August primary results appear to show Seattle voters doubling down on far-left policies. (George: insurance, crime rates)

[rjshae]

Originally Posted by primaltech

One the whole law enforcement thing, I see the horrible George Floyd incident as an example of the other extreme of it, and the old status quo. There needs to be reform, when looking from that angle. I'd have to hear out the full case of what abolishing the police would actually look like. You definitely need to have laws and enforcement of those laws. Public safety is paramount. Reform and change is also needed.

Yes, I'm skeptical because our past is littered with the ruins of political experiments that are not based on solid empirical results. We already know that normal law enforcement works the vast majority of time. It is incumbent upon those pushing for reform to demonstrate that the new approach is better. We don't need "reform" to allow criminals to run rampant. Likewise, creating more specialized response to police calls means a longer wait because on average the specialists have to travel further and are more likely to already be engaged. Is that a good thing? Probably not.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by t. raleigh fingers

Her handling of the CHOP/CHAZ was abysmal.

I'm liberal and I totally agree. I walked thru there a few times, and while it was mostly peaceful (as opposed to how Tucker Carlson portrayed it), it was a filthy homeless camp thing. Sad because it started out as a serious anti- police brutality protest that I agreed with, then... devolved, into whatever that was.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by t. raleigh fingers

Conservative talk host Ari Hoffman, who once ran for city council and lives in Seattle, was intently pushing for Davison. You may be right about the turnout factor; I don't know. But the two far-left candidates (Pete and Nicole) got a combined 67%, while moderate Davison got 32%. That seems like a pretty overwhelming hurdle for her to overcome.

Not if the turnout doubles in the general. The "progressives" may have shot their wad, without as much more turnout left to get out, than in the middle. Davison and Nelson, although not Harrell, were fighting for name-recognition and breathing-room. This primary was like a battle-royal, where people team up to throw others over the ropes, until only two are left standing. Concerns about drugs, crime, and lawless homeless encampments doesn't make you into a gun-toting, law-n-order, lock'em up "conservative".

Davison: “That’s where I find myself, simply because the area to the Left has gotten smaller, and to me, the area on the Right has gotten more welcoming, because we’re really wanting to talk about everyone in the middle,” she said.

[xPlorer48]

I am hoping you vote for a more moderate government Seattle voters. I live in Whatcom County and Seattle/King County has a bigger influence on our way of life. Many of you are moving here and bringing your politics. Even though I don’t live there, my grandmother was born there at the turn of the last century and her family moved there before Washington became a state.

I just read a heartfelt post on ND about the homeless invading their neighborhood. The LEO and Public Works removed the homeless’s belongings but left the garbage including their bathroom area for the neighbors to clean up. They are faced with thousands of dollars in cleanup costs. They were told that if they left garbage bags on the street, they would be fined.

So Seattle, I hope you get serious about your homeless epidemic and your lax law enforcement. Whither goes Seattle, goes the rest of the Puget Sound/Salish Sea area.

[leastprime]

Any one willing to pay for mental health or penal facilities? I am but are you?

[southking500]

The usual pattern in recent Seattle elections is a far left and far-far left candidate finish first and second in the primary edging out any center-left candidates. This allows the far left candidate to run as a moderate in the general election.
The fact that center-left candidates such as Bruce Harrell and Ann Davis survived the primary seems to indicate a shifting of political winds. One can only hope.

[rjshae]

Probably time to consider electoral reform. Either approval voting or ranked-choice voting.

Alternative Voting Systems

This will provide a more rational choice for voters.

[jabogitlu]

This isn't any different than where I grew up, just on the opposite end of the spectrum. In Tennessee, an absolute ****in wingnut crazy conservative will run, and then if you're lucky a center-right politician will run.

Shrug. It's just how politics are. People aren't wringing their hands about the situation in conservative states.

[jertheber]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

This isn't any different than where I grew up, just on the opposite end of the spectrum. In Tennessee, an absolute ****in wingnut crazy conservative will run, and then if you're lucky a center-right politician will run.

Shrug. It's just how politics are. People aren't wringing their hands about the situation in conservative states.

The so called "leftists" in Seattle government are, at day's end, just politicians. Left, right, center, it doesn't seem to matter to the politicians which way the political wind blows as long as they can win the election. The more valid question isn't about which flavor of BS'er we elect, but moreover, why we have any faith in politicians at all.

Seattle is a young demographic of liberal thinkers, so of course most will vote for those who support liberal policy, and, the conservative element in the city will wring their hands while offering up "alternatives" to a fair election. To think that conservative or liberal politicians can rid the city of undesirables, lower taxes, hire thousands of new police officers, bring in tens of thousands of new jobs, fix the transit system, etc. is simply delusional thinking. No matter which party is in power, we seem to be living with the same troubles.

I see a future wherein the true believers in conservative thought will move to Mississippi while Washington state's liberal population continues to grow. Will the liberal leadership fix all the ills in Seattle? No, they won't, and the state of Mississippi will remain in it's failed condition, a conservative stronghold of poverty, crime, poor schools etc. Politics has become part of the problem, and embarrassingly short on solutions, we need to align ourselves on the basis of common interest not party affiliation. We need to see the holes in poor thinking demonstrated by both leftists and the right, and most of all, we need to start listening to each other instead of listening to the voices on the far left or the far right.

[jabogitlu]

I agree. I'd much rather see the Puget Sound return to a bastion of pragmatism, rather than a hotbed of shrill and hysterical politics. It's difficult to maintain that course with folks like Tim Eyman and Kshama Sawant.