A Perspective on Whatcom County Elections 2003
Commentary by Stephen Trinkaus
Mon, Oct 20, 03
My election picks are summarized at the end. I hope you'll read my reasoning first.
It seems like it would be really boring to get into office and then worry about pleasing everyone so that you can (1) get re-elected, and (2) so that your insecurity about not being liked is not revealed publicly. I want to vote for someone who will stand up and fight for our community and our environment and create a ton of controversy. I want a controversy so controversial such that if you take sides it will be obvious if you care more about the future generations or short term monetary gain for the few. Now you know where I am coming from. Here is how I see the local elections.
The race I am most excited about is John Watts vs. Barney Yorkston for Bellingham City Council. John Watts has been an excellent council person. He is a huge advocate of environmental preservation. He is very intelligent, thinks for himself, does his homework, takes leadership when necessary, and doesn't try to please any special interest group. I wouldn't say that John likes controversy, but he sure doesn't shy away from it. John cannot easily be classified as right-wing or leftist. To borrow the slogan of the German Green Party, he is neither right nor left - he is in front. It is worth the trip to the polls just for this one race.
In other city council races I'll be voting for Terry Bornemann and Louise Bjornson. They are both good people but mediocre council people. However, the alternatives are risky at best. Louise's opponent (John Wilson) seems to be an honest man with good intentions, but I am weary of his approach to environmental issues. At least I know Louise is a strong environmentalist, although I sure as heck wish she would be a stronger leader. (Ditto for Terry) I also must say I admire Louise's ability to seemingly attend every public meeting in Bellingham. I'm sure if there was a chihuahua dog owner's club meeting you would probably find Louise there.
I'm also excited about Mike Kaufman vs. Sam Crawford for Whatcom County Council. Sam Crawford symbolizes everything I can't stand about local politics. He is arrogant, continually sides with developers, and seemingly could care less about the quality of our air, water and land. Mike Kaufman would be a competent replacement. He's smart, experienced, and ready for the job. Will he provide the leadership we need? I don't know - but he deserves the chance and we've got to get Crawford off the council.
We may as well return Dan McShane to County Council as well. I'll never fully trust him again after voting for the SE2 power plant, but he has provided good leadership on other environmental issues, he's a darn smart guy, and once again the alternative is sobering.
The EMS levy is an odd issue. If passed it would raise property tax to pay for emergency services. Right now this money comes out of the general fund. I smell a rat with this one. The mayor and city council would have us think this is a no-brainer and that we should vote yes or risk losing police and fire protection. It's actually a much more complex issue. You can still support emergency services and vote against this levy. Any time your government tries to convince you to vote for something out of fear, the best thing you can do is vote against it, in my humble opinion. Also, if you oppose taxpayer subsidizing of growth this is a good place to start. This aspect of the issue has made for some side-switching, with the people who are normally for more development opposing it, and the people who are generally against subsidizing infrastructure cost for growth supporting it. I say vote NO on the EMS levy.
Then there's the race for Bellingham mayor. Mark Asmundson is a liberal. Brett Bonner is not. Mark always seems to say the right thing and do something different. Brett always seems to say the wrong thing, but has not held office before so I don't know if he has any follow-through. Mark is the incarnation of business as usual. Brett will shake things up, but may end up being business as determined by the developers. Mark has been antagonistic to the public process. I think Brett would be more democratic.
Mark hired an unqualified police chief that has preferred to crush dissent then deal with deterring crime. Brett's law and order, god and country attitude is out of sync with reality. Mark has shown contempt for the neighborhoods. Brett has shown a contempt for hippies, protestors, and people who eat organic food.
In the past 8 years of Mark's administration the city has failed to make any meaningful progress in halting sprawl or slowing the poisoning of our drinking water. Would Brett be any better? It's a tough call. If he indeed is more democratic then the incredible citizen activism in this town might actually be listened to. However, he has been oblivious to these issues in the past. To give credit where credit is due, Mark has been sympathetic to bicycle and pedestrian issues and helped push for bike lanes on arterial streets. Beyond this the steps to a more livable city have been too little too late, often caught in endless waits for more studies.
I do think Brett is a sincere (although misguided) man and would not be easily corruptible. My fear of him comes from the fact that (from my perspective) he is politically on the wrong end of most issues. My fear of Mark comes from the fact that in practice he is on the wrong end of most issues and speaks as if he's on my side. I can't bring myself to vote for Mark this time, but nor can I support a man who has ridiculed my community and the issues that are dear to my heart.
Neither mayoral candidate will be getting my vote. I will be joining others who feel the way I do in writing in Dirty Dan Harris. I do not take this vote lightly. This is not meant to be a joke. This is a vote for NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL, DARN-IT ! ! ! I moved to Bellingham because I love it here and what I love about it is being destroyed by short-sighted business as usual, profits for the good ol' boys, ignorance, and the fear of standing up to protect what we have left.
If you can't bring yourself to write-in, then vote for Mark if you would prefer a slick anti-democratic liberal, or vote for Brett if you would prefer an honest but naive conservative.
OK, summary time:
Bellingham Mayor: Dirty Dan Harris (write-in)
Bellingham City Council: Terry Bornemann, Louise Bjornson, John Watts
Whatcom County Council: Dan McShane, Mike Kaufman
Port Commissioner: Jim Jorgensen
Water District #10: Paul Nuchims
EMS Levy: NO
INITIATIVE 841: NO (state initiative repealing workplace ergonomics rules)
HJR 4206: YES (state resolution regarding filling a sudden vacancy in a partisan office after an election but before the regular date)
and not that it will be on this ballot, but . . .
DENNIS KUCINICH FOR PRESIDENT!
Stephen Trinkaus has lived in Bellingham since 1987. He is a WWU graduate, a downtown Bellingham business owner, and an environmental and neighborhood activist. Currently he is Vice-Chair of the Cornwall Park Neighborhood Association. He ran for city council two years ago. Send email comments to: trinkaus@openaccess.org
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