ETS! has invited the "alternative" (a.k.a. marginalized) candidates for Mayor of Seattle to submit short (500 word) articles outlining their take on racing toward mayorship. We present them as the serious candidates they deserve to be taken as. These are all real people, committed to what they are saying, with active campaigns. We have three candidates who have prepared articles so far and we will print them serially, adding more if/when more candidates come forward with statements.

Campaign Statement of Caleb Schaber

Legalize Adulthood

For many people in Seattle it is illegal to be an adult. For some, a trip to the corner store ends up a death sentence. My platform for mayor is based on legalizing adulthood. Our laws do not support adulthood, but rather unjustly criminalize many of our city's residents.

Adults must be treated equally and allowed to exist freely. Access to resources, jobs, benefits, education, and medical care can be achieved, if our government makes that its goal, rather than catering to the interests of the wealthy and corporations. Our current city government decided on building a new city hall without asking the people of Seattle to vote on it, while thousands remain homeless and jobless.

The African-American community has experienced the police department as a hostile force for many years. Not until the WTO did the rest of the city see how our police department has been mismanaged and subsequently abuses its power.

The police department reported to Mayor Paul Schell that they were not ready for the WTO. Schell ignored this information. Since the WTO, he has continued to use the Police force as a large standing army, an army that has no respect for the constitution and fails to intervene when our citizens are being murdered in front of them. We, as adults, should have a police department that allows organized protest and celebration without riot gear, tear gas, internment camps, and murder. As mayor, I would allow communities to have police officers they did not like removed from their neighborhoods. We need police to come from the community they work in, and we need cameras in all the police cars to monitor their actions. The police must answer to the people and regain credibility and usefulness.

I have always found myself drawn to the bohemian side of life. At the Blue Moon Tavern where I work, I often drink with people who have been arrested for violating civility laws. These must go. Civility comes through tolerance, not imprisonment.

When I saw that Paul Schell was running for reelection, I was outraged. My friends and I organized the parade from Seattle Central to the Pike Place market in 1999, when Schell canceled Seattle's New Year celebration. In 2000, we repeated our march after placing the monolith at Magnuson park.

With my exposure to the press and my willingness to take risks and speak the truth that most politicians wish to ignore, I decided to run for mayor. Since my candidacy, I have met with Chief Kerlikowske and several members of the city council. I talk to people from all over our city. Most support my ideas and many support my candidacy. Although I am not as experienced as Schell, City Attorney Mark Sidran, or King County Councilperson Greg Nickels, people think that I could do a much better job managing our city than they have and will, should any of them get elected.

We are all adults or soon to be adults. We must unite to legalize adulthood and reclaim Seattle. Please visit my website to learn more about my plans, including the monorail, developing alternative energy to power Seattle, and voter reform: http://www.calebschaber.org.