West Seattle Blog… | ELECTION RESULTS: Seattle City Council District 1

yuppers August 6, 2019 (8:17 pm)

File under results that should surprise nobody–unless you based your predictions on the angriest voices in the WSB comments section… Appreciate the update, WSB.

The King August 6, 2019 (8:52 pm)

The video titled Rude Seattle City Council Members on YouTube from back in March has over 670,000 views. The number of views alone gave me a little hope that this perspective could change a few votes but maybe this is behavior by the council is considered normal now.
- Brigand69420 August 6, 2019 (9:50 pm)
  
  Basing the outcome on how many hits this video got? Stellar logic. The video is from the right wing editing machine that was also making videos about someone’s emails and Benghazi..damn public officials not respecting me. Ya know, I pay your salary mindset for winners. Maybe you
Alex August 7, 2019 (9:03 am)

Agreed–these election commenters are easily the most hostile I’ve read on the blog. I understand we all have differences of opinion, but it’s just been straight-up name-calling.
Karl Tull August 7, 2019 (10:31 am)

Nuff said

Golden girl August 6, 2019 (8:23 pm)

Wow I know it’s early but come on folks Lisa again? is there any levy or tax this community won’t vote for, regardless of the metrics

M August 6, 2019 (8:48 pm)

I’m no political expert but I’d imagine that most, if not all of Kolding’s votes will swing to Tavel if Brendan doesn’t advance. As the votes stand now that would put Tavel on top. I know we our household we voted one for Tavel and one for Kolding because I was hoping to see both of them advance. So at least in home two votes will likely go toward Tavel in November. I guess I’m more bummed to see Sawant still leading in her district. What I very much dislike about the new district system is that I have not say what happens in that district however my life is still negatively impacted by her politics.
- Peter August 6, 2019 (9:46 pm)
  
  Actually, you can have a say. Democracy vouchers aren’t limited by district. Unfortunately, Sawant also doesn’t look like she has an opponent worth supporting.
- Elton August 7, 2019 (8:50 am)
  
  Kshama Sawant fortunately took the brunt of the political beating for the city council incumbents. Sure she’s the top candidate, but it’s not the cushy lead she felt entitled to.
  - Rick August 7, 2019 (12:18 pm)
    
    Hillary?
Sixbuck August 6, 2019 (8:52 pm)

Sadly, no.
duh August 6, 2019 (8:59 pm)

Yep! Lisa again! And I think I’ll read my next library book in a park. Cuz I like both, regardless of “metrics”.
- Goldengirl August 6, 2019 (10:15 pm)
  
  With the current “leadership” you can also share your book and time in the park, with camp dwelling, drug addicts, You get what you vote for, Enjoy!
  - TreeHouse August 6, 2019 (10:49 pm)
    
    I frequent Lincoln Park and Camp Long and have not seen any of that in either place. Close the MyNorthWest tab and come back to actual reality GoldenGirl. I can’t imagine not enjoying our beautiful parks in Seattle because I’m afraid of some made up corporation-backed political hype. Life’s too short for that — especially our summers!
  - Peter August 7, 2019 (9:56 am)
    
    You clearly have never been to a park in Seattle. Your scare tactics are lies, Goldengirl.
    - Goldengirl August 7, 2019 (10:42 am)
      
      I disagree have you visited the park up by the high school this summer not every park in the city though the Cc and the mayor would do nothing if it were the casethe situation is out of control and the so called leadership is doing nothing that is effective to change the situation
    - E August 7, 2019 (11:53 am)
      
      I understand what you mean, but even if you’ve not seen it personally it’s a problem.Golden is not wrong, I live right above junction plaza park, daily issue. One was banging on the piano in the park yesterday afternoon…. ><Every day this is an issue if they aren’t in front of the QFC they are in the park, sometimes split between. Night it gets worse, the guy who barks in the alley is fun at 2am, or the one with the harmonica… I couldn’t go on for while sadly.i grew up in this area was never like this before. :(
    - WSJ August 8, 2019 (6:43 pm)
      
