KIRO Radio Voter’s Guide

John Curley- Donald Trump. Trump because I believe Vice President Mike Pence will do most of the work.

Dori Monson- ME!!! If I’m good enough for Pete Carroll – whose endorsement I have secured, then I’m good enough for me. And remember – I’ll leave you alone!!

Jason Rantz- When I’m seriously considering Dori Monson for president, it suggests there’s a huge problem with the two major nominees running. With respect to my friend Dori, however, I’m writing in a candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, because he represents my values as a Republican. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are both equally untrustworthy and take phony positions they think will get them votes. They are both seen as unlikeable for a reason: they do really bad things and neither earned my vote.

Tom Tangney- Hillary Clinton. To quote President Obama, there has never been a man or a woman more qualified to be President than Hillary Clinton. And given how well she worked across the aisle as a Senator, I’m hoping she’ll have more success working with Republicans than President Obama did.

Zak Burns- Hillary Clinton. She’s flawed and she’s dishonest. I know this. However, she’s an adult, while Donald Trump is a petulant child entirely unfit for any sort of office.

Dave Ross- Hillary Clinton. We know about her skeletons. Trump’s are only just emerging. Conditions: Sell the Clinton Foundation to the Gates Foundation. Do not appoint Bill to the cabinet; let him co-host a Fox talk show with Megyn Kelly. Chelsea can run the WH as First Child.

John Curley- Bill Bryant. Bryant all the way. He’s smart.

Dori Monson- Bill Bryant. It’s time to end business-as-usual in our state. Traffic gridlock has paralyzed the Puget Sound region. And, while the economy is strong in King-Pierce-Snoho, statewide we have the eighth worst unemployment in the country. It’s time to break the Dems’ 32-year stranglehold on the guv’s mansion.

Jason Rantz- Bill Bryant. If you can’t think of any major accomplishments of a sitting Governor in a dynamic state, it’s a problem. Under Inslee, transportation and homelessness have gotten worse, he’s run away from a leadership role in education, and he’s done little more than ideologically attack his opponents. Bill Bryant is a deeply passionate leader with actual ideas to address issues that impact us most, which includes implementing a traffic reduction plan and vetoing any state income tax that Inslee would seemingly approve. This is a no-brainer. Bryant isn’t a partisan and actually wants to work with people to find common ground. Inslee is the exact opposite. I’m voting Bryant.

Tom Tangney- Jay Inslee. Although Bill Bryant is a friend of The Tom and Curley Show, Jay Inslee is much better positioned to work with the Legislature on a solution to the Supreme Court’s McCleary ruling on school funding.

Zak Burns- Jay Inslee. Bill Bryant is a quality candidate. Yet, he has not made a compelling case as to why he would run the state better than Governor Inslee. The economy in Washington is thriving. Inslee gets the credit.

Dave Ross- Jay Inslee. I want to give him a chance to fix education. If he can’t, Bryant will get another chance in 4 years.

John Curley- Chris Vance. I’m just done with Patty Murray.

Dori Monson- Chris Vance. I’m a fan of term limits. Until that becomes law, I think the voters should impose term limits whenever possible. It is not healthy to have a 30-year senate term – which is what Patty Murray is seeking if re-elected.

Jason Rantz- Chris Vance. I won’t vote for ideologues who are committed to pushing talking points over actual action on issues I care about. That’s why I’m supporting Vance over Murray. The problem with the Senate is the same ineffective leaders keep getting elected. Vance offers new ideas and a willingness to actually push moderate plans, not hyper-partisan ones which pretend to work with Republicans.

Tom Tangney- Patty Murray. At the height of some of the worst partisan fighting in Congress, Democratic Senator Murray managed to find compromise on the budget with Republican congressman (and now House Speaker) Paul Ryan. That ability to work in a bi-partisan manner could be invaluable to a new Hillary Clinton administration.

Zak Burns- Patty Murray. She’s been an effective Senator. She deserves to be re-elected. Case closed.

Dave Ross- Patty Murray. She has actually tried to negotiate with Republicans, and has the power to cut a deal on entitlement & health care reform. Although, when a Senate seat finally opens up, I think it may be time to give a man a turn.

John Curley-Rejected. The future is not on track.

