As previewed here Wednesday morning, an Admiral Neighborhood Association delegation took the mike at last night’s 34th District Democrats meeting to make a pitch to Mayor Mike McGinn, City Council President Richard Conlin, and Councilmember Bruce Harrell: Make the 47th/Admiral intersection safer with a pedestrian-activated street light. Our clip shows ANA president Katy Walum making the pitch (applauded by the 34th DDs) and the mayor’s reply – which boiled down to, he needs to ask SDOT what they think. Just a few hours earlier, it turns out, Walum had received some new information from SDOT:
She forwarded us a Wednesday afternoon note from SDOT’s Luke Korpi, who wrote that the department “will be conducting another study for a pedestrian signal at Admiral Way at 47th Ave SW. This will probably be completed in about two to three months.”
As for the 34th DDs – we’ve got another story in the works, focusing on the rest of the group’s hour-plus discussion with the mayor and councilmembers – topics ranged from the Viaduct/Tunnel situation to whether the city will step up to fund the White Center Food Bank for the work it does on behalf of in-city residents.
7:31 PM: That’s Mayor Mike McGinn at the South Park businesses-coping-with-bridge-closure meeting – one of four events we’re covering right now. One of the others is the 34th District Democrats’ meeting in Fauntleroy, where the mayor is expected to arrive within the next hour. We’ll add any big news that emerges – with full stories to come later. 8:43 PM UPDATE: 34th DDs is a great meeting so far. But the big news – the Molly Moon’s Ice Cream truck, which tweeted earlier that it was thinking of coming to West Seattle tonight, has turned up OUTSIDE The Hall at Fauntleroy – and the 100+ people in here are suddenly distracted! 8:49 PM: After a brief discussion of the previous point, the Admiral Neighborhood Association leadership asked their question about the 47th/Admiral stoplight request. The mayor said he’s not prepared to answer that question but will check with SDOT. Councilmember Bruce Harrell, who is also here, as is Council President Richard Conlin, says he’d like to know more, but it belongs with Councilmember Tom Rasmussen‘s committee (Transportation). Conlin says, “We must be more creative, innovative and responsive in dealing with neighborhoods on these issues.” 10:09 PM: Meeting ended about half an hour ago. Full story to come, as well as separate coverage of the Triangle, Water Taxi and South Park meetings.
The list of city-government luminaries who are coming to West Seattle soon just got longer. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s next meeting – one week from tonight – now has City Attorney Pete Holmes on the agenda. (More on the WSCPC site.) And as noted earlier, Mayor Mike McGinn and Council President Richard Conlin are on the agenda for tomorrow night’s 34th District Democrats meeting, along with Councilmember Bruce Harrell. After that, Conlin, Harrell and Councilmember Mike O’Brien return to West Seattle next week, for a special evening joint meeting of two council committees (handling energy, technology, utilities, and neighborhoods). The agenda’s not online for that meeting yet but it’s at Chief Sealth/Boren on Thursday, June 17th, starting with a resource fair at 5 pm, followed by the committee meeting at 6, public comment at 7.
Monday was the first day of the official “filing week” for anyone who wants to be on the August 17th primary-election ballot. Candidates have been able to postal-mail their forms since May 21st, but online and in-person filing didn’t open till this morning. For the West Seattle (and surrounding areas)-specific races, here’s who’s filed so far: In the 34th Legislative District (map), Rep. Sharon Nelson has filed for State Senate, listing her affiliation as “Prefers Democrat Party”; for the State House Position 2 spot she’s leaving, Marcee Stone and Mike Heavey (who tweeted a photo of his online-filing moment) both filed Monday, both listing their affiliation as “Prefers Democratic Party.” (Remember, we’re in the “Top Two” primary mode now, meaning the top two vote-getters in each race advance to the Nov. 2 general election, regardless of affiliation.) The state list of “who’s filed so far” can be seen here; the King County list is here – no filings yet for the County Council District 8 seat, though at least three people have said they intend to run. We’ll update the filings nightly as the week goes on; you can also expect to hear more about this year’s elections at Wednesday night’s meeting of our area’s biggest political group, the 34th District Democrats (whose endorsements are here), 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy, with the agenda so far including Mayor Mike McGinn, Council President Richard Conlin, and Councilmember Bruce Harrell.
