By Peter House, 36th District Democrats

This year’s election is again “one of the most important in recent memory.”

On the national level, this will be the first referendum on President Obama, his record and his proposals. At the state and local level, we will find out whether we want to help our governments meet their obligations or to bring them to their knees financially and further deepen our current funding crisis.

I would like to first urge everyone to send in their ballots and to tell their friends to vote. Anyone sitting out this election has flair for adventure. The stakes are too high to leave this one to the usual core of perfect voters.

Next, I want you to consider the voting recommendations of your 36th District Democrats. We are thorough and thoughtful in our endorsements. We interview the candidates and both sides of the initiatives and then we take a vote.

If there is a theme to how we make these decisions, it is that we come down on the side of supporting government as the best strategy for providing a strong social safety net.

We distrust the moneyed interests in the campaigns, particularly those that have usurped the initiative process. We also recognize the job-creating power of small businesses, and there are a bunch of them in the Ballard-Interbay area.

So, here goes with our recommendations:

Patty Murray deserves your vote. She is a superb public official. Straight up. Same goes for Rep. Jim McDermott.

Return our incumbent 36th District legislators to Olympia (Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Reps. Mary Lou Dickerson and Reuven Carlyle.)

Close to home, please vote yes on the Seattle School District Proposition 1. Our schools are starving and facing increasing demand as recession-stressed families leave private schools. Now is the time to step up and support this modest proposal.

You can also help the county keep a strong judicial system by voting yes on King County Proposition 1.

Please vote yes on Initiative 1098. We are excited about the prospect that people of our state will support schools and health care by instituting a fair income tax on those who can most afford it.

Vote yes on Referendum 52, the job-creating proposal to repair our schools by extending the tax on bottled water.

The other state initiatives will take money from the state at a time when it will hurt the most. Do some research and you will see that the moneyed folks are behind each of the initiatives below. We want you to vote:

• No on Initiative 1053 – Tim Eyman’s proposal to make it virtually impossible for the state to raise any new revenues.
• No on Initiative 1082 – Privatization of Labor and Industries (L&I) insurance.
• No on Initiative 1100 and 1105 – Privatization of the state liquor stores.
• No on Initiative 1107 – Ending the temporary sales tax on candy and soda.

We would like you to send Charles Wiggins to the State Supreme Court and to elect Ed McKenna and Karen Donohue to the Municipal Court.

For more details on our recommendations visit our website.

Finally, one more time, all together now: Please vote!

Ballots for in the all-mail 2010 election are due Nov. 2. Click here for more information the election, including ballot drop-box locations.