What the Campaign Signs in Seattle’s Third District Mean

A central theme in the Third district campaign: a referendum for or against Sawant

By Seattle Mag June 29, 2015

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In our bi-monthly Seattlemag.com column, Knute Berger–who writes regularly for Seattle Magazine and Crosscut.com and is a frequent pundit on KUOW–takes an in-depth look at some of the highly topical and sometimes polarizing issues in our city.

Wandering around the new Third city council district, which includes Capitol Hill, the Central District, parts of Beacon Hill and Mt. Baker, affluent areas like Madison Park and Montlake—from hipsters to aging millionaires—I’ve tried to interpret what the signs say.

The major candidates have traditional yard signs—a way to get your name and a brief message out.

Council candidate Rod Hearne, for example, has a non-threatening yard sign of blues and purples with the slogan, “Inclusive & Effective,” plus his campaign URL for a decidedly retro touch. What is this, the 2000s? Actually, including the website is pretty standard these days, but it still strikes me as kind of dot-commy. “Inclusive” looks like a bid to assure people that he is not divisive, and “Effective” means he can get things done while not pissing people off. His message is clearly a subtle shot at Kshama Sawant, the Seattle nice way of saying, “I’m not a grandstanding jerk.”

That’s one of the central themes in the Third district campaign: a referendum for or against Sawant. She is the incumbent, sort of. She’s currently an at-large council member re-running for a brand new seat. The district represents a chunk of her core voters—young urbanites and people who will vote the way The Stranger says. The district is full of people who have wanted to shake up the status quo in the past. Still, she has challengers who are running as anti-Sawants, which translates as people who don’t alienate their peers or might actually reach out to people who have committed the economic sin of, say, being upper middle class voters.

Sawant has yard signs, but the her most interesting signs—posters, really—are on utility poles. They’re simple, bold, and to me completely in tune with Socialist activism. My favorite, which you see along MLKing Way or Madison Valley, says “Tax the Rich,” with a discreet “Re-elect Kshama Sawant” below. It’s a call to action and a statement of policy. Too bad you don’t see them in Broadmoor or Washington Park—that’s where you need to change minds.

She has a second poster I saw on Capitol Hill—“We Need Rent Control!” A good target message for that audience. Whether you like her or not, Sawant’s signs indicate she is in full command of her brand. The only thing missing from her signs is a clenched fist. Apparently, Metro has grabbed that for their new signs warning transit riders (see photo above).

Candidate Pamela Banks, know for being president of the Urban League among other things, has a yard sign announcing that she’s “Your Progressive Voice,” with “Your” underlined. The colors are pure Husky Purple and Gold (she’s an alum) and Banks plays up her local connections. “Your” again is an implied critique of Sawant, as I read it, suggesting Sawant speaks for others while Banks speaks for the people of the Third, where she’s lived for some 20 years.

Banks also has posters on some utility poles. Somewhere along 12th Avenue near Seattle University, I spotted one mixed-in with posters for clubs and concerts. Again, the Husky Purple and Gold, this time with stars and stripes and a psychedelic graphic look. This flashback says to me, an aging baby boomer, “Pamela Banks, Live at Eagles Auditorium with Country Joe and the Fish!”

It’s apparently aimed at young folk, and helpfully names some of the district’s neighborhoods (Capitol Hill, Madrona—we’re all learning these news districts). It seems like an effort to get her name sunk into the skulls of people who get their “news” from utility poles.

In any case, district politics means candidates have to knock on doors, but I suggest all voters get out, walk their new districts and see what their candidates are saying in their signs.

 

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