comments Off on What you need to know about tomorrow’s primary
 |   West Seattle politics

donkey5.jpgelephant.jpgFor our state’s Democrats, the February 9 caucuses (final West Seattle results linked here) were the main event in the presidential-nominee-choosing process, because those are the only results used to choose delegates. (Next step in the process, delegates from precinct caucuses go to legislative-district caucuses April 5.) But tomorrow’s vote (7 am-8 pm at your polling place if you don’t vote by mail) will likely get some national-media attention regardless, particularly on the Democratic side, since things aren’t quite settled yet. And for Republicans, the vote does count toward delegates – roughly half will be chosen from the Feb. 9 caucus results (here), half from tomorrow’s primary results. More primary info here.

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Another caucus followup: Official precinct-by-precinct results
February 11, 2008 11:14 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

As promised, the 34th District Democrats have posted the official list of precinct-by-precinct results for West Seattle (plus Vashon and the rest of the 34th). Find it here. (P.S. The 34th DDs’ monthly meeting is 7 pm Wednesday night, The Hall @ Fauntleroy.) The King County Republicans only break it down by legislative district (see that here) – the 34th GOP ended with 66 McCain delegates, 44 Paul, 40 Huckabee.

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After the caucuses: What’s next
February 10, 2008 11:34 am
|      22 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle politics

First, a couple more photos that have come in since our caucus updates ended last night. This one is from Katie McKeehan Hart, who photographed her daughter Mary Kate Hart as they caucused at West Seattle Elementary:

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This one’s from Josh Sutton, showing how big the group from just one precinct got, caucusing at Chief Sealth High School:

joshcaucus.jpg

ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT: SRO caucus scene at West Seattle High School, from Matt Taylor:

srowestseattlehigh.jpg

Now, the “what’s next” info. First – there is still a statewide presidential primary on February 19; if you vote by mail, you’ve received your ballot by now. The Democrats are not using the results to choose any delegates (they have always used the caucuses instead; here’s 34th District Democrats chair Ivan Weiss’s explanation); the Republicans will choose half their delegates from the primary results, half from their caucuses yesterday. If you’re a Democrat and you’re wondering whether to bother voting, one thing to keep in mind, if you care, is that since the race is still perceived as close, the national media will likely pay attention to the results anyway, regardless of whether delegate-awarding is involved, so if you want your candidate to look good, you might as well show up for this too. (Personally, we never miss a chance to vote for anything.) As fr the long process of converting yesterday’s caucus results to national-convention delegates: The Democrats’ legislative-district caucuses are on April 5; delegates who go on from there will attend county conventions on April 13; then caucuses by Congressional district (here in West Seattle, we’re part of the 7th District) are on May 17, the state convention is on June 14, and the Democratic National Convention is August 25-28 in Denver. Oh yeah, and the actual election … November 4. (By the way, the 34th District Democrats are promising precinct-by-precinct breakouts on their website within a few days; for some unofficial counts, check the comments below our running post from last night.) One more note – just as we were writing this, we received the following from Steve Heck, titled “Open Letter to Washington State Democratic Leadership,” with some points of concern regarding the process, and he thought it might be a point worth discussing here:Read More

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Caucus reports and results, frequently updated (add yours!)
February 9, 2008 3:13 pm
|      53 COMMENTS
 |   Gatewood | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

7:10 PM, FINAL UNOFFICIAL 34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATIC RESULTS: The 34th District Democrats’ site says: 70% Obama, 28% Clinton. State Democrat results are here; state Republican results are here. Coverage below shows all previous updates, oldest to newest.

ORIGINAL 3:13 PM REPORT: Just back from our caucus (at Denny Middle School). Topline on our precinct caucus: About 40 participants (more than twice what we had when caucusing with the same precinct four years ago); we started with a proportion of votes equal to 2 Obama delegates, 1 Clinton delegate, 1 undecided; ended with 3 Obama delegates (to the district convention) and 1 Clinton delegate. P.S. This photo just in from Tim, who caucused at Arbor Heights Elementary and says the lunch room was so packed they expanded to classrooms (same thing at Denny):

timphoto.jpg

ADDED AT 4:19 PM: Thanks for the delegate results you’re posting comments. Keep ’em coming. Note the 34th DD results update link. Meantime, here’s another Arbor Heights Elementary photo, from Jeff:

morearborheights.jpg

ADDED 4:34 PM: Yes, there are Republicans in West Seattle. The line to get into the GOP caucuses at Southwest Community Center was literally down the stairs and out the door:

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ADDED 4:43 PM: WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham sends these photos from Gatewood Elementary: First, State Sen. Joe McDermott during the pre-caucus sign-in:

mattmcdermottcaucus.jpg

You can figure out who Sarah Lehoch and Terrence Veccavo were supporting:

mattobamacouple.jpg

Here, Matt photographed 3-month-old Waverly Davis:

Copies of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available at his site, mattdurhamphotography.com. Meantime, we received another photo of a very young caucus attendee — this is Melissa‘s 4-month-old:

melissababy.jpg

4:55 PM ADDITION: Lively citywide coverage at Slog, including Eli’s impassioned defense of the joyful messiness of the caucus process. For a sample of other news blogs around the area are reporting on caucuses, check the headline digest at Citizen Rain. More here as info and photos come in. So far, the results reports in the comments thread equal roughly 75% Obama, 25% Clinton. 5:05 PM ADDITION: The state Democratic Party has a results page ready, though it’s all 0’s so far. WA GOP promises results after 6 pm. 5:29 PM ADDITION: State D results are starting to come in: 66% Obama, 32% Clinton with 34% reporting. 5:48 PM ADDITION: The state also has a “jurisdiction-level results” page — scroll down to “King – 34th LD” for West Seattle (and Vashon). Doesn’t say if this is final but our district is listed at 73% Obama, 26% Clinton. 6:19 PM ADDITION: Bill Schrier, 34th DD webmaster, kindly informs us that the 34th has 1038 total delegates, so anything you see isn’t final till it hits that total. 6:30 PM ADDITION: The state Republican site is starting to post results. With 16% in, it’s McCain and Huckabee almost tied, Paul not far behind.

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Quick reminders about major events today
February 9, 2008 8:43 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

CAUCUSES: FInally, at the 11th hour, just about every media site large and small has joined in with “how to” links. Ours will stay up at the top spot in the right sidebar till it’s all over at midafternoon. (P.S. At least one note suggests those robo-calls with the wrong caucus date were still continuing last night. According to citywide-media reports, it’s not a sinister plot; a firm paid by the Obama campaign programmed Maine reminders – for Sunday – to go to Washington numbers – where of course TODAY is caucus day.)

DONATE USED BIKES & PARTS TODAY: PCC, 11 am-2 pm. Here’s what it’s all about.

TWO CLEANUPS AND A WORK PARTY: All happening before you caucus, so no excuses — Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s area cleanup starts at 9 am (more here); The EARTH Project at Cooper Elementary has a work party on the south side of the school (next to Pigeon Point Park) starting at 9 am; Junction Neighborhood Association, at 10 am (more here).

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Received a couple notes about this — the Admiral restaurant Circa (2605 California) celebrates its 10th anniversary with a party tonight, described in one e-mail this way: “No regular dinner service – but a party for anyone who wants to celebrate. There will be raffles at 7:00 and 10:00, drinks, and food of course (miniature portions of Circa favorites: steak salads, Circa burgers and chocolate cake).”

Many more events are listed in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.

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