Washblog

On race, fairness, and leadership

Continuing the discussion Noemie began about David Postman's recent article about the State Party Chair race, I think it's time to talk about race and dispel some rumors.  To begin, I want to reprint a letter that a friend wrote.  Lawrence is one of the more brilliant people I know, who tends to disarm with humor, but when engaged is capable of cutting through deep lines of bullshit to grab onto an issue and bring it to full light.  With his permission, his letter in its entirety:

Dear Friends--

Over the weekend I read an article in the Seattle Times wherein State Senator Margarita Prentice implied that State Party Chair candidate Dwight Pelz might be "racist" because he has run against people of color in the past.

Now, we've all dealt with the press, and know how easy it is to have one's views misrepresented. I would like to think that has happened here and that Senator Prentice's statements have been turned into something they were originally not. I have spoken with Senator Prentice on the phone in the past, during the Dean campaign, and I know that she is a wise and thoughtful person.

However, because the article spun her position the way that it did, I've been thinking about what the implications are. Several things strike me:

How to feed a false narrative

Seattle P-I reporter Gregory Roberts' latest article about the new elections database struck me because of the false meme embedded in it - that 2004's gubernatorial election is still in doubt, and King County is to blame.

The extremely close 2004 governor's race turned a bright light on the elections process and revealed numerous flaws, including several directly related to voter registrations: hundreds of felons registered and voted despite a state constitutional ban; deceased voters were still on the rolls, with some ballots filled out in their names; and voters registered more than once and cast more than one ballot.

Numerous flaws? Gregory should have put this in the proper context, especially when referring to an election that had nearly 3 million votes cast. Anytime there is an election that comes down to 129 votes, you are going to have controversy, but a good reporter should mention the statistical relevance of a few dozen votes. Does Gregory mention that the felon votes went for Rossi? No way, because that blows up the meme. The paragraph helps set up the falsehood that the 2004 election was rife with fraudulent votes, that Gregory conveniently glosses over in the next paragraph.

The Republicans raised those issues in their court case contesting the election of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire, who prevailed by 129 votes only after two recounts of the more than 2.8 million ballots cast. A judge rejected the lawsuit in June.

The Republicans accused King County of election fraud, Gregory. The judge threw out their ridiculous claims because they had no proof, whatsoever. Also, the Repubs' proportional voting theory used was laughed out of court. No mention of that, either.

In October, the GOP challenged the registrations of more than 1,500 voters in King County, claiming the forms did not list valid residential addresses, as called for in state law, but addresses for private mailboxes and self-storage units. Authorities have upheld 51 of the 192 challenges so far.

Notice how the number conveniently drops from 1,500 down to 192, with no explanation of why so many of the challenges were thrown out on their face? Gregory does not explain that situation either, why not? 51 out of 1500, Gregory. That is called a fishing expedition, or voter intimidation, but the meme 'King County is screwed up' sticks because Gregory leaves that little fact out.

A teachable moment for the GOP

I spent a lot of my Thanksgiving discussing and thinking about the incredibly irresponsible and reprehensible (thanks for that turn of phrase, Dick!) bogus voter registration challenges from the GOP and Lori Sotelo.  (I've created a page to track the story.  It's at my own website, as I can't add pages to Washblog)  It started to click in my mind that this is the leading edge of something larger, and the importance of showing the GOP that there are consequences for their actions.  In other words - they need to be taught.  It's a teachable moment, and we need to seize it.

Before you read on:  Sign the petition for Norm Maleng.  Then tell all your friends to do the same.

The Republican Party of today has apparently decided no laws apply to them.  They feel compelled to act on any and all urges, and are eager to pursue any means to ensure more and more power.  In Ohio and now here in King County, they have decided to try and win elections by challenging voter registrations in Democratic areas.  Lori Sotelo, in her eagerness to cheat voters of the franchise, has now been shown to be a liar, poor manager of volunteers, and bad person - willing to blame those volunteers for her poor decisions and perjurous actions.  What should become of her, and why is it important?

Eat the State! Can't taste South King County

A pre-election endorsement article in Eat the State! (ETS!) ignored the King County Council races south of Seattle. Martha Koester took them to task. ETS! published her letter (after the election was over). But the title they assigned, We missed the suburbs, further illustrated how little ETS! understands this area.

SKC includes numerous cities. Kent, Auburn, and Federal Way are among the largest cities in Washington State. Kent, whose population doubled between 1992 and 2003, is on its way to being the fourth largest city in the state ... and includes the USA's third largest industrial area. We are undergoing tremendous population and demographic changes here in SKC -- and they have profound impact on Washington's electoral politics.

Seattle and eastside voters may be that 800 pound Democratic gorilla that makes for a progressive King County -- and a progressive Washington. But these voters don’t do it alone. Our election outcomes depend on voter decisions made throughout the state. Swing-district SKC is a crucial electoral hot spot.

