Just moved, and I confess I'm a low-info voter on local issues.

[strategery blunder]

I moved from Puyallup to Tacoma in July, and needless to say my local races are all different, and I'm in a different Congressional district, etc. Some issues that affect both cities, such as Pierce Transit, I'm familiar with, and other issues that affected Puyallup, such as local services merging with county services, don't appear as prevalent in a larger city such as Tacoma.

I know practically nothing of the way Tacoma is governed, other than that it's a council-manager form of government, and I hear/read whispers of the city's finances having been mismanaged. But I know nothing of how, or who is proposing what to fix it.

I spent four hours voting my primary ballot, trying to decipher who actually stood for what. I think I found a few dog-whistling teabaggers, and voted against them. But the four-hour intensive research session on the candidates, some (ok, a lot) of whom spoke/wrote in the voters' guide of mealy-mouthed platitudes without actually saying anything, is not an experience I wish to repeat in the general if it can at all be helped.

I know we could just say vote a straight Democratic ticket, but we need only look to the example of certain Blue Dogs that were/are in Congress to see where that leads us, with Joe Lieberman being perhaps the most infamous example. I certainly don't want any of those types slipping into office if there is any half-reasonable alternative. Not to mention that advice certainly doesn't help non-partisan races at all (though I believe the primary might have taken care of those)...

Are there any good one-stop-shop type voting guides where a progressive might go to obtain some information on local candidates?

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Do the local/state papers have websites with election sections?

[strategery blunder]

3. I've read some of the Tacoma News Tribune endorsements, but found them lacking

They tend to try to cram too many endorsements into too small a space, so said endorsements tend to fall into the "meaningless platitude" category when each local candidate only gets maybe three or four sentences that don't really contain concrete details. And I don't have a subscription; I only see what is there on the days that I happen to pick up the paper. DU is my primary source for news, but it doesn't really filter down below state level.

On national/state issues I'm fine--it's getting informed on local races that are new to me that looks to be the PITA.

I'll try contacting the local Dem HQ, though I'd hoped to get information from outside, progressive-leaning groups (see: the Blue Dog Problem).

[stuckinodi]

2. Call the local Dem HQ

They should have a voter's guide.

[eridani]

4. Washington Conservation Voters and NARAL have election guides.

This is what I know about Tacoma area candidates. And remember--even crappy Dems keep committee gavels OUT of the hands of the party that wants to destroy all public goods.

LD 25
Senate Eric Herde --ndorsed by the Washington State Progressive caucus & has agreed to cosponsor state single payer

Rep. Pos. 1 Dawn Morrell has agreed to cosponsor state single payer

Rep. Pos. 2 Bill Hilton signed on to ratify anti-Citizens United amendment & has agreed to cosponsor state single payer

LD 27
Senate Jeannie Darneille has cosponsored the Washington state bank bill, signed on to ratify anti-Citizens United amendment & has agreed to cosponsor state single payer

Rep. Pos. 1 Laurie Jinkins 1st out lesbian in the legislatiure, signed on to ratify anti-Citizens United amendment & has cosponsored the Washington state bank bill.

Rep. Pos. 2 Lauren Walker Running against another Dem whose email contact address bounced.

LD 28
Senate Yoshie Wong signed on to ratify anti-Citizens United amendment & has agreed to cosponsor state single payer

Rep. Pos. 1 Eric Choiniere signed on to ratify anti-Citizens United amendment

Rep. Pos. 2 Tami Green signed on to ratify anti-Citizens United amendment & has cosponsored the Washington state bank bill.

LD 29
Rep. Pos. 1 David Sawyer Dem candidate, don't know much about him

Rep. Pos. 2 Steve Kirby Dem without an opponent--strong labor advocate & has cosponsored the Washington state bank bill.

[eridani]

5. Compare WA Dems and Repubs on environmental issues.

[The empressof all]

6. Here's a link to the progressive voters guide

Plug in your zip and you'll get all your local recommendations. Also for judge contests, PUD officials, Fire dept officials....google is your friend. You can often glean a lot in these non-partisan positions by looking at someones linked in, facebook or postings on line.


http://progressivevotersguide.com/2012/washington/general/?src=BSWVGEVMulti&p=1

[strategery blunder]

7. I would like to thank everyone who pitched in to help me :)

I am a terrible procrastinator, and the choice presented by the Lieutenant Governor's race was an absolutely wretched one that had me putting off voting even more. I hope never to be presented with a similar voting choice ever again--a case study in what is wrong with the two-party system.

Nevertheless, my signed, sealed, and delivered ballot (Voted for Obama/Biden, check, voted for marriage equality, check, voted down Eyman's latest shenanigans, check, voted down local teabaggers, check, Lieutenant Governor...don't make me go there) now resides somewhere inside a Pierce County Elections drop box.