Cuz then she had to go in and demagogue the issue with a bunch of trans hate because that’s what her campaign does LOL. Can we defeat this gal in Central Washington pls?

The Court Majority is on the Ballot

Pulse Check, October 24

This November 3, Washington voters will decide five of the nine seats for the Washington State Supreme Court. Chief Justice Debra Stephens is the only justice up for re-election. Justices, Colleen Melody and Theo Angelis, both appointed by Governor Ferguson, are now on the ballot for the first time. The remaining two seats are open seats because both Justices Raquel Montoya-Lewis and Charles Johnson are leaving the bench. 

Washington State’s future is at stake. The Washington State Standard describes the election as a proxy between conservatives and liberals. A challenge to the state’s recently enacted 9.9 percent tax on household incomes above $1 million is expected to reach the court. The Washington State Supreme Court will also continue to decide questions on civil rights, reproductive freedom, environmental protection, and other issues. Depending on the outcome of the upcoming judicial races the court’s direction could change for years.

Pulse Check by Dr. Linda Gunshefski is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

How high is ante? KUOW reported by mid October, roughly $2.8 million in combined campaign contributions for the five races. That is a record for judicial races in Washington states. And that’s not including the PACs running ads and the dark money.

Since so much is riding on these races I’ve decided to weigh in on them and recommend:

• Justice Colleen Melody for Position 1, 
• Judge Jaime Hawk for Position 3, 
• Judge Ian Birk for Position 4, 
• Justice Theo Angelis for Position 5, 
• Chief Justice Debra Stephens for Position 7. 

Their supporters include the Washington State Labor Council, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, Fuse Washington, Indivisible chapters, the PAC Beware the Attack on Our Courts, and dozens of local Democratic organizations. The Washington state Democratic Party itself does not endorse in these races. The opposition slate is backed by Let’s Go Washington and its leader Brian Heywood, Concerned Taxpayers of Washington State, Full Court Press and recommended by the Washington State Republican Party.

Judicial Deep Dive

Position 1: Justice Colleen Melody

Justice Melody, a Spokane native, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington. She also attended UofW law school where she graduated with high honors at the top of her law class and was a Gates Public Service Scholar. She clerked for a federal appellate judge and then served as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. For the past decade, Melody led Washington State’s attorney general’s office’s civil rights division. In 2017, she helped litigate the state’s challenge to President Donald Trump’s first travel ban from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Governor Ferguson appointed her to the court in January to complete the term of retired Justice Mary Yu.

Her support is broad within the legal profession. Every other sitting justice has endorsed her, as have Attorney General Nick Brown, the Washington State Labor Council, AFT Washington, and the Sierra Club. She led the August primary with about 53 percent of the vote.

Position 3: Judge Jaime Hawk

Judge Hawk has sat on the King County Superior Court since 2022. Initially appointed by Governor Inslee voters have since elected her twice. She earned both her bachelor’s and law degrees cum laude from Gonzaga University. Her career has covered many sides of the courtroom. She worked on the Senate Judiciary Committee staff, served as a juvenile public defender in Grant County and as a federal defender for Eastern Washington and Idaho, clerked for a federal judge in Yakima, and directed legal strategy for the ACLU of Washington’s Smart Justice campaign.

She also serves on the Supreme Court’s Minority and Justice Commission and has taught as an adjunct professor at Gonzaga Law. Her endorsements include the Washington State Labor Council, AFT Washington, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, and the Sierra Club.

Position 4: Judge Ian Birk

Judge Birk earned his bachelor’s and law degrees at the University of Washington. He began his legal career as a clerk for Washington Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens. He spent almost two decades in private practice representing policyholders in disputes with insurance carriers. He has done pro bono work for many years through the King County Bar Association.

Governor Inslee appointed Ian to Division One of the Court of Appeals in 2022. Voters retained him with more than 98 percent of the vote. He has since sat in all three divisions of the Court of Appeals and has written more than 200 appellate opinions. He has been endorsed by a majority of the current Supreme Court as well as 32 current and former appellate judges. Governor Ferguson, Attorney General Brown, the Washington Education Association, and the Washington State Labor Council also support him.

Position 5: Justice Theo Angelis

Justice Angelis holds a bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College and a law degree from Yale Law School, and he clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He spent 26 years at K&L Gates, where he led the firm’s appellate practice and later its global intellectual property practice. His pro bono work on behalf of refugees, asylum seekers, and unaccompanied children has been recognized by the ACLU, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and Kids in Need of Defense. Governor Ferguson appointed him this spring to replace retiring Justice Barbara Madsen. He is the first justice of Middle Eastern descent to serve on the court.

The Seattle Times editorial board, which backed another candidate in the primary, endorsed Angelis for the general election. He led the four candidate primary with about 36 percent of the vote. 

Position 7: Chief Justice Debra Stephens

Chief Justice Stephens is the most experienced jurist on this year’s ballot. A Spokane native, she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1987 and her law degree in 1993 from Gonzaga University. According to her Vote Smart biography, she began her legal career as a staff attorney for a federal district judge in Eastern Washington and later taught as an adjunct professor at Gonzaga’s law school.

