KUOW Blog
News, factoids, and insights from KUOW's newsroom. And maybe some peeks behind the scenes. Check back daily for updates.
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Stories
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Foo Fighters' 'But Here We Are' is heavy, in every sense of the word
Foo Fighters formed in the aftermath of tragedy, as Kurt Cobain's 1994 suicide left Dave Grohl reeling and in search of a voice. The band's self-titled 1995 debut found the drummer and newly minted frontman reinvigorated by grief, while 1997's The Colour and the Shape doubled as a rousingly hooky therapy session in the aftermath of his divorce. Taken together, the two records document Grohl's search for catharsis and balance amid painful destabilization, and they set the tone for a fruitful career that culminated in Foo Fighters' 2021 induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Now, 28 years after Foo Fighters' debut, the band has released its 11th album, But Here We Are — and once again found itself in mourning. Drummer Taylor Hawkins died unexpectedly in March 2022, leaving the band's future momentarily uncertain; then, in August of the same year, Grohl lost his mother, Virginia. The lyrics to Grohl's new songs suggest that she's an even greater presence — or, more to the point, absence — on the album than Hawkins. Grohl's words on But Here We Are ache with loss, even as they explode in full-bore rock mayhem, and that loss extends beyond the deaths of loved ones: They're songs about the loss of memory, the loss of comfort, the loss of the past, the loss of home. Once again, plumbing the depths of anguish has led to some of the most vital music of his career.
It's worth stopping here to push back against the pernicious myth of art stemming only from great misery, and to contemplate how much of Grohl's best work is also an extension of the deep community that's formed around him — which has, in recent years, extended to the occasional vocal contribution from his daughter Violet. But it's hard to miss, and it would be malpractice not to point out, the consistent ferocity and focus on display in But Here We Are. Grohl clearly understands that we honor departed loved ones by building new joys we wish they were around to share.
In that way, But Here We Are genuinely shines as a tribute to Hawkins. Though Foo Fighters' drummer will be replaced on tour by Josh Freese, Grohl returns to the kit throughout the new record, and he brings raw, instantly identifiable intensity to its 10 tracks. "Rescued" and "Under You" open But Here We Are with singles that seem to have emerged directly from an alternate-universe greatest-hits package — they're hard-driving career highlights that sound both timeless and utterly of the present — while "Nothing At All" and the title track ramp up those songs' aggression with choruses that kick up some of the finest frenzies of Foo Fighters' career.
Of course, for this band, riffs and reflection aren't mutually exclusive. For all its hard-driving abandon, "Under You" taps into a deep well of sentiment — "Someone said I'll never see your face again / Part of me just can't believe it's true / Pictures of us share sharing songs and cigarettes / This is how I'll always picture you" — as it contemplates grief as both a great weight and a process. Elsewhere, absences abound from every angle: "I been hearing voices / None of them are you," Grohl sings in "Hearing Voices," while the 10-minute epic "The Teacher" finds him pleading, "Show me how to grieve, man / Show me how to say goodbye." "Rest" closes But Here We Are on a true tearjerker, as he pledges a reunion "in the warm Virginia sun" — a reference to both his place of origin and the woman who raised him. And "The Glass" makes clear the stakes of his sorrow, as Grohl sings, "I had a version of home, and just like that, I was left to live without it."
Still, all the talk of death that pervades But Here We Are shouldn't overshadow what a truly formidable rock record it is — so catchy and vibrant, so brimming with wild-eyed wonder. It's heavy, in every sense of the word, but make no mistake: It'll still get stuck in your head for days. [Copyright 2023 NPR]
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Drama at Burien City Hall is about more than one city: Today So Far
- Drama erupted at a Burien City Council meeting this week as tempers flared over a tense issue. But this happens at a lot of council meetings in a lot of cities.
- Stranger things are happening in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood.
- Amazon employees walk out in protest of the company's return-to-office policy.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for June 1, 2023.
There were hopes that the Burien City Council meeting this week could have been "a productive one and collaborative one," because, "That would be a lovely and welcome change.” That's what Councilmember Cydney Moore said before public comment commenced. By the end of the meeting, someone had yelled, "Why don’t you shut the f%#& up?!” to the passionate council chambers.
For years, I couldn't watch the TV show "Parks and Rec," because while the public meeting segments were pure comedy for the average viewer, as a newspaper reporter, the show was all too real.
