I am organizing a group of neighbors and friends to support Marriage Equality and wave Approve Ref. 74 signs on Election Day.
Event Details. 7:00am-8:30am on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 6) @ MLK & Rainier Ave. S
~ Wear appropriate clothes in case it rains.
~ Take the light rail or park on any side street and meet us at the big intersection of MLK & Rainier Ave. S in front of Franklin High School and across from Starbucks.
~ Bring your Approve Ref. 74 yard sign or borrow one of ours.
Please call Eric @ 206.387.6255 if you have questions.
If anyone else on Beacon Hill is planning election-related activities for Tuesday that the neighborhood should know about, let me know and I will compile them into a post that will go up on Monday.
The meeting is open to the public and provides an excellent opportunity for Southeast Seattle voters to meet Smith, who will be representing us when the new redistricting plan takes effect, moving Southeast Seattle into the 9th District along with Mercer Island, Bellevue, Renton, Tukwila, Kent, and other areas stretching southward to Tacoma.
Previously, our area was in the 7th Congressional District, represented by Jim McDermott. The new 9th District will be the first majority-minority district in Washington State.
The state congressional redistricting proposal released on Wednesday morning not only adds a new 10th District in the Olympia area, but, closer to home, would move Beacon Hill and part of Georgetown from the 7th District into the 9th District. The 9th District, with Southeast Seattle as well as Bellevue, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Renton, Kent, Federal Way, Des Moines, SeaTac, and Tukwila, would become the state’s first “majority-minority” district, containing 50.33% people of color. The rest of Seattle would remain in the 7th District, represented for many years by Jim McDermott.
The new proposed 7th and 9th District boundaries.
The 9th Congressional District is currently represented by Democrat Adam Smith.
You can comment on this plan online here. (Comments are public. Previous comments may be read here.) Time is of the essence; the redistricting commission, made up of two Republican appointees and two Democratic appointees, must agree on a plan by New Year’s Day. If they cannot agree, the decision falls to the State Supreme Court. If they do agree, the legislature will have 30 days to make changes, with a required two-thirds vote.
Earlier this month, the commission proposed a new map for state legislative districts, but there were only minor border changes in Southeast Seattle, where Georgetown and the western part of Beacon Hill would remain in the 11th District and the rest of Southeast Seattle (including most of North Beacon Hill) would remain in the 37th District.
Beacon Hill doesn’t see a lot of political rallies, but one is coming to the Hill today. The Seattle “End Subsidies for Big Oil” rally, organized by Environment Washington, is coming to the BP gas station at 2415 Beacon Ave. S. this morning at 10 a.m. Speakers scheduled for the rally include Katrina Rosen of Environment Washington, Pete Mills from the office of Congressman Jim McDermott, and Rachel Padgett of Fuse Washington.
This is one of several rallies scheduled throughout Washington State over the next couple of days. Tacoma and Olympia will see rallies this afternoon, and tomorrow morning there will be a rally in Yakima.
Location of the BP station on Beacon Avenue South. View Larger Map
Democrats in Beacon Hill’s legislative districts are holding caucuses this Sunday, March 14, at 1:00 pm. All Democrats in each district are welcome to attend the caucus to meet their neighbors, provide input on the party’s direction, hear speeches from candidates and elected officials, and elect delegates and alternates for the county and state conventions.
To vote at the caucus, you must be registered to vote in the district, and sign a pledge that you are a Democrat.
The Republican legislative district caucuses are later: the 11th District caucus will be in Renton on March 27, and the 37th District caucus has not yet been announced. See this PDF for more information.
Mike McGinn at a town hall meeting on Beacon Hill last month. Photo by melissajonas.The Beacon Hill Blog Mayoral Survey is now closed. Here are the results:
McGinn: 61.5%
Mallahan: 33%
That dude sleeping on the bench in Triangle Park: 4%
Other: 1.5%
Will these match the final numbers? Time will tell.
