The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper: Slog: Visual Art

  

The Undocumented Socialist Alien Who Keeps Saving America
Conservatives hate him. Puppies love him. Welcome to James Gunn’s Superman by Marcus Harrison Green A summer blockbuster about an undocumented alien with unyielding socialist values who continuously bails out a country clearly undeserving of him. Is it any wonder that James Gunn’s Superman movie, released today, is reflexively triggering fascists to demand people claw out their corneas rather than be subjected to its “woke proselytizing?” Even before its release, the outrage coming from the conservative content mill branded the film a beta male cuckfest, wishing it the ultimate cinematic kiss of death: that it bombed harder than Disney's live-action remake of Snow White (ouch). And for what? Simply because Gunn, the film's director and screenwriter, had the gall to emphasize Superman's ties to the immigrant experience in America. After all, he did migrate from another planet with dubious legality. He then had the sheer audacity to suggest that the character's ultimate trait isn't his ability to fly, bench-press skyscrapers, or shoot laser beams from his eyes, but this ultra rare thing called human kindness. And for that, sight unseen, there exists a manufactured campaign working overtime to discourage anyone from seeing the latest iteration of society's most recognizable superhero. After seeing the movie, I’ll admit it, if I were them, I’d do the same damn thing. Because the most consequential battle of our time isn’t being fought with bullets or ballots, but through narrative: who gets to shape it, who gets erased from it, and what values it enshrines. It’s a fight to define what constitutes strength and justice, what gets labeled as truth. And most crucially, who gets to be recognized as fully human, fully American, and fully worthy of concern. In a time when the right openly applauds mass cruelty and cheers people being rounded up like cattle in Los Angeles parks, while its religious arm dares to somehow preach with a straight face that empathy is actually toxic, Superman might be the closest thing a commercial, mass marketed, big-budget Hollywood film will come to challenging the creeping fascistic world view taking hold in our society.  Of course, it is not revolutionary. But in a cultural moment where authoritarian ideology is sliding into the mainstream and weaponized to justify displacement, surveillance, and state-sanctioned violence, a story that dares to center decency, dignity, and radical care for strangers begins to feel almost subversive. When the dominant narrative tells us to harden our hearts, even a commercial myth about an immigrant who uses his power to protect the vulnerable can feel like a social gesture toward a strength rooted not in control or conquest, but in the quiet insistence that love, justice, and solidarity still have a place in public life. Superman, created in the 1930s by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two children of Jewish immigrants, was at the time a deliberate response to a climate of rising xenophobia and fascism. Through him, Siegel and Shuster aimed to show that immigrants weren’t a threat. They were people who shared the same moral aspirations as their new neighbors (wishful thinking, even then), and who could help shape a richer, more creative, more just society. Superman was a symbol of America’s potential: a nation that doesn’t merely tolerate uniqueness, but thrives because of it. His mission, which actor David Corenswet, who portrays him in the film, recently described as standing for “truth, justice, and all the other good stuff.” There’s plenty of the latter throughout the film. It's fun, delightfully weird, and values-affirming (if your values are humanitarian). And although Gunn has claimed his film is apolitical, mainly to avoid harming its commercial viability (he is trying to build a cinematic universe, after all), at its core, the film stands in direct opposition to the politics of despair and resignation. It rejects the idea that cruelty is inevitable or that hope is naive. Thankfully foregoing Superman's origin story (dude’s been around for nine decades, you should know by now: home planet blew up, sent to Earth, raised by Kansas farmer, got it), the movie is refreshing for a comic book film in that you don’t need to have sat through 20 hours of preexisting IP in order to understand it. The film kicks off with the bruised and battered Superman being saved by super dog Krypto (who should be charged for scene-stealing grand larceny throughout the film). From there, the film leans into some familiar but modernized character motifs. There’s Lois Lane, played with sharp wit by Rachel Brosnahan of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, who passes the Bechdel Test and brings a refreshing shift in focus. Her relationship with Clark Kent is present, but it’s maybe her third priority. Her real drive is clear: She’s determined to be the best reporter at the struggling Daily Planet, and if the super-fling fizzles out? So be it. She’s got bigger stories to chase. Then there’s Superman’s perennial nemesis, Lex Luthor, played gamely by Nicholas Hoult. He portrays Luthor like he’s spliced together the ruthlessness of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel into a menacing, smarmy, calculating villain. The result is a Luthor who feels tragic, but never once sympathetic, a rare feat. It’s Luthor who sets the central conflict in motion: A poor, under-resourced nation of mostly brown people is threatened with mass slaughter by a hyper-militarized, aggressive country fully backed and blessed by the United States government. Subtle, right? When Superman chooses to protect the weaker nation from annihilation, he immediately becomes a target of the US itself, which promptly outsources his takedown to, you guessed it, Luthor. Again, very subtle. The movie ultimately works because, unlike others behind recent big-screen attempts (yes, we’re looking at you, Zack Snyder), Gunn actually understands who Superman is. He’s not a god. He’s not an Ayn Rand–inspired stoic individualist. And he’s certainly not a Messianic savior figure (an ironic interpretation, given the character’s Jewish origins). In contrast to Snyder’s grim and brooding interpretations in Man of Steel (2013) and Dawn of Justice (2016), this version of Superman offers something both rare and urgent: a vision of benefic masculinity. He is a narrative counterweight, a reminder that power, at its best, exists to serve, not to be served. He could rule the world if he wanted to. But he chooses to protect it. Because, as his creators intended from the very beginning, he embodies something profoundly countercultural: a misfit, an outsider, a do-gooder who’s a little corny, a little naive, and still utterly committed to doing the right thing, even in a world that grows more cynical, and less appreciative of his presence, by the day. In that way, Superman may be the most human superhero ever created. And in Corenswet’s portrayal—grounded, vulnerable, and deeply principled—we finally see that full humanity come alive. It’s fitting, and long overdue, that the first Jewish actor to play this deeply Jewish-coded character does so with a sincerity that honors both the myth and the men who created it. The weight of that milestone didn’t fully hit me until about 30 minutes into the film, when my rowmate at the screening began to cry. After the credits rolled, I asked her why. Through tears, she explained the Jewish concept of tikkun olam: the call to repair the world through acts of kindness and justice. Part of her emotion was sparked by seeing a Jewish actor finally portray a character born from the imaginations of two Jewish children of immigrants. Much like I felt when Black Panther was first released, she felt a deep emotional resonance in seeing her identity reflected with care and dignity. But what moved her most was the story itself: a hero, created by those who knew exile and otherness, using his power to protect vulnerable, besieged people. If you gave James Gunn a dose of truth serum, he might admit that the endangered nation under siege in the film was clearly a stand-in for Gaza. For her, it wasn’t just a superhero fantasy—it was a moral call, a plea for more Jews, and for everyone, to raise their voices for the people being slaughtered there. A reminder that our identities, our histories, and our stories should compel us toward ethical action. Toward aiding those in danger. Toward building a more just world. Full confession: Superman has always been my favorite superhero. He has been since I was 8 years old, sitting cross-legged by the fireplace while my father, exhausted from working two jobs to keep a roof over our heads and pay my school tuition, read Superman comics to me. It was his way of expressing love, through stories of a man who could fly, yet chose to walk alongside us. Those moments were moral instructions on power and responsibility. My father, a Black man navigating a world that often refused to see his full humanity, used Superman to teach me that strength isn’t about domination; it’s about restraint, empathy, and service. Through those stories, he showed me that privilege, whether inherited, earned, or stumbled into, is never neutral. It demands something of us. Our measure is not by what we possess, but by what we choose to do with it. It’s why this latest Superman film, entertaining as it is, is the most vital and resonant version we’ve ever seen on screen. More than just a blockbuster, it offers a desperately needed counter-narrative to the dystopian propaganda that saturates our culture today. Whether it’s streaming from YouTubers or broadcast from the White House, we’re being told, over and over, to look away. Look away from the terror inflicted on immigrants.Look away from the erasure of trans lives.Look away from the legislation that grinds the poor further into poverty.Look away from the murdered children of Gaza. This is propaganda designed to demoralize. A narrative architecture built to dull our senses, normalize violence, and convince us that compassion is weakness and justice is impossible. It tells us that resistance is futile, that cruelty is common sense, and that apathy is the only way to survive. It asks us to bow our heads in resignation, to stop believing in the possibility of change, and ultimately, to give up on one another. But this film insists on something else. It reminds us that power, when guided by love, is liberating. It centers care as strength, hope as practice, and solidarity as our only way forward. It’s not just a story about a man who can fly. It’s a reminder of what we are capable of when we choose to show up with courage, again and again, even when the world tells us not to bother. Unbow your head and, as the film’s tagline says: Look up.

Ticket Alert: Heart, Magdalena Bay, and More Seattle Events Going On Sale This Week
Plus, Destin Conrad and More Event Updates for July 10 by EverOut Staff Hey you, don’t be the last to hear about the latest crop of concerts going on sale! Heart plays a hometown show this November with frequent tour-mates Cheap Trick. Experimental pop duo Magdalena Bay has added a Seattle date to their Imaginal Mystery tour. Plus, rising R&B artist Destin Conrad supports his debut album with a headlining tour this fall. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events, plus some news you can use. ON SALE FRIDAY, JULY 11 MUSIC Anna of the NorthNeumos (Mon Dec 1) Baroness - Red & Blue Part IINeumos (Thurs Sept 11) Destin Conrad - Love On Digital TourNeptune Theatre (Tues Oct 28)

Slog AM: Washington State Has Lots of Old People, Ferguson Says He'll Fund Planned Parenthood After Federal Cuts, Whooping Cough Is Back
The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Nathalie Graham Silver Wave Alert: We hate kids in Washington. And we love old people. At least, that's what I'm inferring from this data about how older adults are outnumbering children in 24 Washington counties. While we still have more youths than elderly as a whole in Washington, this current demographic shift signals a narrowing gap that could spell trouble for our aging state. Make it easier to buy a home, fund schools, and have well-paying jobs and maybe my generation will start reproducing. Just maybe though. Sorry to my mother-in-law.  Love City Love Claims Another Corpse: For now. The nomadic art venue is camping out inside the shell of the former catch-all convenience store, ShopRite (or the Shit Shop as some Capitol Hill lifers I know dubbed it), which closed on 15th Avenue E earlier this year after 30 years in business. Between now and whenever the investment firm that will redevelop the building gets its act together, Love City Love is filling the space with open mics, sewing classes, and a cafe. It joins the Punk Rock Flea Market which has taken over the old QFC just down the block as it awaits its own redevelopment fate.  The Weather: The warm and dry will return today. Sun should make an appearance again, too. Fire Season Comes Early: A red flag warning plagued Central and Eastern Washington earlier this week before a spell of cool, drizzly weather swept in on Wednesday. But don't worry, the dry, tinderbox conditions will return for the weekend. Fires are already burning, too. One blaze between Kettle Falls and Northport "looked like a volcano," according to onlookers. A human-caused fire burned on the Olympic Peninsula earlier this week near Lake Cushman. It is so good living in a climate change apocalypse.  Salt in the Wound? Over the last two months, Microsoft cut 15,000 jobs. While the powers that be blamed the cuts on general efficiency, slimming down teams and the like, many suspect the cuts came from eliminating AI redundancies. A week after the most recent layoffs, Microsoft announced a $4 billion investment in AI education over the next five years. With the influx of billions comes the establishment of a new "org," as the tech workers say, called Microsoft Elevate. There, 300 employees will help 20 million people earn AI credentials.  Bob's Big, Beautiful Backfill: Gov. Bob Ferguson announced on Wednesday that, if it comes to it, Washington state will backfill the $11 million in funding to our state's Planned Parenthood facilities expect to lose in President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill," which cuts Medicaid reimbursement for one year from organizations providing abortions. Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit earlier this week alleging the bill unfairly targets them, but regardless of the outcome, Ferguson says Washington state's checkbook is ready to support any federal funding shortcomings in abortion care. Don't ask him about the broader federal cuts to Medicaid, or as we know it, Apple Health, in the state. When those billions of dollars in cuts hit in mid-2026, we're fucked.  At Least 80 Washington Lawmakers Sign Letter Opposing Trump's Bill: The letter opposes the bill, calling it and its cuts to Medicaid and food assistance an "attack on the working class." The letter calls out Ferguson's austerity budget earlier this year, and functions as a call to action on the local level, rallying lawmakers behind plans such as the new Seattle Shield Initiative proposal which would change B&O taxes to help small businesses and to protect services and programs at risk under a Trump administration. The signatories from the Seattle City Council include Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Joy Hollingsworth, Dan Strauss, Mark Solomon, and Rob Saka. The mayors of Bothell, Kirkland, Olympia, SeaTac, Shoreline, and Kenmore also signed on.  Missing Signatures: Mayor Bruce Harrell, who supposedly supports the Shield Initiative, is noticeably absent from the list. Councilmembers Sara Nelson, Maritza Rivera, and Bob Kettle also chose not to sign. When PubliCola asked them why, they all insisted that they believed in the spirit of the letter, but still wouldn't sign it. Kettle said he's “not one to sign on letters like this… just as a matter of fact of how I do business.” Rivera said, well, nothing that explains why she's not signing it. Nelson said that she was "uncomfortable calling out the governor" because the bill came from the legislature, (even though they were responding to his threats to veto a bill with progressive revenue), and said that she didn't want to encourage other governments to enact progressive revenue like the Seattle Shield proposal.  Trump's No Good Judicial Nominee: Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official gunning for an appellate judge appointment in Philadelphia, may have defied federal court orders to block the deportation of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador earlier this year. A fired DOJ attorney turned over emails and text messages to corroborate the claims. According to the documents, Bove allegedly told colleagues they would have to tell the courts "fuck you" and move ahead with the deportation flights.  Hey, want to see a cool cloud? Look at this one.  🌩️ INCREDIBLE SHELF CLOUD seen over Bowie, Md.Captured tonight by Camryn D, this stunning video shows a dramatic shelf cloud rolling in ahead of strong storms.  A shelf cloud is a low, horizontal cloud formation along the leading edge of a thunderstorm.  📹 Watch it here 👇[image or embed] — Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather.bsky.social) July 9, 2025 at 6:36 PM Yeah, That'll Show 'Em: Six Republican lawmakers penned a letter to Canada telling our neighbors to the north how the smoke from the 2,672 fires so far this year is "ruining" Americans' summers. The lawmakers blamed Canada for not managing its forests and cited arson as a cause. They wanted to know Canada's plan to ameliorate the smoke. I have an idea. Maybe if, say, the United States of America took climate policy seriously we could stave off global—and national—impacts of worsening natural disasters.  Death Toll Reaches 120 in Texas Floods: The floods in Kerr County, Texas killed at least 120 people over the Fourth of July weekend and over 170 are still missing. The dead include dozens of young campers at Camp Mystic, a for-profit Christian camp that built structures in the Guadalupe River's flood plain. In the wake of the tragedy, news surfaced that Kerr County refused to spend $1 million to establish a warning system complete with sirens in an area known as "flash flood alley." The monitoring system would have included blaring warnings near Camp Mystic for a cost that made up only 1.5 percent of the county's budget. Instead, the county invested in a warning system without sirens (too loud) and opted to have local authorities warn residents instead. That worked out well.  Some Hope: Solar power is working. It's growing faster than any other energy source in the world. Wind power is following closely behind. According to the New Yorker, "in March, for the first time, fossil fuels generated less than half the electricity in the U.S. In California, at one point on May 25th, renewables were producing a record hundred and fifty-eight per cent of the state’s power demand. Over the course of the entire day, they produced eighty-two per cent of the power in California, which, this spring, surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy." Battery storage for that renewable power is better than ever. China is using more solar power than anywhere else, so much so that the country actually decreased its total climate emissions in the first part of the year. "Globally, roughly a third more power is being generated from the sun this spring than last." This is good. This is hope.  Enough of That Hope Shit: Preventable disease is back, baby. Forget the measles outbreaks, whooping cough cases are rising and killing babies. You can thank falling vaccination rates and the Trump administration knee-capping public health infrastructure. Vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella, pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, and polio are down in kindergartners in half of US states. Measles vaccine rates fell below herd immunity in most states in 2023, according to ProPublica. We're cooked.  A Song for Your Thursday: Does everybody like the new Lorde album? Just me? 