Of course, there is a big difference between sitcom city hall and reality city hall. The sitcom is designed for laughs and can be turned off after 30 minutes. In reality, the problems discussed at city hall are very real, and ongoing. And if you're in a town like Burien, such problems can be much bigger than your city, like homelessness. And that can just make passions more inflamed and bitter. If there is one thing that rings true for both sitcom and reality city hall, it's when Parks and Rec Deputy Director Leslie Knope states, "These people are members of the community that care about where they live, so what I hear when I'm being yelled at is people caring loudly at me."
The drama in Burien this week centers on an undeveloped city park, but to residents it's about much more — homelessness, mental health, crime, safety, and other issues woven tightly together, which our region can't seem to get a handle on. Read the full story here. In short, the nonprofit Burien C.A.R.E.S. wants to turn the space into a dog park, and has a lease with the city to do so. There's a problem with that plan — a homeless encampment is currently set up on the property. What to do? Some want to sweep the camp to make way for the lease, which brings up another problem. King County has said it won't help with any such sweep, and also, the sheriff's department (which Burien contracts with for its own police) won't help either.
At Burien City Hall this week, more than 30 people signed up to speak during time for public comment, and many were ready to boo, cheer, name call, curse, laugh, and more. Community members accused the city of leasing the property in the first place so Burien can keep its hands clean while someone else moves the tents away. This tense discussion was echoed on the dais. In the end, no decisions were made. The encampment was eventually swept by the nonprofit and private security. Burien has no shelters or other services for folks to move to.
A lot of the feelings in the council chambers that night didn't translate well over video of the meeting, and a lot of the crowd commentary wasn't captured on mic. A few folks described the "rage" in the room. Exchanges were heated, and tempers were running high. KUOW's Casey Martin was in the room that night. His full story can be read here.
It's important to note something here. Some folks commenting that night said they were embarrassed by how Burien looks amid this controversy, and rageful interactions at a city meeting. That's understandable, but here's the thing: Burien is not unique. This sort of passionate, bickering city meeting is very common. It can sometimes feel as if TV and reality are blending. You have the usual cast of characters at these meetings in every city. You'll get a Dwight Schrute who has a straightforward, yet unreasonable plan. Frasier Crane will deliver a verbose diatribe, blaming the council for every problem, current and past. Steve Urkel will show up with information nobody really understands. Jerry Seinfeld will grab the mic and only offer questions, asking, "What is the deal with this city?" Eventually, Archie Bunker will speak, and that will just send the meeting off the rails.
Back to reality. I've seen official meetings on seemingly boring issues transform into rants about going vegan, how the Fibonacci sequence can be used to predict the next financial crisis, or global warming conspiracy theories. And if you see a guitar show up at a public meeting, get ready to witness the next viral video happening live, before your eyes. I guarantee you, all of this happens at city meetings far and wide, including your own. It's not just about Burien. It's not about any city, really. It's more about us, and how we work through problems.
Blame it on social media, blame it on a sense of having no control, blame it on a lack of mindfulness, blame it on the rain. Whatever the cause, a lot of us have developed a bad habit of demonizing and yelling. As a result, city halls can get used as a form of catharsis. But this way of doing things is a lot like a rocking chair — getting angry at your neighbors may give you something to do, but it won't take you anywhere. The problems persist in the meantime. There are still folks experiencing homelessness in Burien, and there is a lack of answers. Actually going somewhere takes hard work, harder than stuffing all your comments into a single minute at a council meeting. It takes working together.
“I’m pretty disappointed because I feel like it’s a whole lot of nothing burger,” Councilmember Moore said after meeting was over. “At this time, the city is not choosing to take any particular action in terms of where people can go, what the next steps are, how we can keep people safe, or housed, or sheltered.”
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Seattle employer can sue workers over 2017 strike, U.S. Supreme Court rules
The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday that a Seattle company has the right to sue the union representing its employees for damages arising from a 2017 strike. The company, Glacier NW, sued the Teamsters Local 174 after drivers walked off the job with concrete still spinning in their trucks.
Typically, disputes like this would be adjudicated by the National Labor Relations Board, but the new ruling allows the lawsuit to move forward through the courts. Unions fear the ruling paves the way for employers to sue whenever they lose money due to a strike, which is often the objective of workers seeking to gain leverage in negotiations.
