This column first appeared in our Oct. 26 edition of our weekly of our newsletter. You can sign up here.
It’s no coincidence that spooky season and election season occupy the same few weeks in America. There’s something about October that makes people want to dress up as someone else — a zombie, a bassoon playing ghost or a politician who cares about the working class. The yellow leaves and shortened days all point to change.
Voting is one way to be a part of that change. The deadline to register to vote by mail or online was yesterday, but you can still register in person up until 8 p.m. on election day, which is Nov. 2. It’s worth the hassle. If you have time to blackout on Halloweekend, you have time to blackout the bubbles on your ballot. Click this link.
We don’t have the resources to cover every local election this year, but I think the ones we picked are pretty important. Jonathan Tall has a new story profiling the race for Port of Bellingham District 1 seat, which could have significant impacts on local commerce. Fun fact: Michael Shepard, the incumbent, is also an anthropology professor at Western.
Our city team has been hard at work on other local political stories; stay tuned this week for stories about House Bill 1310 and People First Bellingham’s Initiative 4.
And if the people you voted for aren’t doing what you hoped, Kelton Burns has you covered with this guide on how to give City Council a piece of your mind.
Have a spooky and civically engaged Halloweekend!
— Nate Sanford, fall ‘21 editor-in-chief
P.S. We aren’t covering the contentious Seattle mayoral race, but it’s worth mentioning that Bruce Harrall is also on Western’s Board of Trustees. If he wins, he’ll likely step down and Gov. Jay Inslee will have to appoint a replacement.
Nate Sanford is the editor-in-chief of The Western Front and a fourth-year news/editorial journalism major. His reporting focuses on the environment, local politics, urban policy and anything else that matters. His writing has appeared in Crosscut, the Inlander, Whatcom Watch and at least one desk in Haggard Hall. You can find him on Twitter @sanford_nate and at natesanford.westernfront@gmail.com.
