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Enough people have called and e-mailed at me at this point regarding my reporting of a scuffle at Adam Smith's Aug. 25 town hall meeting that I'm convinced I got it wrong.

I had reported that a man holding a sign depicting President Obama with a Hitler mustache was taken to the ground by bystanders, who crumpled up the sign and threw it away.

That's what I thought I saw and a few witnesses said they saw, but at this point more than a handful of people have disputed that account. They all concur that the man with the sign wasn't touched, and that he actually pushed another man to the ground when the second man tried to take his sign. More people told me the same thing after I wrote a blog post Monday asking for additional information.

We'll be running a correction in tomorrow's paper.

Here's what happened: From several rows up, I saw someone pushed to the ground amid a swarm of people. I was sure the man who fell on the ground was the same man who was holding the sign, but I asked around to double-check. A few people who I questioned nearby said they saw the same think I did.

I didn't have a great view of the incident, as it turns out.

I wasn't the only one -- neither representatives from Adam Smith's office nor the Lakewood Police Department could confirm who pushed who in the midst of the crowd.

Our partners at KIRO-TV didn't have any video footage that could confirm it one way or another.

That's why it's taken so long for this correction to get in the paper. Barring a police statement or video footage, it was difficult for me to confirm what actually happened one way or the other. I didn't want to write an incorrect correction that I might later have to amend a second time.

At this point, so many people have given me an account of what happened that varies from my own that I believe a correction is needed. Look for it in Thursday's News Tribune.

Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy’s search for budget savings has found a controversial target: poll voting.

County Auditor Jan Shabro told me she met with

McCarthy yesterday to discuss the auditor’s 2010 budget. The executive said in that meeting that her 2010 budget plan – due later this month – will not include $150,000 needed to keep Pierce County polls open next year.

It’s far from certain the polls will close. The County Council will have the final say over the budget and funding for the polls. And Council members have repeatedly expressed their support for poll voting.

In May the council declined Shabro’s request to conduct this year’s August and November elections exclusively by mail to save money. And in July the council approved a list of budget priorities that included keeping the polls open.

But McCarthy’s plan – first floated in May – shows the county’s budget troubles are serious enough that she’s willing to propose a cut that will be extremely unpopular with many voters. It also shows just how tenuous is Pierce County’s position as the only county in the state that still allows some voters to cast their ballots at the polls.

Earlier this year the Legislature considered – but did not pass – a proposal that would have forced the county to close its polling places.

Unless the Legislature or the council changes the law, Shabro said she’s obligated to keep the polls open. Shabro said McCarthy wants to start a conversation about poll voting.

After yesterday’s meeting with the executive, Shabro attended a County Council study session, where she asked council members to restore the $150,000 for poll voting in the 2010 budget.

Consider the conversation started.

Update: I talked to Pat McCarthy a while ago. She said it’s hard to justify spending money to keep

the polls open when so few people use them and there are other ways for people to vote. In last month’s primary election, she said about 3 percent of voters who were eligible to vote at the polls did so.

(I pointed out last November's polling place turnout was much higher – about 56 percent. McCarthy thinks the turnout for that election was an anomaly brought about by what many sensed was a historic presidential race.)

McCarthy said paying for that is a hard sell at a time when she’s telling the sheriff’s department and other county departments they’ll have to cut staff next year. The $150,000 for polling places is enough to pay for a sheriff’s deputy or prosecuting attorney, she said.

“It’s very costly,” she said of poll voting. “It just is not justifiable when you have such a low percentage of people who are accessing this option.”

McCarthy acknowledged the council may find $150,000 elsewhere in the budget to keep the polls open. But she said she’ll submit a budget based on priorities she can justify.

“People elected me to make good, well-though-out decisions,” she said. “Not everyone will agree with those.”

The Pierce County Council named Mark Lindquist to be the next county prosecuting attorney this afternoon.

The unanimous vote means Lindquist – currently the office’s chief criminal deputy –replaces Gerald Horne, who is retiring as prosecuting attorney after nine years. Lindquist was sworn in during today’s council meeting and assumes the job immediately.

Lindquist said his top priority is ensuring Pierce County lives up to a reputation for “putting away the bad guys for long sentences.”

