October 27

Election forum draws sparse crowd in Maple Leaf

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Here’s the brief report on tonight’s election forum in Maple Leaf (which is still going on): Barely 30 residents turned up for the event, which in the past has drawn 150, according to its sponsor, the Maple Leaf Community Council.

Also MIA were several speakers the council had tried to schedule on initiatives, and, for a time, initiative king Tim Eyman, who said he got lost.

Some highlights:

  • U.S. Congressman Jim McDermott said things are getting better in Washington, D.C., and tried to address worries about Medicare cuts. His opponent, Bob Jeffers-Schroder, wanted to talk about carbon dioxide (and got several interested questions from the audience): “I’m not running to be elected, I’m running to stop global warming.”
  • The only two candidates present who actually face one another on the ballot – state Supreme Court incumbent Richard Sanders and challenger Charlie Wiggins, both directly addressed issues and questions. Wiggins pointed out that The Seattle Times this week withdrew its endorsement of Sanders, citing  his recent remarks that African-Americans are overrepresented in the state prison system because they commit more crimes. Sanders replied: “If telling the truth means I can’t keep the Times’ endorsement – so be it.” UPDATE: Here’s a story on tonight’s forum from the Times.
  • A spokeswoman in favor of Initiative 1098 – enacting a state income tax on the wealthy – didn’t have an opponent to address, so had to make some of the “no” arguments on her own so she could refute them. She assured the forum that the state Legislature will not extend the income tax to anybody but the rich.
  • Tim Eyman said arguments against the latest coming of his Initiative 1053, requiring a super majority of the Legislature to raise taxes, often come down to: “Vote no because I (Tim Eyman) am one of its 13 co-sponsors.” The opponent,  a sixth-grade teacher with more than 30 students in his smallest class, said if Eyman’s initiative had been in place this year it would have gutted education, and referred listeners to a David Horsey cartoon at seattlepi.com depicting the initiative as a Trojan Horse for big business.

Considered comments from others who attended the forum are welcome. As are some  from those who didn’t. In the midst of the most poisonous campaign season in memory, has politics just become too depressing?

About the author 

Sara W

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  1. I agree with Carolyn. The forum was much too late and most people in that area who planned on voting likely already filled out or cast their ballot. If you want a higher turnout, hold it a month earlier next time.

  2. The forum needs to be at least a month earlier now that we do mail in ballots. It was simply too late in the election season.

  3. I think the low attendence is simple to explain: Democrats make up a large majority of the voting public in Maple Leaf (heck, Seattle, for that matter). National polls by Gallup and Rasmussen are showing little Dem enthusiasm this year. Ergo, low turnout.

    I’m sure if the same forum – with the same speakers – was held outside of Seattle, the turnout would have been much higher…

  4. For the record, MLCC typically sponsors professional on-site child care at our meetings. Check our online & newsletter announcements or just drop us a line to make sure we’re offering it at that particular meeting.

    Last year we had 100 and the year before that was 150. There was something different about this year, so we’d really appreciate people’s comments about why they didn’t attend this year — especially if they attended in the past.

    David

  5. I bet the majority of Maple Leafers have already sent in their ballots, anyway.

    I’m not surprised no one showed up, though. It’s a school night, so no parent with kids under ca. 12 can attend. This and next week are midterms for most schools, including UW. And people who work regular jobs don’t even get home until 7pm, and then there’s dinner until 8pm, and the dog needs a walk in there somewhere. The election forum was just at exactly the wrong time for 80% of Maple Leafers right there.

    And let’s not forget the weather was terrific today, so when possible I’m sure people spent the afternoon outdoors or out of the neighborhood. Plus, Halloween is coming up, so costume and party planning are ongoing.

    So I’m glad Maple Leaf Life is covering things for us. 🙂

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