Who’s a Jerk?

Dear Group,

Back in Athenian democracy there were few enough candidates and ballot casters (“ballot” refers to the small balls with which they voted) so it was possible for a voter to have some personal, second, or third hand assessment of the character of a candidate. Today, even in local elections like the Primary this week (deadline tomorrow, Tuesday at 8PM) understanding the character of the candidates is more challenging. Instead of “I know John and John vouches for the candidate.” we’re often left with a google search for articles, reading pieces that see the candidates through a variety of selective prisms, each subject to the viewpoint and monetary motivations of the presenter. 

Without thorough diligence, meeting and observing the candidate in person and in action, we are often left with the vague impression of a candidate gleaned almost unconsciously from the last article read, TV news clip consumed, or yard sign seen. It is not ideal, but it is what have with which to form our opinions. We’re human, and, as humans, I fear we sometimes vote for an appealing face, the intentionally projected image, rather than the real substance of the candidate. With that I offer an article you may not have read, and, if you did, you may not have reached the insightful part.

In this week’s Inlander, Daniel Walters penned a piece entitled, “Are the frontrunners to become Spokane mayor jerks?” Right up to the end of the article it seemed like Walter’s intent was to point out an obvious truth: no one in a position of power is liked by every single person with whom they work, that is, there is always a detractor one can seek out and quote. The two leading mayoral candidates, Ben Stuckart and Nadine Woodward, are good examples, but differ in their ownership of conflicts. Let me explain. 

If you wade through the stories to the end of the article, though, there is an instructive quote. Camille Troxel worked as a producer of the 11PM newscast at KXLY. Troxel found the interaction with Woodward so toxic that she “threw up before going to work almost every day.” After a series of conflicts detailed in Daniel Walter’s article, Trowel left KXLY. Even though Trowel acknowledges that Stuckart also has a reputation for conflict, she continues to feel so strongly about her interaction with Woodward that she volunteered doing data entry for Stuckart’s campaign.

For me, this is where, in the article, Trowel nails it on the head:

“The difference is the self-awareness,” Troxel says. “Ben knows he’s a jerk sometimes. Nadine doesn’t know.”

Be sure to do your diligence and turn in your ballot before 8PM tomorrow, the evening of Tuesday, August 6 at one of the Drop Boxes (for locations, click here) or get it in the mail (no stamp needed!) soon enough so it is postmarked on or before Tuesday, August 6. (Ballots mailed but not collected and postmarked by tomorrow, August 6, are not counted.)

Once more I offer a plug for the progressivevotersguide.org as good place to start for a rational assessment of the candidates.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

The Spokesman in Eastern Washington

Dear Group,

Some say that nothing important happens in Spokane without the approval of the Cowles family and Avista Corp. The Spokesman Review is first to come to mind when I hear the name Cowles. After all, a majority of print media in Spokane have been owned and run for a hundred and thirty years by four successive generations of William Cowleses, distinguished by Roman numerals and middle names. (By this hereditary naming system the full moniker of the current publisher of the Spokesman is William S. Cowles. The name he is commonly known by, Stacey, is the surname of his mother, Allison Stacey. His father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all William H. Cowles, either III, Junior, or Senior.)

The Spokesman Review in eastern Washington is only a minor portion of the Cowles family’s current assets. I invite you to explore the website of the Cowles Company and HCC Foundation. There you’ll find a catalogue of the family’s holdings: Inland Empire Paper Company produces “over 500 tons of newsprint every day,” supplies paper to over 160 customers, and manages 117,000 acres (that’s 182 square miles!) of timberland in northeast Washington and northern Idaho. KHQ (Q6) is another holding of the Cowles Company, so is River Park Square, nearly an entire block of downtown Spokane  The Spokesman offices and print facility occupy close to another block. Betsy (Elizabeth) Cowles, Stacey’s sister, is Chairman, Stacey is “president of the print media division which includes The Spokesman-Review daily newspaper and several weekly and bi-weekly publications and their associated websites.” 

