Does this Flood of Political Mailers Make any Sense?

Each day for the past couple of weeks, my faithful post office carrier has delivered slick political mailers to my curb-side mailbox. I have received a couple of dozen of these mailers, expensive productions targeting voters in Seattle and King County prior to this week’s primary election.

Taken as a group, they’re interesting to read. They reveal what candidates think about themselves and sometimes what they think about their opponents. Some direct mail pieces are paid for by the candidate; others by independent PACs on their behalf.

The mailers are a sure way to reach voters but, given escalating prices of postage and printing, those flyers don’t come cheap. Each citywide mailing costs up to $80,000.

Some of this is likely wasted money. Take the three almost identical mailings I received supporting Alexis Mercedes Rinck who is likely to win reelection to her Position 8 City Council seat. Mailers, paid for by her own campaign, tell us that the average price for a home in Seattle is too expensive — she says $886,741. If reelected she promises to expand housing options, protect us from federal attacks, and help small businesses. It makes you wonder, why Rinck thought it necessary to send out three expensive mailers. Maybe just because she could.

More revealing are mailers I’ve received in hotly contested races. Take the frontrunners for the City Council Position 9 seat, currently held by Council President Sara Nelson. Nelson’s campaign paid for a busy triple-folded mailer that details what she’s proud to have accomplished: more police and mental health staff, fewer encampments, more shelter beds, and investment in substance-use treatment. Nelson, endorsed by the Seattle Times, assures us: “Seattle Won’t Go Back.”

Nelson’s likely opponent is Dionne Foster who is backed by mailers paid for by Progressive People Power. The independent expenditure ads smeared Council President Nelson, alleging she “sold out” to business interests: corporations, developers and (horrors!) to Republicans. The mailer charges that Nelson favored lowering delivery driver wages, gutting tenant protections, and weakening council ethics rules. An unflattering photo of Nelson, superimposed beneath a foamy beer (likely a reference to Fremont Brewing, which she co-founded) accompanies the allegations. On the reverse side, the mailer advocates Foster, promising she will “fund shared priorities,” “tax the ultra rich,” and “drive local progress.” The mailer cites endorsements from King County Democrats, MLK Labor and The Stranger.

Meanwhile, the mayoral contest, with Mayor Bruce Harrell running for a second term, is showering us with the largest number of mailers. One independent mailer cites Harrell’s experience (three terms on the city council, second African American, and first Asian mayor), fighting for police accountability and supporting the $15 minimum wage. The flyer’s reverse side attacks challenger Katie Wilson with these words: “Sawant ally, lacks experience, and pushes radical defund the police agenda.” Another independent mailer shows Wilson next to a picture of former councilmember Kshama Sawant and quotes Wilson saying, “There’s a strong argment for simply disbanding police departments and starting over.”

One mailer paid for by Katie Wilson’s campaign makes item-by-item comparisons with the incumbent mayor.  Wilson cites her “14-year record delivering results for working families,” winning “the nation’s highest minimum wage in King County cities,” her lead on passing the JumpStart tax and winning renter protections in eight different cities.” The mailer draws a contrast with Harrell whom the mailer accused of being “funded by landlords and billionaire developers” and “distracted by scandals and lawsuits from making progress.” She quotes The Stranger saying, “Mayor Harrell has shown us that all he’s going to do is bully Seattle not Trump.”

Bruce Harrell’s own campaign mailer is less accusatory of the opposition, but more supportive of his leadership. It credits him with negotiating the landmark minimum wage increase, championing police body cameras, helping people into housing, restoring parks, and reducing “unacceptable rates of violent crime.” His list of top endorsements includes Gov. Bob Ferguson, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, Attorney Gen. Nick Brown, Councilmember Jayapal, and MLK Labor.

Along with the combative mailers, I collected others, including one from Rory O’Sullivan headlined: “THE ONLY (all caps) city attorney candidate endorsed by all the King County Democrats.” There’s also a lone mailer from King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, who is running for King County executive. Balducci championed her record as “the only candidate who has delivered more affordable homes.” She promised to continue to make housing access and affordability her top priority. There was no mailer from her opponent Girmay Zahilay, leaving one to wonder if he’d spent his record war-chest (nearly $1 million) on costly TV ads.

In the run-up to this year’s sometimes sleepy August primary, my mailbox was seldom been dull or empty and, in days to come, I’ll have an impressively slick pile for the recycle bin.