Some bits of news…
The ‘real’ update, including a recap of our last meeting, will happen soon. But this is August 1 Primary week and I wanted to get this to people before they vote because even though it’s a short ballot, each issue matters.
PSAs…
- I’ve done some updating to the Public Service Announcements page. There are a lot of activities planned for the Marina/Beach Park this summer, including food trucks, bands, theatre, so check ’em out!
- As you’ll see below, the new Council Protocol Manual (which I have not seen as of yet) is already in use in at least two ways! Here’s one 8.06r: the City is now posting a link to the updated Agenda Packet in the City Calendar after each meeting.
Most people do not know that the Agenda Packets are where the City stores all the presentations, letters and public comments. Every letter or email you send between meetings gets attached to that document after the meeting.
The next step is, of course, would be a mailing list that informs you when that happens. Baby steps. 🙂
This Week? It’s all about that ballot
Forget me, this week is all about you. Primary Ballots have been sent out and here are some things you should know, plus one recommendation.
WA State has a ‘top two’ primary system, meaning that the Primary Election is only for campaigns with more than two candidates. That is the purpose of the Primary: the top two vote getters in the August Primary then move forward to the General Election in November.
- In 2023, there are three Council seats up for grabs in Des Moines. One is uncontested, the other two (including mine, please donate here 😀 ) have only two competitors. So… no Primary for Des Moines City Council. 🙂
- However, because one Port Comm seat has 3 candidates, you get to vote on Position #5. And that vote matters. Here is the analysis and recommendation for Todd Curtis from SeaTacNoise.Info
- And… wait for it… even though Highline School District has assigned Districts for each Director, you also get to vote on seats outside our own District #5. So, there are two HSD seats to vote for… Normandy Park and White Center. Study carefully because, as I’ve written many times, test scores in DM–which used to be great, are now terrible, despite having some of the highest funding in the State. If you care about our future, don’t just vote for the levies or labels, vote to turn around a 20 year slide in academic achievement.
Many people get their ballots and vote right away, even though they have two weeks to get ‘er done. Given the importance of HSD to our City, I would ask you to take yer time. Some of the candidates will be visiting DM and you should give them a chance to make their case, rather than relying on 153 words in the pamphlet. I’ll send you notes as I learn of their appearances. Here’s the first I’ve learned of:
- Melissa Petrini, a candidate for Position #4 (Normandy Park-ish) will be speaking at the Des Moines Public Library (216th and 11th Ave.) on Tuesday 07/18/2023 at 6:00PM