He also pledged to fight to make sure the county gets only its fair share of state prisoners, to reduce a backlog felony cases and to “deliver the most bang for the taxpayer’s buck.”

“I am going to run an office that’s professional, nonpartisan and serves the public well” Lindquist told the council.

Because Horne is a Democrat, state law required the council to pick his successor from among nominees submitted by the local Democratic Party. Democrats also nominated Mary Robnett, supervisor of the prosecuting attorney’s office’s special assault unit, and Pat Hammond, supervisor of the misdemeanor domestic violence unit.

But it’s been apparent since Horne announced his retirement in February that Lindquist was likely to get the job.

Robnett and Hammond – both Democratic Party precinct committee officers – supported Lindquist for the job. On Tuesday each informed the council they preferred not to be considered for the post.

The council appointed Lindquist to fill out the remainder of Horne’s term as prosecutor. The timing of Horne’s retirement allows Lindquist to get a head start on the 2010 election for the post.

Lindquist already is raising money for that campaign. So far, no one has stepped forward to oppose him next year.

Lindquist has been with the prosecuting attorney’s office for 14 years. He served as chief of the drug unit from 2004 through 2008. Earlier this year Horne promoted him to chief criminal deputy.

As prosecutor, Lindquist will oversee a staff of about 230 employees and a budget of about $26 million.

Lindquist, 50, lives in Tacoma with his wife Chelsea.

This alert came in from the Associated Press:

Oscar voters to rank best-picture choices Eds: APNewsNow. Moving on general news and entertainment services. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Academy Awards voters are going to have to put extra effort into their choices for best picture. Oscar overseers are adopting a preferential-voting system in which academy members rank their best-picture favorites from 1 to 10. The change was made because of the academy’s decision to expand the best-picture field from five nominees to 10 starting with the awards next March. Under the old system with five nominees, voters simply chose one film, making the winner the one that received the most votes. The new method adds weight to voters’ No. 2 and 3 picks. If the academy had maintained the old system, the best-picture prize conceivably could have gone to a film with barely 10 percent of the vote.

Okay, so it's not exactly like Pierce County's ranked choice voting system. But we can't wait until Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington start doing RCV ads. And when does Dale Washam pick up his Oscar?

Barring a shocking turn of events, the Pierce County Council will name Mark Lindquist to be the next prosecuting

attorney this afternoon.

Lindquist is one of three candidates nominated by the local Democratic Party to replace retiring prosecutor Gerald Horne. But the other two candidates – Mary Robnett and Pat Hammond, both attorneys in the prosecutor’s office – support Lindquist for the post.

Lindquist seems to have support from council members of both parties. Among other things, they credit him for a recent initiative to address a backlog of cases in Superior Court.

Nonetheless, the council this afternoon may hear from all three candidates. Council attorney Susan Long said each nominee will have an opportunity to speak and answer questions. The public also will get a chance to comment.

The council may or may not go into closed session to discuss the qualifications of the candidates before making a final decision, Long said.

The council will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 1045 of the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Ave. S.

Lindquist is the chief criminal deputy in the prosecutor’s office. He’s been with the office for 14 years. You can read more details of his biography here.

A judge has dismissed a challenge to the ballot language describing three proposed amendments to the Pierce County charter.

Sherry Bockwinkel, a term-limit supporter, and Kelly Haughton, a supporter of ranked choice voting, claimed the language of the amendments was inappropriate. But Pierce County Superior Court Judge Ronald Culpepper did not rule on their claims.

Instead, Culpepper found the pair had failed to meet a deadline for challenging the ballot language. And while he suggested county policies for alerting people to the deadline might be lacking, he found the county had followed the letter of state law.

County voters will consider three amendments to the county charter in November:

• Proposition 1 would move the election of the county executive and council to odd-numbered years by 2015 and increase term limits for those offices from two consecutive four-year terms to three consecutive four-year terms.

• Proposition 2 would move the election of auditor, assessor-treasurer and sheriff to odd-numbered years by 2015.

• Proposition would eliminate ranked choice voting and restore the primary and general election system for all county elected offices.