Elizabeth (Betsy) and Stacey also manage the Harriet Cheney Cowles Foundation, one of the oldest non-profits [501(c)(3)] in the State (founded in 1944 by Betsy and Stacey’s great grandfather, the original William H. Cowles, in memory of his wife). Like other  501(c)(3)s, the Cowles Foundations’ tax deductible contributions are opaque. In 2013 its income was over ten million dollars. The Cowles Foundation is a traditional non-profit philanthropic organization with an impressive list of civic, cultural, and education endeavors it supports. That is in contra-distinction to the host of more recently founded 501(c)(3)s like the Washington Policy Center, the Cato Institute, and the Heritage Foundation whose purpose is to foster a political agenda while enjoying non-profit status and shielding the identities of their donors. (See Jane Mayer’s “Dark Money” below.) 

Which brings us to Anne Cowles, another locally familiar name, Stacey’s wife of thirty years. Anne Cowles serves on the Board of Directors and the Eastern Washington Advisory Board of the Washington Policy Center, the Koch donor group funded Republican/Libertarian think tank that has recently brought to Spokane such luminaries as Nigel Farage (“Mr. Brexit”), Charlie Kirk (Turning Point USA), and the union-busting, education defunding former governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker.

Anne Cowles’ presence on the Board of the Washington Policy Center helps me understand how Stacey Cowles can write an Editorial [non] Endorsement last fall that correctly and roundly condemns Matt Shea (State Rep, Legislative District 4, Spokane Valley plus) for a litany of bizarre right wing activities while failing to endorse Shea’s opponent, Ted Cummings. Mr. Cowles cannot bring himself to endorse Cummings on account of Cummings’ union support, Cummings’ opposition to a “right to work” proposal (a word-meistered darling of the anti-union crowd that is strongly supported by WPC) and the allegation Cummings is too “liberal” for this “deeply red district.” (Is this what psychologists call projection?)

Who will Mr Cowles endorse in this year’s Spokane mayoral race? He wrote an incisive Editorial on homelessness entitled “Forget the library, dispel myths about homelessness.” In that piece he avoids mention of the name of any mayoral candidate, but Mr. Cowles’ myth-busting is a perfect repudiation of Nadine Woodward’s fear-mongering on the issue. The myths he busts could be run as support of Ben Stuckart’s grasp of the “Realities” Mr. Cowles emphasizes. He cites a Washington Policy Center panel discussion as a good source for the facts. In the Spokesman’s coverage of that panel the two most progressive panelists, City Councilwoman Kate Burke and Jonathan Mallahan, Catholic Charities’ vice president of housing, mostly clearly grasp Mr. Cowles’ facts. Will Mr. Cowles conservatism, the WPC influence, and the huge infusion of cash support for Woodward from the Washington State Association of Realtors lead him to endorse the very conservative Ms. Woodward in spite of her rejections of fact? We’ll see.

The Spokesman Review is Spokane’s only daily. The ownership of the Spokesman, several regional weeklies, and KHQ, by the Cowles Company gives the Cowles an outsized voice in the region, the kind of voice that could be used to nudge electoral opinion. To that voice we own much that is positive in our community. Historically, the City of Spokane’s park system and a number of public works were supported by public opinion that was systematically cultivated by Cowles media influence. (See a great resource book, “News for an Empire” (1952) available to read and search online for free.) 

The influence of the Cowles family dynasty has loomed large in eastern Washington for a hundred and thirty years. The Cowles’ influence is not and has not been strictly partisan. Democratic and liberal voices are found in Cowles-owned media on some issues, However, the growing connection of Cowles media with the Washington Policy Center’s single-minded right wing Republican advocacy should raise of flag of caution…especially in the area of political endorsements.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

P.S. Cast of Characters of the Cowles Newspaper Dynasty:

William H. Cowles Sr. (1866-1946) purchased the Spokesman-Review in 1897, many details of his life can be found in “News for an Empire

married to

Harriet Cheney Cowles ( -1938) memorialized in a library and a foundation

William Hutchinson Cowles, Jr. (1902-1971) ran the paper 1946-1971

married to 

Margaret Paine (1902-1991)

William Hutchinson Cowles III (1932-1992) ran the paper 22 years 1971-1992, died suddenly while jogging

married to 

Allison Florence Stacey (1934-2010)

William Stacey Cowles (1960- ) publisher of the Spokesman from soon after his father’s untimely death in 1992 to the present. He has an undergraduate degree from Yale and an MBA from Columbia

married in 1989 in New York to

Anne Boden Cannon Cowles (?1964- ) of Ridgewood, NJ,, Undergraduate degree from Holy Cross, Masters Degree in International Affairs from Columbia

