A handful of Ballard residents had their Saturday morning coffee with a side of politics courtesy of 36th District Rep. Reuven Carlyle, who hosted the first of four Jan. 9 coffee hours at Caffe Fiore in Crown Hill.

The attendance hovered around 10 as Carlyle and residents discussed issues facing Seattle and Washington.

As with most political meetings in the past year, the focus was heavily on the budget deficit – how to fix it and what can be done despite it.

One coffee hour attendee said now is the time for the state to start talking about new sources of revenue. She said she would rather see an income tax put in place than rely on the hope of receiving federal aid.

Carlyle said bad economic times are times for change, and the state needs to talk about installing an income tax in the same conversation as lowering other taxes, such as the property tax and the sales tax.

"That way no one gets crushed with an ineffective, unfair system," he said.

The goal is to frame the conversation about an income tax in terms of fairness, not generating additional revenue for the short term, Carlyle said.

"Maybe we need coffee parties for a state income tax," another attendee said.

Carlyle said people need to be educated about the role of government and the kinds of popular services, such as education, that taxes fund.

He said he wants to create an online system where residents can enter their home address and view what they pay in state, county and local taxes and what those taxes are paying for.

Carlyle said he wants to see an improvement in the inequality and inefficiency in the way the government is run.

"It's time to shatter the myth that areas outside of Seattle are subsidizing Seattle," he said.

Seattle is a net exporter of tax funds in every category, he said.

Attendees also wanted to find out how citizens can get their voices heard over the influence of corporations, money and lobbyists.

"We're looking more and more to me like a corrupt country," one attendee said. "We need to have a conversation about that."

Carlyle said he received a tidal wave of requests from lobbyists with the 2010 legislative session starting Jan. 11. He hosted the series of coffee hours because he felt he needed to talk to real people before dealing with that, he said.

He said the 36th is one of the most informed and progressive districts in the state, and district residents need to make sure they are engaged in their government.

"You have to wear your hat of citizen with real honesty and conviction," he said.

When citizens don't get engaged, that void gets filled with lobbyists, Carlyle said.

He said emails and phone calls from residents make a difference and turning out in Olympia for big issues is important.

At the end of the hour, residents thanked Carlyle for making an effort to engage with them. But, the coffee chat wasn't for everybody.

"It's just a little more politics than I could take on a Saturday morning," one attendee said with a smile as he left early.

The other three Jan. 9 coffee hours took place in Greenwood, Magnolia and Queen Anne.