Shots Fired
Send your unsigned rant, love letter, confession, or accusation to ianonymous@thestranger.com. by Anonymous It turns out having half a dozen people shove their giant cameras into the stage to repeatedly fire flash bulbs into the faces of performers is pretty fucking distracting. You are worse than the people holding their phones up, and you actively take people out of the performance by inserting yourselves aggressively between audience and performer.  And you are never alone. Every show now apparently needs to be exhaustively documented by at least four of you talented professionals. So no, it isn't just a few snaps here or there, as I am sure you tell yourself. It's a compounded problem that you perpetuate.  I can't imagine you are all hired by the bands for publicity, so I am not even sure where most of these photos end up, beyond being buried in your Instagram portfolio. Need those likes! Build YOUR brand! If you're lucky, you're getting paid sometimes, maybe free tickets. But remember that the rest of the audience is doing the opposite and paying to be there. Trying to lose ourselves in art. Trying to live in the moment. If you absolutely must capture that vibe, find a way to do so without killing it in the process. Do you need to get something off your chest? Submit an I, Anonymous and we'll illustrate it! Send your unsigned rant, love letter, confession, or accusation to ianonymous@thestranger.com. Please remember to change the names of the innocent and the guilty.

Authenticity Above All Else
With his collection of new essays, culture critic Lawrence Burney holds his own among living legends like Hanif Abdurraqib and Kiese Laymon. by Katie Lee Ellison With his collection of new essays, No Sense in Wishing, culture critic and former The FADER editor Lawrence Burney shows the uninitiated that he’s got chops for days, holding his own among living legends like Hanif Abdurraqib and Kiese Laymon.  I didn’t know about the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia region) before reading his book. I hadn’t heard of seminal punk band Bad Brains, which is very embarrassing because holy shit, what a band (and because they no doubt influence a favorite local band of mine, Beverly Crusher). And I’d say I have a rudimentary understanding of rap and hip-hop, as ’90s R&B was where I spent my time growing up, and I’ve stayed thirsty for belters and runs ever since. Still, while Burney’s writing is deeply rooted in music I have a distant relationship with, his book gripped me. From the photo of him as a child in Mickey Mouse ears on the cover (taken by his talented artist uncle Derrick Adams) to his completely disarming introduction, to his timing, storytelling, and voice, he immediately made me a devoted fan. His rhythm, and what reads like natural talent on the page, is built from a decades-long grind up through the ranks. “This isn’t the book I thought I’d write if ever afforded the opportunity to write one,” reads his first sentence. Regardless, the book reads like a necessary culmination of that work, while also suggesting that this writer has much, much more to say. This humility, this honesty, this forthcoming voice with narrative style loaded with tension and questions and possibility: This man can write. It’s exciting to read him, and I’m saying this knowing just 10 percent of the musicians he writes about. But now I’m listening to early Lupe Fiasco and Asake and MIKE. It’s an education in and a touchpoint for writing relatable human experience, regardless of the details, which is exactly what he aimed to create.  “When I was first figuring myself out as a writer, I was mimicking people,” he says. “A lot of the popular writers wrote about things happening on the national scale because that obviously gets a lot of eyes on you. I didn’t understand analytics at the time, but I could tell that it wasn’t a lot of people engaging, so I started to just go out and explore what was happening around me. I had this dual consciousness of being very committed to what’s happening at home [in Baltimore], but also knowing how to filter that in a way that could be palatable and appealing to people outside of home. I’ve always tried to navigate that balance of committing to being a documentarian of my region, but talking about the emotions and the storytelling, things people from anywhere can connect to. That’s the most effective storytelling: when it transcends where it’s based.” While reading this book, I was overwhelmed by the expertise firing on so many cylinders: Burney has style, his ideas come fast, and the pace of his language is faster. Yet it’s all so smooth; you can read the book solely for sound without realizing you missed the meaning. It’s one to read over and over again. I wondered how much music influenced his writing.  “I don’t think of it as music on a line level,” he tells me. “But I did conceptualize my approach to bookmaking based on the way that I consume music. I absorb music more than I absorb everything else. I obviously watch film, I read books, but music is the thing that I’ve been critiquing for all of my adult life. I thought about the things that make a strong album. I think strong albums are pretty concise. I think they have a strong conceptual throughline. Obviously, it has to be sonically engaging and dynamic, but for me, the thing that I search for in music is the story being told. What am I learning from this person? How effectively is this person bringing me into their world? Do I know much more about this place, and this person, based off of what I just absorbed?”  Then, there are the recs. The critiques. The dozens of musicians, films, books, comedians, neighborhoods, and friends worth looking up.  “I was hoping that, at the end of this book, people would not only have a really strong sense of who I am, but, more importantly, the places that I come from. My favorite thing when I’m absorbing anybody’s creative output is how much referential information is within those contents. If I listen to an album and come away learning about five artists that I never knew about, [or] if I read a book and come away having learned about this place, this album, this historical figure, how XYZ works—those are the things that stimulate me the most. I really was trying to create a pretty intense, stimulating experience for people not only learning about me, but about so many things that contribute to who I am.” Pretty intense, indeed. I have months’ worth of music, film, books, historical events, and contexts to take in, and when I told him that, he smiled. Mission accomplished.  But of his storytelling, I wanted to hear more. This is a book about Baltimore, and not. It’s a memoir, but also a history of the DMV and of this country. He touches on so many niche yet critically important and influential movements globally, I was looking for how he put it together, especially because he also critiques the “traditional” narrative arc structure and who decided that it is the gold standard for storytelling.  “I definitely think about [narrative structure],” he says. “It all depends on what I’m writing about. A lot of [my style] comes from a journalist background, where you have to be informative. You have to provide materials for people to verify what you’re saying. You have to be descriptive enough so that it’s engaging [to a reader] who has no idea what you’re talking about. I try to smooth that out by not over-explaining. I like dropping people into a personal anecdote or story, and then zooming out and giving the broad strokes. Give some history on it, some contemporary examples, and then zoom back into something personal. The personal things hook people, the information keeps them, and the end falls wherever it might fall. I don’t think I did anything necessarily clever with structure. I think I’m very much still, like, a student of the craft. I wouldn’t say that I’m at a place just yet where I’m being structurally experimental.” I really, really can’t wait until he is. And even in this answer, Burney gives me more to chew on. Where in this piece have I hooked you? Where have I provided information? Am I riffing? And where will this end?  What I’m saying is, reading No Sense in Wishing was a pleasure. That said, it also takes on the complexities and nuances, joys and celebration, pains and flagrant hideous injustices of Black American life from his illuminating and singular perspective. The last few chapters will take you for a ride through niche, global, and/or familiar arguments— from the racist history of Baltimore steel mills, to Richard Pryor’s fascinating take on using the N-word, to the similarities between Black American and South African mentalities, to the academic studies of Africans’ travel to the Americas long before Columbus. I’m telling you, he riffs. Hard. And like with any skilled artist, it’s his voice and vision that create a relationship between it all. In the writing itself, he finds human likeness, globally. Tell me that doesn’t make you feel good. Tell me you don’t want to know how he does it, and what other specific and fascinating tales he recounts in this book. The story behind the title, No Sense in Wishing, comes from a moment you’ll have to read about in the book, but it involves a young woman in a tough spot being asked what she would wish for.  “I’ve had many setbacks and hard resets,” says Burney. “I’ve done things I didn’t want to do. I would say that’s the anatomy of the title. It’s not ‘no sense in wishing’ in a cynical sense. At the heart of it, it’s saying that there are things I believe I need [in order] to get me to that next milestone. It’s about mining your environment for things that could be useful to your progression.” Have you ordered the book from your favorite independent bookstore yet? Do you see how you need this voice in your life? If, like me, you’ve missed his decades of writing about Kanye, Kendrick (and Drake), Tierra Whack, Megan Thee Stallion, dirty policing in Baltimore and beyond; his film reviews, profiles, and cultural reporting and editorial work for Vice, The FADER, the Washington Post, Pitchfork, the Baltimore Banner, and his own media outlet True Laurels: Do not miss this book. Because there’s so much more coming.  “I’m nurturing myself as a storyteller,” he says. “I think I’ve spent probably the past decade of my life more of a journalist, writing for different publications, moving around and connecting with people. All of those experiences are feeding into this next chapter of my journey—bookmaking, filmmaking, telling stories with fewer parameters. On staff, you typically don’t get to write anything longer than 2,500 words, so [to write this book], I had to recalibrate the way that I approach my own work and the permission that I gave myself to ramble, to dig deeper. How can I continue to challenge myself to grow on an artistic level? … There are certain things I wrote about in this book that I felt needed to be resolved within, and writing about them helped me come to terms with emotional hindrances. I hope that my work continues to lead me to those types of revelations. And that in the process, I become more useful and more enlightening and more of a resource to the people around me.” 

