Yard signs are polluting the landscape

Published 9:16 am Thursday, February 28, 2008

Signs, signs,

Campaign signs.

City, county,

School board signs.

On two sides of the street

for two different towns.

Yard signs lined up clear

to Emerald Downs.

Yard signs are supposed to stand in yards to express people’s opinions on local candidates and issues. But, we see them on vacant lots (probably without permission) and on public property, cluttering street corners where they become almost meaningless. They have come to replace billboards for local candidates who don’t have the resources that Congressional and statewide candidates have.

Let’s reinstate the rule against signs on public property. And, let’s get candidates to show permission for signs on private property.

Then, let’s enforce the rule that requires candidates who lose in the primary to get their signs down in a few days.

Somebody speak out on light rail

King County’s second council district in northeast Seattle has a choice the rest of us ought to have – between a challenger, Bob Ferguson, who wants to rethink Sound Transit’s light-rail – and an incumbent, Cynthia Sullivan, who supports the line as a member of the ST Board.

Even though Ferguson and Sullivan are the only candidates running, the winner will be decided in the primary because both are Democrats.

Change the primary system

With only two candidates running in King County’s 2nd District, both ought to advance to November. But since both are Democrats, the September winner will be unopposed. A better system would advance the top two, regardless of party.

Let the election be decided in November, when more people vote.

Monorail for the ‘burbs

The proposal for a suburban monorail, which will be on petitions next year, gets me dreaming of this kind of line:

From the north end of the Seattle “Green Line” in Ballard, it would head north through Greenwood to the Richmond Beach area, then on to the Aurora Village Transfer Station, where it would connect with buses and perhaps a future Snohomish County monorail.

From there, it would go on to Kenmore, Bothell, Kirkland, Redmond, Bellevue, Renton, Kent, Auburn, Federal Way (where it could connect to Pierce County), SeaTac, the airport, Tukwila, Burien and the south end of the Green Line in West Seattle and on to downtown.

A connecting line would cross the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge from the University to one of the Eastside stops and on to Newport, Issaquah and, perhaps, points east.

Financial support would come from a motor-vehicle excise tax throughout King County, with Seattle residents getting credit for what they now pay for the city monorail.

Why not ask for sacrifice?

President Bush asked Sunday for Congress to appropriate an additional $87 billion for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and asked other nations to help with the effort, but he did not ask Americans to make any sacrifice in the name of national or international security.

If Iraq and the war on terrorism are as important as the President says they are, he should ask us for some sacrifice. Past presidents, when leading us through times of crisis, have asked Americans for sacrifice. Sacrifice would mean a tax increase to pay for the war, and, possibly a draft to ease the load on our overextended volunteer military.

In the past, Americans have been willing to make such sacrifices when they accepted the crisis as important to our national interest.

I think Bush doesn’t ask for sacrifice because he doesn’t think Americans will be willing to pay the price for the current military efforts.

Judicial appointments

(The president) shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint … judges of the Supreme Court and other officers of the United States.

–U.S. Constitution. Article II, Sec. 2

The end of the fight to gain Senate confirmation of the appointment of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is another example of a president, either Republican or Democrat, seeking the consent of the Senate without seeking its advice.

Democrats have kept several of President Bush’s appointments from coming to a Senate vote just as Republicans kept Clinton appointments from coming to a vote.

In both cases, the president has sought the Senate’s consent without first seeking its advice. More than 80 years ago, a president called in members of the Senate judiciary committee to view a list of possible candidates for a court vacancy. At the senators’ suggestion, the president reversed his list, leading to an easily confirmed appointment,

That is the way the process should work and the way it would produce the best possible federal judges.

The sheriff a politician?

Republicans view with optimism the possibility that early resolution of the Green River murder cases may bring King County Sheriff Dave Reichert back into the governor’s race, but I continue to hope that Reichert will run as an independent candidate for governor.

This career law-enforcement professional, who was forced to become a politician when King County voters made his office elective, could win as an independent. As an independent, he could beat any Democrat, since that party has won five successive times, and whatever splinter candidate the Republicans would nominate.

Like recent independent governors in other states, he could get action from a legislature sure to continue to be sharply divided between the parties.

‘De-publicans’

The election for King County Council was enhanced Wednesday by a joint fund-raiser for Councilwomen Julia Patterson, Democrat from SeaTac, and Kathy Lambert, Republican from Woodinville. The two expressed their hope that their “De-publican” event will “De-politicize” a historically partisan body.

We’d like to know what you think. If you have a comment send it to

The Enterprise

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Lynnwood, Wash. 98036

E-mail: entopinion@Heraldnet.com

Fax: 425-774-8622

Evan Smith is the Enterprise Forum editor.