After minimal reading, constant absorption of campaign ads and a couple bottles of wines over the last day, the WIB 2008 Election Board (Paolo) is ready to guide you through this year's election choices. This board only endorses contests it has some knowledge about and does not endorse uncontested candidates, which would be pointless.
President of the United States: Vote Obama
Before digging into why Obama is the right choice, let's review what we know about the candidates:
- Obama is Muslim.
- Joe Biden wreaks of New England wealth.
- John McCain has the same brain as W.
- Sarah Palin killed Bambi.
Now that we've got that out of the way, recognize that U.S. government is inherently conservative thanks to the checks and balances at its foundation. Changing parties will only generate gradual change. That said, the GOP has led us into debt, relative international isolation, hopelessness and an unmarketable, indistinguishable war. We need new leadership.
Barack Obama is inspirational to the masses and innovative in his resourcing new media and one half of an outdated two-party system to reinvigorate conversation about education, economics and national identity.
After an exhausted Democratic primary that bumped into presidential campaigning, Obama has become oversaturated and overplayed like a Green Day song in 1994. Still, that should not distract from the promising vision he has to get the country headed back in the right direction because we can all agree that, war aside, we've lost the cohesiveness we once had.
Washington State Governor: Vote Rossi
In the interest of avoiding repetition, Dino Rossi is the right candidate for all of these reasons.
Every time someone votes for Christine Gregoire, a baby seal dies. Think about that.
Sound Transit Proposition 1: Vote Yes
For just $69 a person in sales tax, you're getting 36 new miles of light rail to Redmond, Lynnwood, and Federal Way (Yes, Scott, Federal Way); 100,000 hours of new express bus service; and a 65 percent expansion of Sounder commuter rail.
Think about how much you pay for gas. Now think about paying $69 for actual, usable public transportation. You'll get your money back.
State Initiative 985: Vote Hell No
Each election season shits out a terrible initiative. This initiative is no exception. Tim Eyman wants to rewrite just about every traffic efficiency law. It's like Communism -- It looks good on paper but doesn't really work in real life. Don't vote for Commies. Don't vote for Eyman. Don't vote for I-985.
State Initiative 1000: Vote Yes
Ever since Oregon passed its "death with dignity" law, I haven't exactly seen the state go to hell in a hand basket. This is another one of those intiatives about choice -- in this case the choice to request-and-self-administer-lethal-medications-prescribed-by-a-physician-in-cases-of-terminal illness-with-predicted-fewer-than-six-months-to-live. That's a mouthful and a handful of moral issues. Choose to let people choose how they check out.
State Initiative 1029: Vote No (with guilt)
Who doesn't want the elderly and disabled to be well taken care of? That's why this vote is a little unpopular. Still, this initiative, which would require state workers to be certified with more than double the current requirement of 34 hours training hours, is bypassing legislature.
Quality of employees should be the responsibility of the employer -- in this case the state -- not the people. This issue should be handled through legislation rather than be put to vote because the repercussions here affect legislation. For example, demanding higher qualified entry-level social care will make for a higher pay scale for those employees. That affects state budget.
City of Seattle Proposition 1: Vote Yes
This is a pricey, $73 million, six-year proposal to basically keep Pike Place Market's physical infrastructure maintained. Pike Place is an invaluable resource for this city in terms of both culture and tourism. This is one of those necessary votes that you might not feel immediately, but will appreciate in the long run. I personally am voting so that the doo-wop group that sounds like Boyz II Men has an uncracked floor to stand on.
City of Seattle Proposition 2: Vote Yes
No one has a yard anymore in Seattle. Thank the condo overlords for that. We might as well have nice parks, right?