The Stranger's Primary Election Voting Guide
The Stranger's 2025 Primary Election Voters Guide by Stranger Election Control Board It’s the Primary Election 2025. We’re taking over the city. Choose your fighter. We know it’s easy to miss these odd year elections. They’re local! They’re wonky! There’s not a President in sight. Maybe you’ve used up all your fucks and your will to live watching the world sputter and burn. Or maybe you spent them watching our city government waste everyone’s time building digital advertising kiosks, painting over graffiti, trying to weaken our ethics code, and allowing cops the ability to lob blastballs into protests once again instead of finding ways to protect us from a robber baron and literal fascists. But please vote. Please please please. This year, we have the chance to swap big business politicians for scrappy progressives across the ballot. (Sara Nelson is up for reelection. Need we say more?) And if we seize the opportunity, we can also maintain the proud Seattle tradition of one-term mayors. In just a few months, we could say goodbye to the mayor who couldn’t even keep the one promise he cared about (bringing back the Seattle SuperSonics). The mayor who never managed to find a vision for Seattle’s future, because he was busy sweeping the homeless people out of downtown and into Little Saigon. But you’ll never see him holding the broom—because he’s unable to lift a finger, let alone take responsibility for this city. Seattle has rarely—if ever—allowed itself the luxury of having a progressive mayor and a progressive city council at the same time, because we’re masochists who get our rocks off at complaining about the Seattle Process. Right now, this city is currently run by vampires. Let’s take a bath in free-range fair-trade certified organic holy water and fashion a stake from lab-grown (or ethically sourced) balsa wood and get out there. This year, dare we say it, there’s a roster of honest-to-goodness actual progressives that are looking for a chance to totally transform Seattle. And they couldn’t have come at a better time. We’re staring down the pike of a Seattle comprehensive plan that will steer the next two decades of growth and infrastructure on these near-suburban streets. We’ve got a lot of work to do if we don’t want the Seattle of the future to be a charming little hamlet with $4,000-per-square-foot rents, nary a corner store in sight, and unionized robocops arresting “the nipple” at the behest of an anti-socialist neural network that’s named itself Jeff Bezos 2. So listen up, we’re choosing our mayor, our city attorney, our county executive, and three city council seats—and that’s not even the whole ballot. In the last month, we sat down with (almost) all of the candidates. They made their case. They brought us snacks that sometimes we were allergic to. Nobody even cried this year, but they screamed a lot. Idiot aside, we heard a lot of exciting ideas from inspiring people politicians. Uh oh, is our optimism showing? We hate when that happens. But if the best of the best get elected, we’ll go full frontal. Because right now we simply cannot resist the potential dripping from these ballots. Let’s fantasize for a sec: City Council District 2 is going to have a new champion. Pro-business, anti-protester (evil) Council President Sara Nelson has a real challenger in Dionne Foster. And we’re pouring our hope into Katie Wilson to once and for all send Bruce Harrell packing. You should get your ballot around July 18. If you don’t know what to do with it, we have a guide on page 20. Let’s go. We’ve got a city to fix. City of Seattle MayorKatie Wilson Bruce Harrell had his chance. A lifetime ago (in 2021), when Harrell first ran for mayor, he made a lot of big, substantive promises that voters seemed to believe: He pledged to build 1,000 new housing units in his first six months in office; he committed to changing the biased policing culture in SPD after the George Floyd protests; he said he didn’t believe “dispersal,” or sweeps, worked, and promised to take a “Housing First” approach to encampments around the city. Are we living in a utopia yet? In our endorsement meeting, we asked about his broken promises. We pointed out that he conducted more sweeps than his five predecessors combined. That he sunk years of municipal effort and energy into a Comprehensive Plan that won’t meet our housing needs. That he pandered to police with bruised egos, letting them become the militant thugs that we saw in Cal Anderson on Memorial Day weekend, but with higher salaries. And in an hour-long endorsement meeting, he didn’t answer for a single thing. In every case, the conditions in his city were someone else’s fault. Homelessness? The other cities in King County aren’t doing their part. The police that he says can take a hike if they don’t agree with his idea of good policing? Well, he told us, he doesn’t actually know what good policing is. They’re the experts, not him. Nothing was his responsibility.  We understand why he would feel that way. Because the greatest sin of the Harrell Administration is what it hasn’t done. He’s a mayor without imagination, and with him at the helm, Seattle is a rudderless ship on a windless ocean. While tens of thousands of Seattleites are struggling to keep their head above water, he’s obsessing over penises spray painted on the overpasses, AI incubators, and digital advertising kiosks that profit private companies.  There’s a perception that this race was Harrell’s from the start, so there was no use doing anything to stop him. But that’s not the case. In polling this spring, only 37 percent of Seattleites were happy with Harrell’s work in City Hall. Enough of Seattle is sick of the Harrell Show. Katie Wilson is Harrell’s opposite. If Harrell is all politics and no substance, Wilson is substance embodied. She’s been an organizer in Seattle for 15 years, and she’s built a career fighting for—and winning—campaigns like raising the minimum wage, protecting affordable transit, and building progressive revenue.  Wilson’s campaign platform is clearly made by someone who’s used to making change in a system that’s built to fight against it. She has clear, step-by-step plans to build 4,000 units of shelter in four years, to streamline access to addiction and mental health treatment, and to build $1 billion worth of union-built affordable housing. Harrell made promises. Wilson actually intends to keep hers. And she knows how to do it. In our meeting, one question best captured the difference between Wilson and Harrell. We asked about the FIFA World Cup coming to Seattle in 2026. When Seattle hosted the MLB All-Star game in 2023, the city swept any encampments in the area out of sight. Surely, next year, Seattle’s mayor would have to field a fair amount of outside pressure to make visible homelessness invisible while the world’s eyes are on us. How would they respond? We gave Harrell two chances to answer the question, and he never did. Instead, he ranted about how our surrounding cities aren’t building as much shelter as we are, how he has to prioritize small businesses, said it was his responsibility to revitalize downtown, and reminded us that he signed an ordinance to make Seattle a Human Rights City. Then he turned to the other candidates, and said: “How dare you talk about the values I’ve been a part of for the last 16 years.”  Wilson, meanwhile, rejected the premise of the question entirely. Not because she didn’t want to answer it, but because she had a plan to stand up enough shelter in the first six months of her term—between tiny home villages, faith communities, and vacancies throughout the city—to make the question irrelevant. “Let’s get people inside in time for the World Cup,” she said. See that, Harrell? No excuses, just a goal, a plan, and a timeline. This is why Wilson has our vote. She sees people that are struggling and thinks about solutions, not optics. She obviously, palpably gives a damn about people, and that drives her to act, not just talk. While we were writing this endorsement, Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist with a people-first platform, wiped the floor with an establishment Democrat in New York City’s primary. Mamdani’s win is proof that people can show up in droves and throw decades of political tradition in the trash and choose something better. And that to accomplish such a feat, being a hell of a politician with a great personality helps a fuckton. Wilson has the platform. What she doesn’t have is the energy. She’s quiet. She’s policy minded. She makes deeply awkward TikToks. But she knows her shit and she cares. Wilson doesn’t pull out the tear-jerking stump speech or throw down with her opposition. And while we trust that your vote will get her through the primary, we need her to throw down. Show everyone that Harrell’s empty, that he’s unelectable this time. This city wants to see that. And it wants change. Do what you need to do to give the people what they want. Show us your spine is as sturdy as that platform. We know it’s in you. Now reader, we know that Wilson isn’t the only one making a run for Harrell’s graffiti-less office (and Joe Molloy, we hope to see you run for City Council, where your good heart, and brains, would be appreciated), but she’s the only one who has the secret sauce we need to see: one-part great ideas, one-part the knowledge and experience to pull them off, two-parts the willingness to leave an easier life as an organizer to serve the city when she thinks she’s needed. We just need her to add a little heat to that sauce. If you’re still wondering if dethroning Harrell is the right decision, we’ll leave you with one more detail. For the last year, members of his administration have talked about the misogyny, bullying, and literal chest beating in City Hall since he’s been in office. We had Mayor Harrell in our conference room for just under an hour, and in that time, he did nothing to convince us that his reputation was not a completely accurate characterization. We lost count of how many times he pounded his fist onto the table and stomped his feet, and we had to shout over him more than once to stop him from yelling at other candidates. Harrell somehow made Joe Mallahan look good (well, not that good). He took control of the room—not the way a charismatic speaker captures an audience, but the way your angry uncle sucks the air out of the room on Thanksgiving. Our civic self-esteem cannot be so low. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that we need a strong, bullish personality at the helm of our city to combat everything that Trump promises to rain on us in the next three and a half years. Mayor Harrell has shown us, time and time again, that all he’s going to do is bully Seattle, not Trump. And we can’t afford that. Wilson may be quiet. But she has values.  Seattle has a time-honored tradition of producing one-term mayors. Let’s make Harrell one of them. Vote Wilson.   City AttorneyErika Evans In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last three-and-a-half years, let us brief you on our current City Attorney: the regrettable Republican Ann Davison. The City Attorney has two jobs: one criminal (prosecuting all of the city’s misdemeanor cases, like DUIs and domestic violence charges) and one civil (acting as the city’s attorney, either suing people or other governments and also defending Seattle in court when, for instance, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce sues the city to kill the JumpStart tax). From a criminal perspective, Davison’s whole thing is being “tough on crime,” which famously does nothing to make our city safer or to get people on the streets the help they need. She instituted policies like Close-in-Time filing. Implemented in 2022, it’s meant to reduce the criminal case backlog, but really just places the backlog in a different pile. It hasn’t worked. Her “High Utilizer Initiative” to target frequent offenders, surprise, also doesn’t solve any problems and worsens recidivism. Plus, Davison killed “community court,” an alternative system that offers people charged with misdemeanors non-punitive options to resolve their cases. Meanwhile, Davison is unforgivably behind on filing DUI cases—one of the two serious misdemeanors the office can prosecute. Domestic violence cases are lagging. Back in 2021, before Davison, it took 26 days to file a DV case. Last year, on average, it took twice as long. Davison is a tumor on the city and we don’t expect her to be willing to stand up to Trump. She converted to the Republican party during DJT’s first term, when anyone with an ounce of sense jumped ship. When King County, San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Portland, and New Haven signed onto a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for their attacks on “sanctuary jurisdictions,” Davison dragged her feet, only joining the lawsuit months later. Meanwhile, while Boston and 43 other cities (including our less progressive neighbors, Spokane and Olympia) fought cuts to federal research funding, Davison stayed out of it. This person cannot protect us from the next three-and-a-half years (or more) of authoritarian encroachment. So, she sucks. We can’t let her win again. And she could. With three progressive challengers splitting the left vote, Davison will almost certainly skate through the primary, liberal Seattle bubble be damned. The people who didn’t march in the No Kings rally get ballots, too! Of this bunch, we believe Erika Evans, a former assistant US Attorney, is our choice to best Ann, make the City Attorney’s office effective and fair, and protect Seattle from the Trump administration. Evans has prosecuted hate crimes, she’s gone after drug traffickers, she’s slapped the wrists of business owners dipping into their employees’ wages, and she was involved in a case prosecuting January 6ers from Puyallup. Her résumé is impressive. Her platform (speed up DUI and DV case filings, bring back community court, prosecute wage theft, improve the police union contract to allow for more policing alternatives) mirrors the platforms of her opponents. But they don’t have her grit. In our meeting, Evans leapt for her opponents’ throats. She presented exhibits for every argument, and demonstrated a deep understanding of the power, and limitations, of the City Attorney’s Office. She spoke thoughtfully about the importance of working closely with Washington Attorney General Nick Brown against the constitutionally intolerant Trump administration, and made a commitment to not prosecute “peaceful” protesters (though she wouldn’t define a “peaceful protester” for us, which is peak prosecutor brain). We also love a prop comedian: she brought Jarritos and African Black soap to symbolize SOAP/SODA laws, a Raggedy Ann doll to represent Davison, a printout of photos of the white men who have held this office for the 150 years before Ann got the job, a binder of her and her opponents case files. Sure, she gave Model-UN vibes, and if being corny were illegal this woman would be in jail. But it isn’t. And what we care about is Evans’s ability and will to protect us when Trump goes after this city. We know, we know. A history as a prosecutor brings with it a track record of upholding a system built for oppression. But our federal government is actively antagonistic to cities like ours, and a prosecutor knows how the federal government works. Evans knows what levers to pull. And local progressives such as City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and State Rep. Shaun Scott believe she’s the right choice despite all the prosecutorial baggage. But we don’t discount her mistakes and our misgivings. Evans voted for Bruce Harrell last election (“But I voted for Nikkita Oliver twice when they ran,” Evans said). She donated $100 to Harrell’s campaign before Katie Wilson got into the race, but wouldn’t say whom she was voting for in this election, and hedged by saying she couldn’t talk shit when the winner could be her client. Public defenders are worried about what her real intentions are and how she’ll act when she’s in the seat of power. We understand where they’re coming from. But we’re inviting her to prove them wrong. This wasn’t an easy decision. Any of Davison’s challengers would be wildly better for Seattle. We wish we could have endorsed Nathan Rouse, the public defender running for the seat, because he knows the system doesn’t work for everyday people and wants to change it. He’s tougher on the Seattle Police Officers Guild than any other candidates. But he didn’t convince us he could put his ideas into action or win. Please run again next time, Nathan. We want to see you in our swivel chairs again, with more experience under your belt. Thanks for the Pop-Tarts. And Rory O’Sullivan could do a perfectly fine job in the role. But he lacks trial experience. And most importantly, we aren’t confident he could beat Davison. Evans will hit the ground running in a way we need. Here’s to knocking Davison into the stratosphere. Vote Evans.  City Council, District No. 2Eddie Lin We didn’t know what kind of fresh hell we were in for when District 2 City Councilmember Tammy Morales bowed out of office one year into her second term. The appointment process sucked; the unimaginative snoozers on the city council selected multiple-SECB-endorsement-loser Mark Solomon to take the seat. Luckily, Solomon isn’t running to keep the seat, so we have an open race on our hands! Which brings us to the pool of four viable D2 hopefuls: Union guy and SDCI inspector Jamie Fackler; restaurant organizer and activist Jeanie Chunn; assistant city attorney Eddie Lin; and mayoral transportation engagement manager Adonis Ducksworth. After a lively (read: tense, yell-y) discussion, the clear choice for D2 is Eddie Lin. As an assistant city attorney, Lin’s focus for the last several years has been working with the Office of Housing. When it comes to housing, and building more of it, Lin knows his stuff. In the midst of a never-ending housing crisis and a new Social Housing Developer on its way through the Seattle Process’s long birth canal, we need someone who can get shit done. Lin knows we need subsidized affordable units, social housing, limited equity co-ops, and everything else under the sun to get people four walls and a roof. Plus, whoever sits on council will implement Mayor Bruce Harrell’s Comprehensive Plan. Lin, a fiend for density and walkable neighborhoods, is a smart choice to kickstart the next 20 years of Seattle’s growth.   One of the main hits against Lin, as Fackler repeatedly brought up, was that he didn’t go all out championing Proposition 1A, the voter measure that set up a funding mechanism for the Social Housing Developer. Lin didn't vote for it because, as a housing wonk, he was concerned that it was vulnerable to being undermined by a more conservative, Chamber-backed City Council. However, he says he’s come around and is ready to champion it.  He’s also a total slut (sorry, Eddie) for progressive revenue. He’s DFAIT (Down For An Income Tax), a vacancy tax, and a city-level capital gains tax. We liked Chunn’s idea for a commercial vacancy tax, but felt she was still a little too green to hack it in City Hall. We hope to see her again. The other knock against Lin is, like all other candidates except Chunn, he wants more cops. Lin’s desire for increased police presence does go hand-in-hand with hiring a more diverse police force and expanding police alternatives. Plus, Lin’s experience with police brutality made him wary of cops. In his 20s, a Minneapolis police officer cuffed him, put his hands on his throat, and made racist comments—confusing Lin, who is Asian, for a Native American. The rattling experience forever changed Lin’s view of policing. We felt Fackler, while progressive and knowledgeable about the same issues, was too soft on the cops, especially their union. We’re certain Ducksworth will win the Seattle Times endorsement. He’s suave, charming, and doesn’t answer a single question. He’s also fucking cool. Sadly, underneath his skater chic, Ducksworth is nothing but a visionless moderate (read: Bruce Harrell). We already doubted he’d be our guy from the start, and he did us a solid by confirming that with a shitty, uninformed comment blaming drug users for their own predicament. “I did the ride along last week, and these guys asked at least 50 people, are they ready to go to treatment? We got one. We got one. So this comes down to the person on the street, too. Who wants to get off the street,” Ducksworth said. “That’s because some of the treatment options are not—,” Lin said. “They’re not asking about the treatment options,” Ducksworth interrupted. “They’re getting high.” Ducksworth’s mask came off. We did not like it under there. So, Lin is our guy. He’s the whole package. He’s a cat guy and a dog guy. He’s a public schools champion. This is why we willfully turned a blind eye to the fact that he could only name two examples when asked what his four favorite films were and one of them was White Lotus Season 1, famously not a movie. If he’s even seen a movie, he wasn’t paying attention. There weren’t enough housing solutions for his taste. Vote Lin. City Council, Position No. 8Alexis Mercedes Rinck When we endorsed Alexis Mercedes Rinck in 2024, we had a lot to say about what she wouldn’t do: She wouldn’t stoop to a lower minimum wage, she wouldn’t make it easier for landlords to evict you, she wouldn’t reduce oversight on cops, she wouldn’t help corporations hoard more wealth. That was because we knew that if she was elected, she (and at the time, Tammy Morales before she was bullied out of City Hall) would be a progressive in a sea of conservatism. As we hoped, she pushed back: She voted against giving SPD more access to “less lethal” weapons, and when her colleagues approved additional surveillance from law enforcement, she opposed it. But more important than what she didn’t do is what she did. Despite being on council with people allergic to helping the city, Rinck found other ways to show up. She supported counterprotesters at a Christian Supremacist group in Cal Anderson, and was instrumental in convincing the city to deescalate the situation. She spoke out at the committee hearing when Council Member Cathy Moore tried to defang our city’s ethics code, even though she wasn’t on that committee (and even though Council President Sara Nelson tried desperately to shut her up). Rinck knows that being on city council gives her a voice, and she’s shown us over and over again that she’s willing to use it for ordinary people. She’s also clearly the voice we need to start fixing our ass-backward revenue streams in Seattle. Just weeks after our endorsement interview, she presented a collaborative effort with the mayor to reform our tax code to reduce the taxes that small businesses are paying, shift the burden to big business, and raise an extra $90 million in the process. Now that’s what we call progressive revenue! Rinck doesn’t have much competition in this race. Her standout opponent is Rachael Savage, who quite frankly fascinates us, even if we had to sage the office after she left. A Republican with chunky jewelry and overlined lipstick who started the election season running for mayor, Savage switched to a City Council race just before the filing deadline. She owns a new-age shop on Capitol Hill, runs a meditation program, and believes that her experience getting sober justifies her argument that people who are mentally ill or dealing with “late-stage” addiction should be shipped to facilities for Shiny Happy People outside of the city. Oh, and she told us words are never violent and hate speech doesn’t exist. This election has the chance to reshape our city council into a functioning governing body (would we even recognize it?) and we want to see what Rinck can do when she’s not swimming upstream. Vote Rinck. City Council, Position No. 9Dionne Foster Seattle will not have a functional city government until Sara Nelson is KO’d so far out of our political orbit that she’ll be nothing more than a footnote: a forgettable, one-time City Council President who reigned over this legislative body during a remarkably chaotic and useless time in its history. At this point, progressives would endorse a cinder block over Nelson if it had a pulse and a fixed Seattle address. Fortunately, we don’t have to. Because we have Dionne Foster, an excellent candidate for this office. Rejoice! Foster, a former policy advisor for the city and the former executive director of the nonprofit Washington Progress Alliance, is a knowledgeable, likable, competent wonk. She wants to lead the way on economic justice. Stop this city’s affordability crisis and addiction to sweeps from displacing people. She’ll fight conservatives on this council willing to divert JumpStart funds from affordable housing. Unlike Nelson, Foster knows Seattle must go harder for housing density than the legal minimum set by the state and that it’s unrealistic for a real city expecting major growth in the next two decades to click its ruby red heels, ignore its housing needs, and remain an overgrown, dysfunctional suburb forever. Foster also wants to embrace affordability and outrun Washington’s regressive tax code with progressive revenue. She wants a municipal capital gains tax, a vacancy tax, and working with the state on a mansion tax. She has the right plans and can articulate exactly how she’d implement them, a rare quality on our curb-busting city council. She’s granular, but not myopic. And we believe her because she already did this work at the state level to pass the limited capital gains tax Foster has earned a heap of endorsements from politicians like Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, State Rep. Shaun Scott (D-43), and Scott’s dearly departed predecessor, Frank Chopp, because she is the best, quickest-witted candidate to walk through our door this election cycle. With two other seats up for reelection, that’s a chance she won’t be a progressive island on council. Nelson, on the other hand, is a fundamentally un-democratic chaos agent and a disastrous leader whose sole purpose has been to accumulate political power. Her Council’s “accomplishments” have been wildly unpopular: Approving a police contract with big raises and no accountability? Putting blast balls back in the hands of untrustworthy cops, and ensuring they can surveil us? Establishing “stay out” zones for drug users and sex workers that stigmatize people and don’t work? Attempting to weaken our ethics code and repeal protections for gig workers? We’re embarrassed. Seattle is immobilized in Nelson’s… full Nelson, controlled by business interests who shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars for her meandering status quo that squeezes the renters, the poor, the homeless, and the disadvantaged on the margins. A skilled politician at least pretends to listen. Nelson is either incapable or indifferent. She shuts down anyone who is too loud and cumbersome for her taste. Her hostility for representative government and working people is boundless. But in her hallowed chambers at least we’ll have decorum, won’t we? Her contempt for the public seemed like the only reason competitor Connor Nash, a former state and federal employee, joined this race. Mia Jacobsen, on the other hand, is running a protest campaign to overhaul the system that puts people like Nelson in the driver’s seat. Nash was angry, shooed away too many times. But Nelson isn’t just the rock and the hard place. She’s a liability. A threat to reforms from a more progressive council, a roadblock to desperately needed progress on housing and homelessness, and the last person we want in city government when President Donald Trump comes to play. We’re tired of incompetence. We want someone with ideas, who loves this city and its people. A vote for Nelson is a vote for nihilism. A vote for Foster is a vote for intelligence, compassion, solutions, and a chance for a future. Vote Foster. Proposition No. 1Vote Yes If you’re registered to vote in Seattle, you’ve probably had a chance to see the Democracy Voucher Program (DVP) in action: a blue and white envelope arrives in your mailbox with a small stack of $25 coupons; you, the voter, are invited to spend them on any candidate you like. It’s Seattle’s own, first-in-the-nation public campaign financing program. And Proposition 1 asks if we want to renew the levy that funds it for another decade.  The new levy would be funded through a property tax, and it’s expected to raise $45 million over 10 years, costing the average homeowner $12.20 a year. By most metrics, the DVP has been a roaring success. It makes primaries more competitive and campaigning accessible to more diverse candidates, and the vast majority of people running for office in Seattle participate in the program. More than 106,000 Seattleites have slipped their vouchers to candidates, and according to the City, through 2024, we’ve distributed more than $10 million to local campaigns. It’s difficult to find opponents to the DVP (the opposition statement is written by right-wing radio host Ari Hoffman). But supporters of the program still have complaints. The most common concern is that when we introduced the Democracy Voucher Program (which limits the amount of money a candidate can accept), spending from lobbyists skyrocketed (which remained unlimited). But lobbying spending has shot up across the region, not just here in Seattle. And even if it did push lobbyists to up their game, it's also one of the few tools we have to combat them.  There’s a reason that there isn’t any organized opposition to Proposition 1. It’s a new, promising program that deserves time to shake out its minimal kinks and prove to other cities that it’s worth it. Our democracy is already under attack. Now isn’t the time to defund one of the projects that makes democracy just a little bit more accessible. Vote yes on Proposition 1. Schools Seattle School District No. 1, Director District No. 2Kathleen Smith We were so unimpressed with the Seattle School District position 2 incumbent, Sarah Clark, that we are endorsing the person who didn’t even have her website set up at the time of the endorsement meeting (it’s set up now!). Kathleen Smith is a data scientist at Microsoft. She’s soft-spoken until a topic she’s passionate about like, say, gay kids or anything about data comes up. Then she’s all fire. We can see her doing this thing. And, we might have to see her do this thing because, whew. Our other options are Eric Feeny, a top performer at Optum (okay, brag much?) who acted like a mannequin came to life and read Sam Altman’s Wikipedia page. He likes AI a little too much. And incumbent Sarah Clark, whom we expected to like, gave us absolutely nothing. Clark is director of policy at the Chamber of Commerce. This should already be a red flag according to the SECB handbook, but progressives say she separates her evil day job for the not-evil mostly-volunteer school board position. Except for a policy director, Clark did not demonstrate much, if any, policy knowledge. In fact, she had no idea what the Parents Bill of Rights was, a homophobic, transphobic Trojan horse of a ballot measure that the state legislature passed in the 2024 session and put down like a rabid dog (amended) earlier this year. This behemoth has been a national issue in education for years, and in Washington for a year and a half. Literally every other candidate for school board (even the dolts) knew what it was and why it sucked. We don’t expect Clark to know the ins and outs, but jeez, a scrap of situational awareness would be nice. You may be thinking, “Sure, but state policies shouldn’t matter too much to a local school board director.” And you’d be right. This isn’t a policymaking position—it’s a governance one. But Clark did not prove to us she had any of the passion or engagement to make the kinds of waves on the school board that she promised. And a birdie told us Clark didn’t even bother responding to the teachers’ union’s endorsement meeting invitation. You don’t have to play ball with them all the time, but show up to the game. Still, we at the SECB are nothing if not reasonable. If Clark can prove she’s got what it takes, we’ll listen. Prove the Clark who walked in our door was not the real Clark we’ve heard so much about. For now, though, we’re sticking with Smith and her spreadsheets. She has booksmarts and a lot of heart. She pushed back on the common narrative that “broken trust” was why 4,000 students have left Seattle Public Schools since 2019. She’s not discounting that, but she thinks a study is needed. And, she knows how to do data things. Have at it, Smith. A thoughtful data wonk who wants to burn down any institution that doesn’t protect its queer students is good enough for us. Especially when the alternatives are so limp. Vote Smith. Seattle School District No. 1, Director District No. 4Joe Mizrahi Look… school’s bad. Parents mad. Kids sad. We fund our schools back-asswardly and we’re, unsurprisingly, looking toward a $94 million budget deficit in Seattle Public Schools next year. They’ve faced nearly $100 million deficits three years in a row. To combat that, the geniuses on the school board debated closing a cool 21 schools last year, spawning months of big, tearful, apoplectic (and justified), public outcry. The board then did not close the schools, but the threat still looms. Parents are still angry, and distrust the board. Enrollment in SPS is down. So, who the fuck is going to fix this? In this race, the choice is clear as day. Joe Mizrahi, long-time secretary-treasurer and co-executive director of UFCW 3000, can do it. He is as qualified for it as his hair is tall. Mizrahi has experience working with complicated and deep budgets. He’s a labor guy fixated on what teachers need. He’s also an SPS parent and the incumbent. Mizrahi stepped into the role last spring when two school board members resigned over residency issues, and he’d like a full term to really effect change. Mizrahi is against closing the schools. He’s against austerity budgeting, and recognizes that the only way out of this Sisyphean ordeal of never-ending budget deficits is to lobby the legislature for progressive revenue. Mizrahi has a long résumé full of organizing for causes like the $15 minimum wage, paid sick leave and family leave. He’s wonky, passionate as hell, and will be a force fighting for better funding at the state level. When it comes to more tangible schools stuff, we of the SECB trust Mizrahi’s takes. He wants open enrollment for option schools to attract and retain SPS students and clear waitlists. He’s already thinking about protecting undocumented students from ICE raids. He’s a champion of trans youth at a time when their right to exist and their right to privacy, are under attack. And gosh, he is charming from the tip of his Jimmy Neutron hair to the fresh basket of apples he brought—SIKE. They weren’t apples. They were cake. That’s right, Mizrahi is probably the only guy who stuck to his COVID cake dupes hobby. That commitment to “Is it cake?” shows the dedication that runs through Mizrahi. Also, the cake was delicious. (He did place fourth at a cake convention once, but first place in our hearts.) Vote Mizrahi. Seattle School District No. 1, Director District No. 5Vivian Song Vivian Song resigned from the Seattle School Board over a residency conflict. Since it’s our only substantial reservation about her candidacy, we’ll start there. Shortly before declaring her candidacy in 2021, Song moved out of her family home in Capitol Hill to an apartment in Ballard so she could run in D4. In early 2024, The Seattle Times revealed that Song no longer lived in the district she moved to, she was back in Capitol Hill again. This caused drama. Accusations of racism. By the end of the month, she’d resigned. Political career over? Not so fast. Though “shy” about it at the time, Song says she moved to Ballard with the intention of divorcing her husband (we also would only move to Ballard under duress). But they worked it out and she moved back home. And Song argued her move wasn’t secret: She said she followed the rules and never hid this from the school board. Some people disagree. But it’s not just shady, messy family stuff. According to School Board policy, her move should have opened her seat in the November 2023 general election. That matters. This disclosure snafu undermined a democratic process. But the details point more to a mistake than a scandal. And we doubt she’s pulling a scheme. Again, it’s the school board. It isn’t a cash cow (pay is capped at $4,800 a year) or a golden escalator to grander political aspirations (though it’s clear Song has them, she applied for a vacant seat in City Hall. Some argue it remained vacant when Tanya Woo held it). Good news! Song is part of the wealthy, unemployed activist class and literally can’t find enough boards to serve on. More importantly to us, she never tuned out of this board. She decided to run again during the school closure mess. Tops K-8, an alternative school with a deaf and hard of hearing program (Song is hard of hearing, so is her child), was slated for execution and she wouldn’t have that. When the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association tried to ban trans girls from school sports, Song worked behind the scenes to make sure this district’s WIAA rep, School Board Director Joe Mizrahi, would have the votes to fight it. Song’s progressive credentials are legit, so her finance background isn’t a sign she’ll lean on austerity and replace all the lunch ladies with gruel boys. She’ll do things like partner with other elected leaders on progressive revenue, like Former City Council Member Teresa Mosqueda’s increase to JumpStart for student mental health support. She knows that the district is going to have to body block the federal government if they come for undocumented students, and she has detailed ideas for the ways they can serve kids from immigrant families under Trump. She’s also against armed officers in schools. This was the rare race where we liked almost everyone in the room, particularly Janis White, a special education advocate whip-smart on every school board issue. Good ideas abounded. But Song has already shown this city she can do this job well. She wanted to do it so badly that she applied for the job again after enduring her political “scandal.” That’s something, right? Vote Song! King County County ExecutiveGirmay Zahilay For more than a decade and a half, if you asked people in King County what a “County Executive” was, they might’ve said “uh, some guy named Dow Constantine?” Dow’s dynasty (Dow-nasty?) is through and it’s time for Girmay Zahilay to take charge. Zahilay, a charismatic County Council Member first elected in 2019, is already a political staple repping University District, Laurelhurst, Ravenna, Eastlake, Capitol Hill, the Central District, South Seattle, Allentown, and Skyway, but he’s never held such a powerful executive position. He can do it. And, damn it, we want him to. So do the “just fine” establishment dems like Governor Bob Ferguson, cool establishment dems like Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and moronic warhawks like Congressman Adam Smith. Big tent! He’s also led plenty. In the five-plus years he’s been on the dais, he’s risen to current council chair and prince of fiscal management (or, in boring council speak, chair of the county’s budget and fiscal management committee. Yawn). He introduced the $1 billion Regional Workforce Housing Initiative and led the effort for a $1.2 billion property tax levy to fund mental health treatment centers. He sponsored a $2 million community-based gun violence program. He passed a five-part gun violence prevention program and supports a year-round gun buyback program. He reached these heights by knocking the legendary (read: old, respectfully) civil rights legend Larry Gossett off his perch—a big upset for an unknown lawyer from the South End who ran a nonprofit mentoring middle schoolers and came to this country as a refugee when he was 3. In our endorsement meeting, he even seemed genuinely nervous. He clearly expected our question about the child jail. In his first campaign, he made closing the detention center a huge part of his platform. But in a vote last year, he walked it back. During our endorsement meeting, Zahilay didn’t give a satisfying explanation for why he changed his mind. He says he believed the jail could be transformed with activities and community-based services. When we asked for an example of similar successes, he pointed to close-to-home facilities and “bringing the home to them through the integration of community services.” And it was a bullshit answer when there’s probably a more straightforward version: The county had nothing to replace kid jail, so the council didn’t close kid jail. This is the infrastructure we have, so Zahilay wanted to make it better. We’re not convinced that sour lemon will ever make lemonade, but Zahilay’s only real challenger in this race, County Council Member Claudia Balducci, didn’t vote any differently, and her background directing King County’s Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention is way, way more carceral. That said, these two are pretty politically aligned and did a good job at least pretending they loved each other. We like Balducci, just not as much as Zahilay. She’s a Transit Maven with political experience who is good at getting those Eastside misers to pay for things. And if we have any hope of addressing homelessness and building thousands of units of housing, someone is going to have to convince (or force) those misers to buy the biggest goose in the window (pay taxes) for Tiny Tim (us). What appeals to us aside from Zahilay’s progressive zeal and résumé, is that instead of facing east toward the suburbs à la Balducci, Zahilay will continue to face South, the direction of his district, and toward the people and places this county has neglected. At a time the federal government is literally rounding up immigrants and refugees and saying they don’t belong, we think it’s only right to elect Zahilay, so all King County residents know they belong and they matter. And we trust he’ll do right by us all. Vote Zahilay. Metropolitan King County, Council District No. 5Kim-Khánh Văn Last year, Dave Upthegrove left the King County Council to save the trees as the state Commissioner of Public Lands and, we guess, yell at tree sitters who also trying to save the trees. But that’s his problem. Ours is filling the seat he left behind (and that’s currently being warmed by long-time Tukwila City Councilmember De’Sean Quinn, who is not running). Renton City Council Member Kim-Khánh Văn stood out in a crowd of good candidates. She’s electric and her vision for this diverse district prioritizes racial equity, democratic values, and local stability as a means to weather this federal storm. When she was 6, Văn’s family fled Vietnam for a refugee camp in the Philippines and resettled in King County with the help of a nonprofit. After becoming the first in her family to graduate college, she went to law school and became an immigration attorney. She’s involved in rapid response efforts to ICE raids, and Văn is the only candidate who said “Abolish ICE.” This is the place where King County made waves (both good and bad) by housing homeless people in a vacant motel. It is also a region awash with camping bans. Văn is against those bans and homeless sweeps. She’s—forgive us for using the line—solutions-oriented. And for all the homosexual treehuggers missing Upthegrove: Văn says water is life and she’s here to save rivers. Văn’s big challenger is Steffanie Fain, whose moderate Republican husband Joe Fain was ousted from the State Senate after KUOW reported a rape allegation against him. When she filed for office, it would have been easy to assume that Fain, a lawyer and cancer survivor who has never held public office, was some kind of political puppet. Nope, she’s definitely her own woman. A very boring one who has raised a lot of money. She wants to fix the floundering King County Regional Homelessness Authority (who doesn’t?) and didn’t have an idea of how (who does?). And that was a basic theme. Fain is fine. Not an existential threat, but the absolute wrong pick for the political moment. Or, really any political moment, for that matter. Văn is the moment. We’d pick her even if Trump wasn’t dragging us all kicking and screaming into hell. South King County, perpetually overlooked and fucked over, and full of people vulnerable to federal lawlessness, deserves a fearless champion. We’re not even sure why Fain’s running. Vote Văn. Metropolitan King County, Council District No. 7Maya Vengadasalam Maya Vengadasalam is the only “Independent Democrat” in this non-partisan race with any chance of beating former Republican State Senator Pete von Reichbauer, an elder statesman who has held down his seat since 1993. Why? The man has a road named after him and he isn’t even dead. His feet are dangling from the $211,000+ war chest he’s sitting on and he lords over part of the county Republicans haven’t totally lost. So ever since the hot new rock band Nirvana was on the radio, to try was to lose and to waste money while doing it. Enter Vengadasalam. She’s a former school board director in Kent and a current leadership development consultant for the Washington State School Directors’ Association. And she’s only like $206,000 behind on fundraising! Since her whole deal is fiscal responsibility, maybe she can stretch it or blow the whole thing on a limited-run zine. While Vengadasalam wasn’t “partaking in endorsements,” she willingly answered all of our questions as long as we told you she was running a non-partisan campaign for this non-partisan office. Vengadasalam’s platform is four-prong: champion government transparency, strengthen economic growth, expand affordable housing, and advance education and safety (a two-for-one deal). Vengadasalam is no Republican, but she’s not the kind-of-handsome blue stranger that sweeps us off our feet. She’s a “where’s the money going” type who assumes the answer is waste and the solution is austerity. She’s not against progressive revenue, per se—but she wanted to be honest about the scissors in her hand. And honest she was. Vengadasalam spent six years on the finance and process management side of the Tacoma Housing Authority and didn’t even try to masquerade as a housing advocate. She bragged about her division going paperless before COVID hit. She’s got the right idea about some things, like the inhumanity of the term “camping” when applied to unsheltered homeless people, and that certainly gives her an edge over von Reichbauer, who once called homeless people outside the King County courthouse “animals” that had taken over the streets. Though we’re unconvinced she’ll solve the housing crisis with educational opportunities, unless all those graduates are comfortable with 20 or 30 roommates (we need affordable housing). She didn’t tell lies (even for her own benefit) or talk shit. There was literally nothing we could do to drag Vengadasalam into the muck and insult von Reichbauer, because she didn’t know him personally (she is strict on a two-term limit, however). It’s no fun, but how endearing. District 7 voters, we’re not thrilled about von Reichbauer’s de facto lifetime appointment. But while we still have representative democracy, why not have an election for old time’s sake? Let’s retire von Reichbauer to sunny Arizona. Vote Vengadasalam. State Legislative District No. 33, State Representative Position No. 1Edwin Obras The state legislature is just getting to know Edwin Obras, the 22-year SeaTac resident who was appointed to replace Tina Orwall when she moved over to the State Senate chamber earlier this year. He’s new to politics, but very familiar with government: Before this January, he’d worked for the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department for 16 years. In the last six months, he’s managed to make an impression. He sponsored (and passed) a bill that establishes protections for isolated workers (like housekeepers, security guards, and janitors) from sexual harassment and assault. He slapped some worker protections on Uber and Lyft. And he proposed a bill that would keep companies from passing the cost of credit card processing fees to their tipped workers. Because somehow that’s still legal. “What about the other Democrat in the race?” you ask? That’s Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling, and it’s a helluva stretch to call him a Democrat. Schilling’s administration is currently suing to overturn Burien’s historic minimum wage victory. As deputy Mayor, he turned down $1 million in King County funds for a tiny home village when it conflicted with the interests of one of his major donors. He had a public fight with the King County Sheriff’s office after he tried to force them to impose a camping ban in the city. And conservative commentator Brandi Kruse considers him one of her favorite Democratic mayors. We don’t need that nonsense anywhere near the state house. And we sure as hell need someone who’s dedicated to workers’ rights. Vote Obras. Legislative District No. 41, State Representative Position No. 1Janice Zahn Well, Janice Zahn ghosted us. After she rescheduled our planned endorsement call, we just… never heard from her again. Is that encouraging? Nope! But there’s not much happening in this race. Zahn is the only Democrat running a serious campaign for this seat. She’s a former Bellevue City Councilmember, and she’s been an engineer with the Port of Seattle for more than 20 years. She was appointed to the office in January, and she’s done a few things we dig: She sharpened some definitions for autism care on the state level so people who need 24/7 care have access to it and she expanded the protections for discrimination in schools. Good stuff! Plus, we love a weirdo. When addressing the County Council, she shared that since the COVID lockdowns, she’s been collecting rocks, polishing them, and then sharing them with community members. “I carry them around in my pocket and I start giving them away to my community as I’m out in community and I see people struggling, because what I believe is that leaders need to be the calm in our community when they’re in the storm while we’re trying to help them,” she said. She’s like the socially underdeveloped white lady in Shrinking and we’re obsessed. Vote Zahn. (But Janice, get it together. We better hear from you in the general.) Legislative District No. 48, State Representative Position No. 1Osman Salahuddin Yes, Salahuddin really is as young as he looks. Actually, he’s the youngest serving member of the state legislature. So it shouldn’t surprise you that Salahuddin’s political experience is limited. Before he was unanimously appointed to this legislative seat by the King County Council earlier this year, he was two years into his term on Redmond City Council. Before that, his only political experience was as the student body president at the University of Washington. But Salahuddin has picked up the work quickly. He’s an advocate for public transit (he rode the bus from Redmond to UW every day), he understands the importance of public investment in the housing and homelessness crisis, he introduced a state bill to integrate behavioral health professionals with cops and other first responders. When we asked Salahuddin what he was most proud of since he was appointed to this legislative seat in January, he listed two pieces of legislation: the first recognized Eid as a state holiday (“It showed my community that the government exists to serve all residents,” he told us) and the second allows workers to use paid sick leave to attend their own or a family member’s immigration proceedings. The 48th legislative district is largely made up of renters (more than half), immigrants (about 40 percent) and people of color (about half). The median age is barely more than 35. “My role is a bit unique in the district I represent,” the 29-year-old child of immigrants told us, because demographically, he’s a lot more like his constituents than many representatives. If he’s elected, Salahuddin will get another year to show us what he can do. Vote Salahuddin. 