The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of Glacier NW, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting. The ruling overturns a decision by the Washington State Supreme Court, which initially sided with the Teamsters. Glacier NW appealed that decision, claiming the right to strike does not apply if the union didn’t take sufficient precautions to protect the equipment from “imminent danger.”
“The Union’s choice to call a strike after its drivers had loaded a large amount of wet concrete into Glacier’s delivery trucks strongly suggests that it failed to take reasonable precautions to avoid foreseeable, aggravated, and imminent harm to Glacier’s property,” the justices said in their ruling.
Teamsters says drivers did make an effort to protect the trucks by leaving the mixers rotating.
Labor groups condemned the ruling on Thursday, claiming it hamstrings a critical tool in the organizing toolkit.
“The ability to strike has been on the books for nearly 100 years, and it’s no coincidence that this ruling is coming at a time when workers across the country are fed up and exercising their rights more and more,” said Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien in a statement. “Make no mistake — this ruling has everything to do with giving companies more power to hobble workers if any attempt is made to fight back against a growing system of corruption.”
Update notice, Thursday, 6/1/2023: A previous version of this story reported MLK Labor, which represents more than 150 unions throughout King County would hold a press conference at Glacier NW to discuss the ruling. However, KUOW learned that the press conference will no longer take place.
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Researchers tackle asthma hotspot: Seattle’s Duwamish Valley
Where air pollution goes, asthma is likely to follow.
Seattle’s Duwamish Valley has some of the worst air pollution in Western Washington. The valley also has twice the poverty rate of Seattle and is mostly people of color.
People living in the 98108, the ZIP code that includes the Duwamish Valley and Beacon Hill, are nearly four times more likely to end up in the hospital with asthma than King County residents overall, according to University of Washington epidemiologist Anjum Hajat.
“There are tremendous inequities in terms of asthma and many other health outcomes,” Hajat said.
Researchers from the University of Washington and the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition hope to lower the valley’s exceptional rates of childhood asthma.
They’re giving 80 Duwamish Valley families low-cost box fans with air filters attached to clean up their indoor air.
They’ll study how the children’s health in those families changes, even as trucks, trains, and planes still pollute the air outside.
They want to see how well this low-cost approach to pollution can help kids breathe easier.
“What really impacts our air quality here more than anything else is transportation emissions, specifically diesel emissions from port activities,” said Christian Poulsen with the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition.
The valley’s Georgetown and South Park communities sit between the cargo-handling docks of the Port of Seattle and King County International Airport.
The project will monitor indoor and outdoor air quality and support an advocacy team to identify the most effective ways to achieve cleaner air and healthier children along the Duwamish.
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Is Seattle still 'weird'? Today So Far
Is the Northwest weird? Is Seattle weird? Should we even be using the word "weird" so much?
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for May 31, 2023.
There has been a notion that our region is "weird." For example, in the 1996 documentary "Hype!" about the explosion of Seattle music into the mainstream, one person credits the unique sound to the weirdness that was so potent throughout the Northwest. This regional weird was promoted in pop culture, such as "Twin Peaks" or even "Northern Exposure." Growing up around here, embracing this weird was a form of pride.
As we've all found out over the past few weeks, KUOW's Bill Radke has an obsession with words. He's pushed back against the overuse of "legendary" or "dive bar," for example. This week, Radke explains his disdain for "weird." He has even banned the word in his own home.
"I tell my kids to avoid the word 'weird' because I tell them that it doesn't describe whatever it is we are talking about, it just says they are having a reaction, and we are better off naming our reactions, and exploring our reactions ... So I move that nothing is weird, we banish the word," Radke explained on the most recent "Words in Review."
Erik Davis is author of "High Weirdness," which is about drugs. In a way, he specializes in weird, and overall, embraces it. "I think every place gets its own weirdness," Davis said.
"I write about California weirdness probably because I'm a Californian ... there's a certain inflection up there (in the Northwest). The woods are darker and gloomier, and there is perhaps more of a funky, magical mushroom energy permeating in the Pacific Northwest."
"[Weird] is kind of a wastebasket word," he adds. "We put things that we don't really know what else to say about. While that sometimes is a meaningless dodge, or a way of not articulating our feelings to ourselves, or not describing exactly what might be peculiar or unusual about the thing we are talking about, the fact we are relying on 'weird' also tells us something about weirdness in our lives and what we do with things that don't really fit."