Dori Monson- NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! The most expensive local tax-increase in the history of our country. It will cost families tens-of-thousands of dollars for a system that, by their own estimates, will serve 1/3rd of 1 percent of future trips. All so we can expand a transportation network based on 1800’s technology. The future of transportation is autonomous vehicles more effectively using existing infrastructure. Between now and then, we need to expand our already-effective bus system with more rapid-bus-express, which we can do at a fraction of the cost. For a region that prides itself on being so hip and tech-savvy, we sure seem to embrace the distant past when it comes to transportation projects. This is one of the biggest financial scams in our nation’s history.

Jason Rantz- REJECTED. I love light rail and wish we had an agency in place capable of taking on big projects. The problem is this is too big and untrustworthy Sound Transit has a track record of flat out lying about being on-budget or on-schedule. The project timelines are unacceptably long, and don’t focus enough on individual projects that actually could help eliminate traffic congestion. They change timelines when it suits their purposes and they have the support of shady activist organizations that push ideology over sound transportation plans. I’ll happily spend money on smart transportation projects with honest and accountable agencies. Sound Transit is neither.

Tom Tangney- Approve. Sure, it’s expensive, $169 a year in new taxes, but what an ambitious and far-sighted project, 62 miles of light rail linking Everett and Seattle and Tacoma and the Eastside. With 800,000 new people arriving here in the next quarter-century, it can’t come soon enough.

Zak Burns- No. I think this Proposition should be fragmented into four smaller ideas. It’s simply too massive a project for Sound Transit to tackle all at once. I’m very much for public transportation, but I have to vote no on this one.

Dave Ross- Rejected. The most efficient light rail routes are already funded. Time to develop the areas around those stations. The most efficient way to minimize the environmental impact of growth is to allow more close-in high rise housing so people can live within walking or biking distance from work or a light rail/BRT station.

John Curley- Yes. This is a good one.

Dori Monson- No. Still evaluating – will have an endorsement in the next week.

Jason Rantz- YES. Some people shouldn’t have easy access to guns and this seems like a common sense way to prevent tragedy. While I’m troubled that this law is written in a way that could be abused, I’m hopeful that the Courts will address those abuses. I’m not going to pretend that this will make a huge dent in crime. It won’t. This will also be seen by anti-gun activists as a means to push further, as their end goal is to ban gun ownership altogether. However, I can’t let anti-gun activist plans preclude me from voting yes on a concept that I agree with, so I’ll be voting yes.

Tom Tangney- Yes. This just seems like common sense. For those concerned with government overreach, this initiative still requires the petitioner to convince a judge and even then the judge’s decision is only temporary.

Zak Burns- Yes. It’s a hesitant yes. I’m normally concerned about restricting access to firearms. But when we talk about 30,000 gun deaths in America, the truth is 2/3 of them are suicides. Could this bill help reduce that number? I believe it could.

Dave Ross- Yes. Even if this is only a symbolic vote, we need to make it clear that as a state, we take firearms seriously. Respecting the Second Amendment doesn’t negate the fact that a gun in the hands of anyone who is unstable or untrained is a special threat to law and order. You have a right “to keep and bear” but not necessarily “to use.”

John Curley- Rejected. Minimum wage is based on a racist law from the 1930s.

Dori Monson- NO. To have the same minimum wage for urban Puget Sound cities as for Neah Bay and Omak and Odessa makes zero sense. One-size-fits-all for incredibly diverse economies is one of the most economically simplistic and stupid ideas imaginable.

Jason Rantz- No. I think minimum wage issues should be handled city-by-city, not statewide. Let’s stop pretending it’s fair to pay workers in Longview, Ferndale and Spokane the same wages as workers in Seattle or Bellevue when there are clear and significant differences in cost of living. The minimum wage experiment in Seattle is failing in many ways, why hurt small businesses in cities less likely to be able to handle the financial commitments forced upon them by ideologues? Want better wages? Earn them by learning new skills to make you more valuable to an employer in an evolving labor market. I’d rather spend money on training and education.

Tom Tangney- Yes. Since Republicans in the state Legislature refused any increases to the state minimum wage, the voters will have to decide if they’re okay with the present $9.47 wage. I’m sympathetic to the concerns that the Puget Sound region’s booming economy is not happening throughout the state, but then the proposed increases are not as steep as those already approved for Seattle, so this initiative is a good compromise. Power to the People!

Zak Burns- Yes. I have and will always support any legislation that enhances the lives of Washington’s labor force.

Dave Ross- Yes. Extreme inequality creates social instability. In a wealthy country, any business model based on paying less than a living wage for full-time work should be rejected. With the cutbacks in welfare, to forbid homeless people from camping in public and then tolerate a system that can’t offer a living wage is hypocritical.