      You must be my neighbor! We thought we were the only ones who see these careless people. They scream and yell at each other late at night. And Mr. Harmonica man aka George yells and pushes his body right in the face of police and they did nothing about it. We were stunned at how much these people get away with. Just made him pour out his beer while he cursed and yelled, flipped them off and more. A week ago Key bank gets it windows bashed in for the second time late at night. The police just secured the scene while the fire department had to come and clean up the mess. Even when you see it happen feels like nothing gets done. There is a HUGE issue in West Seattle but people want to pretend like it’s normal. Unreal.
    - Um, No! August 7, 2019 (12:29 pm)
      
      Have you? I see this all the time. I have found countless needles, trash, human feces and been harassed by drug addicts and the mentally ill several times.
- CandrewB August 7, 2019 (5:57 am)
  
  Wear steel-soled shoes…
Peter August 6, 2019 (9:10 pm)

Conventional wisdom is that an incumbent who gets less than 50% in the primary is in trouble. Unfortunately, there’s no one better running.

2 cents August 6, 2019 (8:34 pm)

Can’t wait to see those Kolding signs come down.

Concerned Citizen August 6, 2019 (8:34 pm)

Hopefully the rational voters consolidate against Herbold in November.

Jort August 6, 2019 (10:12 pm)

“Everyone who doesn’t vote the way I want them to is stupid!”
- WS Steve August 6, 2019 (11:39 pm)
  
  Finally a voice of reason. Jort for City Council!
  - Farfallecopter August 7, 2019 (8:24 am)
    
    Seconded!
- Concerned Citizen August 7, 2019 (7:02 am)
  
  In this instance, that’s basically true. It’s either ignorance, apathy, or a lack of rational thought given how bad Herbold’s policies and antics have been. I suspect a lot of people are just voting for the incumbent without giving thought to how her failures are impacting their neighborhoods and day to day lives.
  - Jon Wright August 7, 2019 (9:26 am)
    
    Yep, you’re enlightened and the rest of us are maroons. If only I wasn’t so ignorant, apathetic, and incapable of thinking rationally!
  - Lagartija Nick August 7, 2019 (9:43 am)
    
    Yeah, it couldn’t possibly be that we looked at the policy proposals of the three candidates and rejected FEMA camp incarceration of the homeless and shuttle buses to the farmer’s market for groceries.
  - Peter August 7, 2019 (10:01 am)
    
    Herbold has done a poor job, no debate on that, and I don’t expect that she’ll improve in the future, but Tavel will be much, much, much worse. He’s been one of the leaders of the opposition to building more housing in Seattle, which is basically a police of continuting to force housing prices up and force the middle class out of the city, and his transportation policy boils down to all cars and no bikes or bus lanes.
    - Wha? August 7, 2019 (4:49 pm)
      
      So let’s keep voting a person in that is not effective because we are afraid of change. Get out of your comfort zones and let’s give a new voice a chance.
    - Spooled August 7, 2019 (6:05 pm)
      
      Limiting density? Check.Recognizes that cars aren’t going away and bikes/buses don’t fit for everyone? Check.Please, gentrify my neighborhood! Starting with the flop house next door and the meth house a block down (featured on WSBlog a few times).Of the available options, Tavel is my guy, unless we
      someday get a ranked-voting system.I liked parts of Kolding too but he had the
      least chance of winning. I hope his supporters can embrace Tavel and don’t just stay home.
    - East Coast Cynic August 7, 2019 (7:39 pm)
      
      Agreed on Tavel being potentially much worse. Regarding Tavel voters wanting change, how can Tavel be a candidate of change if he is willing to oppose sorely needed West Seattle light rail in the absence of funding for a tunnel instead of abiding by the vote for light rail, which included a majority of West Seattlites? If he’s satisfied with the increasingly challenging car and bus paradigm, how can Tavel be the change candidate Tavel voters think he is?

