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Ballot Measures

King County Rural Library District, Proposition 1

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• U.S. Republican Party Politics
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The King County Library system is one of the busiest in the nation. It should be a point of pride that we love using our libraries, and now we need to give them adequate funding. As our population explodes, we need new libraries, and we need to upgrade the ones that we already have. This $172 million measure will improve all 43 branches, whether north (Richmond Beach), south (Auburn), east (North Bend), or west (Vashon Island). It will also build three new branches and only cost the average household around $25 a year. This is an important and necessary investment that is well worth making. Vote Yes.

City of Seattle, Proposition 1 (Families and Education Levy)

This would be the second renewal of a property-tax levy that, since 1990, has generated $138 million for programs aimed at children of low-income families. It's not a school levy, it's for programs outside school—for preschool, health care, family support and involvement, and after-school programs that most of us take for granted. Kids can't learn if they aren't supported, encouraged, or fed outside school, and we wholeheartedly endorse this renewal, which would raise $116.7 million over the next seven years. We wonder, however, if city officials aren't risking losing the whole program by increasing the amount of the levy by 69 percent. The amount the past seven years was $69 million. Opponents say these programs have been ineffective and lack accountability, and that the city would have too much discretion in spending. We disagree with the former and think the latter is fine. It's time voters stopped micromanaging. Vote Yes.

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