Another dirty trick -- this one by Washington Medical Association

In searching for information to follow up on the previous Washblog post on the GOP disenfranchisement of voters, I find this:

Washington State Medical Association is the organization behind I-330, the initiative that would permit healthcare providers to force patients to relinquish their consititutional right to a jury trial. It has paid for a KOMO News 5robo call in which voters are urged to support I-330. The speaker identifies himself as a member of the AARP, giving the impression that the AARP supports I-330.

But, as the WMA well knows, the AARP has come out very strongly against I-330. It has asked for this ad to be stopped. Too late, the Washington Medical Association says.. too late -- we've already made all our calls.

I spoke with Jason Sykes, the public relations person for I-330 over at WSMA: 800-552-0612. His defense: the speaker did not say he was officially representing AARP, only that he was a member.

King County GOP: Bullys, liars, thugs and cheats. Oh, and vote suppressors.

On the heels of last week's revelation that the King County GOP is laundering money for Rowley Enterprises to buy the Issaquah City Council (letting that corporation spend $1 dollar per voter to ensure they get a big fat contract to build a new road that residents don't want), we have more evidence of shenanigans and unfair dealing by the King County GOP.

Meet Kathleen Dolan. Kathleen is a soft-spoken woman who has lived at the same address on Queen Anne since she bought her house in 1975. With the exception of six years spent teaching at universities in Tennesee and Pennsylvania, she's lived in this house for thirty years. The last time she lived elsewhere was in the late '80's. In all that time, she has always been registered to vote at one address: the home where she lives. But this week, she received a letter from King County Elections telling her that her right to vote was being challenged by the King County Republican party.

Lori D. Sotelo, Vice Chair of the King County GOP and Chair of the "Voter Registration Integrity Project", claims that she has "personal knowledge or belief" that Ms. Dolan doesn't live at her address. Lori Sotelo and Kathleen Dolan have not met, and do not live near each other (Ms. Sotelo resides peacefully ensconced on Mercer Island with all the other liberal elites). Yet, Ms. Sotelo claims to have personal knowledge of where Ms. Dolan actually lives! Not only that, she apparently has "personal knowledge" that 1,942 other King County voters don't live where they say they live. She's a very industrious and social person, this Lori Sotelo!

Except it isn't true. I spoke with Theresa Bushnell, a resident at the home of Barbara Taylor, both voters who have also been challenged by Ms. Sotelo. Ms. Taylor manages a storage warehouse, and her home is onsite, as many storage facilities require their managers to live on the property. Ms. Taylor has four registered voters in her home including Ms. Bushnell, and has lived and voted at this address for at least eleven years. They have not met, nor do they live near Lori Sotelo, yet again she claims "personal knowledge or belief" that these validly registered voters are not qualified to vote OR don't live where they say they do.

[Clarification - text removed here. I have no personal knowledge of other media reports at this time.] It seems Ms. Sotelo and her "Integrity Project" simply got addresses for storage facilities and Personal Mail Box facilities (such as Mailboxes, Etc.), and cross-checked those with registered voters to find people whose addresses matched or, apparently, were close. Then, without bothering to contact these voters, drive by their homes to see if they were real, or do any due diligence other than checking columns in Excel spreadsheets, they filed challenges to these voters claiming "personal knowledge" of their living arrangements.

In other words, they went fishing. They know these are bogus challenges. They know they're in Democratic precincts. They know that, once again, they're cheating the system in order to deny legitimate voters the right to vote. They're lying, and acting like bullies in the hopes that they'll get their way.

Here's how the challenge works: Lori Sotelo, liar, cheat and bully, challenges your right to vote. You are notified that your registration has been challenged. You can still go vote, but your ballot is marked "challenged", and set aside. All non-challenged votes are counted. Then (this is the great part), you have to attend a hearing to prove you live where you say you live. Lori Sotelo, liar, cheat and bully, also has to attend these hearings, but I have my doubts that she will actually bother to try and substantiate her claims, because she has no actual knowledge of any of these voters' situations, and THAT is a truth that she undoubtedly has "personal knowledge" of. Once you've proved that you live where you say you live, your vote will be counted.

In talks with King County Records and Elections, we've learned that the phones are ringing off the hook as folks have received their challenge letters. KCRE confirms that at least a few have already decided not to vote at all, because they won't be able to attend a hearing and it just isn't worth it to them. Which, of course, is exactly what the King County GOP's gang of liars, cheats and thugs wanted all along. At least one challenged voter has challenged the challenge (!), because Ms. Sotelo, in her haste to cheat legitimate voters of their rights, forgot to date the challenge form itself as required by state law.