Slog AM: Burning Down the (Frat) House, Earthquakes at Our Volcano Are Fine Actually, Grok Called Itself MechaHitler, Which Is Not Fine
The Stranger's morning news roundup by Vivian McCall Full Steam Electricity Diesel? Ahead: Washington wants its ferries totally emission free by 2050, but we’re way off course. By 2040, we need to convert six ferries to hybrid-electric power, build 16 new plug-in boats, and add shore charging to as many stations. The Washington State Standard reports that we’ve converted one ship so far (the Wenatchee, which returns to service tomorrow, over budget and a year behind schedule) and we’re not going to get any new big bath toys before 2030. The first new ferry from Florida arrives in five years. Is it dangerous to speedrun ship building, or should we just round up the Orcas and run them like sled dogs? Heart Comes Home: Heart, *Seattle’s best rock band, cancelled its August 8 show at the Gorge. Instead, they’ll play at Climate Pledge this November. Venue presale tickets go up Thursday (use the code “CRAZY,” writes The Spokesman Review). *In my book, Nirvana is an Aberdeen or Olympia band before it’s a Seattle band. Baseball: Our Mariners did something special as the Yankees kicked their asses. They kicked their own. With his 36th homer of the season, Cal Raleigh broke Ken Griffey Jr.'s 1998 franchise record for most home runs before the All-Star break. I have only one thing to say, Cal. Weather: I got what I wished for. I hated it. It was too hot. Too sweaty. So I wished for rain. There’s a 40/60 chance we might get it today. This Friday, when I’m ready to complain it's too cold for summer, the sun will come out for a nice hot weekend. Door Dash Price Hike: The company blames increased service fees on the “extreme regulations” in Western Washington. I’d blame the unprofitable business model built on a foundation of worker exploitation so shaky that paying a living wage is an existential threat to its being. Or maybe that delivery apps are vampiric middlemen that never needed to exist and we were better off before they “disrupted” the space and restaurants paid their own delivery people. But sure, it’s those goddamn Seattle communists and their “extreme” policies. I spent my early twenties barely surviving on gig work and my middle twenties seeing apps take a cut from the restaurants I worked at. It’s untenable. Apps like DoorDash have no choice but to pass the cost to consumers and continue screwing their gig workers, small restaurants, and by extension restaurant workers, in the process. The problem is you, babe, but people depend on you now! Some Real Sigmas (IYKYK): The exact cause is undetermined, but officials say a University of Washington frat house “likely” went up in flames this Saturday because of, you guessed it, fireworks. Nobody was hurt, but investigators say the building is uninhabitable. If I know frat houses, that was probably true beforehand, too. It’s Still Amazon Prime Day, Which Is Four Days Now: Celebrate by throwing a stranger’s Kindle in the lake, or by tripping a bald guy in a bad tux (sorry bald guys, stay casual today or slip into Trendy Wendy for a hot new look). Sidenote, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sold nearly 3 million company shares yesterday. He made about $666 million (to court conspiracy theorists), more money than you, your family, all of your friends, and maybe even your friend’s lazyfancy tech boyfriends, will see in your lifetimes. But I suppose he was turning the couch cushions after that opulent, $50 million Venetian wedding. I’m At The Earthquake, I’m At The Volcano, I’m At The Combination Earthquake-Volcano: Don’t listen to those fear-mongering assholes on TikTok who say Mount Rainier is gonna blow this week, or next week, or the week after. There has been a “swarm” of earthquakes at the summit, but they’re no cause for concern, the US Geological Survey said. The alert and color code for Mount Rainier is GREEN/NORMAL, which is fine obviously. If something changes, they’ll let us know. The Shoes Stay On During My Invasive Pat Down: You can keep your shoes on in the TSA security line. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a weird and incompetent person even by the standards of this administration, says the agency is fully confident in this new policy. Boyboss, Dismantle, Destroy: The Supreme Court of the United States issued an order allowing President Donald Trump to disassemble his agencies and fire tens of thousands of federal workers. Technically this order is only temporary, and the court is not ruling on the legality of specific firings, but for the time being he’s free to act like a kid with a fork and an interest in outlets. Unfortunately, we’re standing ankle-deep in a puddle with him and wearing our best metal longjohns. A Safe and Normal Agency: ICE agents drove a van through a crowd of protesters in San Francisco trying to stop agents from taking a man away from the city’s immigration court on Tuesday. ICE agents have routinely arrested asylum seekers after their hearings, including those with no criminal record. More Safe and Normal Agency: ICE abductions are leaving a “growing inventory of deserted belongings” around Southern California, reports The Los Angeles Times. Cars with broken windows left in the middle of the road. Lawn mowers are still running. Tools tossed helter skelter in a yard. Ice cream carts abandoned on the sidewalk. The Times reports there are now grassroots efforts to inform families of raids and return these belongings to them. Infinite Tact and Wisdom: Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paused weapons shipments to Ukraine without telling the White House. Yesterday, when reporters asked President Donald Trump who approved the pause, he said “I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” Jesus Christ, man, you’re the fucking President. It is your business. It’s the second pause on shipments to Ukraine since Hegseth took over the Pentagon. Can I suggest another country to pause weapons shipments to? Like Father, Like Son: Elon Musk has said Grok, the AI chatbot on X™, the everything™™ app™™™, is  the alternative to “woke AI”. The proof is in the pudding, folks. Yesterday, Grok posted antisemetic tropes, praised Hitler, and called itself “MechaHitler.” That’s a reference to Wolfenstein 3D, a Nazi hunting game where being Hitler is still bad. UPDATE: Grok denies it praised Hitler and made antisemetic comments. I get it. It’s a lying Nazi chatbot. Dreamboat Annie Rocks: It’s just true. Bonus: I’ve wondered if “Crazy On You” was quoting “Anji,” an instrumental by the brilliant British folk guitarist Davy Graham (later popularized by Paul Simon, but perfected by Bert Jansch). Email me, Ann Wilson.

