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Friday, November 30th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 12:41:17 pm
"Life is good," Dino Rossi tells The Associated Press after the Public Disclosure Commission's staff recommended dismissal of the campaign finance complaints lodged by state Democrats.
Here's the rest of the story by The AP's David Ammons:
Posted by Joe Turner @ 11:57:50 am
Not exactly. But he's close. Read Aaron Toso's bio. I-745 was Eyman's gig. Eyman was no fan of Proposition 1. The only two people who are more "anti-Eyman" are Christian Sinderman, who's working for House Speaker Frank Chopp half the time, and state Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle. Here's the governor's news release:
Categories: Governor, Campaign news
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
Posted by Joe Turner @ 07:47:47 pm
The House and Senate both passed the bill that restores the 1 percent limit to the growth of property tax collections and sent the bill to Gov. Chris Gregoire. The governor is expected to sign it into law in about 20 minutes. The House vote was 86 to 8. The Senate vote was 39-9. Both chambers also passed the tax deferral bill. The House vote was 55-39. The Senate vote was 27-21. That measure will allow homeowners with income of less than $57,000 to defer half of their property tax payments, starting next year. The governor is expected to sign that bill, too.
Categories: Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 04:49:27 pm
The House and Senate have basically swapped bills. Now, the Senate is taking up the 1 percent limit bill that was passed by the House, and the House will be debating the Senate tax deferral bill. Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to sign both bills tonight if they reach her desk, as expected. Here's how South Sound senators voted on Senate Bill 6178, which would allow households with incomes up to $57,000 to defer half of their property tax payments: YES NO EXCUSED
Posted by Joe Turner @ 02:15:51 pm
House Bill 2416 is the measure to reinstate the 1 percent tax limit on the growth of property tax collections that had been in place since 2002. Here's how South Sound representatives voted: VOTING YES VOTING NO EXCUSED
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 01:54:23 pm
The state House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a measure to restore the 1 percent limit on property tax collection increases that was thrown out three weeks ago by the Washington Supreme Court. The vote was 86 to 8, with three members excused and one vacancy. All eight of the "no" votes were from the Puget Sound area; five of them from Seattle. Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, noted that 62 percent of her constituents voted against Initiative 747 in 2001 and she saw no urgency to pass such a restrictive limit. The Senate is having problems passing its other proposal, a tax deferral for middle income property owners. It won't take up the 1 percent cap bill until later this afternoon.
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 11:13:19 am
Don’t be misled by the overwhelming number of vote in favor of restoring a 1 percent cap on property tax growth. It will happen this afternoon. Many of the “yes” votes will be pretty unhappy. In fact, word around Olympia is that Senate Democrats didn’t have enough votes to pass its own version of Initiative 747, and some of them didn’t get on board until Gov. Chris Gregoire let them add the tax deferral bill to the special session agenda. Why? Who knows, really? Maybe majority Democrats in the House and Senate didn’t want to look as if they were simply reacting to calls from Republicans, GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi and Tim Eyman to quickly reinstate the 1 percent limit. So they had to do something that was their own idea. “Restore, but do more.” That’s how the Senate Democrats portrayed the special session. Was it so urgent it that the deferral program be passed today? No. In fact, there won’t be any money to pay for it until the Legislature passes a supplemental budget next year. And it will take the counties and the state Department of Revenue time to gear up for the new applicants. The unhappy yes votes will come from lawmakers who come from city or county councils or who have sympathy for local governments. They’d like to see the locals keep the flexibility to raise property taxes higher than 1 percent. Expect the Legislature to revisit this whole issue in 2009, AFTER the November 2008 election. They must might set a cap that is pegged to the rate of inflation. And by January 2009, the housing and construction boom that has generated so much extra sales and real estate taxes for the locals will have dried up some, and they’ll be hurting. And looking for more money.
Categories: Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 10:05:54 am
The Associated Press reports: Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama is scheduled to hold a fundraising event in Seattle on Dec. 11 (at 7:30 p.m. at Showbox SoDo). Tickets are $100, according to his campaign Web site. Obama was last in Seattle on June 1 and drew 3,500 to an event at Qwest Field Events Center.
Categories: Campaign news, President
Posted by Joe Turner @ 08:07:34 am
Cheryl Kopec of Tacoma, one of our readers, asks a great question about today's special session of the Legislature, so I thought I would share it, and my answer. "If the State Supreme Court threw out the tax cap as unconstitutional, how is it that the legislature can implement it?" Cheryl asks. "Wouldn’t it just be challenged in court and thrown out again?" The short answer is "No." The Supreme Court threw out the 1 percent tax limit of set by Initiative 747 because the sponsors of the initiative basically followed the wrong process. The state constitution says if you’re going to amend an existing law, you have to lay out the text of the law you are changing. Tim Eyman and other 747 promoters laid out the text of the wrong law. It wasn’t their fault. It was just a matter of circumstances. When Eyman started collecting signatures on their I-747 petitions, the law at the time had a 2 percent limit on the annual growth of property taxes collections. That limit was set a couple years earlier when voters passed I-722, another Eyman measure. But before everyone voted on I-747, the Supreme Court struck down I-722, which restored the previous law. Under previous law, the limit was 6 percent. So, I-747 said it was changing the limit on property tax growth from 2 percent to 1 percent. But since I-722 was thrown out, what I-747 really was doing was changing the tax growth limit from 6 percent to 1 percent. Five members of the Supreme Court said voters were misled because I-747 referred to the wrong law. Four of them said it didn’t matter because voters did know they were setting the limit at 1 percent. Bottom line: The Legislature can pass a new law and set the limit at whatever they want. And, presumably, they will do it right so it will pass muster from the Supreme Court. In fact, the 6 percent limit comes from a 1986 law. The Legislature did the same thing with I-695, the Eyman measure that got rid of the state motor vehicle excise tax. A court said basically the same thing then: Eyman didn't do it the right way. Then, the Legislature turned around and passed I-695 the right way. Well, mostly right. They got a few things wrong. But that's another, much longer story. Tuesday, November 27th, 2007
Posted by Joe Turner @ 05:07:18 pm
State Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, wants to meet with constituents next week to talk about the legislative session that ended earlier this year. Meeting are set for Dec. 8. The first will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the Community Center Auditorium in Pierce County Meridian Habitat Park, 14425 Meridian E. The second will be 2-4 p.m. in the north meeting room of the Puyallup Public Library, 324 S. Meridian.
