Over the past few days, the major event in the ccampaign has been Seattle Times reporter Emily Heffter's hit piece on Darcy about her degree (for more on Heffter's approach to journalism, read this comment). Reichert is up on TV with this ad, and with the illegal contribution from Media Plus, he has substantial rotation on TV behind the allegation. Burner's response from former Harvard Dean Harry Lewis is also up.
I had hoped to talk to voters and find out how the attack was resonating,so I went out canvassing today. Unfortunately, nearly every knock on a door elicited no response. The weather's beautiful so people aren't home, and when someone's not home, you leave some lit squeezed in between their door knob and hope they take a glance at it and remember to vote. This is especially true with transient rental communities, where low probability voters reside. It's not clear how the race is shaping up now, with Darcy narrowly ahead in the polls but this last minute smear up on TV.
In the slideshow above, you'll see pictures from a variety of events, including a local school festival celebrating cultures from around the world (represented by their student body, whose parents immigrated from all over the world), a variety of senior centers, and a sustainability fair at a local community college.
The most revealing conversation was with a retired machinist, an immigrant from Taiwan hanging out at one of the senior centers we visited. His property taxes, he complains, have doubled since 2004, and he's incredibly angry at Governor Gregoire. He's not upset that his taxes have gone up, mind you, just that the tax rate has stayed the same even as the assessment value has increased. Property values are falling, but his property is assessed at a higher and higher value, and he's unable to dispute the state on that matter. He feels cheated, and so he doesn't like politicians.
I've seen this attitude in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and now Washington state. People don't like property taxes because they seem arbitrary and unfair, but they aren't willing to shift to an income tax basis even when they want a different tax system because they don't believe the politicians who keep raising their property taxes will implement a new tax properly. At heart, this is a problem with trust in government, and not that government is using money inefficiently. No one is clearly explaining the situation in a trustworthy and clear manner and discussing the trade-offs involved.
As property values deflate all over the country, getting the Federal government to help move the states away from property taxes should be a key goal, or states and municipalities will simply be unable to govern.
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