September 15, 2005
Balterdash
Whenever I read a Joni Balter column it occurs to me that if I didn't already know more than she did, I'd come away from her column knowing less than I knew before I read it. Today's column is no exception. As she so often does, Balter bends over frontwards to make excuses for Ron Sims -- "More at stake in primary election than outcome of races"
Irons says he is aware of a dozen citizens, curiously his own supporters, who received duplicate ballots or ballots for deceased relatives. He plans to wait until after the primary to make an issue and wasn't certain how big an issue to make. Sims says the county's vendor sent duplicate ballots to more than 200 voters, the county recognized the mistake and called voters to tell them to file just one ballot.
In fact, my sources tell me, those 200 duplicate ballots went out because an elections manager made a mistake and generated a list that included previously generated ballots. The only reason the county "recognized the mistake" is because they received a lot of nasty phone calls from irate voters. Either Balter is lying to her readers, Ron Sims was lying to Balter, or somebody from the Elections office lied to Ron Sims.
Logan, who came to the job highly recommended by everyone, didn't cause election problems. The task force examining the office determined Logan had essentially two jobs: managing elections and managing a snake pit of office culture that has been dysfunctional for many years.
In fact, someone close to the task force told me privately that members of the task force concurred that Ron Sims (and by extension Dean Logan) was the one responsible for the culture problem. The task force was just reluctant to come out and say that openly because, after all, they were all appointed by Ron Sims.
Where would we be without skeptical independent journalists like Joni Balter to hold our elected officials accountable?
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at September 15, 2005
05:08 PM | Email This
1. Well, Ms. Balter does not write news, she writes opinion. And most of us have decided we are tired of the opinions the editorialists (and news editors) at the Seattle Times (and Seattle P-I).
In other words, stop reading that stuff! You'll go blind.
2. Balterdash indeed ! She shows her predjudice against Republicans more clear than ever. In my book, she has sunk below local Susan Paynter and even with Paul Krugman - for loony and ridiculous piece of journalism here. Seems plausible that she is a contributor to wannabe King Sims reelection campaign. If one were to objectively read this article, the continued corruption of the KC Elections Division comes out and guess what, it won't change until a new County Exec. is elected. Wake up liberal King County voters (trolls included) and smell the coffee ! It's screaming time for a change - Vote David Irons for County Executive - he will change the friggin culture and shine the light of fairness and change for the better & get rid of Logan and remediate the rest of existing sewer of corruption !
Even Joel Connelly refuses to give Sims a pass and actually wrote a fairly objective editorial about this earlier in the week.
3. opinion |??piny?n|
noun
a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge
balterdash |?bålt?r?da sh |
noun
a view or judgment formed about something, based on nothing.
4. Since when has King County used a "vendor" to issue absentee ballots to voters?
I wouldn't be surprised if some stage of processing outgoing mail were done through a non-government entity, but is the entire process of issuing ballots now "privatized" in King County?
5. Amazed that anyone actually pays her for this stuff. Shouldn't Sims be reporting them as in-kind contributions towards his re-election campaign?
6. Since she spent time in the article mentioning how difficult it is to make sure mail ballots don't go to dead people, people who have moved, etc., it will be quite interesting to watch her flip-flop and support all-mail balloting when it comes up as easier to police than in-person voting. I can't wait, actually.
7. King County. Seems like an unsurmountable pile of liberal corruption. But we on the eastside (as in east of the mountains, not just E of Lake Wash) love the work you all are doing.
Keep on them!
8. Ms. Balter has absolutely no business writing for a major newspaper...
She does not possess *any* objectivity. Her anti-Republican bias is just sickening to read! She attempts to diminish Irons with innuendo....So typical of a liberal! Create a negative perception of someone or something - without offering tangible evidence or facts!
She should stick to Indy-media type rags...It's more her style..
9. I think Balter's opinion pieces should come with mandatory warning stickers.
As mentioned above, reading it can make you go blind.
10. Deborah,
Balter doesn't write for a major paper. They only think they are. The Onion is more reliable than any of the Seattle rags.
11. JCM...
You are correct....
The Seattle Times has become such a tool for left wing propaganda! So much for their claim of independant journalism....They are just a sound bite replica of all other liberal rags....
God! I remember the days you could only find this crap printed in liberal/communist back-ally bookstores! I can't believe it's now mainstream! It's frightening!