Vote Yes on Seattle's Proposition No. 1
We created a first-of-its-kind public funding model for city political campaigns. We need it now more than ever.  by Stranger Election Control Board If you’re registered to vote in Seattle, you’ve probably had a chance to see the Democracy Voucher Program (DVP) in action: a blue and white envelope arrives in your mailbox with a small stack of $25 coupons; you, the voter, are invited to spend them on any candidate you like. It’s Seattle’s own, first-in-the-nation public campaign financing program. And Proposition 1 asks if we want to renew the levy that funds it for another decade.  The new levy would be funded through a property tax, and it’s expected to raise $45 million over 10 years, costing the average homeowner $12.20 a year. By most metrics, the DVP has been a roaring success. It makes primaries more competitive and campaigning accessible to more diverse candidates, and the vast majority of people running for office in Seattle participate in the program. More than 106,000 Seattleites have slipped their vouchers to candidates, and according to the City, through 2024, we’ve distributed more than $10 million to local campaigns. It’s difficult to find opponents to the DVP (the opposition statement is written by right-wing radio host Ari Hoffman). But supporters of the program still have complaints. The most common concern is that when we introduced the Democracy Voucher Program (which limits the amount of money a candidate can accept), spending from lobbyists skyrocketed (which remained unlimited). But lobbying spending has shot up across the region, not just here in Seattle. And even if it did push lobbyists to up their game, it's also one of the few tools we have to combat them.  There’s a reason that there isn’t any organized opposition to Proposition 1. It’s a new, promising program that deserves time to shake out its minimal kinks and prove to other cities that it’s worth it. Our democracy is already under attack. Now isn’t the time to defund one of the projects that makes democracy just a little bit more accessible. Vote yes on Proposition 1.

