Race for King County Executive

While the Seattle Mayoral Race next month would not interest King County/Pierce County Conservatives, because of a lack of a proven Conservative, or even a Rudy Giuliani type Law and Order, the King County Executive race is more interesting to me, because of Susan Hutchison, who seems fairly conservative on fiscal policy, which is EXACTLY what this County needs. After seeing the Democrats in control of the state since 1984, when Booth Gardner beat John Spellman to be governor, the Democrats have controlled all of the major offices of this state, Governor, Attorney General, Mayor, etc. It's time to give the GOP a chance to run the show, in my humble opinion. Curious to see if King County conservatives, liberals and libertarians agree or disagree and why.

Lack of clout, need change in WA state

The main reason why the three ladies who run this state of Washington need to go can be illustrated by the Ferry Fiasco. On Tuesday, it was announced that the State of Washington was 18th on the list of states receiving money from the Stimulus package for improving the ferry system. As anyone who lives here knows, we have a large ferry system. Naturally, Governor Gregoire and Senator Murray were annoyed at the lack of funds. The funds were given to our state, but the point is, that no one nationally thinks very highly of Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell and Christine Gregoire. For all of the Sarah Palin bashing and her being a hockey mom with lipstick and the teenage daughter business, Sarah Palin is a tough woman, unlike Murray, Cantwell and Gregoire. I'd take Palin any day. Heck, I might even take Maddow or Madcow of MSNBC or DNCTV over Gregoire.

Cupp of Knowledge

I recently read a great book, co-authored by young conservatives S.E. Cupp and Brett Joshpe, Why You're Wrong About the Right, Behind The Myths- The Surprising Truth About Conservatives. This book explodes a lot of myths about conservatives, particularly about the myth that Republicans are humorless and racist. For example, the smartest funny show in television is South Park which is NOT liberal. A show like South Park regularly rips both the Left and Right. Most of the comedy on Comedy Central is decidedly anti-PC. Conservatism believes in the power of the individual and for every social conservative, there are two or three libertarians who are part of the "Right". Cupp and Joshpe interviewed people as diverse as Newt Gingrich and Al Leiter, K.T. McFarland and Lisa "Kennedy" Montgomery, MTV DJ. The main point of the book is that the Right isn't monolithic. I heartily recommend this book and give it four stars.

Mercer Island

This past weekend, I spent a shabat in Mercer Island. It was very nice. The hosts were good and Shevet Achim is a nice synagogue. It would be nice to go there again, but given my schedule, that may take a while to get there, as I have other commitments in Seward Park and First Hill.

Yesterday, I spent an hour and a half in Mercer Island at the Summer Celebration handing out brochures for Susan Hutchison, former KIRO TV anchor, who's running for King County Executive. I hope that she wins because she seems to have a grasp on the issues and is the most qualified candidate. While we can't get Sarah Palin, Susan Hutchinson may be the woman with the most gravitas in this state. It was great to have met Reverend Wayne Perryman, an African-American pastor in the Seattle area who is friends with Pastor Ken Hutcherson, former NFL player. I purchased Rev. Perryman's CD on the historical legacy of both political parties on race. Very powerful and worth listening to, in my humble opinion. For more information on the Washington State Republican Party, go to www.wsrp.org and for information on Susan Hutchison's candidacy, go to www.SusanHutchison.com .

light rail a boondoggle

In two weeks, the Seattle area will get a look at light rail when the Sound Transit runs trains from SeaTac Airport to downtown Seattle. A number of the stations are located on Martin Luther King Way, which is in the neighborhood, about a mile west of Rainier Avenue in Rainier Valley. I hope that these city and county planners hope to get a lot of other people to ride, because I don't think that too many Seward Park residents will be using the light rail. Let's take someone who works downtown and lives near Seward Park Avenue as an example, he or she has to get to MLK Way and Othello or Beacon Hill, which would be a short car ride or a really long walk. For my new job, I walk to Rainier Avenue and take the #9 bus to Broadway and Denny Way, which takes about 40 minutes. Maybe there are a lot of people in the Rainier Valley and elsewhere who will ride the train. Bus service is standard to sub-standard at best, adding light rail will detract from the quality of service given to Rainier Valley/Seward Park.

If other Seattle people have thoughts on this matter, feel free to let me know.

Thank you and have a great July Fourth.