Kathleen Dolan is incensed by this intrusion into her life, and Ms. Bushnell is offended that Lori Sotelo, the lying, cheating bully, would claim any "personal knowledge" about her right to vote. These people are not activists. They are citizens, who have every right to participate in their democracy. Ms. Dolan had even planned a trip out of town starting today, and was going to sit this election out - hadn't even thought about it. She's cancelled her trip, and this election is front and center for her now. When I spoke with her, she was just about to call the Governor's office to complain. As she told me, the GOP's plan backfired - it made a Democratic activist where there wasn't one before. Ron Sims, you just picked up a vote.

Now, the King County Democrats wants to be sure folks who have been challenged know they have rights, and how to pursue the issue. If you have been challenged and, by some amazing coincidence, you actually do use a PO box or PMB as a mailing address, contact KCRE at 206-296-8683 to change your registration over the phone - that's it; challenge lifted. However, if you share Ms. Dolan, Taylor and Bushnell's dilemma and you've been cheated, SHOW UP, VOTE, AND GO THROUGH THE PROCESS!

Most importantly in the immediate: The King County Dems need to send a letter to all challenged voters before Tuesday to alert them of their rights and urge them to vote and go through the process. This needs to happen immediately, and will be a little expensive. Since the KC Dems don't have $400,000 on hand to harrass people as the King County GOP does, they could use our help. It's around $725 to get that mailing out today. If you want valid, legally registered voters to know their rights and believe the GOP has cheated, click here for their mailing address and send them a check.

{UPDATE} As I was about to post this, I was alerted to this post at Slog, the Stranger's blog. It seems they challenged every voter registration in an 80 year-old apartment building in Belltown. Some very interesting comments in there - she claimed this personal knowledge under penalty of perjury, so it seems Lori Sotelo, the liar, cheat and bully, can be held accountable for her actions!

Coalition puts pressure on Reichert to vote against federal budget bill for Arctic oil drilling

Kudos to Congressman Reichert for standing up to the House leadership and protecting the interests of his constituents on the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. (Coalition puts pressure on Reichert to vote againstfederal budget bill for Arctic oil drilling.) The public has repeatedly told this administration that protecting this vitally important and special place is more important than drilling for a small amount of oil. The US Department of Energy’s own Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that even when Arctic Refuge oil is at peak production, twenty years form now, gas prices would be affected by about a penny per gallon. It is simply not worth destroying a world class wildlife sanctuary and wilderness, especially when we have the opportunity to pursue a responsible strategy of conservation and investment in renewable energy sources.

As a constituent of Congressman Reichert, I sincerely thank him for his strong stance under enormous pressure, and hope that he continues to lead this country toward a more responsible energy future.Please submit a letter to letterstoeditor@kingcountyjournal.com supporting Congressman Reichert’s stand against drilling in the arctic.

“We will continue to take the actions necessary to make Weyerhaeuser a more competitive company and generate greater returns while returning cash to our shareholders. "

“Today’s announcement is part of the ongoing effort to strengthen Weyerhaeuser’s overall portfolio to enhance shareholder value,” said Steven R. Rogel, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Weyerhaeuser Co.

I have some experience with job loss. I've lost seven of them.

I remember the night I heard for the first time that I had lost my job. It was late 1979 in Portland and I was called in from the unloading dock at Garrett Freightlines to sit with the friends who had helped me get hired 2 months earlier. I was 32, making $10 an hour, married and with 4 children in our home. My wife was not working and the six of us were totally dependent on my job.

Garrett had just suffered through a ten-day-long decline in shipping orders and had decided to lay off 200 workers system wide based on seniority (and that meant I was 2nd from the bottom of the seniority list). I don't remember how many in Portland were laid off that night, but at least 2 of my friends who'd been working there for several years got their notices also. They were never called back to work.

Having moved to Portland 7 months earlier and aware that I would get unemployment, it would not be enough to pay the bills. Trying to suppress any sense of panic, I told myself that I lived in a city economy where things were busy and bustling - and was grateful not to be stuck in the rural area in Idaho where I grew up - an area that had been in economic decline for decades.

I promptly sat down and typed up the classiest resume I could create and mailed 300 to every employer advertising in the help-wanted section of the Oregonian and to every employer in the yellow pages with a business I felt could use someone of my experience.
I stopped at 300 because I could not part with any more unemployment income for postage purposes.

I worked at job-networking, made cold calls in person and out of the yellow pages and considered self employment. I tried selling on a straight commission basis, looked for part time jobs I could bundle into adequate monthly income, considered joining the Reserve for a monthly weekend paycheck, and took several civil service exams.

Still no adequate employment.

After 3 months, nearly crazy in a personal financial panic, resigned to losing my mortgage, and having lost my car to repossession, I received two offers the first week in January, 1980.

