2021 Marianne's Politiblog - intro READ ME

  Welcome to the 2021 edition of Marianne’s Politiblog. 

Yes, you’re supposed to read this part.

Yes, its an off year election. Not all that many positions or candidates. In fact, there were so few candidates that there was no need for a primary and the Elections Office had to hold a second filing period in August to recruit more candidates. Lets hear it for civic engagement.

On the other hand, the level of uncivility, craziness, and hostility toward public officials at all levels makes it understandable that people maybe don’t want to expose themselves to that. 

I will re-run something I raised last year. I continue to advocate for minimum standards for filing as a candidate: 1) be able to write a coherent sentence. 2) be able to articulate the job description of the post for which they are filing. 3) have sufficient internet know-how (or the funds to hire that know-how) to create a net presence. Most particularly in our still Covid limited world, voters should not have to go out physically to find information about candidates. In that regard I have to give credit to the Democrats, the Progressives, Indivisible, the League of Women Voters, and probably some I’ve overlooked for their work to present the candidates and their platforms. Notably absent from this list are the Republicans, who appear to be boycotting public outreach in this election. 

So, on to the basics:

First, you need to know that you are registered to vote. To check, go to https://weiapplets.sos.wa.gov/MyVote/#/login 

Ballots are supposed to go into the mail on October 15. Look for your ballot, and if you haven’t seen one by about October 22, contact the elections office at https://www.islandcountywa.gov/Auditor/Elections/Pages/Home.aspx 

The deadline for registering on line and by mail is October 25. For more information call 360-679-7366 or email   elections@co.island.wa.us. 

So, to make your vote count,

1. Try not to use the US Mail, now that Postmaster DeJoy has announced a very deliberate and planned slowdown. If you really have to use the mail, get your ballot in the mail by the Wednesday before election day, October 27.

2. If you really can’t do it earlier, bring your ballot to the Post Office counter on Tuesday, November 2 during business hours – usually before 4:00 pm. No stamp is needed.

3. Best option: Drop your ballot in one of the 6 ballot drop boxes before 8:00 pm on Tuesday, November 2. They are located at:

    Island County Elections Office

    400 N Main Street    Coupeville

    Trinity Lutheran Church

    18341 Hwy 525    Freeland

    Ken’s Corner Shopping Center

    4141 Hwy 525 (at Langley Road)    Clinton

    Island County Camano Annex

    121 N East Camano Drive    Camano Island

    Langley Post Office, front patio

    115  2nd Street        Langley

    Oak Harbor City Hall

    865 SE Barrington    Oak Harbor

Here, once again, is Marianne’s regular disclaimer: I would never presume to tell you how to vote. That is very much your business. I’m merely telling you how I intend to vote (or how I would vote if I could in any particular race) and why. You can make your own decisions from there.

And once again, whatever you do, VOTE. And make sure everyone you know votes as well. Feel free to share this information widely. We have all learned from painful experience these last 5 years what happens when the wrong people are in positions of power. And, for that matter, here in Washington, what happens when the right people are in power at a difficult time. 

Here are the contested positions on the ballot – depending on where you live:

Whidbey Island Hospital District

Oak Harbor City Council

Oak Harbor School Board

North Whidbey Pool, Park, & Rec Board

Coupeville School District

Coupeville Port District

Langley City Council

South Whidbey School District

South Whidbey Fire/EMS

Stanwood-Camano School District

There are also the ever-popular “advisory votes” about convoluted and esoteric issues. Its good to know about them. And the Hospital District is asking for a very large levy lift. 

One issue I need to raise. If you’ve been living on the moon, you may not have noticed the polarization to the point of violence around such issues as Covid safety, equity, and climate change. The 

UNMASKED, UNVAXED, UNHINGED crowd have decided that the way to get what they want (more dead people?) is to invade our schools. This is a nationally orchestrated campaign and it is playing out here in Island County as well. A lot of good, hard-working, caring school board members are being challenged by these unhinged wingnuts. It is really important to know who is who and vote to keep our children safe, both physically and mentally. 

I’ve just receive the link:  https://popular.info/p/the-right-wing-operatives-orchestrating?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyNzY3ODc3NSwicG9zdF9pZCI6NDI1NjI5NjgsIl8iOiJRQjZNdSIsImlhdCI6MTYzNDI0NDQ1MiwiZXhwIjoxNjM0MjQ4MDUyLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMTY2NCIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ._sjTh4hc2zdGl5Hi4l2TKe8huX-SGoo4J0_9ADAyZjc

This is a carefully researched story about the Koch Bros (remember them) sponsored national organization which is grooming, fostering, and organizing the local anti-school actions we’re seeing all over the country. Thus far it has come to near-violence in Marysville, Stanwood-Camano, Oak Harbor, Coupeville, and South Whidbey school board meetings. They weren’t able to get what they wanted smashing in the windows of the capitol on January 6, so now they’re coming after our schools. This is serious and we need to support the people currently on our school boards who are doing the hard work and doing it right.

And with that, we will finally get to the actual positions and candidates. Note that in most cases I have not researched people who are running unopposed.