34+18=52 August 6, 2019 (8:43 pm)

The people who voted for Kolding will not vote for Herbold in the general election. Do the math.

delridge72 August 7, 2019 (8:50 am)

You got that right. This Kolding voter is now 100% behind Tavel. (They basically split the anti-incumbent vote, which I predicted.)
- Wha? August 7, 2019 (4:50 pm)
  
  I didn’t vote primary but will vote Tavel in general.

WSOwl August 6, 2019 (8:47 pm)

Lisa is great. I also supported the head tax. Cruising to re-election!

Peter August 6, 2019 (8:51 pm)

Just as I expected. Two of the three worst candidates running for D1 are going to the primary.

Diane August 6, 2019 (9:30 pm)

watch the video again; Lisa was NOT on her phone; she was listening to and looking at the speaker the whole time

pw August 6, 2019 (9:33 pm)

What is everybody thinking or not. This is sad, but we may have one more chance. As I left our perfect neighborhood night out I had the pleasure of running into a drug addict at the bench by the ferry dock. Thanks West Seattle for giving up.

Jort August 6, 2019 (10:15 pm)

Maybe Brendan Kolding can console himself in his continued unemployment by taking shelter in a “FEMA-style tent.” I’d feel a little sorry for him if he hadn’t been at the brink of termination due to abusing the public’s trust in police officers by lying.

Canton August 7, 2019 (12:04 am)

Ah… Yeah, let’s vote socialist, so we can get taxed to oblivion, so we have a middleman to dole out the rations. Pay taxes, so we can crawl to the city, to ask if we can be fed. Guess ya don’t have to work, to get fed anymore. At least activist jobs are fueling our crooked economy.
- Jort August 7, 2019 (11:58 am)
  
  “Crawl to the city” to “be fed?” OMG such histrionic drama. If Lisa Herbold is a socialist, she’s the worst socialist of all time. Or perhaps we’re taking on the Trump administration’s tactic of calling literally everybody to the left of him “socialist?” And, last I checked, our “crooked economy” seems to be doing unbelievably well, with the city of Seattle hosting some of the planet’s most successful companies. SO CROOKED!
  - Felix Grounds August 7, 2019 (10:16 pm)
    
    Jort is my new HERO!!
Canton August 7, 2019 (12:24 am)

Your state governor and city mayor, ran their campaign, promising no new taxes, because the citizens are overtaxed right now, did they lie?
- CandrewB August 7, 2019 (6:01 am)
  
  Did the mayor say that? I would think no new taxes would be losing strategy in Seattle.
- Ice August 7, 2019 (6:14 am)
  
  I wouldn’t equate breaking campaign promises with the type of abusive, dishonest behavior that was in the SPD report on Kolding. That’s whataboutism. Kolding’s caustic behavior points to much bigger problems of corruption than just a few broken campaign promises. Tavel and Herbold both strike me as emotionally-stable adults who genuinely want to make a difference to their constituents; whereas Kolding comes off as a spurned, emotionally stunted person who denies his own abusive actions.
- KBear August 7, 2019 (10:05 am)
  
  You can’t vote socialist, Canton. There isn’t a socialist candidate in this race.

Lisa Herbad August 6, 2019 (10:16 pm)

A vote for Lisa is a vote for tents, RV’s, syringes, trash and human waste spread around our city. Her socialist views along with Sawant have led to our city turning into a dump. If they both win in November, our city has officially lost it’s mind and there is no hope of turning things around

Golden girl August 6, 2019 (10:28 pm)

Very well articulated and true (unfortunately)
GHO August 6, 2019 (11:18 pm)

Not one person at our block party voted for Herbold. As mentioned above, I suspect the “anybody but Lisa” votes will combine in an effort to combat the disappointment that has been her term. Time to completely shake up the SCC.
Terri August 7, 2019 (9:13 am)

Ridiculous assertion, based on an even more ridiculous premise. No one city councilor or combination of councilors is responsible for homelessness and drug abuse, and no one is going to be able to provide the miracle cure you are seeking. No tents PLUS no taxes? It’s just insane.
- Wha? August 7, 2019 (4:55 pm)
  
  We could vote someone in that will try something different?! Enforce laws, no apathy, plenty of empathy. Empathy does not equal letting people break laws and do as they wish. We need new ideas and less doing things the same expecting different results.

