Raymond M. Reskusich

Again, a message for those who haven't sent in your ballots yet. Referendum 71 establishes legally-recognized domestic partnerships in Washington, specifically for same-sex couples and senior citizens. The history of how this referendum came to be on the ballot would make it very easy to accidentally mark the wrong bubble.

If you support legally-recognized domestic partnerships, select "APPROVED."

If you oppose legally-recognized domestic partnerships, select "REJECTED."

If you are a Washington voter who hasn't sent in your ballot yet, this is the time. The deadline for a postmark is tomorrow. There are some critical issues on these ballots. We need everyone to weigh in on them.

In my opinion, the most critical issue on the ballot is Initiative 1033, which would lock state and local budgets in at their current levels with corrections for inflation and population growth. Any taxes collected above this level would be used for property tax rebates. Any budgetary needs that cannot be met by this restrictive regime would have to be approved by popular vote.

The layout of the ballot makes it easy to miss the section on I-1033. It is in the lower left-hand corner of the front of the ballot, just below the instructions.

The passage of I-1033 would be disastrous for our state. Right now, our budget has been cut to the bone because of the recession. I-1033 aspires to make this situation permanent. A similar law that was passed in Colorado had dire consequences for that state.

Worse than that, I-1033 establishes a system that takes the taxes paid by low-income citizens and gives the proceeds to the more affluent. Under I-1033, any excess taxes collected are used for property tax rebates. The state has fairly good control over how much property tax is collected, making property tax over-collection unlikely. The state has no control over how much sales tax is collected, as this is determined by consumer spending. Any over-collection will be in this area, but the rebates will only be paid to property owners. Poorer citizens pay proportionally more of their income in sales tax then richer citizens. Richer citizens will reap proportionally more of the tax rebates, with citizens who rent receiving nothing. Unlike cuts to the property tax rate, unpredictable property tax rebates are not likely to be passed on in lower rental prices.

It may just be me, but the upcoming election for state and local offices and initiatives is seeming more dramatic than any I've seen. This may just be because I've been paying a lot more attention this time around. The race for mayor of Seattle, in particular, has seen some entertaining developments.

I've written here before about Washington state's "top two" primary system. This mayor's race has been a case study of the strange results that this system can bring about. The incumbent, Democrat Greg Nickels, finished a close third, and thus did not make it to the general election. The "top two" were Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn, both of whom are reasonably liberal Democrats who have never held public office. It was basically a three-way split, with less than a 2.5% gap between the first- and third-place candidates. Nothing like a one-party election. Anyway, it seems from the outside that both candidates were planning on running against Nickels and have been struggling to emphasize their differences.

Mike McGinn did this by focusing on his opposition to the deep-bore tunnel that Seattle and the state government have settled on to replace our aging and dangerous Alaskan Way Viaduct. To give the full background on this issue would take ages. For anyone who is unfamiliar, you only need to know that it is a very contentious and complex issue that has evolved over a number of years and seemed to finally be decided.

McGinn's pitch was that as mayor, he would fight the tunnel as a expensive, ill-conceived, and environmentally dangerous project. Mallahan, as far as I can tell, was never enthusiastic about the tunnel. It was more that he considered it a "done deal."

McGinn was very successful at making the election a referendum on the tunnel. Too much so, in my opinion. A lot of other issues have been drowned out by the focus on the tunnel. It also led to a strange landscape of support, with labor groups, business interests, environmentalists, and bike people (their own political bloc in this town) ending up in all sorts of odd configurations.

Then, a few days ago, it all changed. McGinn publicly stated that, as mayor, he would accept the City Council's decision on the tunnel. In essence, he changed the central position around which he built his campaign.

What is interesting to me is the timing. This election is being held entirely by mail-in ballot. The ballots were all supposed to arrive last week. McGinn reversed his position a few days ago. Doubtless, a fair number of people had already voted for him, based in part on his tunnel stance. This is like switching a core policy position mid-day on election day. I have never heard of such a thing. I am trying to fight the cynical part of my brain that says that McGinn timed his move based on behavioral data about when different kinds of voters mail in their ballots.

It would be easy for me to let this strange move decide my vote. This dodgy behavior should be discouraged. Still, I am pretty likely to vote for McGinn, who seems more engaged and knowledgeable on many issues than his opponent. His strategy around replacing the viaduct did seem like a weak point to his plans (although I am no big fan of the tunnel, either). So, maybe things will work out just the way he planned.

Yesterday, I stumbled upon the Seattle Public Library's downloadable audiobook collection at Overdrive. No doubt I am very late in discovering this, since I have neglected the local libraries until recently. Still, this is a very cool service that I intend to get a lot of use from. I have already downloaded my next book club book.

In less happy news, the Seattle Public Library will institute a $5.00 fee for each interlibrary loan request, starting in October. The city budget is obviously under some pressure right now, so I can understand the motivation. This will finally provide me with the motivation to get a card for the King County Library System. Seattle residents are second-class citizens in the King County libraries, but every little bit helps.

Also, Nick Hornby will be doing a reading next Friday at the Central Library in Seattle.

Last night, Mel and I went to see Funny People at the Big Picture. It can help, with movies like this, to have beer available. I found the film somewhat disappointing. Not bad, really, but haphazard. There were good bits, but the whole lacked cohesion; there was a lot of filler. Some of the funny parts were just grafted onto scenes where they made little sense, as though the filmmakers went through, after the fact, and tried to lighten the mood. The pacing was all over the place. The fairly predictable plot just made these problems more apparent. The premise was good, as were the performances, but the film as a whole just failed to deliver.

Here's a cool thing that I accidentally discovered today: many NPR stations provide telephone numbers that offer on-demand access to some of their radio programming. If you are waiting for the bus and feeling out of touch, you can dial one of these numbers and listen to, for example, the hourly NPR News update. This is nice for people like me who still have a 2G mobile phone that is not up to streaming much of anything.

...was fun. Mel and I met up with a bunch of friends on the balcony of the Capitol Club for drinks, celebrating Catherine's dissertation defense. Never having been there before, I found the place to be cool. I tried out (and passed around) their Bacon Chocolate Martini. I had high hopes for it, but it was just OK. Far from the best sweet/savory fusion I have had in a cocktail. It does inspire me to try making one of my own, although the bacon infusion process does sound a bit messy and disturbing. Afterward, Mel and I walked over to the Six Arms for a late pub dinner.

Our president drinks Bud Light. I would not have called that one.

We just released Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to manufacturing.