Wednesday, November 9, 2022

LOCAL ELECTIONS

► From the Seattle Times — Patty Murray defeats Tiffany Smiley in U.S. Senate race –Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray won a sixth term Tuesday night, defeating her Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley, a victory that will place Murray among the longest-serving senators in American history. Murray had 57% of the vote Tuesday. The crowd at the Bellevue Westin chanted “Patty, Patty, Patty” as Murray walked onstage just before 9 p.m. “You guys, we did it. We did it!” she said. “All of you who knocked on doors and made phone calls, donated and texted or just watched. You threw yourself into this fight to keep our democracy a democracy.”

TODAY at The Stand — Labor’s grassroots activism makes difference — Union-endorsed candidates make strong showing in Washington state. WSLC President Larry Brown said:

“Once again, the strong performance of labor-endorsed candidates was fueled by grassroots activism by union volunteers who worked thousands of shifts knocking on doors and making phone calls to make sure union households knew which candidates support workers. In an election where the media hyped a potential takeover by candidates who seek to further erode our freedoms, working people turned out in Washington state and said ‘no’ to the extremists.”

► From the Seattle Times — WA Democrat Schrier leads 8th Congressional District race — In a high-stakes race that could help determine control of Congress, U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier led Republican challenger Matt Larkin in Tuesday’s vote count in Washington’s swing 8th CD. With about 194,000 votes counted, Schrier had 53% and Larkin was at 47%. Schrier led substantially in King County but was trailing Larkin in Pierce, Snohomish, Chelan and Kittitas counties.

► From the union-busting Columbian — Perez leads Kent in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District race — Initial results from the Southwest Washington race show Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D) leading Joe Kent (R) by more than 11,000 votes — but with tens of thousands more ballots yet to be counted.

► From the (Everett) Herald — Hobbs clings to early lead in battle for secretary of state

► From Crosscut — Democrats leading in WA’s most competitive legislative races — More votes will be counted in the coming days, and the outcomes could change. Right now, Democrats hold sizable legislative majorities: 57-41 in the House and 28-21 in the Senate.

► From the Kitsap Sun — Randall holds solid lead in 26th Senate race, while Democrat looks to flip House seat — Incumbent Sen. Emily Randall held a strong lead over Republican challenger Rep. Jesse Young on Tuesday night, putting her in a good position to hold onto her seat in the hard-fought 26th District race. Also on Tuesday, Democrat Adison Richards looked to potentially flip the seat currently held by Young out of the Republican column, receiving 53.51% of the vote over Republican opponent Spencer Hutchins.

► From the Seattle Times — Tukwila minimum wage hike passing by huge margin — Initiative Measure No. 1 would bring the city’s minimum wage in line with SeaTac’s, requiring large employers to pay about $19 an hour starting next summer. The measure was passing with 82.48% of the vote Tuesday night.

MORE local election results coverage from the (Aberdeen) Daily World, Bellingham Herald, (Centralia) Chronicle, (Everett) Herald, Kitsap Sun, (Longview) Daily News, Olympian, Peninsula Daily News, (Tacoma) News Tribune, Seattle Times, Skagit Valley Herald, (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, Tri-City Herald, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Wenatchee World, Yakima Herald-Republic, and the union-busting (Vancouver) Columbian.

► From the Oregonian — Oregon governor’s race between Tina Kotek, Christine Drazen among those too close to call, results expected today

NATIONAL ELECTIONS

► From the AP — Dems show surprising strength; control of Congress unclear — Control of Congress hung in the balance Wednesday as Democrats showed surprising strength, defeating Republicans in a series of competitive races and defying expectations that high inflation and President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings would drag the party down. In the most heartening news for Democrats, John Fetterman flipped Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate seat that’s key to the party’s hopes of maintaining control of the chamber. It was too early to call critical Senate seats in Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona that could determine the majority.

