Elections 2012

On the campaign trail, Suzan DelBene tells the story of how her family struggled when she was a kid. Her father was laid off from his job when she was nine, and the family moved all over the country as her parents looked for work. “They never got back to a situation where they were financially stable,” she explains.

She recounts that despite her family's financial difficulties, she was able to go to college on student loans. “I was in a position to take care of my family,” she says. “I’m not sure I could tell that story today.”

This fall, voters in Washington will decide whether to legalize charter schools in the state for the first time. Washington voters have considered charters three times before. But the details of charter school funding, oversight and independence can be confusing. So we took a red pen to claims by supporters and opponents of Initiative 1240, and gave each claim a grade to see who gets to go to the head of the class – and who needs to go back and check their work.

Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott has represented Seattle and its suburbs in Congress since 1989. He faces a Republican challenger, attorney Ron Bemis, at the polls in November. Both candidates join us in our studio for a discussion of the issues at hand in Washington's 7th District.

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will challenge each other on foreign policy in tonight’s third and final presidential debate. How do the candidates plan to handle hot spots like Libya, Syria, and Iran?

Transcript

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning.

Tonight the presidential candidates meet for the final debate of this presidential election. President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney will be in Boca Raton, Florida. The event will focus on foreign policy, which was never expected to rival the economy as a major issue in this campaign. But foreign policy has played a bigger role than anticipated in recent weeks.

The Seattle Times Company began running its own political ads on Wednesday in support of Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna and same-sex marriage.

Industry observers are questioning this new move.

Alan Fisco, an executive with The Seattle Times, says print newspapers miss out on the millions of dollars in campaign spending that go to broadcast television.

You may have already received your state voter's pamphlet in the mail. How much do you trust the candidate's statements?

We talk to Shane Hamlin, elections co-director for the Office of the Secretary of State, about a controversial statement by a candidate for King County Superior Court.

Should marijuana be taxed and regulated in Washington state? Initiative 502 would allow for the sale and possession of marijuana for adults over 21. If voters approve I-502, Washington state would be out front in challenging federal marijuana policy. We discuss legalizing pot with Alison Holcomb of New Approach Washington, Douglas Hiatt of Sensible Washington, former DEA administrator Peter Bensinger and former Seattle police chief Norm Stamper.