October 19, 2005

Open letter on the November 8, 2005 Washington State General Election        

Dear Friend,

Seattle voters made a powerful statement in last month's primary election when 16,580 residents cast their ballots for Freedom Socialist candidate Linda Averill for Seattle City Council. In a four-way race, Averill's 18% represents a significant protest vote against pro-business interests and a demand for prioritizing the needs of Seattle's workers, the poor, and the vulnerable. Averill distinguished herself as the only anti-capitalist candidate—and the only one with bold proposals and solutions to satisfy basic needs.

When thanking her supporters, Averill urged them to join the FSP and continue the fight. The ugly realities of poverty, racism, and sexism exposed after Hurricane Katrina sound an urgent call to stop the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on working people at home.

Without Linda on the ballot, there are no counter-establishment opponents of capitalism running in this general election, so we advocate boycotting all office holders' races. However, there are several issues we strongly urge you to consider.

Three Healthcare Measures: The good, the bad, and the feel-good

    · State Initiative 336 to control malpractice rates & bad doctors—VOTE YES

This measure seeks to control malpractice insurance rates by requiring public notice and hearings on rate increases and forcing insurance companies to open their books. A physician's license would be revoked after three malpractice events, and frivolous lawsuits would be eliminated. I-336 creates a supplemental insurance fund paid into by institutions and healthcare professionals to cover claims in excess of their malpractice insurance limits. Patients would also gain access to currently restricted information about claims and previous disciplinary actions against healthcare providers.

Studies prove that insurance companies set malpractice rates according to their profit goals rather than actual claims. We support I-336 because it gives consumers some clout against bad doctors and profit-crazed insurance companies. Its major flaw is that the legislature can allocate funds, i.e., our tax dollars, to the supplemental insurance fund, but this is somewhat mitigated because a move to do so can be protested.

The NAACP of Washington, United Farm Workers, Washington State Labor Council, Brain Injury Association of Washington, Trial Lawyers Association, and many others support I-336. Backers of I-330 oppose it (explanation follows).
    · State Initiative I-330 to limit medical liability—VOTE NO

This measure changes healthcare liability laws by capping awards at $350,000 for “non-economic” damages (e.g., disfigurement, loss of a limb) in cases of personal injury or death caused by healthcare services. It shortens time limits for filing malpractice suits, limits attorneys' contingency fees, and allows insurance companies to pay out some claims over a period of decades or even to stop paying. Worse, before patients can get medical care or a prescription, I-330 allows doctors, hospitals, HMOs, health insurance contracts, and healthcare agencies to demand that patients sign away their right to a jury trial in malpractice claims!

Since claims for loss of wages and future earnings are not available to children, retired people, or those who are unemployed for any reason, “non-economic” damages are especially crucial. Victims of malpractice must have access to jury trials where working people can show the real impact of medical negligence on their lives.

I-330's big supporters include insurance companies, hospitals, HMOs, the Washington State Medical Association, and the building industry. It is opposed by American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Northwest Women's Law Center, Hate Free Zone, NW Hospital and Health Care Workers, Washington Federation of State Employees, Washington State Bar Association, supporters of I-336, and many more. Protect your rights and vote NO on I-330.

    · City of Seattle Ballot Advisory Measure 1—VOTE YES

This measure advises the mayor and city council that every person in the U.S. has an equal right to quality health care, and that Congress should implement this right. It recommends actions for Seattle to take including convening an expert panel to advise the city and private employers on improving healthcare coverage for city residents.

Health Care for All-Washington and the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans convinced the city council to sponsor this measure through a grassroots signature campaign for healthcare reform. It is opposed by the Libertarian Party of King County and by the Seattle Times—which says it's beyond the council's purview.

While we say “Yes” to this measure (who doesn't support healthcare for all?), we urge the council to go beyond feel-good propositions and actually start budgeting for healthcare reform by 1) eliminating co-pays and fully covering city employees' medical premiums, and 2) backing free public healthcare by cuts in the law enforcement budget.

All these measures point to the drastic need for a radical transformation of the U.S. healthcare system. Like housing, quality healthcare is a right and should be available to all at no cost, regardless of immigration status. It can be done by nationalizing healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry under workers' control, and, thereby, eliminating the insurance industry.