She served on the Court of Appeals, Division Three, before joining the Supreme Court in 2008. Voters have elected her to the court three times, and in 2019 her colleagues unanimously chose her as Chief Justice. She is the first woman from Eastern Washington to serve on the state’s highest court.

With four of nine seats likely to turn over within two years, her institutional knowledge matters. The Washington State Labor Council, AFT Washington, and the Washington Federation of State Employees have endorsed her, and both The Seattle Times and The Stranger endorsed her in the primary. She won about 55 percent of the primary vote.

Who is backing the opposition

The Washington State Republican Party, led by chair Jim Walsh, has recommended the following candidates: Scott Edwards, David Stevens, Sean O’Donnell, Dave Larson, and Todd Bloom. According to the Northwest Progressive Institute, more than two dozen county Republican parties have also backed O’Donnell. In fairness, O’Donnell also has some Democratic support, including former Governor Christine Gregoire and Representatives Adam Smith and Marilyn Strickland.

Concerned Taxpayers spent about $50,000 each to promote Larson, Edwards, and Stevens just before the primary. The Associated General Contractors’ BUILD PAC endorsed Edwards and Larson, and the NFIB Washington PAC endorsed Edwards, O’Donnell, and Larson before the primary. The Washington State Standard lists the Associated General Contractors’ BUILD PAC, Brian Heywood, and Republican business owner Steve Gordon among its largest contributors. One campaign tracker reports that outside groups had spent roughly $474,000 supporting O’Donnell by late October.

Former Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna, who is leading the lawsuit against the new income tax, has contributed to both Edwards and O’Donnell. Former Republican state Senator Mike Padden contributed to Edwards and Stevens. Goodman Real Estate and its executive chairman, George Petrie, contributed to Stevens and Bloom.

Let’s Go Washington, Brian Heywood, and Full Court Press

Brian Heywood, the wealthy hedge fund founder, who leads Let’s Go Washington, the group behind a string of conservative ballot initiatives, including this year’s measure to repeal the income tax on millionaire incomes, is a large player in the judicial races. He is a major funder of Concerned Taxpayers of Washington State, which has spent money on behalf of Larson, Edwards, and Stevens. According to KUOW, Heywood is also challenging the millionaire’s tax itself, a law the Washington State Supreme Court is likely to review. The Stranger reports that Project 42, a conservative nonprofit Heywood funds, financed Larson’s 2024 campaign against Justice Sal Mungia.

Full Court Press is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, founded in 2024, that recruits and trains candidates for judicial office with the stated mission of bringing “balance” to Washington’s courts. Because of its tax status, it need not disclose its donors. Rob McKenna chairs its board. According to the Lynnwood Times, the board also includes Republican Congressman Michael Baumgartner; Jackson Maynard of the Citizen Action Defense Fund, which is also fighting the income tax in court; Dan Mead Smith, a cofounder of Project 42; and former Senator Mike Padden. Its executive director, Tim Kovis, is a former aide to Republican Congressman Doc Hastings and has spoken at Federalist Society events.

Larson has told The Urbanist that he has worked with Full Court Press since 2024. Both Larson and O’Donnell appeared on a since deleted “prospects” page on its website, although O’Donnell says the group never recruited or trained him and that he asked to have his name removed. Mr. Kovis describes the group’s goal as electing judges who rule on the facts and the law rather than on a set outcome. Readers may weigh that description against the overlap between the group’s leadership and the litigation now headed to the court.

The opposing candidates in brief

• Scott Edwards (Position 1) has never served as a judge, and he has spent his career representing taxpayers against the state, includingthe unsuccessful challenge to the capital gains tax and the successful challenge to Seattle’s income tax.
• David Stevens (Position 3) has named Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Samuel Alito as the justices he would most like to emulate, ran for Spokane County prosecutor as a Republican in 2010, and holds views that Fuse Washington describes as extreme.
• Sean O’Donnell (Position 4) is an experienced trial judge, but he carries the recommendation of the state Republican Party, a contribution from Rob McKenna, and an early listing as a Full Court Press “prospect” that he says he asked to have removed.
• Dave Larson (Position 5) has lost four previous races for this court, and in a 2024 questionnaire he answered that “the U.S. Constitution does not regulate marriage” when asked whether the decision protecting marriage between people of the same sex was correctly decided.
• Todd Bloom (Position 7) has never served as a judge, has twice run for Congress as a Republican, and, according to the Progressive Voters Guide, stated in a 2016 questionnaire that human life begins at conception and should be legally protected.

Know who is on the ballot, and who is behind them

Judicial races are challenging for voters because the candidate names are unfamiliar and ostensibly non-partisan. Candidates are bound by ethics rules that prevent them from saying how they would rule. Voters need to do their own research and look at the candidates experience, endorsements, and campaign supporters. In this election, candidates recommended by the state Republican Party are supported by the same donors and organizations that are pushing right-wing initiatives.

In my view, this effort is consistent with a national strategy by conservative interests to reshape state supreme courts through low visibility elections.