12. Joni Balter is dum!
Joni also looks quite hagged out.
Perhaps her constant efforts to defend Sims are taking a toll!!
But like most newspapers, they love the controversy....it sells papers. As long as we take the bait and worry what this stupid b*tch says and thinks...THEY WIN!
13. here's a good one... I was at the Irons campaign office tonight making calls and came across one lady whom claimed that she wasn't a US citizen. I looked at the record quickly and it said that she'd voted in 3/4 of the last elections... I didn't push her on it, but did copy down her information so that I can file a voter registration appeal to get her taken off the books. I wonder who's been voting for her all this time???
14. The problems are the culture. No responsibility for ones actions. If I went and robbed a bank I would go to jail. If I sold business securities to the competition I would be fired and go to jail.
In government I am Union you can not fire me. I have seniority and I am a Union member you have to lay off this non union memeber before you can touch me. So I misappriated a million dollars I get a job in another department with a big raise. Lets talk about this in a meeting next month. You did something bad but it is not on the agenda today. We will get back to you next month on this issue. Or we can not let the taxpayers know about this lets hide it. Lets call it an Attorney- Client issue. We broke the law and talked to an Attorney about it so we can not release the facts on the subject because it is protected.
I have more respect for someone who says I made a mistake and here is how we can fix the problem so it does not happen again. That type of person is a person you can respect that will do the right thing for the people.
Those that hide facts and not taking responsibility for the actions of themselves or their underlings do not deserve any respect. Because they will lie and hide and do everything they can to protect their image. It is they themselves that are more important than the rights of all. They can do no wrong and when caught with the hand in the cookie jar well it is someone else that did it not them.
15. I'm sure there are way more than 200 "duplicate" sets of absentee ballots out there. I've had a number of friends get 2 sets of ballots, most of whom have moved in the past year. They filled out new registrations, and I'm guessing that a bunch of people are now in the system twice, and they're all getting their incorrectly forwarded ballots in addition to their correct ballots.
16. Balter and Doonesbury are my birds favorite targets. Then there's twice as much crap on the page as it went into the cage with.
17. Take heart, everyone. Nobody reads what Joni Balter writes, except folks like us who've already made up their minds how they're going to vote.
She's meaningless. Really.
18. SeaTac times should pay for my high blood pressure medicine I'll soon be purchasing after reading their garbage. Oh how they just adore the attention.
I just love how the last letter in their op/ed section is usually a smitten lib taking a pot shot at our president or other GOP member. It's the proverbial "getting in the last word" compliments of the bozos running the dept.
19. I hope nobody reading this blog is still paying for either of the Seattle "news"papers. Why give them one cent of your hard earned money when you can get the electronic version online for exactly what it's worth: nothing.
Thankfully, major newspapers (and those that pretend to be) will no longer be in operation in 10 years, they will be replaced by an electronic news distribution model that makes it hard to justify the salaries of "journalist", which means tomorrow's liberals won't have the opportunity to mislead and opine under the umbrella of legitimate media, I guess they'll have to get a government job instead.
20. Balter; just think, in a few years she'll look like and write like that other liberal windbag, Jean Godden.
Yipes, i sure am glad Mindy Cameron moved on...
But too bad our only conservative woman Malkin moved away
21. I can totally believe that Ron Sims created the fear culture there. He's done so in other areas to other citizens, as well. Please, people, dump this undeserving pol on his kiester come election time!
22. Stop protesting Sims. Don't you know he is the King of the County Executive? Oh wait that was a misspelling (of the) and he never thought it was.
23. Dan,
No black ink fingers here. It's all e-op/ed garbage for me. Just hope they're not making too much money off e-cookies and viewer info sales.
24. "...my sources tell me..."
"someone close to the task force told me privately..."
Careful not to singe the hem of your trenchcoat amidst the grit and embers of the gritty urban political machine. You'll doubtless be able to blast this case wide open once you uncover the hidden trove of facts that Judge Bridges missed. Where are Frank and Joe when you need them?
25. Begone bartleboob, you worthless POS
26. You slay me yet again with your eloquence, Soup. I guess that's what y'all on the starboard side count as intelligence. Hit me with another bullet of your ineluctable reasoning you big irresistible brute.
27. I would be pleased to slay you, fool, but I'd settle for you just going away.
(If you ever decide to off yourself, plz let us know, I'd love to watch)