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Saturday, September 29th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 03:03:20 pm
Columnist Peter Callaghan writes Sunday about why Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi walk and talk like candidates for governor, but say they aren't. For Monday, we plan to run an Associated Press story about the constitutional amendment on the Nov. 6 statewide ballot that would create a rainy day fund to be tapped only in emergencies. Friday, September 28th, 2007
Posted by Joe Turner @ 06:20:31 pm
Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican runner-up Dino Rossi will be able to hit up each person for a maximum of $3,000 in campaign contributions when they run for governor again next year. (I know. I know. Neither one of them has officially announced she-he is running. But they’re both out there all over the state NOT running.) The state Public Disclosure Commission on Friday started the process to revise campaign contribution limits, something the commission does every two years. Candidates for statewide office will be able to accept $1,500 per person, per election, up from the current limit of $1,400. That’s $1,500 for the August primary and another $1,500 for the November general election, so the total will be $3,000 if each one gets past the nominating primary. (And I suspect they will.) For legislators, the limit will be $800 from each individual contributor, up from $700, or a total of $1,600 for a full meal deal election through November. Contributions from state parties and legislative political caucuses to candidates also will rise, from 70 cents per registered voter in the district, to 80 cents per registered voter next year. That’s no small chunk of change. For instance, based on the 70-cent formula, the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee was able to give $34,000 to state Sen. Derek Kilmer’s campaign in 2006. Totals for party and political committee donations will be based on how many registered voters there are in each district after this November general election. So, both parties have still another reason to hope for a big turnout, or at least a healthy voter registration drive. The commission will hold a public hearing on changes to the campaign contribution limits at its Dec. 6 meeting. The new limits would take effect in January.
Posted by Hunter George @ 05:59:34 pm
In an earlier post, we reported that John Ladenburg and other Sound Transit board members were surprised when Ron Sims, the King County executive and fellow board member, announced his opposition Thursday to the Roads & Transit measure. Here's an e-mail that Joni Earl, Sound Transit's CEO, sent to Sims at 6 a.m. Thursday:
Posted by Jason Hagey @ 05:15:20 pm
Campaign organizer Katie Rose is pulling double-duty these days. In addition to her work on re-election campaigns for Tacoma city council members Julie Anderson and Spiro Manthou, Rose is working as a paid staffer for Anderson and Councilman Jake Fey. Rose figures she's averaging about 30 hours per week between the two, doing such jobs as responding to constituents and sitting in on meetings that Anderson or Fey can't make. The development raises a couple of questions. Is it time for Tacoma to elect full-time council members? Only the mayor is full-time now. Anderson and Fey both have full-time jobs in addition to their council positions. Anderson is a senior policy adviser for the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. Fey is director of the Washington State University Energy Extension Program. Or should public money be spent on staff support for council members? (Rose is quick to point out that Anderson and Fey are paying her out of their own pockets.)
Categories: Campaign news
• 2 comments
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 03:32:34 pm
U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower-court ruling that he improperly disclosed the content of cell phone conversations that had been illegally taped. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that McDermott shouldn’t have done what he did – leak the conversations of House Republican leaders to two newspapers. He leaked the calls when he was a senior member of the House ethics committee and had taken a pledge of confidentiality. All that aside, what is most remarkable is how long this case has been hanging around. The topic of the taped calls was then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and it happened while President Clinton was in his first term in office.  Jim McDermott in happier times, just after being knighted Sept. 7 by the king of Lethoso, King Letsie III.
Posted by Hunter George @ 02:59:30 pm
Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, who also serves as chairman of Sound Transit’s board of directors, says it was “a big surprise” when King County Executive Ron Sims announced his opposition Thursday to the Roads & Transit measure on the November ballot. “I didn’t know about it. Ron didn’t tell anybody that he was going to do this. He didn’t give anybody a courtesy call,” Ladenburg said today. In an op-ed Thursday in The Seattle Times, Sims said the plan that combines Sound Transit’s next phase expanded rail and bus service with the Regional Transportation Investment District’s roads plan costs too much (“the largest tax increase in state history’), doesn’t deliver enough (“doesn’t move enough people”) and will be bad for the environment (“this plan will actually boost harmful carbon emissions). Among other things, Sims says there’s no need to extend light rail from SeaTac to Tacoma because the Tacoma area is already served by commuter rail (which uses a heavier type of train than light rail). And too many of the highway projects, he says, don’t start construction until years from now. Ladenburg noted that Sims, a current Sound Transit board member and its former chairman, helped develop the plan. Ladenburg said the board members at Thursday's regularly scheduled meeting were "stunned" by the op-ed (Sims didn't attend the meeting). “He sat here and voted yes as we put this package together for three years,” Ladenburg said. “Frankly, the reasons don’t make any sense to me,” he added. “Just because we’re building light rail in Seattle 20 years late and it costs so much … that’s, to me, all the evidence we need to say let’s not make it 20 years late in Tacoma, too.” Ladenburg also disputed Sims’ environmental concerns, saying that Sounder commuter trains use diesel while the light-rail system would use electricity. “If you’re worried about carbon footprint, you’ve got to build light rail. That’s the major thing you should be doing,” he said. Asked how much Sims’ opposition will hurt the campaign, Ladenburg said: “It’s such a big deal, people will make up their minds. I don’t think what I say or Ron says will make much of a difference.”
Posted by Jason Hagey @ 12:07:17 pm
Former Tacoma City Council candidate Donald Powell is moving forward with his challenge of Ronnie Allen Warren's candidacy. You may remember that Powell, who finished third just behind Warren in August's primary, is questioning whether Warren really lives within the boundaries of the council district he seeks to represent. Follow-up story here. Powell, an attorney, has taken his case to Pierce County Superior Court. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 9. Meanwhile, Powell is trying to figure out where to serve Warren with papers. Warren lists a post office box on his election material, so Powell went to the post office for help. Because he's an attorney looking to serve someone in a court case, the post office was required to disclose the physical address it has on file associated with Warren's PO box. The address the post office provided? 6318 S. Fawcett. Outside of District 3. Any chance Warren will actually be served there?