Washington State's funding fiasco

Washington State has the most regressive tax system in the U.S. Here, the poorest pay 17% of their income in taxes while the richest pay only 7%. Tim Eyman, whose underlying agenda is privatization of public agencies, successfully took advantage of taxpayers' justified anger in 1999 to pass I-695 which capped car license fees and eliminated $750 million in annual state revenue. This November's ballot contains a new Eyman initiative, and two initiatives resulting from the funding cuts caused by I-695.

    · State Initiative-900 to Mandate Performance Audits—VOTE NO

This Eyman-sponsored measure mandates the state auditor to conduct performance audits of state and local agencies; it's funded by taking .16% out of the state's sales and use taxes. Such audits would eventually take an estimated $25 to $90 million from the state treasury—and the audits could be contracted out. However, the proposed audits duplicate procedures already in place, and serve only to further drain the state treasury.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 2, King County Democrats, and the Washington State Labor Council oppose I-900. The Republican Party and the Building Industry Association of Washington support it.

    · State Initiative-912 to Repeal the Gas Tax—VOTE YES

This measure repeals the 2005 motor vehicle fuel tax increase enacted by the Legislature for new transportation projects. The increase totals 9.5 cents per gallon by 2008 for a state tax of 37.5 cents per gallon. Combined with the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents, the 2008 total tax would be 56 cents per gallon. The increase would fund 274 statewide transportation projects totaling $7.1 billion specified in a 2005 legislative plan.

The long list of those opposing the repeal includes: the Washington State Labor Council and unions who benefit from transportation construction; engineering, surveying, and general contractors' associations; the League of Women Voters; Sierra Club; and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Support for the repeal comes from the Libertarian and Republican Parties, and the Washington State Farm Bureau.

We support repealing the gas tax increase. It is a regressive tax that hits the working poor hardest, and skyrocketing gas prices now take an average of 3.3% to 4.6% from paychecks. While the proposed projects are vital for safety, price gouging by oil corporations combined with this regressive tax will break many working people and small businesses. Transportation improvements should be funded by taxing corporations, which rely on roads to carry their workforce and supplies. Eliminating the vile $7 billion-per-month war on terrorism would fund the state's transportation needs in thirty days! We need to cap gas prices and nationalize the oil industry under workers' control.

Further, labor should be leading the taxpayer revolt and fighting to make the bosses pay, not the workers. When labor leaders back regressive taxes such as I-912, they help to generate support for conservatives like Tim Eyman. Labor honchos should take a cue from the numerous unions and rank and file members who endorsed Linda Averill's bid for city council and her demands to close loopholes of the freeloading corporations, tax big businesses and millionaires, and put an end to corporate welfare.

We feel so strongly about the regressive tax system that we've enclosed a postcard urging Governor Gregoire to make some serious changes. Please sign it and drop it in the mail.

    · King Co. Proposition No. 1 Veterans and Human Services Levy—Vote NO

This 6-year countywide property tax levy of 5 cents per $1,000 assessed value is estimated to raise $13.3 million—half would assist veterans and their families with employment and treatment services, and half is for regional human services such as housing and mental health. The measure represents a compromise between health and human services providers who wanted to propose a $20 million levy in 2006, and veteran's organizations who originally requested $11 million solely for vets.

These services are desperately needed and are under-funded as a result of federal cuts in Veterans' Affairs services and state cuts caused by Tim Eyman's I-695. But, again, this is a regressive tax that adds to the unequal tax burden of retired, fixed- and low-income homeowners. Some King County Democrats and the Seattle Times support the levy. There is no organized opposition.

The best thing we can do for vets is to bring them home, stop the war, and redirect the massive war budget to help provide for veterans and their families. King County should work with other local and state governments to demand reinstatement of federal funding for social services cut by the Bush administration and reprioritize its budget to care for our most vulnerable residents first.

