I just had a couple of beers with Stefan Sharkansky. He and his family moved to Seattle in May and he has begun to engage on the local political scene. His major issue local issue is charter schools, but his greatest potential for a contribution is through the general influence of his blog, which is nationally recognized through links from Instapundit and other majors.
We talked about local political organizing, the monorail, the Republican party. In particular, we discussed how to effect change in Seattle toward personal responsibility and fiscal conservativism while retaining social liberalism (gay and minority rights, choice on abortion, freedom of religion, etc.), basically the "eagle" position as articulated by Andrew Sullivan. Perhaps the best idea we developed revolved around volunteerism. Stefan has been looking for volunteer opportunities, and I suggested that could be coupled with political organization to amplify the impact: outsiders (which in Seattle include Republicans and other non-collectivists) can legitimize themselves by demonstrating commitment to both their principles and the needs of society. Volunteerism is the key for those of us who believe that private activity is more efficient at delivering services than government agencies. (BTW, I don't know if Stefan would express it exactly this way. Hopefully he'll comment directly.)
I enjoyed our meeting, and I'm glad to have his voice contributing to political discussion in the Emerald City. I think local opinion makers are beginning to listen.