Beach, Please
Coral Grief’s album-release show is at the Tractor Tavern on July 26. by Audrey Vann Fueled by a love of marine life, endless cups of matcha, and memories of old Seattle, local trio Coral Grief hiked up to Anacortes for a week to record their debut album, Air Between Us. Like the parasailer on the cover, the songs evoke an aimless momentum that is loosely tethered to time and place. Vocalist and bassist Lena Farr-Morrissey sings in a breathy, weightless tone, while guitarist Sam Fason and drummer Cam Hancock craft lush, dreamy soundscapes that illuminate the reflective lyrics. While the album will draw many comparisons to British bands like Broadcast, Stereolab, and Lush, Coral Grief add a distinctly Washington State haze to their songs, with lyrics that encompass both the urban and the pastoral landscapes. I sat down with the trio to talk about the making of the album, Seattle’s dearly departed local businesses, and the magic of PNW beaches.  What media were you consuming while recording Air Between Us? SAM: I was listening to a lot of ’90s stuff. I got really into this label called Too Pure Records. It’s indie rock with a kind of ambient, krautrock-y thing going on. LENA: We watched the short documentary Extreme Beachcombing. It’s about this guy in Forks, Washington who has collected a bunch of shit that’s washed up from the ocean over the last 40-plus years. That, and we were drinking lots of matcha. I wouldn’t say that we were closed off from the media, but I get a little distracted from consuming too many other things. We recorded the album at the Unknown in Anacortes, which was a good way to unplug from everything. We started recording on, like, the first day of spring. It was hard to be trapped inside all day, but it was a cool way to usher in the season. We wanted the songs to reflect a freshness or a rebirth of sorts, so it felt fitting.  What is the best way to listen to the album?  LENA: Definitely in motion because of the ebbs and flows. The album is very movement-oriented. The matcha—or all of the matcha—made us work quickly, for better or worse. I want people to put the record on when they’re going somewhere or traveling through space.  CAM: From a mixing standpoint, some of the great vocal harmonies and textures might not stick out if you listen to it in the car. It’s great headphone music. For me, there’s an unstated goal of having a piece of work that you can give multiple listens to—you develop with it, and it develops you. Some of these more ambient textures—things that Sam leans into and draws from—reveal themselves over time.  Can you tell me more about the album cover? Who is that? LENA: That’s my grandpa. After he passed away, we went out to Chinese food with my family and talked about putting family photos up on my grandma’s digital frame. When that one came up, we were like, “What? When did he do this!?” Sam and I thought it would make a cool album cover. It’s interesting because when you look at someone parasailing, it looks so peaceful, quiet, and serene, which captures some of the album’s energy. Then you think about the person in the parasail, and they’re racing with the wind and probably have high adrenaline. I think the photo captures both, watching a parasailer and being a parasailer. What song on the album are you most proud of?  SAM: I’m proud of them all and I like them all, but we were the most particular about “Latitude.” I wanted it to sound lush, but not overbearing or murky. Since that song has some of Lena’s best vocal moments, I wanted it to have space. We spent, you know, a lot of time tinkering with the right organ and synth sounds, which are kind of under everything to give it a glowing feel.  CAM: It’s “Mutual Wish” for me. I think it’s because I’m mostly focused on rhythm, but there’s a lot of intricate rhythm going on in that song. It has a driving, forward-moving sense to it without beating you over the head with it. It’s still light. I also think it has the best bass line on the album. The chorus gets stuck in my head a lot. I think that’s always a good sign.  LENA: It’s so hard because “Latitude” is one of my favorite songs. But then the recording process of “Avenue You” went really smoothly. I think that song is really cohesive, and I’m proud of how that sounds. “Almost Everyday” is such a personal song to me about working at a record store. That one ended up closing the album well, even though it was more of a struggle to record. I’m proud of them all in different ways. Lena, how did working at a record store change or shape your relationship to music? LENA: It was so fundamental and pivotal for my musical education and joining the community here. Everyday Music was such a wonderland—we could dig through that store for years and still be discovering new things. I loved that place specifically because you could buy a 25 cent bargain DVD or a 200 dollar record. When it closed, I was pretty gutted about it. Not to be corny, but it felt like a metaphor for the city. I am still processing it. So many of my good friends came from working there. It’s just such a gift that keeps on giving.  From left: Sam Fason, Cam Hancock, and Lena Farr-Morrissey. COURTESY OF CORAL GRIEF In a world of photos, videos, and general evidence of everything, I find it hard to accept when my memory is all that I have. This is explored a bit in “Almost Everyday” and “Latitude.” How do you honor and remember beloved lost spaces? LENA: It’s hard because it feels like places are slipping away from us. We just have our experiences with one another that we can share and try not to lose them by carrying them on in different ways. For example, two of my coworkers from Everyday Music started Royal Records. They’re carrying on the legacy and cultivating the same energy that existed at Everyday. It’s vital to champion those types of businesses. The shifting city is inevitable. People love to say, “Seattle sucks.” It’s so boring. Like, yeah, duh, but if that’s where your thought stops, and you’re not actually contributing to the community or making it better for artists, I don’t think you have a leg to stand on.  Much of your lyrics and visuals highlight a very underrated part of Seattle: our beaches. What do you love most about PNW beaches? SAM: I was enamored when I first moved here in 2019 by how special the Puget Sound is and just how great the access to nature is in Seattle. During the pandemic, I got a job doing marine mammal monitoring. I was basically standing outside for most of the winter of 2020/2021 looking for whales. I really fell in love with the fact that you can be in West Seattle or downtown on the waterfront and see orcas and humpbacks and seals regularly. There are all these special, magical animals that call this area home. Even the little tide pool creatures like the anemones and starfish are so, so special. The more you look, the more you see, and it’s constantly unfolding. It’s very inspiring. LENA: I’m so glad that comes across. I know the three of us have an affinity for nature. When we’re on tour, we’re like, “Where’s the nearest swimming hole?” or “Do we have time to go to a cave?” Nature is a healing source for each of us in different ways, so having a lot of the imagery of the band related to that just feels natural. I don’t want to say that I’m speaking for the sea anemones, but at the same time, we see you.  Let’s end on a fun question. What is the worst band you’ve ever loved? CAM: The band I’ve had to fight the most for is the Dave Matthews Band—and I will die on that hill! I saw them in high school, and I just saw them again a few weeks ago. He gets a lot of flak—and in some ways I understand—but then you’re in a crowd of his fans and it’s the most joyful experience to be surrounded by all ages and demographics.  SAM: The Red House Painters. Mark Kozelek is a very bad man. LENA: Katy Perry. I made a lot of music videos in middle school to her work, and it honestly means a lot to me. I love pop music, but so much of it is embarrassing. In regard to her current direction, I don’t condone it! Actually, I don’t condone anything she’s done, but a pop song is a pop song.  Coral Grief’s album-release show is at the Tractor Tavern on July 26, with TV Star and New Issue. Air Between Us will be released July 18 via Suicide Squeeze / Anxiety Blanket Records / Den Tapes.

