At 22.4%, Washington now has one of the highest average premium rate increases in the country. When rates become too high, families are forced to choose between buying health insurance and paying for other basic needs than food and housing costs. www.healthinsurance.org/blog/health-...

Health insurance premium increases for 2027: Proposed rates by state and what consumers should know

Proposed 2027 health insurance premiums are rising across much of the U.S. See requested rate increases by state and what they mean for consumers.

healthinsurance.org

My thoughts on the potential strike. SPS walking away from the bargaining table. How #waleg could solve this long term. It’s important we get behind our educators as a strike is just days away

The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 3d ago

NEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: From the Bargaining Table to Olympia, Educators Need Our Support Now By Kelabe Tewolde at @kelabe via @theurbanist.org

NEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: Washington’s Primary Election Results Underscore the Case for Proportional Ranked Choice Voting By Zane Gustafson via @theurbanist.org

Op-Ed: Washington’s Primary Election Results Underscore the Case for Proportional Ranked Choice Voting

Primary results show Washington voters don’t like the two-party system. With proportional ranked choice voting, Washington voters could have a multiparty system.

theurbanist.org

Great write-up here featuring maps from our WA Community Alliance dashboards!

The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · last wk.

NEW STORY// Democrats Poised to Gain Seats in Washington State Legislature By Doug Trumm via @theurbanist.org

Under today's laws, billionaires can evade taxes by dying. We need to close that loophole — and start soaking the dead. www.vox.com/politics/500...

Washington being the #1 corporate tax haven in the country is a policy choice. More of the same isn’t going to change that. It’s time for courageous leadership willing to stand up to corporations, not capitulate to them.

An Amazon worker died in one of Amazon's warehouses. As he lay on the floor dying, management told the other workers: "Just turn around and don't look. Get back to work." That was a human being. A child of God. Sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed.

Media bias on display: the Seattle Times gives a massive headline to a City Councilmember making a mountain out of a molehill about the timing of a press conference. Nowhere on the Times site (as of 8:45pm) do they cover a genuinely major mayoral announcement about public safety on the roads.

“Pike Place is more than a parking lot — it’s both the loading dock and the front porch of the heart of Seattle. It’s a destination for the public to visit, shop, gather, and build community. It’s no wonder 98% of Seattleites want to keep it prioritized for people”

The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 2w ago

NEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: How Pike Place Market Can Thrive in the Winter Without Car Traffic By Gordon Padelford, Seattle Streets Alliance via @theurbanist.org

We are hearing a lot of misinformation about the Millionaires Tax. In particular, some ultra-wealthy people and special interest groups who don’t want to pay this tax are pushing the false narrative of “millionaire tax flight." Our new blog post debunks these claims:

Debunking the false claims behind “millionaire tax flight” - Budget and Policy Center

We're hearing a lot of misinformation on the Millionaires Tax. Some ultra-wealthy people and special interest groups who don’t want to pay this tax are pushing the false narrative of “millionaire tax ...

budgetandpolicy.org

Op-Ed: Progressives Are Winning the Future of Washington's Legislature www.theurbanist.org/op-ed-progre...

Op-Ed: Progressives Are Winning the Future of Washington's Legislature

While Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat claims progressives “fizzled” in Washington state because a few primary challengers trailed, Kamau Chege argues that analysis is flawed, ignoring other win...

theurbanist.org

I wrote a response to Danny Wesneat’s Time’s column about the left’s performance in the August primary. He doesn’t seem to grasp that it’s precisely because so many progressives are challenging the establishment this year that we’re now on track for the most progressive legislature in generations.

The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 3w ago

NEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: Progressives Are Winning the Future of Washington's Legislature By Kamau Chege via @theurbanist.org

I'm not an ethics expert, is it bad when a Supreme Court justice makes millions of dollars off of companies directly affected by Supreme Court rulings?

Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from oil and gas assets since joining supreme court, analysis shows

Critics argue US high court justice should recuse himself from upcoming fossil fuel firms’ climate accountability case

theguardian.com

Ranked Choice Voting increases voter voice and choice, and could transform our politics. Seattle voters approved ranked choice voting in 2022 and it will be implemented in the 2027 primary. Thank you FairVote WA for leading this effort!