Davis notes that if you pull out everything we put in that weird wastebasket, they might not relate. An uncomfortable interaction could be weird, so can a bizarre movie, or a spooky dream, or an unusual flavor. Weird is a category unto itself, with a diverse range of meanings, he argues.
"It lets us see something about reality that no other word really does," Davis said. "It's one of those words where you have to unpack it a little bit, but 'things that don't quite fit' is probably the best way to put it simply."
I've always felt that humans evolved to seek out patterns, normalcy. It's a way to survive. That "weird" sound in the bushes could be a giant animal coming to eat you, so knowing patterns (normalcy) and also things that stand out, have been important to us over our evolution. To me, weird is something that doesn't fit into a pattern. It can eventually become "normal" and fit in. And not fitting a pattern doesn't make something bad, it's just something that stands out. When Seattle music started making an impression in the 1980s and 1990s, it didn't fit the pattern the music industry had established, so it stood out. That was a good weird.
I would argue that Seattle is not weird. It once was, but that weird character has faded over the years. We still have the gum wall, and Archie McPhee (thank goodness!), but Seattle is more of the same these days — same buildings, same problems, same bumper stickers, same Teslas if you live in Ravenna. And what was once deemed weird is now just wearing socks with sandals as if that's just normal.
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Federal judge ‘extremely skeptical’ that SPD could soon exit consent decree
A federal judge is still considering how much longer the Seattle Police Department should remain under his oversight. At a hearing Tuesday, Judge James Robart asked wide-ranging questions but did not rule on a joint motion by the U.S. Justice Department and the city of Seattle to find SPD largely in compliance with a consent decree in place since 2012.
Robart did say he is “extremely skeptical” that Seattle could complete remaining milestones in the consent decree by the end of 2023. Attorneys agreed that the timeline was “ambitious.”
Robart said he is “immensely proud” of the police department's strides under the consent decree, including improved supervision, data collection, “revamped” training, and reducing its use of force by 60% since federal oversight began a decade ago.
But he noted that fatal police encounters, while few, have remained relatively stable during that time.
Harriett Walden, founder of Mothers for Police Accountability, said that statistic has been a disappointment to many community members who advocated for the consent decree after the fatal police shooting of First Nations woodcarver John T. Williams in 2010.
“If you don’t ask the right questions you don’t get the right answers and for us, accountability meant that the shootings would go down,” Walden said.
Kerala Cowart, an attorney for the city of Seattle, told the court that police shootings are so rare that it’s hard to draw statistically significant conclusions about them. She said the agency had three fatal police shootings in 2021, and four in 2022.
She said those shootings are rigorously investigated, and pointed to a new training for Seattle police on how to respond to people carrying knives as an example of how the department continues to try to resolve dangerous situations safely.
The proposed motion calls for continued oversight of the police department's crowd management policies and its accountability system for officers who commit misconduct.
Robart also said he’s concerned about racial disparities in police stops, and about whether ongoing contract negotiations with the Seattle Police Officers Guild, or SPOG, could undercut the accountability system.
Walden also co-chairs the Community Police Commission, which supports returning police oversight to local officials and community members. She said she found Robart’s comments encouraging.
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Who likes a hotter climate? Northwest mosquitoes
A warming climate has meant better conditions for mosquitoes in much of the Northwest.
A report from the nonprofit Climate Central says mosquito season is now 32 days longer in Seattle than it was 40 years ago.
The season with sufficient warmth and humidity for mosquitoes has grown two weeks longer in Portland and Eugene.
The group analyzed temperature and humidity record at 242 locations in the United States between 1979 and 2022. In nearly three-fourths of the studied locations, mosquito season — with temperatures between 50 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity of at least 42% — increased over that period. In only one-fourth of locations, mostly in the South, where temperatures often exceed 95 degrees, did mosquito season shrink.
“With changing climate, there's winners and losers, and a lot of pest species are winners,” said Aimee Code, who directs the pesticide program at the Portland-based Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. “The warmer the weather, the faster they reproduce.”
Shifting away from the fossil fuels that are heating the planet’s climate would be the surefire way to make the Northwest less amenable to mosquitoes again.
