Fireworks at the Lake

We were not sure if we would find community or conflict as we headed down the hill to the BluWater Bistro on Tuesday, September 10 to watch the presidential debate. The place was buzzing when we arrived, and we got seats near the fire, fortifying ourselves by ordering cider, beer and what proved to be very tasty street salmon tacos. There were at least 12 TVs set up throughout the bar and restaurant, all tuned to CNN and fortunately sporting closed captions. The ethnically, though not as it turns out politically, diverse crowd of around 100 strong had clearly come to eat, drink, and tune in. (Well, except for the 8-year-old who had come to celebrate her birthday with family, but her group chose to sit outside under heaters and were gifted desserts.)

Bart Evans, owner of the BluWater, has been hosting presidential debates at the bistro since 2016. He said that at the last debate (Biden v. Trump) the air quickly left the room. This Tuesday night was different. The first roars and applause broke out when Democratic candidate Kamala Harris insisted, “The government, and Donald Trump certainly, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.” Loud guffaws echoed when former president Donald Trump claimed [CHOP] protesters took over a big percentage of Seattle. More roars and applause when Harris pointedly told Trump that Putin would “eat you for lunch!” The crowd, it turned out, was indeed partisan and the waves and thumbs up as folks prepared to leave showed who they thought had won the evening. In the words of our waiter, who whispered to us as we settled the tab, “She kicked his ass tonight.”

~Anne Depue

[This is a resident’s experience. The Leschi Community Council does not endorse candidates.]