Bockwinkel will help write the voters pamphlet statement against Proposition 1. Haughton will help write the statement against Proposition 3.

They claimed the language describing those measures that will appear on the ballot is faulty on two counts.

First, they noted that each amendment asks voters to “approve” or “reject” the amendments. They said that’s a departure from the language used on other recent charter amendments, which used “yes” or “no” language. They said the change in language may confuse voters.

Second, they argued the language of Proposition 1 is prejudicial. It states the proposal would make term limits for executive and council “consistent with term limits in effect for auditor, assessor-treasurer and sheriff.” The plaintiffs argued the phrase constitutes an argument in favor of the proposal.

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That's about all so far. They moved a bulletin saying the measure to repeal the latest expansion of gay partnership has collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

The secretary of state has been going through each signature to make sure they are from registered voters and not duplicates.

I don't want to sound holier than thou when it comes to spelling. I can never remember if "I" comes before "E" or "E" comes before "I."

But I have usually been pretty good about spelling my own name correctly (there's a "g" in there someplace.)

Not so Tacoma City Council candidate Beckie Summers Kirby (note the spelling of her first name and last name.) Beckie is a candidate for the council seat from District 5 and sent a mailing into homes in the district recently called "Teamwork."

"We made progress because true community leaders were willing to step forward and make things happen. Leaders like Becky Sommers Kirby."

In case voters didn't catch it, the brochure then spells both names correctly in big type just to the right.

She will face Joe Longeran, I mean Lonergan, in November.

It's been brought to my attention by two faithful News Tribune readers that I may have incorrectly reported the details of a brouhaha at Adam Smith's town hall meeting last week in Lakewood.

I reported that a man holding a sign depicting President Obama with a Hitler mustache was taken to the ground by bystanders, who crumpled up the sign and threw it away.

That's what I saw and a few witnesses said they saw. But two people now have called me to say it was actually the man with the Obama-Hitler sign that pushed another man to the ground -- not the other way around.

I'm trying to confirm what actually happened.

A spokesman from Adam Smith's office couldn't confirm it one way or another because he said Smith's staffers had a poor view of the scuffle, too. I scoured the Web briefly last Wednesday trying to find another account of the fight, but didn't find another news outlet that mentioned it. Today I'm starting my search anew.

I have our news partners at KIRO-TV in Seattle checking to see if they have any video feed of the incident that could clarify what happened once and for all. I'm planning to call the local police department and see what they know.

I'm wondering: was anyone there that could tell me what went down? I'm very interested if anyone has video or a picture that could help me write an accurate correction if it happened differently than I reported.

E-mail me at melissa.santos@thenewstribune.com.

Never say never. Two Washington congressmen who initially resisted holding health care town halls are appearing events tonight in the area.

6th District Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, will host a town hall at the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton from 7:30 to 9 p.m. tonight.

Meanwhile, 3rd District Rep. Brian Baird has moved tonight's town hall to a new location: Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE in Olympia. It will run from 7 to 9 p.m.

Both men took heat from constituents for initially declining to hold such events. Baird criticized what he saw as a counter-productive tone of some of the discussion. "It's a lynch mob mentality out there," Baird said. "There is an ugliness to it."

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I should check my answering machine more often. I guess I was too busy making dilly beans over the weekend.

State Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Roy, left a message to say he is withdrawing from his previously announced run for Congress against U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, and instead will run for re-election to his state House seat in the 2nd Legislative District.

Wonder what that does to JT Wilcox, who announced last week he would be running for what appeared to be Campbell's vacant seat in the state House.

Campbell sent out an e-mail news release late last night. Thanks for the heads up, Tom. Can I interest you in a quart of pickled green beans?

Rep. Tom Campbell declares intent to return to Legislature in 2010.

Roy, Washington. August 31, 2009.

Rep. Tom Campbell announced today he will run for re-election to the Washington State House of Representatives.

“I have been asked by a number of my constituents to reconsider my candidacy for Congress so that I can continue my work in the State Legislature on behalf of the 2nd Legislative District. I have listened to these voices and have decided to once again ask the voters of the Second District to elect me to represent them in the Washington State Legislature.”

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