Elizabeth (Betsy) Cowles, Stacey’s sister, Bachelors from Dartmouth, Doctor of Law from George Washington University, is chairman of the Cowles Company

 

WeBelieveWeVote.com

Dear Group,

The yard signs have begun to reappear: WeBelieveWeVote.com signs with a Christian cross draped in American flag imagery. One of their signs appeared in a yard on Spokane’s South Hill, along with a display of yard signs for Pastor Jonathan Bingle, and for Mike Fagan and Tim Benn, candidates on the flapping fringe of the right wing, fellow travelers with Matt Shea promoting the theocratic “State of Liberty.”  (For background from 2018, see WeBelieveWeVote.com, What is it?)

WBWV offers local voter guidance only for Stevens and Spokane Counties (so far). In Stevens County they offer “Recommendations” In Spokane County WBWV offers only “Voter Guides.” 

The WBWV website has a more professional look today than it did in 2018. Gone are the hand-scribbled survey forms of their interviewers. Instead there is a printed set of standardized questions with answers generated by Survey Monkey. They no longer list among their evaluation criteria devotion to the preservation of the Electoral College. Perhaps that criterion was too easy to see as anti-democratic…

They still publish a long list of area churches that supposedly recommend WBWV voter guides to their parishioners. I urge you check the list for your church. Click here and scroll to the bottom of the “Pastor to Pastor Letter” you find there. If you find your church I encourage you to critically evaluate the content of the WBWV website and discuss it with your pastor. 

The website is rife with examples of peculiar intersections of church and state issues. Example: “Climate Change and Use of U.S. Energy Resources” appears as a “critical issue” to “faith-based voters.” on a document on the WBWV website comparing Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian Party platforms. Click that link and read the platform entry. Since every candidate endorsed by WBWV is a Republican are they suggesting a person of faith must believe climate change is a global conspiracy? What happened to stewardship of the Earth? 

Tellingly, the same document argues for the repeal of the Johnson Amendment, a U.S. Tax Code provision that prohibits non-profits from endorsing or opposing political candidates as a condition of retaining their tax exempt status. Repeal of the Johnson Amendment would effectively make political contributions tax deductible, guaranteeing that organizations like WBWV would be major recipients of political money free to directly promote right wing candidates.

Visit WeBelieveWeVote.com. Check out the voter guides. Click on a candidate’s name–when the Candidate Profiles appears be sure to click on the blue “VIEW SURVEY ANSWERS” you find on there. It won’t take you long to understand what this site advocates under the guise of Christianity. As I explained in WeBelieveWeVote.com, What is it?, these are not the Christian values with which I was brought up. The WBWV “Survey” is a black and white political ideological litmus test.

An illustration: Breean Beggs (Spokane City Council President candidate) gets a “0% agreement with WBWV” rating. Why? He refused to checkmark Agree/Disagree questions. Instead, he provided thoughtful, well-reasoned answers to all ten questions (worth reading). In contrast Nadine Woodward (Spokane mayoral candidate) gets a rating of only 60% by refusing to answer four questions and writing, instead: “I will only focus on local issues that pertain to city government and not national issues.” There is some irony in Ms. Woodward’s refusal to answer questions on which she almost certainly agrees with WBWV. (Read at MosaicSpokane, scroll halfway down the page or use CMD-F for “Woodword” in your browser window.) She wishes her smiling newscaster face to remain a blank slate on which the voter can project their personal beliefs. (In the same manner, she campaigns on “Spokane Solutions” while offering none.) 

On the brighter side I think a higher percentage of the candidates I voted for simply refused to take WBWV’s ideological litmus this year than in 2018. 

Visit WBWV and explore. I know of no more blatant attempt to wed far right politics with far right Christianity–and it’s a local, Spokane and Stevens County, phenomenon. Like my right wing neighbor’s yard signs, I find WBWV a useful guide to recognize candidates whom I need to shun. 