Until that happens, there are ways to fight back against nature’s buzzing bloodsuckers, and they don’t have to involve harmful pesticides.
“These mosquitoes, they're terrible fliers,” Code said. “Just put out a box fan — you don't need to introduce a chemical into the mix.”
A box fan may blow a nuisance into someone else’s yard, but Code says the first line of defense needs to focus on mosquitoes before they are able to fly. Young mosquitoes hatch after 4 to 7 days from stagnant bodies of water, as small as half an inch of water in a soup can left out in the rain.
“Go out there and find that stagnant water that you can dump to avoid those mosquitoes even getting a hold,” Code said.
Code says insecticide spraying and electric bug-zappers are ineffective, since they only kill adults, and they can kill many beneficial insects, from butterflies to honeybees, as well.
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Stranger Things experience turns Seattle upside down
Turns out, I have super powers. You might have them, too. That's what "Stranger Things: The Experience" aims to find out while in Seattle over the summer of 2023 ... or is it 1986?
"Stranger Things: The Experience" is Netflix's in-person, immersive event for fans of its popular show. It has set up in a SoDo warehouse to offer part live-action-role-play, part theater, part photo op, and part 1980s mall complete with a Scoops Ahoy and a Surfer Boy Pizza (there is a full menu).
"'Stranger Things: The Experience' is interactive, it’s immersive theater, there are actors, there are characters, there is 3D," said Isis Arias, marketing for live experiences at Netflix.
“We developed this story line with the Duffer brothers, unique to this experience," Arias said. "If you walk through it, you’ll notice there are aspects from every single season, but with the release of this around season 4, we worked with the Duffer brothers to develop something that would put fans at the center of the adventure and allow them to feel like they have walked into an episode.”
RELATED: Oh. My. Gawd! FRIENDS Experience lands in downtown Seattle
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A fresh effort for an old idea to split up the Northwest: Today So Far
The Greater Idaho movement has garnered a lot of headlines in recent months. It's a fresh effort based on a very old argument, and it faces a lot of challenges.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for May 26, 2023.
The "Greater Idaho" movement is the latest effort in the Northwest to promote that people would be better off by making things more the same, and avoiding our differences. The idea here is to move the border between eastern Oregon and Idaho to the Cascades. This means that eastern Oregon would become part of Idaho. As I've pointed out here before, the resulting map of Idaho would resemble a giant middle finger.
According to “Greater Idaho” spokesman Matt McCaw, there is a logic behind the idea. Eastern Oregon, "Votes like Idaho, lives their lives like Idaho, would prefer to have the state governance of the state of Idaho." McCaw recently told Soundside that there is also the classic argument that has divided the USA since its inception — rural versus urban. Lifestyles are just different between the two, but there are far more people, aka voters, in the cities.
"The west side of Oregon votes very Democratically, left leaning, it's more urban, wealthier, it's less agricultural," McCaw said. "The east side of the state is conservative, rual, has a different economy, votes differently .... Oregon has one major urban area, that is the Portland metro area. That Portland metro area has 2 million people. So whatever the Portland metro area decides, gets implemented across the state and there is nothing eastern Oregonians can do about it. Even if that is not at all what they want for their communities. Even if they vote overwhelmingly against whatever policies are being enacted. They simply don't have the numbers to overcome the other side of the state."
Putting issues aside, you have to admit that scenario would make any person feel quite powerless. Perhaps it's easy for me to comment on news like this, because I live on the side of the mountains that generally gets what it wants. Of course, there are issues at play among all this, and they are hot button ones. There was a move to lower drug possession crimes to a civil citation in Oregon. The east side wasn't for it, the west side voted it through. There was also a gun control measure that the east side didn't favor, but the west side outvoted them again.
The border move also appeals to some in Idaho, because Oregon has legalized cannabis. Some Idaho lawmakers appear to associate pot with the problems of harder drugs like opiates and meth. By moving the Oregon border, many feel it would move the availability of Oregon's cannabis farther away from its largest city, Boise (clearly, these Idaho lawmakers were never any fun at any college party they attended).
"Self-determination matters," McCaw said. "Where that state line is right now between Oregon and Idaho, doesn't make sense and is causing more problems than it's solving. We can move it, solve problems, lower political tension, and get good outcomes."