TJ August 6, 2019 (10:28 pm)

Progressives are like the band on the Titanic…keep playing until the ship goes down. The liberals of 25 years ago look like Republicans now with these Progressives. Unfortunately they are crusaders with no finish line in sitem in both policy and with the hunger for more tax money.

Bradley August 7, 2019 (1:52 am)

I will support Tavel 110% and I’m confident we can liberate ourselves from Lisa Herbold in the General. The survival of West Seattle and Greater Seattle depend on replacing Herbold and Sawant.

Gatewood August 7, 2019 (2:15 am)

The majority of voters (at current return numbers) didn’t vote for Lisa. I am not saying she won’t win but she sure isn’t cruising to re-election. I can see many Kolding voters jumping to Herbold. This race is a lot closer than people want to believe. Get ready for a crap ton of ads, mailers, speeches, door knockers and posturing.

M August 7, 2019 (4:20 am)

No taxation without representation. i guess we just haven’t hit rock bottom yet. I just hope it isn’t too late to save our city before the average voter finally wakes up and decides to help out with their vote. My hope is that most people are too lazy to vote in the primary, but will get on board in November.

Seriously? August 7, 2019 (5:59 am)

Reading the comments in this thread is disturbing. I see no dialogue on how to improve the issues we all face, together, but instead a lot of finger pointing and the tired idea of, “vote like me or else.” Just remember this. As we focus our energy on blaming “others” (that is anyone not in line with “my” political ideology) the politicians are laughing their a– off because it’s all going according to plan. The wolves have us focused on fighting each other while they invade the chicken coop with impunity. Stop blaming, start acting. Don’t argue, have a dialogue. We’re all in this together, lets start acting like it.

Quora August 7, 2019 (8:01 am)

Uh, OK. I’m voting Tavel because Herbold’s approach isn’t working. In fact, I see a lot of things in our district getting worse rather than getting better. We need new ideas, new concepts. Herbold is more of the same. Vote Tavel in November.
JVP August 7, 2019 (8:39 am)

I sometimes agree with the point of view you have articulated. However, in this instance, folks are acting. They are out voting. Regardless of which candidate they support, they’re doing the one thing they can and should do to either affect change or retain the status quo.
M August 7, 2019 (8:49 am)

Well. Most of us have day jobs. We elect city officials to create and implement the solutions to fix and improve the quality of life in our city. Our job as citizens is to provide oversight of those elected officials. The current council is more focused on driving their political ideology rather the running the city. We absolutely have a right and obligation to complain on the misdirected of our current elected official.
WW Resident August 7, 2019 (9:02 am)

You complained about people not offering solutions and you offered none yourself

Accountability August 7, 2019 (7:14 am)

Where is the accountability? Lisa Herbold has none for her own actions or for those who have chosen to live on the streets. Our homeless problem is about a drug culture that thrives in a community uninterested in protecting our children, investing in needed care, and accountability for the law.

KM August 7, 2019 (10:35 am)

Not sure if you mixed up your browser tabs, but this isn’t Safe Seattle.

jsparra August 7, 2019 (7:38 am)

I really can’t believe WS folks are satisfied with Lisa…makes ZERO sense….we can and must do better. spot on Lisa Herbad.

Peter August 7, 2019 (10:14 am)

We’re not. We’re very dissatisfied with her, and she’s done an abysmally poor job. Unfortunately the other options are much, much worse.

