Mediocrity Speaks

At Least He Doesn't Think He's Spock (probably)

Jon Simpson, one of the Planning Commissioners and one of John Drescher's (R) endorsers, wrote a letter to the editor praising Mr. Drescher in the Newcastle News.  N.P.R. has barely noticed Simpson at some of the Planning Commission meetings, as this flabby mediocrity, who puts on airs like he's some kind of intellectual, seems as delusional as the Seattle-area billionaire who thinks he's the second coming of Lieutenant Spock (Star Trek).  Simpson probably hopes that he'll rise up a notch from the bottom of the totem pole at Planning if Drescher ascends to Council.

Please vote for I-522 this November, YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW about whether of not the food you buy is genetically modified. If GM food is the greatest thing since sliced bread (according to them), then why don't they want it labeled?

The Establishment Tries to Run Up the Score

The Newcastle News published a Question and Answer segment for the Position 6 council candidates in their latest (October) edition.  At least that was neutral.  Additionally, however, the News endorsed John Drescher (R): "Surprise, surprise, surprise," as TVs Gomer Pyle would have said.  In the past the News has endorsed several, if not many, of Drescher's many endorsers, and they published a letter to the editor in favor of their endorsee in the October edition as well.  Almost the entirety of the mostly Republican Newcastle City Council and Planning Commission, and especially an anti-apartments commissioner who wrote a testimonial, endorsed Drescher. Regarding outsiders (not from Newcastle), Drescher received endorsements from everyone from turncoat political charlatan Rodney Tom (D) [it should be (T)] to unsuccessful though renowned gubernatorial candidate, Rob McKenna (R). 

In football, they call this running up the score, but I remember a game where the Seahawks fell way behind and then managed to come back and win the game.  Mark Greene (Commons) has met hundreds of voters, maybe even thousands, coming into downtown ever since he first ran for council in 2007, and is continuing to work hard to win this election.  As you can remember in "Aesop's Fables," the hare pulled away in front of the tortoise quite dramatically, but the tortoise ended up getting the victory.

[revised on 10/11/13]

Please vote for I-522 this November, YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW about whether of not the food you buy is genetically modified.  If GM food is the greatest thing since sliced bread (according to them), then why don't they want it labeled?

Tortoise at the Table

Mark Greene

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for your attention to this close council election in Newcastle between me and my "2" opponents, Mr. Drescher and the Washington Establishment.  I cannot even identify the latter as just the town Establishment, because big shots from outside of Newcastle have meddled in our politics to make sure that the "little people" do not get a foothold in governance.  After all, they realize that the game (of special interest politics) is up once the little people start governing.  Which is why, my friends, that I need your vote and for many of you to join my relatively new 3rd party, the Party of Commons.


I started this campaign back in early December, and like the Tortoise in Aesop's Fables, "The Hare and the Tortoise," I have been inching along towards victory, receiving support from commoners from all parts of Newcastle as we try to get a seat at the table.  Naturally, I'm not going to put up signs in every square mile of Newcastle (I put up just a handful of signs), because for one, all these political signs everywhere aren't that aesthetic-looking, and secondly, I don't get the money from wheelers and dealers who try to influence politics for their own narrow or special interests as opposed to that of Newcastle, generally.

As someone who has promised that I'll never vote for the annexation of Newcastle, voters will have at least 3 solid votes against annexation on the Newcastle City Council in the next 2 - 4 years (Councilmember Carol Simpson being among those).  This loyal bloc will keep Newcastle independent and sovereign until we pass the baton to a new generation.

-- Mark Greene, Candidate for Newcastle City Council, Position 6

[Revised on 10/3/13 and updated with a photograph on 10/5/13.]

Note #1:  Please, pass the word around about Northern Pacific Report, URL: http://commonsnorth.blogspot.com.  The larger the circulation, the better chance that commoners will get a seat at the table. Thank you!  

Note #2:  Yesterday's Council Meeting: the Newcastle City Council was in session yesterday with an agenda filled with budget matters.  N.P.R. did not attend that session. 