Tomorrow morning’s presidential Town Hall addressing health reform and seniors will be viewed at senior-serving facilities across the country, including Providence Mount St. Vincent here in West Seattle. The Mount’s Arlene Carter sends word that Susan Johnson, the Health and Human Services regional director for Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho, will be at the Mount for the event, starting at 8 tomorrow morning. The National Council on Aging is sponsoring “satellite town halls” like the one in WS to try to get questions answered about health-reform changes. (If you can’t get to The Mount, the event itself, led by President Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from a Maryland senior center, will be streamed on whitehouse.gov and healthreform.gov, 8:15 am-9:45 am our time tomorrow.)
Now, there are three declared candidates campaigning for King County Council District 8, the seat currently held by Councilmember Jan Drago — appointed to fill the vacancy after Dow Constantinewas elected County Executive, but not running to keep the job. The latest is West Seattleite Diana Toledo – read on for her announcement:Read More
Much symbolic breath is being held citywide to see what will be cut/closed/etc. when the city announces midyear budget cuts, requested by Mayor McGinn after it became clear this year’s budget needed some adjusting. The Parks Department is being watched most closely, after months of rumors swirling regarding all sorts of possible cuts. At one point, Parks expected news on or around June 1st; then, as we reported from last week’s Parks Board meeting, the acting deputy superintendent thought not before June 5-6; we checked with Parks communications today and they were looking toward June 4; a subsequent check with the mayor’s office revealed there’s no indication yet the news will come that soon, so we may not hear for at least another week. Therefore, today’s bottom line seems to be – we’ll find out, when we find out. (PubliCola reported last night that they are hearing the cuts “may not be as devastating” as feared.)
Sharp differences, and occasionally sharp words, between three of the candidates running for 34th District State House Position 2 – Joe Fitzgibbon, “Mac” McElroy, and Marcee Stone – at a midday campaign forum on theSouth Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) forum today. Fitzgibbon made a repeated point that he’s young; Stone countered that age doesn’t matter, but made a point of her gender; McElroy’s main point was that he’s not “the status quo.” The fourth candidate in the race, Mike Heavey, sent his campaign manager to read a statement and to apologize that Heavey couldn’t make it because he was prohibited from campaigning while on the clock for his King County job (assisting Councilmember Jan Drago). Even if higher education isn’t at the top of your interest list in deciding who to vote for as successor to State Rep. Sharon Nelson (who’s running thus-far-unopposed for State Senate), some of the discussion might prove instructive – read on for details:Read More
The headline on the “media advisory” e-mail we received was initially a little jarring: “Healthy Schools for Washington to Launch Referendum 52 Campaign at aging, run down building housing Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle” – after all, Chief Sealth International High School‘s permanent campus is currently undergoing millions of dollars in renovations. Turns out, they’re talking about the Boren building that Sealth has called home for the past 2 school years; so, if you see a bit of a media hubbub outside Boren/Sealth at 3 pm tomorrow, this is what it’s about: The campaign kickoff for R-52, described as “a November ballot measure that will create $505 million in bonding capacity to repair aging, dilapidated school buildings across Washington State”; the advisory says Boren is among them. We’ll be at the media event tomorrow; the advisory points to a website where it says more info is available, but as of right this moment, that site’s not up yet (www.healthyschoolsforwa.org). The state website doesn’t have info at the moment either, but via Sightline, we find that this is your chance to vote yay or nay on a bill passed by the Legislature last year. Sightline’s analysis frames it more as energy retrofitting for school buidings, rather than repairs.
Late last week, various citywide-news outlets reported the future was uncertain for County Executive Dow Constantine‘s proposal to raise the sales tax to avoid cuts in criminal-justice services. Today, there’s a new proposal, this time from the King County Council – involving property taxes. It would ask voters to reduce four existing levies and approve a new one specifically to pay for criminal-justice programs. Five council members are listed as sponsors, including Councilmember Jan Drago, who represents West Seattle; you can read the full proposal here. Read on for the official county news release:Read More
(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli)
Snapshots from West Seattle Democratic Women‘s “Rubbing Elbows” event Thursday night at Woodside/Braseth Gallery(co-owned by West Seattleite John Braseth) downtown, as many of the invited dignitaries took time out to share their thoughts about the group’s work: State Sen. and County Council candidate Joe McDermott is shown above with WSDW’s Karen Chilcutt and Carol Frillman, plus Rep. Eileen Cody, and Rep. Sharon Nelson. He said of the WSDW: “In so many places in the community they’re really engaging and at the same time carrying on great conversations, amongst themselves and throughout the community, about what Democratic values mean.” Next, from the legislator who hopes to succeed McDermott in the Senate:
Rep. and State Senate candidate Sharon Nelson said: “When we’re down in Olympia, it is really easy just to listen to the lobbyists and to have a different perspective. But coming home when you’re really seeing an organization that helps poor families, working families, and food banks….staffing the White Center Food Bank one night a month… I really appreciate everything this group does and the fact that their values are really reflected in their work.”