Eric August 7, 2019 (7:39 am)

Congrats to Lisa, the silent majority has your back. Homeowners are not a fan of raised taxes but they get many breaks that us renters do not. Lisa and Kshama seem to have their ear to the ground more than Amazon-funded candidates like Tavel who just want to win (after losing 2x). How can you be for small business and accept Amazon money? I am glad that so many people got out to vote in the primary, many more will vote in November who do not vote in primaries and many of those folks will be for Lisa. Pay your fair share to your community that you claim to love. Fight corporate cash buying your city. Pay attention, don’t just vote for whoever has the most yard signs. Stop trying to make socialism a bad word and come together in the name of the greater good.

Lisa Herbad August 7, 2019 (1:34 pm)

48 percent is not a majority. The majority actually voted against her and with Kolding being the complete opposite of a socialist, all of his votes are going to go to Tavel. You seem to be on board with the Amazon is bad crowd. You do realize that 20 percent of all downtown office space is owned or rented by Amazon don’t you? Do you want the big bad bully that is Amazon to pack up and leave? You should be praying that doesn’t happen because the moment it does our economy will tank. Instead of attacking a company that is so vital to our city we need to work with that company and treat them like we want them here. Our economy is thriving and you can thank Bezos for that. Amazon is not the reason for our homeless crisis. The reason we have a crisis is because of socialist policies that Herbold and Sawant have enacted. They refuse to look at the real cause of the crisis which is drug addiction and mental health issues and instead turn Amazon into their scapegoat. Vote the socialists out, save our city
- CAM August 7, 2019 (2:01 pm)
  
  Neither Sawant nor Herbold have been in office more than 5 years and homelessness has been an issue in Seattle for far longer. Neither could even remotely be considered to be the cause of the homelessness crisis. Without any research I would guess that you could logically look to the great recession and the rapid rise in cost of living in Seattle after the end of the recession as both contributing to the rise in homelessness. Across the country homelessness has been on the rise since 2008. Seattle has experienced a greater rise in homelessness over that period of time but it has also outpaced almost everywhere else in the country in cost of living increases. That is in part due to Amazon and other employers in Seattle bringing in thousands of new residents and paying them far more than the average resident of Seattle used to make.
  - Canton August 7, 2019 (10:33 pm)
    
    In part right. In the 30’s a shanty town of around 1200 occupied a large swath of tide lands in sodo, due to the great depression. In the early 40’s the city burned them down. With the millions this city has collected, from every entity possible, they will not build simple basic housing under their own supervision. They would rather spend crazy money to non profits to help house some. Instead of actually, themselves, building the housing to do so.
- T Rex August 7, 2019 (2:45 pm)
  
  Well said Lisa Herbad, well said!I would love to know how any people who claim they hate Amazon actually love shopping on Amazon…
Mystic Penguin August 7, 2019 (2:09 pm)

Yes Kolding got 17%. Roughly 2500 votes. But that’s all the Kolding voters there are, they all came out in the Primary. Put against the numbers that will turn out in the general that’s less than 10%. In the general, Kolding votes freeze, Tavel votes go up, and Herbold votes go up more. That’s the reality whether you want to believe it or not.

Wishing for standards August 7, 2019 (8:00 am)

Did anyone watch the two embedded videos? Shouldn’t politicians have public speaking ability? How many “uh’s and um’s” can Herbold work into her sentences. Tavel is a little better, but dude- get a thesaurus & find a couple other words for “excited”.

Lola August 7, 2019 (8:34 am)

Phil will get my vote again come Election time in Nov. Come on Phil we can do this. We can only do this people if we vote. We need to restructure this City Council so we can actual get something done.

delridge72 August 7, 2019 (8:48 am)

All Kolding voters, like myself, will get behind Tavel in the general. Change is coming!