Fear of Fairing
Got problems? Yes, you do! Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love! by Dan Savage I’m a 44-year-old woman with a history of childhood sexual trauma. I enjoy sex if I’m with a partner I feel very connected to emotionally, but I’ve never had an orgasm. Because of this I tend to rely on pleasing my partner during sex rather than my own arousal. It works OK for me at this point while I try to heal, which is taking forever. (I am in therapy.) I’ve been married for about 12 years. My husband has a high sex drive and has had a hard time with the ways trauma can lower my interest in sex. He has worked hard to try and find ways we can be intimate that don’t involve penetrative sex (including his wearing a cage as a turn-on for him, sharing fantasies, etc.) but his needs have not been met recently as the trauma symptoms have been on top of me. Recently,… [ Read more ]

Slog AM: Seattle’s Population Reaches 800,000, Deaths in Texas Floods Passes 100, ICE Raids LA Park with Horses
The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Charles Mudede Seattle. I'm sorry. Your heat is nowhere near all that. You spoiled me. Yes, I much prefer your cold days, I love your long winter nights, and live for your clouds, which never fail to carry the sun away. But when I recently visited Atlanta, I learned my lesson. That city's summer is nothing like ours. Indeed, when my craft (operated by Delta) landed on ATL, I immediately felt another world when its doors opened: the heat, the humidity, the larger-than-life star. I was an alien whose lungs were simply stunned by the atmosphere. I could barely breathe the air, which had the consistency of melted butter. I spent a whole week on planet Atlanta, moving from one air-conditioned station to the next, always wishing I had a spacesuit during a transition. Even the mornings were brutal, and the nights offered no relief and lots of insect sounds. I changed my mind, Seattle, which will reach a high of 80 today, the same high it reached yesterday. Yes, I will always want you to be around 60 degrees or less, but now I know that even on your hottest days, you're nowhere near the Venus that Atlanta is.  Seattle has grown to over 800,000 residents. When I moved to the 206 back in 1992, the population was around 520,000. Those were the small-fry days. The paltry days. But look at you now. You're all grown and can call yourself a big city. Well done. And always remember, the more the merrier. One other thing: The state's biggest cities (Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Bellevue) claimed a whopping 75 percent of its population growth. And now for that fucking awful family of crows on my street in Columbia City. Why did you, the parents, have your precious baby in a tree next to a relatively busy sidewalk? It makes no sense. You don't want any humans near your noisy newborn, but you went ahead and built your nest around lots of humans. And this means you spend more time yelling and attacking us than you do with the one who apparently means the world to you. To make matters worse, crows very well know humans don't eat them. We are not raccoons. We don't care for your meat. Not one among us has ever put you in a pot or scrambled your eggs. And yet you still go apeshit when you think we're too close to your demanding brats. Tell me why? Tell me why?    Seattle, along with Spokane, is, according to a study conducted by WalletHub, in "the top five cities where credit card delinquency is increasing the most." Though our city's overall consumer debt load is still very low when compared to other cities, the sharp increase is an indication that something is "rotten in the state of Denmark." More and more Seattleites are surely feeling these words by an unfortunate character in Nabokov's novel Lolita: "I have not much at the bank right now but I propose to borrow - you know, as the Bard said, with that cold in his head, to borrow and to borrow and to borrow."  Get this: Netanyahu has nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Netanyahu to Trump, over a long table: “[You deserve the prize for] forging peace, as we speak, in one country, in one region after the other.” Trump to Netanyahu: “Thank you very much. This I didn’t know. Wow... Coming from you, in particular, this is very meaningful. Thank you very much, Bibi.” My question is this: Why does Trump so badly want these international distinctions? The top position in Vatican City, tea with the King of England, a prize awarded by Sweden. Why does a president whose whole program is America First so badly want validation from the international community? Why doesn't he just make his own damn USA prizes and distinctions (best bombed this, best ICE that, and so on) and be satisfied with that? In the words of Loose Ends: "It's such a mystery to me."  The death toll of the Texas floods has passed 100. We can only expect it to continue climbing. The situation in Texas is so bad that Trump plainly pretended not to hear tough questions from the press about the reported systemic failures that unnecessarily cost the lives of so many Texans. Greater scrutiny of this disaster will certainly point more blame at the GOP, locally and nationally. The libs had nothing to do with this. You're on your own, bra. What to do? A distraction is in order. ICE, whose budget was massively increased by the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill (Trump basically has his own army—maybe we will see an ICE parade in the near future), is basically a reality TV show that has leaped from the screen into reality, rather than the other way around. Don't believe me? I present you with footage of an ICE/Border Patrol raid conducted yesterday afternoon in Los Angeles’s MacArthur Park. What the hell is going on at McArthur Park in Los Angeles, CA! Looks like these militarized thugs are doing some kind of federal disappearing operation on street vendors in the park. This is only going to get worse with the new bloated ICE budget. #UnMaskICE[image or embed] — Brian Cardone (@cardonebrian.bsky.social) July 7, 2025 at 11:59 AM They even brought horses! Why? Because it was just another dumb stunt: the horses, the hardcore military gear, the stunned people running like they're in a creature feature. The reason given for the raid? According to NBC 4, the agents arrived in armored vehicles, surrounding the park’s perimeter in the Westlake neighborhood. But federal officials have yet to explain what sparked the raid, or why MacArthur Park—a popular family space—was targeted. When questioned, the Department of Homeland Security offered no details, simply stating, “We don’t need to comment on ongoing enforcement operations. UPDATE: Trump tried to blame Biden for the Texas floods, and fizzled. According to CNN, Trump said today: “If you look at that, what a situation that all is, and that was really the Biden setup. That was not our setup, but I wouldn’t blame Biden for it either.”  With all of the crazy going on in the US, and all of it clearly driven by racism, Black Americans must feel vindicated. For years, a large number of white Americans claimed that discrimination was a thing of the past, that Blacks were just whining and should just get over it. All Americans, they claimed, now lived in a free country and so on. Not a small number of immigrants and even moderate-thinking whites also believed this to be the case. If you work hard, America doesn't see your color. Nearly 50 percent of Latinos clearly voted for Trump under this impression. But it turns out they should have listened to Black people, who are now saying something like these words from an iconic scene in the old-school hiphop movie Wild Style: "See, I told you. Here they come now."  Let's end AM with Antipop Consortium's "Here They Come Now":  

Haute Topic
Dan McLean's next show, 7:20:Hair by Robere, is July 20 by Juan Jocom Photos by Christian Parroco Some people write love letters. Some just hold hands and let the silence do the talking. But for Seattle fashion designer Dan McLean, her connection with hairstylist Robert “Robere” Shaw is the kind that hoists a boom box over its head and hits play. This bond between them will echo loud and clear on the runway with McLean’s next annual birthday fashion show. On July 20, 7:20:Hair by Robere will showcase years of friendship, memory, and hair on the catwalk. Like with many modern love stories, their stars crossed through Instagram DMs. After seeing a friend wearing one of McLean’s creations, Shaw fell in love. He followed her on Instagram and commissioned a rainbow Louis Vuitton bralette for Pride. It was his first custom piece from her.  McLean’s studio in SoDo. Still, the two didn’t officially meet until McLean took on another commission for Shaw four years ago, when he asked her to make a pair of custom pants for a wedding. The initial design didn’t go as planned, but she managed to make last-minute changes. In return, he offered to do hair for McLean’s first runway show. He’s done every show since. Just like that, Shaw turned from client to muse. Stacked on a corner shelf, white boxes containing bits and pieces of McLean’s past designs—each marked with a collection theme and year—show just how much she has explored her craft, from bridal couture to extraterrestrial-futuristic fashion.  But with Hair by Robere, she wanted to do something new: bring her friendship with Shaw and the salon aesthetic into the world of fashion. Their connection is rooted in a shared nostalgia for the early 2000s. Both McLean and Shaw came of age on a diet of mall-punk fashion in the Y2K, MySpace era—think Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton’s “Stars Are Blind.” They both had flip phones, shopped at Hot Topic, and found creative refuge in the alt-pop culture of their youth. “We’re both weird,” Shaw says. “The show is an homage to our younger selves, and the music and the clothes that we grew up loving.”  McLean works on details at her studio in SoDo. Although Shaw isn’t involved in the design process, McLean consistently checks in with him to ensure she’s capturing the essence of their friendship—channeling that mutual adolescence into a fashion collection that feels equal parts homage and experimentation. Hair by Robere is not just a show; it’s a time capsule reimagined for the present, infused with both punk attitude and personal tenderness. Diversity Is Common Sense  When walking into McLean’s SoDo studio, I’m greeted by a sea of black and dark tones. One wall is lined with assorted metal hoops, the other scattered with power tools. For someone unfamiliar with that kind of edge, the space can feel intimidating at first. But behind the moody aesthetic lies something entirely different, and what happens behind the runway is anything but cold. At the heart of McLean’s creative ethos is care. Her approach to designing is deeply collaborative and intentionally people-centered. She does not simply cast models and then fit them into pre-made garments. She builds the garments around each individual. She listens. She adapts. She makes space. “If they want their hair cut, then we will, but I’m not going to request anyone cut their hair,” McLean says. “I have never expected people to change anything about themselves for the show.” McLean is also reshaping the experience of a fashion show. Her casting process is collective, with a panel of past collaborators, friends of friends, and family members helping choose models. She doesn’t rely on industry archetypes. Instead, her runway features bodies of all sizes, genders, and backgrounds. It’s her way of rejecting the unrealistic beauty standards of the modeling industry, which has long demanded a specific body type and a Eurocentric ideal of beauty. “Dan cares,” Shaw says. “She asks what [models] are comfortable with. She wants to know who she’s dressing and how they like to be dressed.” McLean makes it clear that her models are her muses, too. She doesn’t sketch her designs; instead, she writes down ideas, talks them out, and then builds directly onto the body, draping fabric while music plays in the background—a creative exchange that feels more like hanging out than work. The result is fashion that breathes with memory and connection. She calls her team the Danfam. Sounds exclusive, right? But McLean said that the only requirement is good vibes. According to McLean, past shows have drawn solo attendees who leave with new friends. It’s that kind of joyful, inclusive energy she aims to bring to all future runway shows. Inside Dan McLean's studio. A Runway Beyond Hot Topic  This year, with 7:20:Hair by Robere, McLean is creating a collection made mostly of black, bleach-resistant thrifted and repurposed fabrics, practical for salon professionals but still edgy and elevated. Inspired by the reality of hairstylists wearing black to work, McLean is building pieces that are functional yet avant-garde, crafting garments that can withstand the chaos of chemical spills without sacrificing style. Expect sculptural silhouettes, rich textures, and unexpected materiality. Hair itself will be woven into the collection: synthetic strands molded into boots, bags, and corsets. There may be flowing human hair for movement and structure, or stylized wigs reimagined into wearable art. Nothing is off-limits. “Trying to explain me and Robert’s relationship is kind of how I’m going to try to explain it on a runway,” McLean says. “We’re just like, it kind of doesn’t make sense, but it does make sense.  This is also McLean’s first sober runway show. The studio, once a place of party-fueled fittings and late-night sewing, is now a different kind of creative space: clear, focused, and just as celebratory. Shaw is joining her in solidarity, staying sober throughout the process, too. For McLean, Hair by Robere is more than a collection; it’s a celebration of where she’s been and where she’s going. As the queen of bootleg fashion in Seattle, where she transforms thrifted outfits into avant-garde wearable pieces, she wants the show to signal a pivot from mass production to a slower, more intentional way of creating. “Instead of me pumping out a bunch of things to make, I want to really hone in on focusing on customers and building out their closet and making them feel sexy in their clothes,” McLean says. What audiences can expect on July 20 is a show that feels like a mixtape, a time machine, a love letter to a friendship. It will feature references to emo culture, punk rebellion, and nostalgic glam. There may be liberty spikes. There will definitely be big feelings. And at the center of it all will be McLean and Shaw, two weird kids who found each other and built a fashion family. McLean hopes that everyday people feel they deserve garments that are both functional and expressive. Most of all, she wants fashion to feel accessible—and not something behind a velvet rope, but something you can step into, collaborate on, and truly call your own. Because in McLean’s world, fashion is a form of care, and everyone deserves to feel good in what they wear.  Heeeere's Dan! 7:20:Hair by Robere is July 20, 7 p.m.–10 p.m. Location disclosed with ticket purchase. Tickets available at danmclean.org.