West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen joked that, since the WSDW were fundraising for worthy causes, he wondered if maybe they could also pass the hat for the South Park Bridge. And his fellow Councilmember Sally Clark jokingly jumped with “pass the hat” as some members of the audience suggested a bake sale. What Clark (and others) had to say – and more photos – after the jump:Read More
A new entrant today in the 8th District race for King County Council, a position to which Councilmember Jan Drago was appointed last year but has said she won’t run for. Normandy Park Councilmember Shawn McEvoy is now in the running against previously declared candidate State Sen. Joe McDermott. Read on for McEvoy’s announcement:Read More
(video highlights added to the end of this story early Thursday) Right now at The Hall at Fauntleroy, our area’s biggest political group, the 34th District Democrats, have just started their regular meeting, after a special event – campaign kickoff for State Sen. Joe McDermott‘s King County Council run; he thanked the crowd for their support. He and his fellow 34th District legislators, Reps. Eileen Cody and Sharon Nelson, are scheduled to provide a legislative update during the meeting; the 34th DDs also are scheduled to make one or more endorsements from among the three Democrats running for Rep. Nelson’s seat (she’s running, unopposed so far, for McDermott’s Senate seat). We’ll provide in-progress updates as news happens.
7:25 PM UPDATE: News just happened. One of the three candidates, Mike Heavey, has just withdrawn from the race. The room was clearly shocked – our reporter there says there was an audible gasp. 7:42 PM UPDATE: We talked to Heavey for clarification. He is **NOT** dropping out of the race – but is withdrawing from the endorsement process that’s under way at the meeting right now.
(Photo by Dina Johnson, added Wednesday) 7:47 PM UPDATE: Results of the endorsement vote – Marcee Stone (above) gets the 34th DDs’ members’ endorsement, with 65% of the 120+ votes cast, double what Joe Fitzgibbon received. PCOs are taking a separate vote. 9:04 PM: The meeting’s over. Stone also won the PCO vote, which translates to the party’s official nomination. We’ll add a bit more about the meeting later, including video highlights. 1:37 AM THURSDAY: Those highlights are here, in video shot/edited for WSB by Edgar Riebe of Captive Eye Media:
At 5:30 pm, Seattle Channel will stream tonight’s budget hearing from North Seattle – you can watch it here.
10:08 PM NOTE: Testimony is still under way. If you haven’t tuned in to the stream yet, just click the play button and it’ll go live. 10:17 PM: And minutes later … it’s over. As Councilmember Jean Godden noted, that was “the final budget hearing of spring” – no dates set yet for the next round; this is a process that won’t result in a final budget for months.
As noted here earlier, tonight is city leaders’ next public hearing on the budget (5:30 pm, North Seattle Community College). Today, business groups including the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce added their voices to the budget battle, announcing they’re sending the mayor a letter voicing “strong opposition” to potential business-tax increases to help balance the city budget. Read on for the full text of the letter:Read More
(Photo by Greg Gilbert/Used with permission of the Seattle Times – added 7:19 pm) ORIGINAL 12:23 PM REPORT: In a few minutes, King County Executive Dow Constantine and a flotilla of other elected county leaders including Sheriff Sue Rahr and Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg are meeting the media to talk about “an option for preserving current levels of public safety and health services.” According to several advance reports including this one from our regional-news partners at the Seattle Times, the proposal will ask voters to approve a potential sales-tax increase. We’ll add more details as the announcement is made. ADDED 1:03 PM: The Times story is now updated with details – the proposal is to raise the sales tax 0.2 percent, with 60% of the money going to the county, 40% to cities. 1:12 PM: And the official news release is now on the county website. They’re proposing that this go to voters in August. A public hearing on the proposal is set for the County Council’s budget committee at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon; this has to be finalized by May 25th to make it onto the August ballot. This document shows how the county would spend the money it thinks the tax increase would raise.