It sounds sensational, intriguing, and worth plenty of clicks. But this sort of reaction is not uncommon and efforts to split up, break away, move borders, or secede have popped up in the Northwest since the 1800s. There's the state of Jefferson idea that aimed to make a new state out of southwest Oregon and northwest California. There have been pushes for a state of Lincoln, to be carved out of eastern Washington and the Idaho panhandle. In 1937, a representative from Clark County wanted to make King County its own state, using an urban versus rural argument. There was also an effort in the 1990s to split off eastern King County into a new "Cedar County." Again, the foundation was an urban versus rural debate.
In 2016, a group of supporters for a new nation called Cascadia met in Seattle. That country would be formed by combining Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Around the same time, in the wake of Donald Trump's election, there was an effort to put the option of Oregon seceding from the United States up for a vote.
Then you have the state of Liberty, promoted by former state lawmaker Matt Shea. This idea to form a theocracy, er, I mean, a new state, would split eastern and western Washington. After Shea allegedly dabbled in domestic terrorism, and left office, other state Republicans took over the idea in Olympia.
In fact, historian Feliks Banel once noted that folks have attempted to carve out new states or move borders throughout the Northwest about 20 times between 1896 and 2019, mostly having to do with the states of Lincoln or Liberty. None have gotten far. Likely because it's quite a tall order. In short, you'd have to convince locals that they want it. Then the state Legislature has to vote in favor (two state Legislatures if you're dealing with two states). Then Congress has to sign off on the whole plan.
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45 candidates are running for Seattle City Council. Who are they and what do they stand for?
The stage is set for the Seattle City Council races later this year.
The primaries will be held in August. The top two vote-getters in each district will advance to the general election in November.
Forty-five candidates are running across the city’s seven districts, including three incumbents.
KUOW’s politics editor Cat Smith has been talking to the candidates since last week’s filing deadline. She joined Morning Edition host Angela King to talk about some of the key issues and races so far.
The Candidates
Broadly speaking, the majority of the candidates, about three-quarters, are first-time contenders.
They're majority white, majority male and generally agree on the top campaign issues: homelessness, housing and public safety.
Five candidates say they have either been homeless or experienced housing insecurity (Margaret Elisabeth, District 2; Ry Armstrong, District 3; Andrew Ashiofu, District 3; George Artem, District 4; ChrisTiana ObeySumner, District 5), and several others currently work in a role — in the legal system, advocacy or mutual aid — that brings them into direct contact with people who are experiencing those issues today.
On the whole, these candidates are generally leaning more left of center.
The Issues
Voters won't be surprised to hear that homelessness and housing are among the candidates' top concerns. Nor will they wonder why public safety is on that list.
However, what might be surprising this year is the general tone of the public safety debate.
It's been a hot-button issue in the Seattle area for years, but it really took center stage after the murder of George Floyd. May 24 was the three-year anniversary of his death. The outcry that resulted from his killing led to the "defund" movement, a message of pulling police funding that was picked up by some Seattle officials, including members of the City Council.
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Small business factor in the Seattle City Council race: Today So Far
- There are 45 people running for Seattle City Council. One initial takeaway: There's a handful of candidates from corners of business.
- The Forward Party welcomes Nirvana's Krist Novoselic to its board. Also, Chris Vance leaves the emerging third party.
- Seattle considers new rules for delivery app companies.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for May 25, 2023.
There are 45 people officially running for Seattle City Council in the upcoming election. It's a lot. But as KUOW's David Hyde points out, "a lot" can be relative. There were 55 candidates in 2019, which is the last time Seattle had seven council seats up for a vote.
Seattle voters approved the city's democracy voucher program in 2015. It was first used in 2017. It's a way to provide public financing for elections with the aim of encouraging candidates who normally wouldn't have access to big donors (this year, there is $5.25 million in available democracy vouchers). After that, a lot more candidates started showing up. It seems that, this year at least, the candidate count has dipped. The deadline for candidates to file was last Friday.
Hyde notes that one potential reason behind the lower number of candidates this year is the "increasingly toxic atmosphere in Seattle politics." Four out of the seven open seats have no incumbents. Council President Debora Juarez told The Seattle Times that, “I’m not seen as a person by some people and it’s not safe for me or my family." She is not running for re-election.
Still, one could assume that Seattle's democracy vouchers are having an influence. At least, they're favored by a majority of candidates — 36 candidates (out of the total 45) are listed as participating in the democracy voucher program, so far.
