Will in Seattle: In political trouble?
  • Will in Seattle: In political trouble?
Will in Seattle, aka Will Affleck-Asch, is not just one of Slog's most prolific commenters. He's also (by his own account) a player at all levels of politics in this state and (indisputably) a member of the executive board of the 43rd District Democrats, where he serves as—put on your wonk spelunking helmet—a board representative to the King County Democratic Central Committee.

For now.

On Jan. 18, the 43rd District Dems will be reorganizing their board via a vote of the district's precinct committee officers, and Will in Seattle will be facing a challenge for his board seat—his political power base—from another prolific Slog commenter, michaelp. (Aka Michael Maddux, 29, the current vice chair for events for the 43rd.)

"Will has been there for a while," Maddux said, explaining his decision to try to take Affleck-Asch's seat on the board. "And I do believe that when it comes to moving forward within the party, it's imperative to have new ideas, new people in various leadership positions... I think it is also a good idea that they represent the district itself. We have the youngest district and the gayest district in the state of Washington, and so having a young homosexual, I think, would be a good fit."

michaelp: The change the 43rd needs?
  • michaelp: The change the 43rd needs?
What's wrong with Affleck-Asch's leadership on the board?

"Generally what people say is that they think the 43rd District could be much better represented," Maddux told me. "There's a sense that Will's approach to things is counterproductive to actually achieving the goals that are necessary. Some of the people that I talk to have indicated that they believe that Will's method—the hard left way or no way at all, and his unwillingness to compromise—is counterproductive."

Will in Seattle has not yet responded to an e-mailed request for comment on these charges, but I'll do a post as soon as he gets back to me about this defining political contest of our time.

"I believe that the position should be more than just showing up to meetings," Maddux continued. "If we're really going to be the Fighting 43rd we need to not just go to meetings, but also work with other districts to pass platform positions, policy positions, and resolutions... I've been working on get out the vote efforts for our candidates the last two years. I'm unsure what Will has been doing to get his feet on the ground, other than commenting on Slog."