And my (almost) final blah blah blah about the election.

I've guessed (poorly), I've criticized, and I've been positive from time to time.

I think a little more positivity would be a good thing.

There were some sharp elbows this year, to be sure. Originally, what seemed to be the nastiest race (outside of the County Exec and Mayor's races) was the City Attorney's race. I typically came away with the impression that these two lawyers were not too fond of each other. Personally, I have always found Tom Carr to be respectful and nice. Of course, all of my interactions have been as an E-Board member of the 43rd.

The first time I met Pete Holmes, I was a *little* intoxicated, and he didn't hold that against me, and he, Dominic Holden and I engaged in a solid conversation about issues that matter. I think it took me awhile to realize I was speaking with a candidate, so I was a bit more off the cuff than I probably should have been.

While Pete was definitely not pulling punches, I didn't get the negativity from the Holmes campaign that I did from the Carr campaign. And John Brumbach - you are a genius.

I have joked about how boring the Position 8 race was. Then, a few weeks ago, I received an email from the O'Brien campaign all but calling Rosencrantz pro-life. I was furious. As a Democrat that is staunchly pro-choice, I don't like it when people say things that I know to be untrue. I always believed that it was in O'Brien's best interest to let the rumors circulate, but never say it himself. But then, shortly after that, he got back to the issues (even the tunnel, which I disagree with him on. Strongly).

What Rosencrantz did after that, though, was inexcusable. He let the mud fly, and took something out of context that he, himself, supported, and implied that O'Brien wanted to toll neighborhood streets. I think that jumping on the tolling issue would have been good, but doing so by saying "I support systemwide tolling, and this is what that looks like to me, here's the difference between me and my opponent on this" would have been fine. I didn't hear enough from the direct mail and television campaign about what Robert wanted to do, which made me sad, because on a lot of issues, I agree with him (except nightlife. I disagree. Strongly).

Mike continued, except for that one transgression, a positive campaign from pre-primary, all the way up to the general election. That positivity will be a boon to the City Council. Way to go, Mike!

Is it bad to call David Doud a slimey bastard? When he did what he did, Rob Holland basically said, "that's messed up, but let's talk about the issues". And look where that got him. Excellent job, Mr. Holland and Mr. Martin.

I think the real "boring" race was Tom Albro and Max Vekich. I found out last night, when I ran into Mr. Albro, that some people actually read what I write. But, as I said then, and say now, Tom and Max ran two great campaigns that focused on issues. I don't think I saw a single slight from either campaign against the other that was out of line (supporters don't count!), and they showed us what a gentleman's race looks like. As an aside - Why didn't anyone tell me that Mr. Albro is 74 feet tall?

Jessie Israel and Nick Licata had two very different campaigns. While Jessie had some interesting comments from time to time (ie: the Sonics), I personally believe that she had a positive campaign. She is a little bundle of energy, and I hope to see her run again in two years, with John Brumbach running the show.

Nick ran a quirky campaign, and also kept positive. I got to see him a few times out on the trail, and damn if I don't love his hats! Congratulations on a fourth term, Mr. Licata! And way to go Andy!

I got a robocall from the Bloom campaign. It talked smack about Sally Bagshaw. That made me sad. I get it - she was way ahead on election night in the primary. I get it - she had a lot more money raised, and a lot more "establishment" support. But she managed to continue talking about the issues. She was warm and welcoming the entire time. When she spoke, people nodded their heads. I don't think I heard a single bad thing about Mr. Bloom come out of her mouth. To the contrary, she would regularly cite his work, and what great things he has done, and she hopes he will continue to do. And I agree with her there, and trust that he will find an ally on the Council with Sally. Congratulations on a solid election, Sally! You earned it. And Kathy...you did pretty well, too.

And then there was Approve R-71. I hope the results continue to go well. The first results that I saw last night were aweful, and then they turned awesome, and then they got closer and closer. R-71 focused on families. The opposition used flat out lies to try to deny rights, and I am cautiously optimistic that the message voters have sent is that not only to families matter, but lies and innuendo are not Washington State values.

Finally - Kay Smith-Blum. No direct mail. No yardsigns. A campaign focused on internet GOTV efforts, and going out and meeting people. While she had ample ammunition to use against her opponent, she chose to take the high road, and focus on what she would like to do for our children. A solid win, and a solid new member of our Seattle School Board.

Overall, I am pleased with the results of this election season. We had good and great candidates running (for the most part), and in Seattle, I would venture that every candidate was running for the good of the city, and anticipate that every person who didn't win will continue to be active in their communities, and that we can all work together now to continue to make Seattle a better place to live, do business, have fun, and raise families.