The first offer was from Standard Insurance Company as a contract draft specialist. They offered $12k per year to start. The second was from a local trucking company offering me 17k as a dispatcher. Needing money more than job security I became a dispatcher. I would come to regret making that choice.

I was to enter the world of cut-throat small time trucking and suffer through 6 companies laying me off or going out of business in the next seven years (I spent enough time there to create my own network for replacing lost jobs - always afraid to go back into that terrifying nightmare of 1979).

My nightmare eventually ended and today I am theoretically within 7 years of retirement with the Washington State DSHS. When the opportunity to move back to rural living came up, I took it and moved to Pacific County where I administer the federal TANF program under its state-designed WorkFirst program. I see first hand what it means to do job-searching in a rural area that has been in economic decline for decades.

Job-seeking in North Pacific County amounts to a potential of contacting every employer within 30 miles.

That might take three weeks.

In the fourth week, you start over again.

Market conditions forcing companies like Weyerhaeuser to close plants and let people go is an unfortunate circumstance that emphasizes above all else two significant priorities: the bottom line and its relationship to stockholders.

"Nobody likes it. I wish we didn't have to do it that way," a Weyco official declared.

"The Weyerhaeuser closures mark yet another hardship for Grays Harbor County, which has been suffering since 1980 from timber-industry woes." regional economist Dick Conway said.

"Metropolitan areas elsewhere in the state have benefited from the growing technology industry, but rural, blue-collar Grays Harbor County has been too far away from cities to share in those fortunes." [Conway]

Apparently Weyerhaeuser reported - the same day it announced the Grays Harbor closures - third-quarter net earnings of $285 million on net sales of $5.6 billion. The third-quarter 2004 numbers were $594 million and $5.7 billion, respectively.

I could find no information at this point and probably need to be enlightened as to whether or not Weyco's quarterly report means they operated in the black or the red. But if they are still in the black with only quarterly earnings of $285 million, does that not suggest that  "returning cash to the shareholders" and the standard of "shareholder value" has some arbitrarily fixed standard of profit measurement under which Weyco management dares not go out of fear of stockholder dissatisfaction?

Weyerhaeuser cannot be singled out as an exception to an overall pattern of corporate social consciousness, sensitivity and awareness - because there is no strong overall pattern of corporate social consciousness, sensitivity and awareness in this country. Furthermore, to my knowledge, Weyco should not be compared to corporations like Walmart in terms of how employees have been respected and valued nor in any way to economic harm done to small towns by bottom-line Walmarts.

Perhaps the bottom line IS the bottom line. Perhaps a way of integrating social consciousness into the monetary agreement between stockholders, the corporations, the employees and the communities where business is done needs to be found.

Perhaps what needs to be integrated is an understanding that stockholding with an eye single to the bottom line has not proven to be the best and most uniform means of spreading prosperity across a broader range of society. We live in a time when talking heads (primarily Republican) bray about the economy "growing" but have no answer or justification for why the middle class is shrinking - and why a shrinking middle class  is a good thing overall for an economy or society.

WashBlog is going to spend some time exploring the Weyerhaeuser closings, their impact on the community and the response from state government.

Give the people what they want

Letters like Chad Lupkes' to the Seattle PI help explain the suprisingly solid showing by Al Runte in yesterday's Mayoral primary:

I am very frustrated about the future of the monorail in Seattle. It is cheaper per mile, more fun to ride, capable of going more places and just plain better than any of the other options that are being built with our tax dollars. The only problem with the monorail has been the lack of support from city, county and state elected officials, and the lack of competence within the leadership of the project, who all seem to have been appointed by the people who never supported the project to begin with.

I want the Green Line built. Mayor Greg Nickels is wrong to demand a fifth vote on the monorail; I do not support his re-election because of that and a number of other decisions he has made regarding construction and development in Seattle. He is putting the needs of the people behind the desires of developers and richer residents.

We don't need a new election for the monorail. There have been four elections, with each opposition campaign better and better funded throughout the years, and it has always passed. Seattleites want the monorail built. What the project needs is good leadership with the experience and drive to get the job done. With the new director, John Haley, we might have who we need to finish the project. Give us what we've wanted for 40+ years -- a monorail that actually goes places.

Bad gas

Governor Gregoire takes the lead on the gas price issue by coming out in front of it. In one fell swoop the Governor started calling for hearings on local price gouging, and simultaniously tasked her Director of Agrigculture to explore biodiesel as an alternative fuel:

“Bioenergy reduces our dependence on petroleum fuels, especially imported fuels. It improves our energy independence and keeps our petro-dollars in Washington. It creates new jobs in the state, reduces pollution and reduces other environmental problems and risks, and it helps farmers maintain the profitability of their farms”

The Governor shows that she can tackle any problem at any time.