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

P.S. For extra credit, start here at the Public Disclosure Commission’s data on WBWV. Click around. It’s interesting information. This year so far WBWV has only $7,135 in contributions with just twelve contributors. They have saved up a war chest totaling $19,113.48. They are building, working for political influence among local congregations. Keep an eye on them. In 2018 (the midterms) they were better funded: $81,612.26. There were six local right wing conservatives, e.g. Duane Alton of Alton Tires, who contributed $5000 or more (Alton contributed $16,000), far larger chunks of change than they could legally donate to any one local candidate. 

Spokane Transit

Dear Group,

Last Friday the front page of the Spokesman blared “COST OF CENTRAL CITY LINE GROWS” (the online article was titled “Price tag for STA’s Central City Line bus project inflates to $92.2 million“). There was large photo of a bus on the front page and a smaller map detailing the route. Damn! We’re spending more money!

What is the Spokane Transit Authority, who runs it, and how is it paid for? The STA is a “municipal corporation” founded in 1980 and serving the Spokane County Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA), i.e. all the cities and unincorporated areas of Spokane County. (A useful overview of the STA is found in wikipedia.) STA has a governing board of ten members, consisting of 3 of the 5 City of Spokane council members, 2 of the 7 City of Spokane Valley council members, 2 of the 3 county commissioners, and 3 members who rotate among five smaller cities in Spokane County (Cheney, Liberty Lake, Airway Heights, Medical Lake, and the Town of Millwotd).

Combing the Spokesman article, one finds familiar names, Kate Burke, Candace Mumm, and Lori Kinnear (Spokane City Council), Al French and Josh Kerns (Spokane County Commissioners), and mayors and council people from the Cities of Spokane Valley, Millwood, Cheney, and Airway Heights. (French, Kerns, and Sam Wood [Spokane Valley] are identified in the article as “Republicans,” while Kinnear and Mumm are identified as “liberals.” How odd. All five of these board members were elected in “non-partisan” elections. Why does Mr. Deshais write “liberals” instead of Democrats or progressives? Words matter.)

According to the article, all three Board members identified as Republicans plus the two identified as liberals all voted in favor of approving the increase in cost. Apparently, the Central City Line, running from Browne’s Addition west of Downtown to Spokane Community College in northeast Spokane, is seen as having community value even by Republicans French and Kerns, but buried near the end of the article the partisan difference crops up [the bold is mine]:

At the start of the meeting, 11 people lined up to speak in support of the agency’s effort to research the creation of a local transit pass for low-income people.

That effort has been ongoing for months. At the board’s previous meeting, French had attempted to derail research into the plan but was rebuffed by outspoken Spokane City Councilwoman Kate Burke and a tie vote on the board. [Why is Kate Burke labelled “outspoken,” a term with pejorative connotations?]

Click to read the last part of the article with the sub-headingLow-income transit pass draws crowd.” (I’ll bet most readers gave up in the preceding haze of large dollar numbers.)

The key point in that part of the article was expressed by Heather Schleigh, director of the House of Charity:

“What is the purpose of having public transportation? Is it so that fancy people can respect the environment and commute or save some money so that they don’t have to pay for parking when they go to events downtown or work? Or is it for people who have no other access to transportation?” she said. “Hopefully, it’s for both.”

It seems to me inexpensive transit is essential to establishing useable low income housing outside the Downtown core. If you work a minimum wage job downtown or need to access services available only in the core, inexpensive public transport is essential. 

Who pays for our public transport system? Not the wealthy–and not the folks paying fares. Of a total Operating Budget of 84.5 million, only 10.7 million (13%) comes from “fares and other transit revenue.” A full 63.6 million dollars of that operating budget, 75 percent of it, comes from sales tax, a tax that falls disproportionately on those with the lowest incomes. The bankers, accountants, and lawyers working downtown benefit from the labor of cleaning staff, for example, some of whom can’t afford to own a car, much less park their car downtown, but who disproportionately pay for public transport through sales tax. 

