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Mid-term election results across Cascadia
The US midterm elections were held yesterday, and there were scores of important decisions made across the Cascadia bioregion. Turnout levels were some of the highest for a mid-term election in decades, and the direction of US politics in the next two years could change drastically now that the House of Representatives is in Democratic control.
Ballot measures included a carbon tax, gun control, limits on abortion, ending sanctuary laws for immigrants, increasing funding for Medicaid, funding for affordable housing, and protecting salmon. Legislatures and governors offices in Oregon and Washington are now all held by Democrats, while red-states such as Alaska and Idaho trended more conservative.
Here’s Cascadia Daily’s summary of results from across the Pacific Northwest:
Alaska
Republican Mike Dunleavy was elected governor by a wide margin while control of the legislature is still uncertain. Proposition 1, which would have increased habitat protection for salmon, failed to pass.
Idaho
By a surprisingly strong margin, voters approved ballot measure 2, which will expand Medicaid coverage in a deeply-red state. Republican Brad Little was elected governor, preventing Paulette Jordan from becoming the first Native American woman governor in the US.
Oregon
Defying polls that predicted a close race, Democrat Kate Brown was easily re-elected governor over Knute Buehler. Voters soundly defeated measure that would have banned use of public funds for abortion, and also voted to keep the state’s sanctuary law, which puts limits on how much local police can work with federal immigration officials. The Oregon legislature remained in Democratic control, and in fact the party will likely have a 3/5 supermajority in both houses.
Portland made history by electing activist Jo Ann Hardesty as the city’s first black woman city council member. Portland-area voters also made a huge commitment to affordable housing by passing a $653 million housing bond that would likely create more than 2,000 new units. Portland also approved a tax on large retail businesses that would fund clean energy projects and green jobs.
Washington
Voters rejected a carbon fee that would have been the first of its kind in the US and funded public transportation and renewable energy projects. The oil industry pumped $31 million into ads against I-1631, making it the most expensive ballot campaign in state history. Voters approved new restrictions on gun ownership, including raising the age limit to buy assault rifles.
The WA legislature gained a stronger Democratic majority, although one Republican legislator in the Spokane Valley won re-election despite revelations he’d published a manifesto calling for enacting biblical law and killing all males who don’t comply.
In federal offices, senator Maria Cantwell easily won re-election, and incumbent Republicans Jaime Herrera Buetler (Vancouver, WA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Spokane) also held their closely contested seats. In the 8th district that crosses both sides of the Cascades, Kim Schrier defeated Dino Rossi, giving the district its first Democratic rep in its history.
British Columbia
Okay, there were no results from BC yesterday (it’s part of Canada, folks), but it’s currently in the midst of an election by mail on the issue of whether British Columbia will switch to a system of proportional representation. Ballots are due by November 30. For detailed analysis of pro-rep and the different systems voters can choose from, check out The Tyee’s detailed series of articles prop-rep.
Cascadia Magazine original: “Trudeau”
Rob Lewis’s poem, “Trudeau,” now online at Cascadia Magazine, finds that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seemed OK — until he developed an addiction for oil pipelines…
“…No one noticed,
not even him, the black speck
at the corner of his smile.
It began to spread, creeping across his lips
like an oil-bled kiss.”
Read the full poem online.
Report details massive fraud, mismanagement of Hanford cleanup
Anna King, reporting for Northwest Public Broadcasting, looks in detail at a new report from a federal watchdog agency that finds the cleanup of Washington’s Hanford nuclear site has been plagued with fraud and mismanagement. The litany of kickbacks and fraudulent procurement practices likely have led to hundreds of million dollars in wasted taxpayer money.
Seattle mayor thrilled Amazon HQ2 split in two cities
Geek Wire reports that Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan is pleased that Amazon’s selection of a second headquarters outside Seattle will be split between locations in New York and Virginia. “I’d call those branch offices,” she says.
Orca task force recommends banning whale watching
KING-5 reports that Washington governor Jay Inslee’s task force on orca recovery has recommended banning whale watching in the Salish Sea in order to reduce vehicle noise that harms the animals. Meanwhile, a Washington state ferry was delayed for hours by a pod of orcas near a dock on Vashon Island.
Wildfires have bigger impact on communities of color
OPB looks at a new report that finds that ethnic minorities are much more at risk than the general population from health affects and property damage caused by wildfires across western North America. “Their analysis found census tracts with majority Black and Hispanic populations were 50 percent more vulnerable to wildfire disasters. They found Native Americans were six times times more vulnerable to wildfire than would be expected if all things were equal.”
Fugitives in the BC archives
Over at Geist, there’s a fascinating essay/photo essay from Trudy Lynn Smith and Katherine Hennessy called “Fugitives,” that looks at the deep history of items in the British Columbia Archives in Victoria that have lost their importance through damage or are just too odd to have much value.
Poetry by Dujie Tahat
Online in the American Journal of Poetry you can read Seattle-based poet Dujie Tahat’s prose-poem “when you realize your child is drowning in the hotel pool,” which, as you might imagine, is quite intense:
“you’ll think, for just a second, that she’s pretending. Head underwater limbs & hair floating—perfect imitation of a drowning child. It takes an extra second to scream her name, to jump in fully clothed…”
Read the full poem online here.
That’s today’s selection of news, arts, and culture from the Great Northwest. Have a lovely evening. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credits: Jo Ann Hardesty by K Kendall via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0