► From the AP — Sen. Mark Kelly takes early lead in battleground Arizona

► From the AP — Race for Nevada’s US Senate candidates too early to call

► From Politico — Republicans keep Ohio Senate seat with Vance win

► From CNN — Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock locked in too-early-to-call Georgia Senate race — If neither candidate surpasses the 50% threshold, Warnock and Walker will proceed to a Dec. 6 run-off. Depending on the outcome of Senate races in Arizona and Nevada, voters in Georgia could then – for the second consecutive election cycle – have the Senate majority in their hands.

► From ABC 7 Chicago — Illinois voters approve Worker’s Rights Amendment to state constitution — Illinois voted in favor of amending the state constitution to guarantee workers’ rights to bargain collectively. Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, chair of the Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights campaign:

“From day one, the Vote Yes for Workers’ Rights campaign has been based on the simple idea that every Illinois worker deserves better. Better pay, stronger benefits, and safer workplaces don’t just help workers thrive; they strengthen our state and keep us all safe.”

► From The Hill — Voters support abortion rights in all five states with ballot measures — Voters in California, Vermont and Michigan on Tuesday approved ballot measures enshrining abortion rights into their state constitutions, while those in the traditionally red states of Montana and Kentucky rejected measures that would have restricted access to reproductive care. The votes signal support for abortion rights after the Supreme Court in June overturned the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to the procedure.

► From the AP — Conspiracists seeking key state election posts falling short

► From Politico — Democratic governors mostly hold on

► From the AP — Democrat Hobbs leads Republican Lake for Arizona governor

► From Vox — South Dakota voters decide to extend Medicaid coverage to 45,000 people — Yet another Medicaid expansion ballot measure passed in a Republican state.

► From the Washington Post — D.C. voters approve higher minimum wage for tipped workers — D.C. voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative Tuesday to raise the minimum wage for District workers who receive tips, after months of debate about its effects on the city’s restaurants and their employees.

► From the AP — California voters reject tax on rich for more electric cars

AEROSPACE

► From the Seattle Times — Emirates orders Boeing freighters amid rancor over delays — Gulf airline Emirates agreed to buy five freighter aircraft from Boeing, providing a boost after months of sustained criticism from the giant carrier over delivery delays.

► From the Washington Post — Everyone hates small airplane seats. Will they get bigger? — “Cramped.” “Unsafe.” “Torture.” Many of the more than 26,000 comments on the size of airline seats submitted to the FAA during its recent public comment period paint a bleak picture of the passenger experience on the nation’s largest airlines.

EAST OF THE BORDER

► From the Spokesman-Review — ‘They should value our experience and sacrifice’: Idaho farmworkers struggle with wages — Thousands of farmworkers in Idaho who make less money than the starting wages for some fast-food workers, in jobs that sometimes require 30-hour shifts, dangerous equipment and working during extreme heat.

NATIONAL

► From the LA Times — A strike by UC academic workers would tarnish the prestigious university system (editorial) — If the University of California and 48,000 academic workers fail to reach an agreement on pay increases and other benefits in the next few days it may tarnish a higher education system long seen as the best in the country. It’s an implosion that should have been averted long before now, considering that negotiations have been underway for more than a year… What does it say about a university system touted as one of the Golden State’s best attributes if its intellectual workforce can’t afford to live in the state?

► From WTAE — US Steel, USW reach tentative agreement on new 4-year deal — The deal covers 11,000 USW-represented employees at the company’s domestic flat-rolled facilities, iron ore mining facilities and applicable tubular operations.

► From Reuters — Phillips 66 plans to lay off 1,100 workers by end-2022 — Phillips, which had 14,000 employees in 2021 according to a company presentation, expects to cut staff to 12,900 by the end of this year.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Phillips 66’s $5.4 billion in earnings last quarter beat Wall Street estimates, but the company wants to increase share prices even further by boosting shareholder dividends. So… layoffs.

► From the AP — Facebook parent Meta cuts 11,000 jobs, 13% of workforce — As it contends with faltering revenue and broader tech industry woes, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a letter to employees Wednesday.

► From The Onion — Nursing home CEO afraid he’ll end up in one of those places he owns — At press time, he was reportedly making plans to open a few more nursing homes to ensure he had enough money not to end up in one of them.

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.