The Takeaway: The Spokane Transit Authority is a sort of regional governmental corporation, overseen by by a Board of ten, consisting of the same people we elect to our city and county government. That Board manages a budget of about a tenth of a billion dollars (Spokane Pulbic Schools budget is five times that, just for reference). 75% of STA’s budget comes from our regressive sales tax. Both “Republicans” and “liberals” on the STA Board see the value of some public transport, but the “Republicans,” at least County Commissioner Al French, want to make sure that even the least advantaged among us pay full fare, even if most of the cost of system already comes from a regressive tax.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

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Nadine and the Big Money

Dear Group,

The Washington Association of Realtors just put a fat thumb on one side of the Primary Election scales. Take notice. Ben Stuckart’s and Nadine Woodward’s campaign contributions had been nearly equal at about $130,000, money accrued in chunks of no more than $2000 each. Then the Washington Association of Realtors added their fat thumb with $93,000 on Woodward’s side of the scales. That’s a 73% boost in one fell swoop, swamping all the contributions of $2000 or less. (The $2000 is the WA State legal limits for contributions direct to a campaign, contributions the campaign directly controls, shall we say, “dependent” campaign money.)

How can the Realtors do that? Ah, it’s an “independent expenditure” part of “free speech” sanctified by the Citizens United ruling, a ruling the stage for which was set by big money interests, certainly not by any average “Citizens.” How do we know this $93,000 is “independent” of the campaign? Take the flier I just received in the mail with Woodward’s signature toothy smile encouraging me to vote for her in the Primary and touting her “leadership.” You certainly wouldn’t know the money was “independent” from the substance. Ah, but there it is! It’s in the fine print disclaimer in the lower right hand corner: “No Candidate Authorized this ad…” Did you miss it? What a joke. Ask yourself who or what will investigate whether an ad or a movie or a billboard is truly “independent.”

At least the Washington Association of Realtors must be supporting local businesses with this money, right? Wrong. If you click around on the Nadine’s PDC report pages you find the money was spent on print and online ads provided by Access Marketing of Denver, Colorado. I guess the printers and ad producers in Spokane can just move to Denver for their employment. That’s the level of regard for local Spokane business and labor that the Realtors possess. 

Just what does the Washington Association of Realtors think they’re buying? They’re buying a malleable mayor, one with whom the Realtors will have influence, one whose “solutions” are yet to be formed. The “current City Council is too restrictive” they say. The Realtors want it all their way.

Ben Stuckart understands our city. He actually lives a life here. He understands the issues and is actually working toward solutions Nadine has not even considered.

While you’re at it, take note the Realtors put their fat thumb on the scales for Cindy Wendell for Spokane City Council President, doubling her “dependent” campaign contributions of $60,000. Wendell is one of their own: she “is the commercial real estate manager of Northtown Square, a shopping center she co-owns.” Do we really want a City Council President who co-owns a shopping center? 

Take a look at the Spokesman article by reporter Adam Shanks Realtors buying voice in Spokane elections from last Sunday, July 21. The numbers and the whole sordid story are there, but outrage of those numbers represent is obscured in Mr. Shanks’ effort to appear evenhanded, Get out your pens. Read the Spokesman article on the Realtors’ “independent” campaign expenditures. Pick one point to make. Write your outrage in a letter to the editor today. 

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

The Board of Spokane Public Schools

Dear Group,

We voters decide this fall on replacements for three out of five of the members of the School Board of the Spokane Public Schools (aka “District 81”). That is a huge change in leadership.

What is the importance of the Spokane Public School’s School Board? The Washington State Constitution, Article IX, Section 1, reads, “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.” The School Board of the Spokane Public Schools carries the responsibility to make sure that happens here. 

What is Spokane Public Schools’ significance in the State of Washington? Spokane Public Schools (District 81) is second in the State of Washington in the number of students enrolled with roughly 30,000 students. Seattle Public Schools enrolls around 53,000. SPS is comparable to Tacoma, also about 30,000. (Only three other districts in the State serve over 24,000 students.)

The five members of the School Board of Spokane Public Schools are responsible for a budget of nearly a half a billion dollars (yes, that’s with a “b”). Just 33 million of that, around 7%, (in 2019-20) comes from local property tax levies. (The other 93% comes from Washington State [McCleary mandate and levy caps] coffers and a little from federal sources.) Consider that. Mostly, the School Board is responsible for wisely spending money it receives from elsewhere. The School Board’s power to raise money for the schools is only marginal. Changes in State funding for schools have an outsize effect. You wouldn’t know that from newspaper coverage. That coverage typically focuses on whether or not the School Board is going to ask local voters for more money as another property tax levy.