The Democratic primary for governor of Wisconsin is a really great example of why America needs to switch to ranked-choice voting in primaries. As of now it looks like the winner of the race will prevail with <40% of the vote! No good reason not to switch ahead of 2028.

My position throughout all of this has been not woke, exactly, but anti-anti-woke. I always found some core elements of wokeness annoying and even troubling, but thought that the anti-woke cure was more dangerous than the disease. Trump's second term has largely proven this stance right.

@lastpositivist.bsky.social · 3w ago

I gave my retrospective here sootyempiric.blogspot.com/2025/08/woke..., not to be coy. But I don't think I was ever a True Believer in quite the right way so I'm probs not a good example of the pertinent class of people. Then again from the outside I bet I seem like I am, so maybe I am a good guide?

The ADL has a website dedicated to attacking Mamdani staffers—including my friend Waleed Shahid. The ADL is applying a level of scrutiny to him they aren’t applying to literal neo-Nazis working in the federal government. Waleed has a Jewish wife and child. The ADL is a disgrace.

Personnel

We expect the Mamdani administration to uphold a simple, non-negotiable standard: no one with a history of antisemitism or hostility toward Jews, Zionists, Israelis or Jewish institutions should be ap...

mamdanimonitor.com

Really drives home how badly the Stranger has failed as a guide for progressive voters. No one should rely on it.

Lefty Cheat Sheet@electioncheatsheet.org · 3w ago

No single organization makes perfect endorsements. Our approach is to show voters how a collection of member-driven, lefty organizations have endorsed and to put the voter one tap away from more detail and context. leftycheatsheet.org#race=ld43_sen

This is just an objectively better way for progressive Seattleites to get the info they need to vote wisely.

Lefty Cheat Sheet@electioncheatsheet.org · 3w ago

No single organization makes perfect endorsements. Our approach is to show voters how a collection of member-driven, lefty organizations have endorsed and to put the voter one tap away from more detail and context. leftycheatsheet.org#race=ld43_sen

We will never build lasting progressive power in Seattle as long as Seattle progressive voters default to the Stranger's endorsements. Ultimately it's on all of us to persuade our base to look instead at what the larger progressive ecosystem suggests. @electioncheatsheet.org makes that easy.

@kamaumau.bsky.social · 3w ago

I don’t think it’s healthy for our city or the progressive movement that we’ve gotten to a point where 6 unelected and unaccountable editorial board members have so much influence over the outcomes of our elections

not to take anything away from Kelabe, who is a phenomenal candidate & has run a great campaign, but this result does show the influence of The Stranger when you look at the 43rd and 46th LDs. The results in those races could have been very different if they had followed their progressive reputation

Northwest Progressive Institute@nwprogressive.org · 4w ago

ICYMI: Friday ballot drop, August 2026: Kelabe Tewolde now leads Sharon Tomiko Santos in 37th LD House race Here's what's happening in some of the… https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2026/08/friday-ballot-drop-august-2026-kelabe-tewolde-now-leads-sharon-tomiko-santos-in-37th-ld-house-race.html

Funny how CM Sarah "all city employees must work in the office" Nelson never cared that the police chief was AWOL most of the time...

Erica C. Barnett@ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 4w ago

A More Complete Calendar Shows Former Police Chief Out of Office Almost 40 Percent of the Time Barnes’ schedule had him out of the office 12 weeks through mid-August, including a three-week stretch between July and mid- August.

NYT stating this like it’s normal when it’s absolutely berserk.

Kelabe Tewolde has officially overtaken incumbent Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos in the 37th LD after the latest ballot drop from King County Elections. Tewolde currently has 51% to Santos's 48% with ballots still being counted.

kelabe.bsky.social@kelabe.bsky.social · 4w ago

Seattle is rolling out a first‑of‑its‑kind policy to make grocery prices fair for everyone. This policy stops big retailers from using your personal data to price gouge you while protecting customer discounts and coupons. @cmdionnefoster @councilmember.amr

Our opponent & the establishment that backs him spent $500k to try to drown us out. So what do we do from now to November 3rd? Get louder. Here’s to big fights worth having. Only when we push does anything move.

with @kelabe.bsky.social closing in on Sharon Tomiko Santos after today’s drop it looks like he’ll eventually pull ahead once the more progressive Election Day votes are counted #waelex