Posted by Hunter George @ 11:46:21 am
The Washington State Republican Party is getting a lot of mileage out of Dino Rossi’s will-he-or-won’t-he-run-for-governor gig. (We didn't wait this long to find out who shot J.R.) The theme of the party’s 30th annual fall fundraising dinner is “Run Dino Run.” The event will be held Oct. 10 at the Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport. If he does officially decide to run, he’s already warming up a campaign tactic that pleases the masses: Bash the media. At a 28th District Republican Club dinner earlier this month at the Tacoma Country Club, he said the press won't fully report on Gov. Chris Gregoire's programs because it's aligned with her liberal philosophy. Here’s a full quote, according to David Postman:
Nay-sayer? That's positively euphemistic compared to what we're usually called. Wednesday, September 26th, 2007
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 04:21:36 pm
State Republicans are taking names of those who have and haven’t condemned MoveOn.org for its New York Times add attacking Gen. Petraeus as Gen. Betrayus. So far, they count four of the state’s Democratic members of Congress as voting yes (Brian Baird, Adam Smith, Norm Dicks and Rick Larsen) on resolutions critical of MoveOn and four voting no( Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, Jay Inslee and Jim McDermott). But in a press release, state GOP Chairman Luke Esser wonders why Darcy Burner hasn’t condemned the group. “Four of Washington’s Democratic congressional delegation members, Representatives Baird, Dicks, Larsen and Smith, voted to condemn MoveOn.org today but Congressional candidate Darcy Burner has remained silent,” Esser stated in the release. Certainly Burner can make a comment about the issue, Luke, but she is not allowed to vote in the U.S. House because she lost the election to your guy – GOP incumbent Dave Riechert. It was in all the papers Monday, September 24th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 02:59:16 pm
U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert has scheduled a news conference in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to talk about legislation he's co-sponsoring that's aimed at shutting down the "murderabilia" market. Les Blumenthal wrote a story on Sept. 10 about the market for items previously owned by serial killers. The bill would prohibit state or federal prisoners from placing almost any item into the mail for purposes of interstate commerce. Reichert, R-Auburn, is co-sponsoring the measure with Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind. A similar measure, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is pending in the Senate.
Categories: Congress
Posted by David Wickert @ 11:10:05 am
The recent announcement that Pierce County Council Chairman Terry Lee will drop out of the 2008 county executive’s race and run instead for assessor-treasurer left only one announced candidate for exec: Councilman Calvin Goings, D-Puyallup. But records on file with the state Public Disclosure Commission tell a different story. Though he demurs when asked whether he’s running for executive, County Councilman Shawn Bunney, R-Lake Tapps, has raised $142,555 in cash and in-kind contributions through August for the executive’s race. To see his latest campaign summary, click here. Goings has raised $96,078 through August. To see Goings' latest summary, click here. Bunney apparently raised most of that money when he was running for re-election to his council seat last year. Though he ran unopposed, Bunney raised $134,941 for his 2006 re-election campaign. By comparison, Lee raised $23,546 for his 2006 re-election campaign and Counciwoman Barbara Gelman raised $8,496. Both were unopposed. After last year’s election, Bunney asked contributors to his council campaign to allow him to shift the money to his executive campaign. The tactic apparently worked. The Campaign to Re-Elect Shawn Bunney has given $96,500 to his executive campaign. Expect an official announcement of Bunney’s candidacy soon. And don’t be surprised if County Auditor Pat McCarthy gets into the executive’s race after the election.
Categories: Pierce County, Campaign news
Friday, September 21st, 2007
Posted by Jason Hagey @ 05:35:07 pm
David Curry, executive director of the Tacoma Rescue Mission and candidate for the Tacoma City Council, went to a White House roundtable discussion this week to discuss faith-based partnerships. Curry was one about 100 people from across the country invited to join in the discussion titled “Compassion in Action: Expanding the Substance Abuse Treatment Paradigm: Faith-Based and Community Partnerships Toward Recovery Support.” It was hosted by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. “We were one of the model programs,” Curry said, referring to the rescue mission. It’s a bit ironic, considering the mission doesn’t receive “faith-based” dollars. Curry is running for the Tacoma City Council at-large Position 8, the seat being vacated by Bill Evans who is barred by term limits from running again. Marilyn Strickland, development officer for the Tacoma Public Library is the other candidate on the November ballot.
Categories: Tacoma, Campaign news
Thursday, September 20th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 10:39:14 am
Gov. Chris Gregoire today named Cindy Zehnder as her chief of staff. Zehnder is currently president and CEO of TVW, Washington’s public affairs network. “Cindy’s breadth of experience in the Executive Branch, the Legislature, labor, business and media will serve Washingtonians well,” Gregoire said in a news release. Zehnder's appointment is effective Oct. 1. She'll replace Tom Fitzsimmons, who announced his resignation earlier this week. Zehnder has previously served as chief clerk for the state House of Representatives, as deputy commissioner of the Washington Employment Security Department as well as numerous positions with the Teamsters union. She's also served on the UW Board of Regents, the William D. Ruckelshaus Center advisory board, the WSU Tri-Cities advisory committee, the Washington News Council and the United Way of Thurston County, among other things. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology, both from the University of Washington.
Categories: Governor
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Niki Sullivan covers politics. Before coming to Tacoma, she covered state government in Oregon. She is a regular contributor to the GritCity blog. Email Niki Local politics links
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