Cascadia today: Katie Wilson increases her lead + anti-ICE aerobics in Portland + Cascadia poetry lab receives award
Good morning! Here's your roundup of news, environmental reporting, and arts coverage from across the Cascadia bioregion. If you appreciate this newsletter and my opinionated essays on the pushback against Trump's authoritarianism in the Pacific Northwest, please consider becoming a paid subscriber for just $5 per month. Thanks!
Katie Wilson increases lead in Seattle mayor's race
After another drop of counted ballots in the race for Seattle mayor, transit activist and labor organizer Katie Wilson took a 1,346-vote lead over pro-business mayor Bruce Harrell PubliCola reports. According to KUOW, election officials say about 1,400 ballots remain to be counted. The lead will likely be small enough to trigger a machine recount, but Wilson's position over Harrell looks much more solid today, and Wilson's campaign responded by telling KUOW "We want to wait until every vote has been counted, but we believe that we've won this race." According to the Urbanist, Wilson's campaign is working to help voters whose ballots may have been rejected by a lack of signature or other issues to "cure" their ballots and make sure all legitimate votes are counted.
Wilson, general secretary for the Transit Riders Union, in her campaign, called for building more shelters for the homeless, approaching the drug crisis as a public health issue, raising progressive tax revenue, and using Seattle's social housing program to build workforce housing.
Portland does anti-ICE aerobics
The Portland Mercury reports that a group of protesters outside the ICE facility in Portland are continued their goofy brand of resistance by staging a "Sweating out the Fascists” workout session on Sunday. Keeping it weird – in the tradition of inflatable frogs and unicorns, the Portland protesters did a 1980s-style dancing workout against federal immigration authorities, keeping things lighthearted but firmly opposed.
"“It’s something that keeps us grounded, keeps us held together in our community, keeps us in our joy." --Rae, a Sweating out the Fascists protester.
In related news, the Guardian spoke with José Bertin Cruz-Estrad, one of the Oregon-based wildland firefighters detained by the feds during suppression of the Bear Gulch fire in Washington this summer. Cruz-Estrad was a productive member of the community after serving time for one drug charge in 2013, but now is facing deportation. "I felt betrayed. We were fighting fires deep in the forest. I never thought this could happen," he said.
Meanwhile, Oregon Capital Chronicle has more on the mysterious request by a military contractor to lease space near the municipal airport in the town of Newport on Oregon's coast – it's not clear if federal immigration officials plan to use the area for deportations. There's a public Newport city meeting tonight at 6 pm to address the issue of whether ICE is expanding on Oregon's coast.
Neo-nazis met in Vancouver
CBC has an investigative report into how some of Canada's most notorious white supremacist and neo-Nazi organizations met in Vancouver over the summer at a conference for martial arts and fitness instructors. The report paints a disturbing picture of the Exiles of the Golden Age group, which focuses on bodybuilding and fitness as an expression of fascist, white male superiority over other ethnic groups. White hate "active clubs" have been a growing trend in Canada, CBC reports.
Legal aid program slashed in WA
Investigate West has another great example of Washington state Democrats pushing austerity rather than reforming the state's regressive tax system, after a state-funded legal aid program that helps people convicted of drug charges vacate their convictions was eliminated from the state budget last session – with the support of a Rep Tara Simmons, D-Bremerton. Advocates hit by the funding cuts were blindsided because Simmons herself was convicted on drug charges and successfully vacated her conviction so she could practice law.
Cascadia Poetics Lab receives humanities award
Congratulations to poet Paul Nelson and the the Cascadia Poetics Lab for being honored with an award from Humanities Washington for small organizations. The award comes at Humanities Washington celebrates its 50th anniversary. Cascadia Poetics Lab is focused on promoting place-aware poetry across the Cascadia bioregion through workshops, poetry postcards, and the annual Cascadia Poetry Festival.