Not a lot to preview for tonight – the regular Monday highlights are all on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar – but here’s an advance reminder of some biggies later this week:
TUESDAY – ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT OPEN HOUSE: The south-end Alaskan Way Viaduct work starts later this year, and nearby projects such as the city’sSpokane Street Viaduct Widening Projectare about to kick into higher gear. What does this mean for how you get around? The people with the answers will all be in the Madison Middle School Commons 6-8 pm Tuesday, waiting for your questions.
TUESDAY – SOUTH PARK BRIDGE CLOSURE MEETING: The bridge continues on the county-announced track to permanent closure June 30th. So what’s being done to help drivers and South Park businesses survive until a new one is built – if it’s built at all (financing is still no sure bet)? The draft closure plan will be unveiled and explained tomorrow night at the Machinist Union Hall in South Park (map), 6 pm. More info here.
WEDNESDAY – CITY BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING: This isn’t in West Seattle, but so far, it’s the closest scheduled hearing on the city budget, and many people already are rumbling about drastic effects of potential cuts – like the dire warnings we reported recently about what Parks may face. So if you have a strong opinion about ANYTHING in the city budget – what shouldn’t be cut, what should – advocates on a wide variety of issues are all but begging you to show up for this hearing, sponsored by the mayor and City Council, at the New Holly Gathering Hall on Beacon Hill (map). 5:30 pm – signups start at 5.
The City Council just sent its official announcement about passing the so-called “aggressive solicitation” law proposed by Councilmember Tim Burgess, who promoted it during a speech to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce at West Seattle’s Southwest Precinct last month (WSB coverage here). The vote was 5-4; voting “no” were Councilmembers Bruce Harrell, Nick Licata, Mike O’Brien and Tom Rasmussen. But five votes aren’t enough to override the veto promised by Mayor Mike McGinn (as reported by our citywide-news partners at the Seattle TImes). Read on for the council’s announcement:Read More
Breaking news (the gray whale at Arroyo Beach) caused us to miss this week’s 34th District Democrats meeting, including a candidates’ forum with the three D’s running for State House, Position 2. Big thanks to Dina Johnson for the photo (her full gallery from the meeting is here) – from left, that’s Mike Heavey, Joe Fitzgibbon, and Marcee Stone. There’s an article about the forum on PubliCola. According to the 34th DDs’ website, they won’t endorse anyone in the race until their next meeting May 12 (explained here), but they did make endorsements Wednesday night in several other races: Current State Sen. Joe McDermott for King County Council Position 8, State Rep. (Position 1) Eileen Cody for re-election, current State Rep. Sharon Nelson for State Senate, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott for re-election, and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray for reelection. (The May 12 meeting, 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy as usual, also will feature the legislative report from Sen. McDermott and Reps. Cody and Nelson, postponed when this week’s agenda got too busy.)
Seattle City Council members have just unanimously (8-0, Sally Clark absent) approved the resolution that lays out a path toward a potential annexation vote for White Center and vicinity in November 2011, though the city wouldn’t have to commit to a vote till early next year. Details at partner site White Center Now.
In so many recent stories, the city’s budget challenges are the undercurrent, if not the main theme (example: our story from the last Parks Board meeting). The long process of honing a budget plan – and addressing the shortfall – includes stops for citizen input along the way, and the city has just announced two of them. Neither is in West Seattle but if you are passionate about an issue (parks? libraries? police? or?) you will want to know. The first is April 28th at the New Holly Gathering Hall, 7054 32nd Ave South (map), 5 pm sign-in, 5:30 pm hearing; the second, May 4 at North Seattle Community College cafeteria, same times, 9600 College Way North (map).
For the West Seattle (and surrounding areas)-specific races, here’s who’s filed so far: In the 34th Legislative District (
Now, there are three declared candidates campaigning for King County Council District 8, the seat currently held by Councilmember Jan Drago — appointed to fill the vacancy after Dow Constantinewas elected County Executive, but not running to keep the job. The latest is West Seattleite Diana Toledo – read on for her announcement:
A new entrant today in the 8th District race for King County Council, a position to which Councilmember Jan Drago was appointed last year but has said she won’t run for. Normandy Park Councilmember Shawn McEvoy is now in the running against previously declared candidate State Sen. 
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