Karen August 7, 2019 (9:45 am)

I will definitely vote for Tavel, again! I have talked with Tavel several times and he listens and thinks about what people, say. I talked with Herbold, also. When I talked with her a week later, she had forgotten everything we had talked about. Maybe, she was too busy? or………

John Edwards August 7, 2019 (10:05 am)

The moment Lisa Herbold voted against the Occidental Ave street vacation, effectively killing Chris Hansen’s arena, I decided I would never ever vote for her under any circumstances. Instead of getting an arena paid for by Hansen and his investors, we pay a chunk of the cost to rebuild Key Arena. Not only that, but Hansen was willing to foot the bill for the railroad flyovers that we are paying for. This lack of forward thinking cost her my vote.

Jort August 7, 2019 (12:01 pm)

SPORTS!
AMD August 7, 2019 (12:16 pm)

You have that backwards, John. The Hansen Arena was going to be partially taxpayer-funded. The OVG renovation of Key Arena is 100% paid for by OVG (that’s why they were able to skip steps in the approval process related to public funding).
East Coast Cynic August 7, 2019 (7:48 pm)

Hansen also wasn’t interested in accommodating the prospective NHL owners until he was able to get an NBA team, which had he done so, he would have been able to make a better case with the council for getting his project done with those extra investors not to mention more political support from the surrounding hockey community.

Peter August 7, 2019 (10:11 am)

Thanks for the reminder of how close we came to electing Shannon Braddock, the last four years would have been so much better if we’d elected her. It’s a good reminded that there are people in this city worth voting for. Unfortunately, not in D1 this year. I’m actually hoping Braddock will run against Durkan.

Kadoo August 7, 2019 (11:00 am)

I also wish Braddock had won.

Michael Ostrogorsky August 7, 2019 (11:40 am)

Guess the Lock Everybody Up I Don’t Like Approach didn’t go over very well. Shocking, I know.

Jort August 7, 2019 (12:02 pm)

But the comments for months and months and months were guaranteeing that Lisa would be soundly ejected by an overwhelming majority of people! How on earth could everyone have been wrong?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!
- Lisa Herbad August 7, 2019 (1:21 pm)
  
  Talk to me in November Jort. Your socialist princess is going to lose. You may like the tents, RV’S, drugs and lack of law enforcement that your council member supports but most of us don’t and are tired of it. Kolding is the opposite of Herbad so all of his votes are going to Tavel. That alone will win the November election for him. There are also going to be more voters come November and the majority are going to be against Herbad. You enjoy what you think is a victory today, us sane people will have the last laugh in November
- chemist August 7, 2019 (2:21 pm)
  
  Lisa is at over 7,000 votes as of the first ballot count, which puts her at more votes than any other D1 candidate (in fact, that’s more votes than any other candidate for any seattle council district). Hopefully with the primary done she’ll have a little more free time to drop by the sustainability and transportation committee meetings and poke holes in what a gaint “good money after bad” that C3 streetcar project is.

I. Ponder August 7, 2019 (11:57 am)

I’m interested in seeing total number of registered voters in our district in the tallies. It’s possible 70% of eligible voters didn’t vote. I think that’s a big part of the story.

WSB August 7, 2019 (12:59 pm)

It’s right on the results PDF to which we linked above
https://aqua.kingcounty.gov/elections/2019/aug-primary/results.pdf
Registered Voters: 68,090 (in District 1)
Ballots Counted: 15,319
(in the August 6th tally)
22.5 percent

Next count around 4 pm today.
CAM August 7, 2019 (1:46 pm)

I would ask you to find an election in which more than 35% of the eligible population voted. And not just by a point or two. Voter turnout is abysmal in every election. We should be ashamed of ourselves and our lack of interest in bettering our circumstances all the time.

Graciano August 7, 2019 (12:35 pm)

Seems a lot of people want change , but keep voting for the same people..

Jon Wright August 7, 2019 (1:48 pm)

It seems to me that a vocal minority are agitating for change without providing any specifics of what that consists of. Note: Shouting “homeless problem!” over and over does not qualify. My biggest failing as an enlightened individual is that I enjoy the schadenfreude associated with the positions and candidates advocated by the loudest, angriest people going down in flames.
CAM August 7, 2019 (1:50 pm)

Or…you are basing your opinion of what people want on an incomplete dataset.

