Northshore voters have their say
Inglemoor High senior Ryan Phillips wasn’t in school this morning at 9 a.m. He was waving his Dino Rossi for governor sign on the corner of Northeast Bothell Way and 68th Avenue Northeast in Kenmore.
“I don’t have to be in school until 10:30,” he said, noting that he was out on the same corner last night with his parents. “My parents were in line (to vote) at 6:30 (this morning).
“I’m excited for Rossi.”
The 17-year-old won’t turn 18 until May, but he’s still in tune with politics. He received some supportive honks from drivers and some thumbs-downs, but he was smiling the whole time.
Over at Arrowhead Elementary, people lined up outside the library and filed in at 7 a.m. to cast their votes for Republican Rossi and his Democrat opponent Gov. Chris Gregoire, as well as nods to presidential candidates Democrat Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain.
“It’s very exciting to me to see all these people here,” said Joanne Munson of Kenmore after voting. “Democracy can’t work unless folks are involved.”
Gopalakrishnan Venkataraman of Kenmore voted Obama and Gregoire.
“I’m totally against Bush’s last (eight years), it was terrible,” he said, noting that McCain could perform the same as his predecessor. “I’m really not too sure about Obama, but I’m willing to give him a chance.”
On the issues (in both races), Venkataraman added: “I want them to balance the budget and do the other programs efficiently. They need to crack down on tax evasion and balance the budget.”
As voters filed in and out of the library on this rainy morning — some with cups of coffee, long coats and a few wearing shorts — a few spoke on cell phones outside, perhaps getting some last-minute coaching from friends. One man leashed his dog to a pole while he went inside to vote, prompting one woman to give it a pet and joke, “Do you have a voter-registration card?'”
The adults were having their day, as well, as evidenced by Tom Fitzpatrick of Kenmore holding his Obama for president sign and waving it at drivers on the busy street across the way from Arrowhead.
“I’m gonna be turning in my absentee ballot shortly,” he said as he got back to work.