Responsibility for a half billion dollars, 30,000 students, roughly 2000 teachers, 1000 other staff, and 47 schools…is quite an assignment. Of course, the School Board doesn’t administer a half billion dollar budget without help. The Board hires the Superintendent of Schools, who, with staff assistance, is responsible for keeping track of it all and reporting to the Board. The five members of the School Board meet twice a month. Reviewing materials for these meetings takes around twenty hours a week for a diligent Board member. 

A School Board Member overseeing Spokane Public Schools is elected for a six year term. (That is longer than any other elected office of which I’m aware, except U.S. Senator.) Let’s see, that’s 144 meetings and around six thousand hours of prep work. Serving as a School Board member is an unpaid, elected position. This is a volunteer commitment a Board Member makes to the benefit of our children and our society, a volunteer commitment beyond one’s own life needs. (For a thoughtful article about running for and serving on a generic School Board, click here.)

All SPS School Board members are elected at large by voters living in the boundary of the district (see the P.S. below) with elections occurring in all odd-numbered years. Ordinarily two, then one, then the other two positions are up for election in successive odd-numbered years. This year three positions are open: Position 4 fills out the 2 year term of a School Board member who is stepping down. Positions 1 and 2 are for full six year terms. 

My favorites for the three open positions are Nikki Lockwood, Jenny Slagle, and Erin Georgen. I have met the first two. I find myself in agreement with the ProgressiveVotersGuide.org, which I recommend for more detail.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

P.S. District Geography: Like many other district types (legislative, congressional, city, county, fire–see maps in the reference section below) the areas served by Spokane Public Schools and the City of Spokane are not quite the same. Probably due to annexation of land by the City of Spokane, some residents of Spokane are served by School Districts other than Spokane Public Schools. It’s confusing. It is hard to find a map that clearly compares Spokane the City and Spokane the School District. Washington State School Districts are not drawn to conform with the communities they serve, nor do they conform to Washington State legislative districts: parts of the Spokane Public School’s District (81) lie in Legislative Districts 3 (central Spokane), 4 (east), 6 (south, west, and north), and 7 (northeast). 

Starting in the north and going clockwise, District 81, i.e. the Public School District that is Spokane Public Schools, is bordered (click for a not very user friendly map) by Mead, Orchard Prairie, West Valley, Central Valley, Freeman, Liberty, Cheney, Great Northern, and Nine Mile Falls School Districts. 

A Ballot–In Mid-summer???

Dear Group,

Ballots for the August 6 municipal Primary Election should be in your mailbox. Didn’t get one? Check your registration at MyVote.wa.gov. In 2017, the last off-off year Primary election, only one in five (22%) of the ballots sent out by the Spokane County Elections Office were turned in. This means that every single one of your family, friends, and neighbors you encourage to vote can have an outsize influence on our choices in November. The time to vote is now…before ballots disappear in the junk mail pile on the corner of the table or in the recycling.

The ProgressiveVotersGuide.com is a great reference. Click and read. This site provides clear-eyed orientation to candidates and issues. I have met most of the candidates the Guide recommends for the City of Spokane, and I have studied many of those it does not recommend. I agree with the recommendations–and with the cautionary notes about some of their opponents. 

After you’ve cast your ballot and talked to everyone you know, I encourage you to sign up with your favorite candidate, join their campaign, go out, knock on doors, talk with people, and encourage them to vote. This is where democracy happens–locally. The national scene always competes for attention, but right now it is a distraction, a distraction over which we can have little influence. Except for contacting our representatives we in Washington State get no say in national government again until the Washington State Presidential Primary Election on March 10, 2020. (Yes, it’s much earlier and it’s not a caucus, but that’s a story for another day.)

Participate in our representative democracy now, in this municipal Primary Election. This is where we live. What happens here ripples outward, and, conversely, what is happening in D.C. has echoes here, too. These municipal elections are “nonpartisan” in name only. Just a few minutes on most candidate websites will dispel the notion these election are actually non-partisan.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

P.S. Using the Spokesman’s website’s Search function I looked back at the pattern of Editorial Endorsements (the opinion of Stacey Cowles) in 2017, the last municipal elections. If that year is a guide, most of Mr. Cowles’ endorsements will not appear before the August 6 Primary, but, instead, before the General Election in November. (In 2017, Editorial: “Our picks for local elections” appeared two days before the ballot turn-in deadline.