TJ August 7, 2019 (1:06 pm)

Eric, are you saying socialism isn’t a bad word? Strange thing to say, but this is a strange city now. And who are you directing your “pay your fair share” towards? Such a progressive thing to say, and while I’m sure you’ll say “the rich”, what in reality it is the middle class. Record revenue the city has taken in the last 5 years, yet the hunger for more taxes is only getting stronger, no matter who is paying them.

Jort August 7, 2019 (2:30 pm)

For someone who has openly admitted to criminal tax evasion, you sure have a lot to say about what the city does with the money it is collecting from law-abiding residents. Maybe you should start piping in with commentary about Spokane’s fiscal situation, since that’s where you choose to illegally register your three vehicles in a tax avoidance scheme.
- Jon Wright August 7, 2019 (8:37 pm)
  
  Sick burn!
Tsurly August 8, 2019 (7:36 am)

TJ if you do not like it here, leave. In fact, own your principles and go full conservative; move to eastern WA and be part of the conservative welfare state system that takes in way more in tax benefits than it contributes. Join the ranks of Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, Arizona, Alaska, Louisiana, etc. As Jort pointed out, you are already dodging taxes, why not move somewhere you will not be burdened by progressivism*, yet still reap the benefits of it?* Washington state’s taxation system continues to be one of the most regressive in the country, which is why we have all the “over taxing problems you complain about. If REPUBLICANS in the state legislature were on board for amending the state constitution allowing for the implementation of an income tax, the burden would be more evenly distributed.

Rob August 7, 2019 (2:43 pm)

We ALL deserve the absolute pile of dung that is coming for letting these horrible, horrible morons stay in power. I hope everything gets worse. Good job idiots. #REAP

WSB August 7, 2019 (3:50 pm)

New numbers are out. Separate item up shortly.

TJ August 7, 2019 (3:51 pm)

You have a good memory Jort, and it will soon be 4 vehicles I register there in 3 months when my son turns 16. I’m not the only one as I personally know 2 other families that register vehicles to vacation property in the Cle Elum area. The truth is its not the only thing I do to move money around to hude and protect assets. It’s a small rebellion to those who continously think they know how to spend my money better than me. I’ve worked hard to get my small company to a point where I can say I’m now wealthy, but the progressives here won’t answer to why they continously are raising taxes in a time where tax revenue already is at record levels? I am positive my property taxes would have doubled in less than 8 years on the house I had, which I tore down and rebuilt my dream house 2 years ago. Going through that I can say this city is out of control with fees, permits, and taxes that are astronomically higher than neighboring cities. Since my business does a lot of work in Snohomish county and am familiar with construction there, I know I paid $26K more here on just taxes, permits, and fees. Never could get a answer on where that money goes.

KM August 7, 2019 (5:11 pm)

TJ, I can’t believe you made it through all this whining without an Agenda 21 reference.
Jort August 7, 2019 (7:22 pm)

So, because you disagree with laws enacted by duly-elected officials your response is to criminally break the law? How would you feel if somebody stole a bunch of things and burned your business to the ground because the arsonist had a moral objection to arson laws? Your open flaunting of the law says a great deal about how seriously we should take your opinions, which is to say, not at all. And here I thought that “law and order” was important to conservatives. But only the laws you like, right? Not the ones that hurt your feelings? Our democracy determines our politics, and just because you don’t agree with the winning side of our democracy doesn’t mean you aren’t legally and morally obligated to follow the laws. Or, keep evading them, like a criminal.

Rick August 7, 2019 (9:12 pm)

Jort – just go home.

Elle Nell August 7, 2019 (9:42 pm)

I almost can’t stand the blog any more.. the entitlement attitude of folks that are “new” here is just about unbearable.. its so infuriating to read to the comments. This is just as well. The only slight joy is they completely deserve the actions that they are debating so nasty ! Agreeing to disagree… creates thoughts not hate! Meh.