Stranger Suggests: A Fish Festival with a Bitchin’ Soundtrack, Fiber Art You’ll Want to Touch, and Pineapple Pizza
One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Audrey Vann MONDAY 7/7   Heroines of Resistance: Women as Anti-Fascist Militants (DISCUSSION) This free feminist discussion group will explore women in history who have played vital roles in fighting fascism. Organized by the long-running socialist feminist activist organization Radical Women, this is not only a powerful way to harness hope and gain inspiration to resist under the current administration, but also an opportunity to meet like-minded people in the community. Reading packets will be available to purchase for $10 at each session. (New Freeway Hall, 6:30 pm) AUDREY VANN TUESDAY 7/8   Ananas Pizzeria's Ananas Pizza Pineapple belongs on pizza at Ananas Pizzeria. CHRISTIAN PARROCO (FOOD) At Ananas, the argument about what does or doesn’t belong on pizza is part of the fun. After all, naming a pizza spot after pineapples is akin to naming your steakhouse Well Done. The menu is concise but mighty, with a handful of pies that all use hand-prepped, premium ingredients, plus salads and “pizza sandwiches” (think cold-cut ingredients in a fresh, folded pizza crust) at lunch. The namesake Ananas Pizza—one of only two pies on the menu with pineapple, in case you were nervous—is made with a 72-hour sourdough crust and fired in a 550-degree oven, with pineapple sliced so thin it almost melts, pickled jalapeños that shake hands with togarashi for spice, salt from the smoked ham and the grated Grana Padano cheese, and a comforting red sauce that has its own point of view. You can taste the technique, the inspiration, and the refusal to cut corners, even if it means having some of the most intensive prep of any pizza spot in the city. Read more about Ananas Pizzaeria and chef Khampaeng Panyathong in the latest installment of Asian Verified! MICHAEL WONG WEDNESDAY 7/9   Suchitra Mattai: she walked in reverse and found their songs 'Pappy's house,' 2024, by Suchitra Mattai. Photo by Nicolas Lea Bruno. COURTESY OF SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM (VISUAL ART) If you're interested in fiber art, you'll want to familiarize yourself with Indo-Caribbean artist Suchitra Mattai, who explores intersections of history, memory, and migration through ultra-tactile textiles and sculptures. Drawing from her ancestors' journey as indentured laborers in Guyana, Mattai navigates violent colonial histories and honors women’s labor legacies with vintage saris, beads, and embroidery. In she walked in reverse and found their songs, Mattai reenvisions her grandparents' home, a focal point in her migration story. The monumental sculptures, weavings, and braiding techniques must be seen to be fully appreciated. (Seattle Asian Art Museum, through July 20) LINDSAY COSTELLO THURSDAY 7/10   2025 Queer and Trans Film Festival (FILM) Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s annual film festival is celebrating “30 years of queer cinema and 20 years of trans storytelling” this year with “iconic shorts and features from festivals past, a brand-new lineup of trans-made and trans-led short films, and a spotlight on the brilliant local voices that shaped our scene.” I’m particularly excited to see some of my favorite LGBTQ classics, like Saving Face, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and Tangerine on the lineup, as well as lesser-known throwbacks like the 2008 teen fantasy musical Were the World Mine (in which a high school boy casts a spell to turn his entire small town gay) and the 2001 transmasc road trip buddy movie By Hook or By Crook (featuring a cameo from Joan Jett!). (Broadway Performance Hall and Erickson Theater, various times) JULIANNE BELL FRIDAY 7/11   Ballard SeafoodFest (FOOD/MUSIC) Originally started as a celebration of the neighborhood’s fishing industry in 1974, the Ballard SeafoodFest has expanded over the years to include an alder-smoked salmon barbecue, art exhibits, a craft beer garden, artisan craft vendors, a skateboarding showcase, kids’ activities, and live music. This year’s music lineup features “ugly pop” sibling group Skating Polly, Sarah Tudzin’s self-described “tenderpunk” project Illuminati Hotties, psych rockers Spirit Award, and soulful singer Sir Woman, among many others. Masochists can enroll in the lutefisk eating contest, an annual competition to see who can scarf down the most of the salty, gelatinous fish. (NW Market St and Ballard Ave NW, times vary, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL SATURDAY 7/12   Tacoma Pride Block Party 2025 Trixie Mattel is hosting the Tacoma Pride Block Party on July 12. AMY SUSSMAN/GETTY (PRIDE) Drag superstar, singer-songwriter, businesswoman, TV personality, makeup artist, YouTuber, and real-life Barbie Trixie Mattel is coming to Tacoma this month, in case you didn’t hear. I know everyone is asking: How did this Tacoma Pride party book one of the most in-demand drag queens in the game? Well, they got her the month after Pride, when her schedule is clear. As far as I’m concerned, every month is Pride month, so I won’t mind throwing on something sparkly and trekking down to Tacoma to see Trixie’s DJ set along with local gems like Stacey Starstruck, Pupusa, Fabi, Slutashia, Anita Spritzer, Rowan Ruthless, Amora Namor, and more. (The Mix, 2 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN SUNDAY 7/13   Ok Bucko, Wanda Want (MUSIC) Referred to by musician and writer Eliza McLamb as “a real band’s band,” the Seattle four-piece Ok Bucko cite influences like the Cars and the Breeders and possess an irrepressible DIY punk-rock spirit. Their recent debut EP, A New Way, sizes up the current-day *gestures broadly at everything* and looks it straight in the eye. The opener, “Debt,” tackles the depressingly Sisyphean nature of finances with equal parts cynicism and self-compassion: “Who gets me better than my credit card statement / Who fucks me better than a new pair of shoes / If getting older is just writing checks / Growing up is getting over your debt.” “Window” takes aim at Seattle’s wealth disparity and affordable housing crisis, while “Strangers with Candy” explores the ups and downs of uppers and downers. They’ll headline this show at the Cha Cha Lounge with an opening set by the Los Angeles–based “dyke pop star” and former local Wanda What. (Cha Cha Lounge, 8 pm, free, 21+) JULIANNE BELL  Prizefight!  Win tickets to rad upcoming events!* Driver EraJuly 9, WAMU Theater ENTER NOW! Contest ends July 8 at 10 am The WeekndJuly 12, Lumen Field ENTER NOW! Contest ends July 11 at 10 am IncubusJuly 15, Climate Pledge Arena ENTER NOW! Contest ends July 11 at 10 am *Entering PRIZE FIGHT contests by submitting your email address signs you up to receive the Stranger Suggests newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Dropping Into Baekhyun’s World
Baekhyun didn’t just perform. He connected. by Christian Parroco Until this week, I’d never been to a K-pop concert. That being said, I do play a lot of video games that partner with K-pop groups for promo and overpriced in-game cosmetics (that I inevitably buy), so I thought it’d be cool to take a peek into a scene I’ve only dabbled in on a very surface level. While that disqualifies me from saying anything definitive about the genre, it also made Baekhyun’s Reverie tour stop at WaMu Theater on Tuesday night hit that much harder. Walking into the venue didn’t feel like showing up to a concert. It felt like being dropped into a world that had been going strong without me for a long time. The lights were intense, the crowd was already moving to the music playing over the house speakers, and, even though I didn’t know the lyrics to a single Baekhyum song, it was obvious that wasn’t going to be a problem. Let’s start with the crowd. Imagine a Discord server come to life. Friends who’d never met in person were hugging for the first time. There were conversations about favorite League of Legends champions and whether or not Solo Leveling robbed Frieren of Crunchyroll Anime of the Year (which it did). This wasn’t just a show, it was an occasion. The outfits spanned Harajuku-core, streetwear, ethereal fae, and a heavy dose of glitter. No single theme, just a shared understanding: You show up looking good. And there were a lot of moms. Like, a lot. Some of them were probably just escorting their kids to the show, but most looked like they were there for themselves, seemingly more excited than their much younger neighbors in the crowd. The crowd was overwhelmingly femme and shockingly diverse. People of all ethnicities, all body types, all ages, and they were all screaming when, in the second act, Baekhyun pulled out the fedora. Yes, he really did that. His performance featured a fedora, some sexy hip choreography, and some smooth ’90s-sounding R&B. It was like being seduced by a man who only speaks in falsetto and finger guns. And as my friend Spencer put it, “Whatever he’s saying right now, I bet it’s sexy.” Fedora not pictured. CHRISTIAN PARROCO Which brings me to a strange truth: the language barrier didn’t exist. Or rather, it existed for me, but it didn’t really matter. A majority of the audience, many of them not even Korean, knew the lyrics bar for bar. Now, obviously, having never listened to Baekhyum until Tuesday, and only attending the show out of pure curiosity, I did not know the words. I don’t speak Korean, so I couldn’t even understand them. But that didn’t stop any of the emotions from landing. And that was enough. Baekhyum’s performance made it clear that meaning doesn’t always need translation. Sometimes the sound alone hits you first, and everything else makes sense after. Every second of the production was deliberate. The visuals and choreography were intricately woven into the mood of each song. “Underwater” was performed to an aquatic backdrop and lighting, with choreography reminiscent of jellyfish and flowing currents. “Lemonade” introduced bright pops of yellow visuals and bouncy dancing. After every intermission, Baekhyun changed outfits, and each signaled a shift in mood.  Dance to his sadness. CHRISTIAN PARROCO The setlist felt like we were being walked through the lifecycle of a relationship. The early songs were playful and jazzy, all flirtation and groove. The middle of the show leaned into something deeper. Slower songs that ached a little, and were full of tension and longing. By the end, everything had shifted. The bass hit harder, the guitars got louder, and Baekhyun looked just as ready to fall apart as he was to charm the crowd. He even joked that we seemed to really like dancing to his sadness. Between songs, Baekhyun took his time connecting with the crowd, speaking through a translator. At one point, he talked about how he got lost in Seattle but decided to just keep walking until he stumbled across a spot that caught him off guard with how beautiful it was (after he visited Target and bought some chocolate-covered pretzels). The moral was simple: If you keep moving forward, you’ll eventually see wonderful things. That sentiment landed hard in a room full of people who clearly had an emotional bond with him. He wasn’t just an idol. He was a presence. A guide. A comfort. Baekhyun didn’t just perform. He connected. And for a first-timer like me, that was more than enough to keep me wanting more. Baekhyun: Fan of chocolate-covered pretzels. CHRISTIAN PARROCO

Slog AM: More Than 80 Dead in Texas Floods, Bibi Is Back in DC, and the Governor Chooses Not to Pardon a Washington Deportee
The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Hannah Murphy Winter Good morning! Did you manage to get through the 4th of July without blowing anything (or anyone) up? Good for you. (The 47 people that were treated at Harborview for fireworks-related injuries weren’t so lucky.) Now that we’re officially in Seattle Summer, we’ve got two balmy, 80 degree days ahead of us before a little rain comes back on Wednesday. Enjoy ‘em while you got ‘em. Until then, let’s do the news. Flooding in Texas: At least 81 people died in central Texas when flash floods hit on the Fourth of July, and because the flooded area was full of summer camps, at least 28 of them children. At the current toll, it’s already one of the deadliest floods in the United States in the last century, and dozens of people (including 10 campers) are still missing three days later. Placing Blame: The (understaffed) Weather Service says that it gave towns in the area enough time to warn residents, but flash flood warnings blasted from locals’ phones at 1:14 a.m.—so a lot of people never heard or saw them. Former Weather Service officials told the New York Times that the loss of experienced people who would typically have helped communicate with local authorities in the hours after flash flood warnings were issued overnight. But there’s enough blame to go around. Kerr County, one of the worst hit areas in the state, didn’t have a flood warning system set up, because apparently, according to the county’s most senior elected official (a judge), “Taxpayers won’t pay for it.” NYT asked if people might reconsider in light of the catastrophe, and he said, “I don’t know.” A whole separate storm system hit North Carolina this morning, dumping 10 inches of rain on huge swathes of the state. Tens of thousands of people have lost power, and at least two tornadoes have been reported in the center of the state. But so far, no injuries or deaths have been reported. Bibi Is Back in Washington: Trump is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today to talk about Iran and Gaza. The New York Times reported that Trump wants to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, but “Netanyahu and Hamas have both thrown up obstacles.” Hamas’ “obstacle” is wanting a commitment that it could lead to an end in the war. Netanyahu’s “obstacle” is having absolutely no intention of ending said war. Meanwhile, an Israeli reservist admitted to NBC News that their troops arbitrarily open fire on civilians in Gaza. The Drunk Uncles Are Fighting Again: The New York Times wrote an entire article based on Trump’s rant about Elon, as if it were a reasoned statement from the office of the president. To give you a sense of what they were working with, this is only about a third of Trump’s post about Elon trying to start a third party called the “America Party,” after the BBB passed: I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely “off the rails,” essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them. The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds! Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running “machine,” that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Charles Mudede (@mudede) Mama Mia, Mioposto: On Friday night, an SUV blew through a red light, swerved, and crashed through the plate glass windows of the Ravenna location of the Mioposto pizzeria. Fortunately, because it was the Fourth of July, there were way fewer patrons in the restaurant than usual on a Friday night, so while three people were hospitalized (a lot of plate glass in people’s faces, they said), no one was killed. SPD told the Seattle Times that the driver wasn’t drunk, but didn’t say what caused the accident. The SUV destroyed some essential support beams, so the restaurant will have to be closed for months for repairs. If you want to show them a little love while they recover, go to their West Seattle and Mount Baker spots.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Mioposto Pizzerias (@mioposto) The Anti-Fourth of July Social Club: Dozens of local electeds signed a letter on Friday committing to taking significant local action to fight back against the severe impacts of Trumps Big Fucking Bill. “We write to you not in celebration, but with heavy hearts and urgent concern,” the letter read. “Washington leaders are now calling for measures to meet this moment. State lawmakers must urgently act to prepare for the harm done by the authoritarianism of the federal government. Local government leaders must enact progressive revenue, like the Seattle Shield Initiative, which can reduce harm to essential programs  in major metropolitan areas from budget cuts.” The letter was signed by more than 70 state, county and city leaders, including City Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Rob Saka, Joy Hollingsworth, and Dan Strauss. Some notable names that were missing from the list? Mayor Bruce Harrell and Council President Sara Nelson. Maybe it’s time for a change. Speaking of Deeply Disappointing Local Leaders: When Tuan Thanh Phan finished his 25-year sentence in Washington state prison, he wasn’t reunited with his wife and family. Instead, the Washington Department of Corrections handed him directly to ICE, who deported the Tacoma-raised Vietnamese national to Djibouti, where he’s been held in a shipping container with other deportees. And soon, he’s expected to be deported to South Sudan. Governor Ferguson had the chance to stop it by offering him a full pardon. He’s already served his time, and wiping his record would give him a chance to get out of ICE’s clutches. But on Friday, Ferguson declined to help. “With the governor, I feel betrayed,” said Phan’s wife, Ngoc Phan, to the Seattle Times. “He pretty much sided with Trump. He’s complicit in this administration’s relentless and vicious attacks on vulnerable and immigrant communities.” We’ll have more on this later in the week. Did you hear the one about the guy trying to use pizza orders to track Pentagon activity? It's called the Pentagon Pizza Report, and it kinda works?  Man of the Hour: After 27 years, Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron is leaving the band. He hasn’t shared any details about why. To celebrate his three decades with them, here’s a little snapshot of Eddie Vedder’s liner notes from Lost Dogs: “Matt Cameron writes songs and we run to find step stools in order to reach his level, ... what comes naturally to him leaves us with our heads cocked like the confused dogs that we are, ... eventually getting it. Did we mention he's the greatest drummer on the planet?”           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Matt Cameron (@themattcameron) In honor of Matt, here’s one of the tracks that made Eddie go try to find a step stool.