Yesterday's agenda format is from the City of Newcastle:

GENERAL BUSINESS
 

a.  AB 13‐068  Operating Budget Needs and Council Priorities for 2014      Christine Olson, Finance Director 

 

Councilmembers will begin the 2014 budgeting process by discussing needs and  priorities for next year.   

b.  AB 13‐069  Revenue Forecast for 2014 ‐ 2019  Christine Olson, Finance Director 

A review of financial forecasts as part of the budgeting process.   

c.  AB 13‐070  Ordinance Amending the 2013 Budget  Christine Olson, Finance Director

The Council will review proposed amendments to the current fiscal year budget.

A public comment period is provided.

From N.P.R.: Please vote for I-522 this November, YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW about whether of not the food you buy is genetically modified.  If genetically modified food is so great, why don't the producers of it want it labeled?

 

Voters' Guides Are Now On-Line

The Director of the King County Elections Department (Sherril Huff), a position for which Mark Greene was Runner-up for in 2011, has published the General Election Voters' Guide recently, and you can now view it on-line, including the Drescher (R) vrs. Greene (Commons) Position 6 race for Newcastle City Council.  Please, let your family and friends know about the new voters' guide.  Also, the Newcastle News will be publishing a Question & Answer segment from Newcastle City Council candidates (at least those running in the contested Position 6 race) in their October edition.

Post-script: The council race is non-partisan, but N.P.R. is going to be including the known "party information" about the candidates inside the usual parentheses from now until the election.  John Drescher helped the McCain (R) '08 presidential campaign and Mark Greene is the founder of the Party of Commons: Tradition, Progress, Ecology, and hasn't voted for a major party candidate for president in a general election since McGovern in '72, though Greene has voted in most elections since the age of 18.

[revised on 9/25/13]

Please vote for I-522 this November, YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW about whether of not the food you buy is genetically modified.

Drescher (R) Vrs. Greene (Commons)

THEY ARE VERY CERTAIN

 

The Town Establishment in Newcastle, overwhelmingly Republican, is very certain that they have pulled out all the stops to ensure that their candidate, John Drescher, will win the election.  However, indications and unofficial polls, don't seem to be going along with their candidate, therefore Mark Greene is still in the running and pretty much even with Drescher. In fact, it is Drescher that is struggling to pull above even despite help from turncoat Democrats like Rodney Tom and "Blue Dog" Adam Smith.  Democrats helping Republicans is nothing new, however, as we learned from the 2009 Council Race in County District 9.  This could stem from the fact that Mark Greene is with the Party of Commons or Commons Party, a fledgling third party, and thus with neither of the major parties.  The party's motto is Tradition, Progress, Ecology.  Your vote will turn the tables on those who think they already have it in their pocket.



Please vote for I-522 this November, YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW about whether of not the food you buy is genetically modified.

Campaign Buttons

If possible, please, contribute to Mark Greene's council campaign.  For the rest of this month of September, we're aiming for ten 10 dollar donations in order to buy a hundred dollars worth of buttons (Greene for Council) that'll be handed out in Newcastle.

N.P.R. missed tonight's council meeting due to the editor's busier than usual work schedule, but this should be an anomaly and not a long term problem with N.P.R. keeping up with the latest Washington political news.

Please vote for I-522 this November, YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW about whether of not the food you buy is genetically modified.

Generalness is Popular, Specificity is Better

Remember Walter Mondale's frankness about taxes in a 1984 presidential debate with President Ronald Reagan, many said that it set the stage for Reagan's 49-state landslide that year.  Voters didn't appreciate Mondale's candor since people, generally, don't like politicians giving them negative news even if it's true, which is why it wasn't particularly politically astute for me to be the messenger of austerity in the Newcastle News interview, but matters of principle, like being specific and frank in politics, should take precedence over political ambitions, I think.  Of course, everybody wants million dollar streets to drive their vehicles on, but if at the same time people don't want their taxes raised by a single cent, then something has to give.  Newcastle can't spend two million dollars a year on streets every year unless the economy rises significantly or taxes are raised, and right now, in this period of economic stagnation, I simply told the News reporter the truth about finances, and said that the expenditures for roads may have to be cut by half (with the implied caveat: if constituents don't want their taxes raised).  That was one of several specifics in the article's portion about me.  Regarding John Drescher, however, the majority of politicians in America wouldn't mind saying the same words as him in that article, in some sense, which gives you an idea of how general his statements were.

-- Mark Greene, Newcastle City Council Candidate, Position 6  

[revised on 10/13/13]