The Lefty Cheat Sheet is the new standard for elections in Seattle
With the Stranger’s purchase by a cabal of undisclosed investors (that we know includes money from Amazon’s top lobbyist), their firing of their old political staff, and their rightward lurch in endorsements - Seattle desperately needs a new go-to cheat sheet.
The Lefty Cheat Sheet has more than risen to the occasion. It is by far the best because it does a few things really well.
It’s the easiest to use - mapping perfectly to your districts and the relevant races.
It aggregates endorsements, so it elevates the work of the progressive community, diversifying and democratizing input, rather than relying on a gatekeeping group of amateurs who barely pay attention. This is a great antidote to elite capture.
It is particularly wonderful because it includes the organizations actually moving the ball forward on causes that impact our community like housing affordability, social housing, minimum wages, more buses and trains, social services, taxing the rich, and more. These are the neighbors making good change—pushing politicians, holding them accountable—and they usually aren’t duped by opportunist politicians who tell every interviewer what they think that interview wants to hear.
What emerges is a pretty good picture of where the progressive community is landing.
Now, If you are a particular kind of political nerd, the Lefty Cheat Sheet also lets you adjust the weights and want to, say, dial up institutional labor, or cut nonprofit media, or whatever. It also lets you dive a bit deeper into the details, comparing and contrasting endorsements and clicking through to the source if you like.
I recommend it if you want to vote progressive in Seattle - whether you just want the quickest, reliable answer, or you want an easy way to dive deep.
Like longer form writeups?
If you appreciate longer form writeups, I suggest augmenting this with the Urbanist endorsements. Yes, this is partly because their progressive values are similar to mine (more housing and transit, more parks, more funding for schools, and more taxing the rich!). But even apart from that, their larger (mostly volunteer) team puts in a lot more time and exhibits a level of seriousness about their endorsement process that is unusual.
As such, their writeups also tend to be extra thorough.
One other source for writeups—The Progressive Voters Guide is sometimes helpful. I’ve seen many solid narratives in the guide. That said, the guide is much more reflective of existing institutional arrangements and tends to be on the more moderate end of the progressive movement. They endorse most Democratic incumbents, even giving a pass to some pretty lousy ones (ahem, Bruce Harrell).
But they are also willing to highlight some of the advantages of left challengers, as they did in my own race as well.
Friends don’t let friends vote The Stranger.
The Stranger has had a literal monopoly on Seattle’s progressive primaries for decades and is extremely influential in the general election. This is exactly why institutional investors gave it the Bezos-Washington Post treatment.
Still, most people don’t actually read local news or The Stranger (ask any former staffer - most of their traffic is just this cheat sheet), so they have no idea. That means it is our job (yes, you too!) to make sure they know The Stranger is no longer on the side of working people.
And then show them the Lefty Cheat Sheet. I’ve had hundreds of people thank me for letting them know and then showing them this
They will thank you too.
But don’t do it for the thanks. Do it for making our city and state better and more just!
In case you are wondering, the group that puts this cheat sheet out is called “Share the Cities.” They disclose this in the header on the main page.
They have been around for years, and they don’t endorse or weigh in with their own vote on the cheat sheet.
You might remember some of the work they have done - they put out a tool that provided guidance about getting feedback to the city about it’s 20 year comprehensive plan. There was their response to the “Option 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5” from the City—They started the Option 6 campaign, which became a lodestar for pro-housing progressives all over the city in 2023. There was Affordable Talaris before that. You get the idea.
AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS!