Daily digest: Plan to sell of public lands sputters + MAMDANI! + get fancy for Pride
Does Mamdani's NYC victory mean change for Seattle?
In a huge upset, leftist candidate Zohran Mamdani, defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo to become the Democratic candidate for New York mayor yesterday. It was stunning victory for the Democratic socialist, who defeated the pro-business centrist with a scandal-ridden past. That might mean change is in the winds in Seattle, where pro-business centrist Bruce Harrell is facing several challengers, including Katie Wilson, who the latest polling says is in the lead. Mamdani's win is also a victory for ranked-choice voting, which Seattle think tank Sightline has been instrumental in pushing, and which Multnomah County and Portland now use and Seattle will adopt in 2027.
GOP plan to sell off public lands sputters
According to PBS, GOP senator Mike Lee's plan to sell off between 2.2 and 3.2 million acres of public lands across the West – is now on hold after the Senate parliamentarian ruled the proposal violated Senate budget bill procedures. The bill would have potentially made 250 million acres of public lands across the West – many of them in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho – available for sale to private investors. Trump's federal budget would also slash $387 million from the Land and Water Conservation fund, which helps restore and purchase wildlands across Cascadia. It's becoming clear it's time for our bioregion to manage these lands independent of the shifting politics of the United States.
BC transit strike drags on for five months
CBC reports that transit workers in British Columbia's Cowichan Valley have now been on strike for five months, a record for a transit strike in the province. A mediator has been appointed, but the parties are still far from an agreement. In related news, the Urbanist reports that in the next twenty-five years, Puget Sound transit agencies will face a massive $78 billion funding gap. That's going to require re-structuring how the state and our region funds transit – and with Trump threatening to cut key transportation funds to blue cities, I dunno, maybe it's time to consider how an independent Cascadia might better manage its economic resources.
Pride is coming soon, get dressed!
Real Change has a great photo essay on how, in Seattle and across the region, Pride events are a reason to go all-out with fashion and creative wardrobes. If you haven't read it yet, I wrote a piece for Cascade PBS on how Pride in Seattle this year feels more important than ever as the trans community and LGBTQ folks confront a climate of hate and anti-queer legislation with joy and protest. Meanwhile, Oregon Pride has a bunch of events coming statewide.
--Andrew Engelson