State Initiative 901 to expand the Clean Indoor Air Act—VOTE NO

This initiative expands the current no-smoking law to include all public places and places of employment, eliminates designated indoor smoking areas, and prohibits outdoor smoking within 25 feet of building entrances and ventilation intakes. Passage of I-901 would give Washington the most restrictive smoking ban in the U.S. The expanded Act adds to the grounds for imposing $100 fines against violators and for police action.

It is supported by a long list of medical groups, such as the American Cancer Society, the Washington State Nurses Association, and by the Washington State Labor Council, the American Federation of Musicians Local 461, the Washington Conservation Voters, the Washington State PTA, and many others. The organized opposition is slim.

Criminalizing nicotine addicts is no solution. Do we really want to give the police—who already need no excuse to harass youth of color and the homeless—the right to hassle and fine anyone who smokes outside, or give bosses a pretext to come down on workers? We agree with Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Robert Jamieson who says, “…The distance rule…looks like an out-and-out attack on a bad habit.”

While support for this initiative is massive, there are two sides to the smoking issue: the harm caused by second-hand smoke vs. the harm caused by moral McCarthyism, which the FSP has long opposed. Criminalizing someone for smoking too close to a doorway but, at the same time, not pursuing corporations who freely poison and pollute every inch of the planet is pointless and hypocritical; it tends to divide the working class and it also diverts efforts away from confronting overall problems at their source: a for-profit economy. This initiative carries moral McCarthyism to a new extreme. We say VOTE NO on I-901.

Two Monorail Propositions

    · Seattle Popular Monorail Authority Proposition 1—VOTE NO

This proposition would approve construction of a truncated 10.6-mile stretch from West Dravus Street to West Seattle's Alaska Junction, with the option of completing the 14-mile Green Line later. The construction would be funded by existing sources of revenue, i.e., the car tab tax. If voted down, this beleaguered monorail project will end.

Transit Over Roads, a group that includes monorail board members and long-time activists in the previous four monorail campaigns, supports the initiative. The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Seattle Association oppose it.

This is the Seattle Monorail Project's last desperate attempt to salvage an $11 billion boondoggle with a scaled-down, cheaper version. As Linda Averill pointed out: “We need a multimodal, publicly-operated and maintained transit system, which could include a monorail component, paid for by taxes from large profitable corporations like Microsoft and Starbucks. It should be operated by a public transit agency such as Metro and Sound Transit.” The current plan offers none of this: it will be run by a private corporation, funded through vehicle taxes with no guarantee of low fares or integration with other transit modes.

    · Seattle Popular Monorail Authority Proposition 2—VOTE YES

Increases the number of elected Board members to 5 out of the total 9, lengthens terms to 4 years, and staggers their terms. If the monorail project survives, this measure marginally increases public control, but we think all board members should be elected.

*        *        *

Please stop by New Freeway Hall or call me if you wish to discuss these positions. You can find me at the hall 10:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. daily. You may take the summary below of our recommendations into the voting booth with you.

In solidarity,


Chris Smith
Acting Organizer

seattle local • 5018 rainier avenue south, seattle, wa 98118 • 206-722-2453
www.socialism.com • fspseattle@mindspring.com


Ballot Recommendations

November 8, 2005 General Election


In the order they appear on the ballot:


State Initiative 900 performance audits of government…………………VOTE NO
State Initiative 901 amends the Clean Indoor Air Act…………………..VOTE NO
State Initiative 912 repeals new motor vehicle fuel taxes………………VOTE YES
State Initiative 330 to limit medical liability……………………………..VOTE NO
State Initiative 336 medical malpractice, insurance, licenses………….VOTE YES
Senate Joint Resolution 8207 on the Commission for
Judicial Conduct…………………………………………….NO POSITION
King Co. Proposition No. 1 Veterans and Human
Services Levy ……………………………………………… …..VOTE NO
Seattle Popular Monorail Authority Proposition 1
To build part of the Green Line…………………………………VOTE NO
Seattle Popular Monorail Authority Proposition 2
Composition of the Board………………………………………VOTE YES
City of Seattle Advisory Measure #1 on the right to healthcare………VOTE YES

You may take this into the voting booth with you.

seattle local • 5018 rainier avenue south, seattle, wa 98118 • 206-722-2453
www.socialism.com • fspseattle@mindspring.com