At least two people attempted to stuff the ballot box by voting repeatedly (and obviously). Any votes that were the result of such ballot-box stuffing were removed from the final total. This left us with fewer than 100 responses, so it is a very small sample.
It’s taken us longer to compile results from last month’s Top of the Hill survey than we expected. There are still a bunch more results coming, but since absentee ballots for the upcoming election are landing in everyone’s mailboxes this week, we wanted to get one of the results out to you sooner, rather than later.
We asked, “Who’s your favorite mayoral candidate at the moment?” As of September 11, when the survey closed, these were the results:
Mike McGinn had a huge lead on Beacon Hill with 53% of the vote, followed by Joe Mallahan with 15%. “That dude sleeping on the bench in Triangle Park” had a relatively strong showing, with 9%. (For the first week of the survey, the anonymous Triangle Park guy was actually leading the race.) 6% of the “Other” responses were “I don’t know.” Current Mayor Greg Nickels had 6% of the survey responses (the chart does not show this correctly).
The survey closed on September 11, so your opinions might have changed, or not. What do you think now? We’ve posted a new survey to find out what you currently think. Beacon Hill folks only, please.
There will be fundraising, fun, festivities and food at the Rally in the Valley on Monday night. The event is a fundraiser for the Mike McGinn for Mayor campaign. Undecided? Enjoy a great meal and meet “We Like Mike” supporters–and Mike himself–to learn more about Mike’s positions on the issues.
Rally in the Valley
6:00 – 8:00 pm Monday, October 19
Jumbo Restaurant, 4208 Rainier Avenue South, near Rainier and Genesee.
There is no door fee, but donations are gratefully accepted. Please bring a can of food for the Rainier Valley Food Bank. All are welcome to watch the art performances from many diverse groups and join in the festivities.
"Vote" sign at El Centro, November 2008. Photo by Wendi.Leaves are starting to turn and clouds are staying around for days instead of hours. There’s that certain crispness in the air and football on TV (Go, Pack, Go!). It must be election season.
Tica and I have been walking the blocks of North Beacon Hill since 2003. We’ve watched election signs go up for Kerry, Bush, Rossi, Gregoire, Obama, McCain, Rossi, Gregoire… plus the monorail, levies, school board elections, parks, and more. This year, there just isn’t the same showing–for any issue or any candidate. Where are the yard signs? Is it too early in the season? Are candidates not producing them in the same way? It can’t be that Beacon Hill has become less interested in politics. The 36th District is active, engaged, smart and passionate. Both Democrats and Republicans in Beacon Hill vote.
Candidates are falling over themselves to attend and organize forums, townhalls, and walks in Beacon Hill and other parts of Southeast Seattle. The City is working on a Neighborhood Plan to decide how high buildings in the Beacon Hill “urban village” will be. There are changes proposed to improve the safety of cyclists on our streets. I know our neighbors have opinions–get involved! Attend meetings if you can, read up on the issues if you can’t, and talk to your neighbors.
Most importantly, register to vote and confirm that your ballot is on track to be mailed to your current address. All voting is by mail in Seattle. Go to My Vote to be sure that you’re going to get your ballot. Do you have a new roommate or neighbor? Do you know someone who just turned 18? Monday October 5th (today!) is the last day to register or change your address online. If you have never registered in Washington, you have until October 26th to register in person.
We have several important choices on the ballot this November. There are two new candidates for Mayor: Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan. We’re choosing between several City Council candidates AND there’s a race for City Attorney and King County Executive. We are also voting on two statewide initiatives that could have lasting impact: I-1033 (a Tim Eyman initative) and R-71, a referendum to roll back approve or reject domestic partnership benefits.
Learn about the candidates and their values. Understand the implications of the initiatives. Vote. That’s even more important than yard signs.
(Editor’s note — corrected R-71 reference. If you vote “approve” on R-71, that is to approve the new state domestic partnership law. If you vote “reject,” your vote would be to repeal the law.)