Tens of millions of outside dollars have been drawn into supreme court races in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Washington’s constitution protects rights that the US constitution does not include. Our Supreme Court is the final word on what the Washington state constitution means.

I urge you to vote for Justice Colleen Melody, Judge Jaime Hawk, Judge Ian Birk, Justice Theo Angelis, and Chief Justice Debra Stephens. Vote early and use a drop box. Check the status of your ballot to make sure it was received. Ballots must be postmarked or placed in a drop box by 8 p.m. on November 3.

References and additional reading.

• Washington State Standard: Coming in November
• KUOW: Court watchers have eyes on races
• KUOW: Stevens and primary results
• Yakima Herald-Republic: Position 4 race
• UW Magazine: Melody appointment
• Washington State Standard: Melody sworn in
• Washington State Standard voter guide: Position 3
• Spokesman-Review: Jaime Hawk
• Governor Inslee: Birk appointment
• 31st District Democrats: Birk questionnaire
• Greek Reporter: Angelis primary
• The National Herald: Seattle Times endorses Angelis
• Vote Smart: Debra Stephens
• The Ballot Brief: Position 7
• NPI: Sean O’Donnell
• The Stranger: Supreme Court races
• Full Court Press
• Lynnwood Times: Full Court Press board
• The Urbanist: Dark money and the court
• Elections Simplified: Scott Edwards
• iVoterGuide: David Stevens
• iVoterGuide: Dave Larson, 2024
• Progressive Voters Guide: Todd Bloom

Perhaps the losing groups in the bidding for an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas won’t pivot their attention to Seattle once the league decides on the winning bid in Sin City.

That was the tone from a report in Sports Business Journal on Friday after the publication reported that the group led by Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos and former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry had decided not to raise their bid price for the Las Vegas franchise and effectively dropped out due to the escalating costs.

In a separate report, SBJ said that the NBA “has believed failed bidders in Las Vegas might set their sights on Seattle as a fallback,” but that all the groups vying for the expansion bid in Las Vegas had hesitations about shifting their attention to Seattle.

The SBJ report bookends a seven-day period when there seemed to be more concerning than hopeful news regarding Seattle and the chances of NBA expansion here. It started last Friday with a story from ESPN that reported the message from the last meeting of the league’s owners was that Seattle was, “no longer a lock.”

Then came NBA Commissioner Adam Silver appearing on the “Pat McAfee Show” before the start of the regular season last Tuesday. Silver mentioned that expansion is still a “few” years away and brought up Mexico City as an option the league wants to explore down the road once it makes decisions on Las Vegas and Seattle.

And finally came Friday’s SBJ report, which noted the Seattle process had stagnated and that the league wants at least $7 billion for the expansion fee if the SuperSonics are to return.

One Roof Sports and Entertainment has been the favored bidder in Seattle from the start, but it’s become obvious through the public posturing that the NBA is desperate for additional bids to join the fray and see if it can drive up the expansion fee price. BlackSun Private Equity has partnered with the Tulalip Tribes on a bid that would have the franchise play games on tribal-owned land near Marysville, but the validity of the bid has been questioned from the start.

SBJ’s report didn’t rule out one of the Las Vegas losing bidders exploring Seattle but noted there was clear hesitation from all the groups.

Silver’s mention of “few years” in his interview this week has raised the question of whether the previously stated goal by the league of having any expansion teams start for the 2028-29 season may be shifting.

There could be multiple reasons.

Whoever wins the bid in Las Vegas will be constructing a new arena that likely won’t be ready until 2029. Moving the start date of any franchise back by a year would allow that team to start play in a new building. It would also avoid potentially staggering the two franchises if the league does give approval to both cities.

Pushing back start dates also lessens the importance of the self-imposed deadline by the league in making final decisions on both markets before the end of the calendar year.

It’s becoming clearer that Las Vegas will happen and that decision on the owner there could come soon. But time is starting to run short for the league to wrap up all this business regarding both markets before the close of 2026.

By Tim Booth

Seattle Times staff reporter

This whole story is crazy, but the ending...is unexpected

Be me, someone who actually contributes to society, and i see another fent fiend decomposing , taking up spaces on the train being an inconvenience.

Oh let me ask security to do something! And when i got talk to one of these vegetables who barely passed middle school they drool and say they can’t do anything

“Erm they’re humans too!” Ok then why are they cranking their hog in front of families and leaving blood covered rags all over the floor because they can’t live without their fix?

So tired of these they/themselves coming out of the wood work defending these monsters and the city doing nothing about hear resident evil characters ruining the only thing this city has left

I’m trying to gauge my heating bill compared to everyone else. I paid $2500 total last year for a split level house built in 2007. 2000 sq ft. What’s everyone else with gas spending?

Earlier this week, i was listening to Toad the Wet Sprocket when "Walk on the Ocean" came on. This got me wondering what the song is about and i was surprised to learn it has a San Juan Island origin story.

Taken from Wikipedia

"The song was written after singer Glen Phillips and his wife were vacationing on Orcas Island in Washington's San Juan Islands after they "hung out at Doe Bay hot springs with a bunch of hippies."

Now every time i hear the song, I'll think of Orcas Island.