vote picks

[PAL]

Excellant Mike. Voting took some homework this time. I used a voter's guide other than the pamphlet or book I should say.
Ray, Andy responds to phone calls better than emails I have been told.

[pasayten]

I went to a PUD Commissioner Q&A forum at the Coaches Lounge in Twisp... Lauren McCloy get my vote.

Ok County Commissioner Dist.2... Andy Hover was basically silent and unresponsive to my emails seeking some answers to questions relating to the Prop 1 Pool issue, so he has been "crossed off" my list... Will study pamphlet to see my other options...

Governor... Dave Reichert is my pick... A straight shooter...

[THL]

There are over 100 candidates in the Voters Pamphlet for this election. Some people have the impression that because I was in politics, I somehow have some insights on how they can sort it all out. I do not.

But I must, at least, vote. So I put this together, maybe it will help someone.

Long ago, through a study of history, I determined that there were, at least, two main principals in Western Civilization:

1) In the long run, we are better served by truth rather than by falsehood.
As inconvenient as that sometimes is, it leaves open the possibility of learning something which could be of inestimable value later.

2) Peaceful transitions of power.
Of all wars, Civil War is the most brutal, unjust, and interminable. Democracy is not magical. It is an attempt to avoid tyranny. Democracy does not guarantee you will elect the right person or make everyone happy. It means you can get rid of a bad leader without a civil war, hopefully.

It is not clear to me what religion and culture play in this. The jury is still out. But if I had to guess, from a lifetime of experience, we came to these realizations by a painful trial-and-error process, over many centuries, in spite of religion and culture.

Anyway, back to the Voter's Pamphlet. Maybe someone can, but I cannot I know 100 people. All I can do is go through the Pamphlet and try to sort it out. It is an inexact process, prone to errors, but it is what I have.

First, I have to weed it out a bit. There are 28 candidates for Governor and 11 for Senator. I go through the Pamphlet with 2 different color markers. The first one marks a minus, the second marks a plus. I read each candidate's self-description carefully, looking for buzzzwords. Then I add up the score. If that does not sufficiently narrow the field, I repeat the process Eventually, I fill out my vote and mail it in.

This is where we may diverge.

If they declare a preference for the Republican Party, it's a automatic minus. My logic is this: no one held a gun to their head. They came up with this themselves. The GOP has been wrong so many times in my life. Either they really believe the last election was stolen, Climate Change is a hoax, minorities are bad, LGBTQ people threaten them, etc., or they don't have the intellectual or moral integrity to leave the party and declare something else. Either way they get a minus. I am not necessarily a Democrat, but if the GOP believes in anything, it always devolves into tax breaks for the rich. I understand that you may better your chances of being elected in this county if you declare yourself Republican. But that only highlights the courage of anyone who does not.

But that is not the end of the story. A candidate may overcome a minus if they accumulate enough pluses in their text. Or they could be the best in a slate of worse candidates. I am particularly suspicious of the words 'faith' or 'freedom' or 'common sense' or 'property rights'. I suspect that the authors of these words have little clue as to their meaning. Maybe they are some kind of dog whistle.

As for the rest, I read carefully and try to weed out the crazies. I realize that you cannot understand someone completely from 2 paragraphs in a pamphlet, but it is all I have. I know none of these candidates personally. I did, occasionally, go online for more info.

At any rate, here are my picks:

US Senator – Maria Cantwell. Alternative – David Tilton
US Represtative, District 4 - 'Birdie' Muchlinski . Alternative – Mary Baechler
Governor - Bob Ferguson, Alternative – EL'ona Kearney
Lt. Governor – Denny Heck, Alternative – Pat Harman
Sec of State – Steve Hobbs, Alternative- Marquez Tiggs
Treasurer – Mike Pellicciotti, Alternative – Sharon Hanek
State Auditor – Pat McCarthy
Attny General – Nick Brown, Alternative – Manka Dhingra
WA Commis. Of Public Land – Dave Upthegrove, Alternative – Kevin Van de Wege
Super of Public Instruction - Chris Reykdal, Alternative – Reid Saaris
Insurance Commisioner – Patty Kuderer, Alternative – John Pestinger
Dist. 7 State Rep pos1- Soo Ing-Moody
Dist. 7 State Rep pos2 – Paul Dean
Ok County Commissioner Dist.2 – Andy Hover
Supreme Ct, po*.2 – Dave Larson, Alternative – Todd Bloom
Ok County PUD Commmissioner – Lauren McCloy, Alternative – Wayne Stevie

Some of these picks were a toss-up, some were the least-awful, I probably made some mistakes. Hope this helps.

Mike Price
Twisp