While chatting on Bill Radke's "Week in Review" last Friday, I made one observation, despite it being quite early to make such a statement, but it's only become more clear since then. A fair number of candidates from corners of Seattle's business community are popping up, including two cannabis entrepreneurs in District 3 alone.
- Stephen Brown is running for District 1. He's owner of Eltana Bagels and says his "career has been spent founding and running companies."
- Tanya Woo is running in District 2, and is a known figure among the business community in the CID.
- Joy Hollingsworth is running in District 3. She works at Hollingsworth Farms, her family's cannabis business.
- Alex Cooley in District 3 founded Solstice, a cannabis company.
- Ken Wilson in District 4 is a small business owner and engineer.
- Pete Hanning in District 6 is the former owner of Fremont's Red Door, and is currently the executive director of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. He's also worked with the Seattle Restaurant Alliance, Washington Restaurant/Hospitality Association, and the Seattle Nightlife & Music Association.
- Jon Lisbin in District 6 built and sold an ad agency in Seattle. He also served on the board of Seattle Entrepreneur Network.
- Victoria Palmer in District 6 is a personal organizer.
- Olga Sagan in District 7 is owner of Seattle's Piroshky Piroshky restaurants.
Then there are what I call "business adjacent" candidates. They're in the business scene, have previously run businesses, are consultants, etc. Like Shea Wilson (District 7), an attorney who helps with business formation, and buying/selling businesses. ChrisTiana Obeysumner (District 5) is the consultant behind Epiphanies of Equity LLC. Maren Costa (District 1) is an advisor for startups, and has worked in a leading role at some of the area's big tech companies (Microsoft, Adobe, Amazon). And Phil Tavel (District 1) who previously ran a business in Pioneer Square, describes himself as an entrepreneur, but primary works as an attorney.
Add that up and that's 13 candidates, about 29% of the field.
In other politics news, have you heard much about the Forward Party? The emerging third-party effort has lost its initial local leader, but has added some Seattle music royalty to its ranks at the same time.
You may recall Andrew Yang as a Democratic hopeful in the 2020 presidential primary. Since then, he's started a movement to develop a third party, mostly filled with folks who don't like the sensationalism, extremes, and general Sharks vs Jets mentality of the two main political parties. The third option he, and a range of other organizers, are offering is the Forward Party.
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Vance out, Novoselic in: Forward Party gets Washington state switch up
Chris Vance says he has stepped down as a Washington state lead for the Forward Party, a third-party effort with emerging branches across the United States. At the same time, the party says it has welcomed Nirvana's Krist Novoselic to its national board.
You may recall Andrew Yang as a Democratic hopeful in the 2020 presidential primary. Since then, he's started a movement to develop a third party, mostly filled with folks who don't like the sensationalism, extremes, and general "Sharks vs Jets" mentality of the two main political parties. The third option that he, and a range of other organizers, are offering is the Forward Party.
They have been setting up state level branches in recent months. Washington has one of its own. Yang was in town this month for a Forward event. A scroll through the party's recent social media posts features a range of volunteers and leaders who are signed on locally.
One name that may sound familiar to Washingtonians is Chris Vance, former King County and state lawmaker, and former chair of the state GOP. He left the Republican Party and has run unsuccessfully as an independent ever since. Vance has called for a more moderate third party over the past few years.
Vance says he was signed on as the Washington state lead for the Forward Party, but recently announced, "I am sorry to say that I just resigned from the Forward Party and am once again politically homeless."
In a tweet, Vance says that he was expecting a Forward Party convention in 2023, and a new party platform, which isn't happening. Not having a strict platform has sort of been the Forward Party's schtick since day one. Vance doesn't think it will work.
Around the time of Vance's exit, Yang welcomed Nirvana band member Krist Novoselic to the Forward Party.
“The only way you do anything is to become really active,” Novoselic said in a statement to Forward Party members.
In an email to supporters, Yang noted that Novoselic is former chair of his county's Democratic Party, and has a history of political activism in Washington. He is now joining the national board of the Forward Party.
"I've been in touch with Krist for a number of months, but our first meeting was last month in Seattle.... He joined me in speaking to the Washington Forward Party, and agreed to join our efforts after meeting the local activists and volunteers in the state," Yang wrote.
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