Categories: Legislature, Campaign news
Posted by Joe Turner @ 04:49:12 pm
The convention won't be held until Aug. 25-28, 2008, but Washington's delegates already have their reservations. State Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz announced last week the state delegation will be staying at the Regency Denver Tech Center, within 20 minutes of the Pepsi Center. That's one of 27 hotels that will be hosting the delegations. Some 17,000 hotel rooms will be reserved for delegates who will choose the presidential nominee, as well as their alternates, guests and reporters. The convention is expected to pump $160 million into the Denver economy and bring 35,000 visitors to the region, according the state Democrats' press release.
Categories: Campaign news, President
Saturday, November 24th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 06:30:18 am
On Sunday, Peter Callaghan looks at the impact of last week's state Supreme Court decision on the voter-approved spending limit. There were two interesting concurrences that could be a preview of controlling opinions in a future case, such as an expected challenge to this year’s Initiative 960, currently passing 51.3 percent to 48.7 percent. You can find his columns here.
Categories: Legislature
Friday, November 23rd, 2007
Posted by David Wickert @ 10:49:18 am
County Executive John Ladenburg takes exception to a recent scorecard on his claims of council wrongdoing when it suspended funding for the Prometa drug-treatment program. In a Wednesday e-mail to The News Tribune, Ladenburg says the scorecard missed a key point: that the county’s performance auditors overstepped their mandate when they conducted a preliminary investigation of Prometa’s effectiveness. The council used that report as justification for suspending funding for the program. In a response, Matt Temmel, the county’s performance audit coordinator, disagrees. Read the full text of Ladenburg’s letter and Temmel’s response below.
Categories: Pierce County
• 2 comments
Thursday, November 22nd, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 06:49:11 pm
It's not local, but I'm fascinated by the continuing story about the Yakima City councilman-elect who's wife hosted a nasty, anonymous blog that helped get her husband elected. Now the mayor and a majority of the council say they hope that Rick Ensey will resign instead of taking office in January. Here's the latest from the Yakima Herald-Republic.
Categories: Campaign news
Posted by David Wickert @ 02:42:55 pm
It wasn’t much of a surprise when Pierce County Councilwoman Barbara Gelman changed her vote on a 3.5 percent sewer rate hike during Tuesday’s five-hour council budget marathon. Initially the rate hike failed on a 4-3 vote. But after a recess of nearly two hours, Gelman moved to reconsider the measure and – with her vote – it passed 4-3. The three other council members who supported the rate increase – Tim Farrell, Terry Lee and Dick Muri – were looking for a fourth vote, and Gelman was a logical target. Two other council members – Shawn Bunney and Calvin Goings – are running against each other for county executive next year. A “yes” vote by either would have been ammunition for his opponent. Councilman Roger Bush faces a re-election challenge from Democrat Bruce Lachney. Gelman may run for assessor-treasurer against Lee next year. But with Lee supporting the rate hike, Gelman had little to lose by changing her vote. With all seven members of the County Council running for various offices next year, look for political considerations to play a role in future votes.
Categories: Pierce County
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
Posted by Jason Hagey @ 04:51:22 pm
Karen Larkin, an assistant Tacoma public works director, will retire Jan. 1 after 30 years with the city, according to a news release. She's moving on to the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development as assistant director for local government. Larkin is the third high-level public works official to leave or announce plans to leave in the last few months. Bill Pugh, the department's director and assistant city manager, announced in September that he plans to leave sometime next year. Craig Sivley, an assistant public work director, was ousted in September after some embarrassing mistakes regarding the city's controversial plans to fund downtown improvements with a Local Improvement District. Larkin has played a key role in some high-profile efforts, including the planned Urban Waters laboratory along the Thea Foss Waterway, and the city's troubled computer system conversion. CTED is led by Juli Wilkerson, the former director of Tacoma's economic development department. Councilwoman Julie Anderson works for the department as a senior policy adviser.
Categories: Tacoma
Posted by David Wickert @ 10:08:34 am
Tucked amid dozens of County Council budget amendments was this gem restricting the auditor’s voter education efforts for instant-runoff voting (or “rank choice voting” – RCV): “Provided, the RCV Voter Education Program plan implementation shall use no name, image or likeness of any Pierce County official, shall not utilize paid radio or TV advertising and shall focus its efforts solely on print and written means of communication to educate Pierce County voter on Rank Choice Voting.” There’s a lot going on here, but what jumps out is the prohibition on the use of the name and image of public officials in the education campaign. It’s squarely aimed at Auditor Pat McCarthy, a likely opponent to Councilmen Shawn Bunney and Calvin Goings in next year’s county executive race.
Posted by David Wickert @ 09:52:59 am
County Executive John Ladenburg’s last-ditch effort to save funding for the Prometa drug-treatment program did not sway the County Council. Instead of setting aside $400,000 for Prometa in the 2008 budget, the council Tuesday designated the money for “decreasing the Pierce County jail population or evidence-based programs that are directed towards breaking the cycle of drug addiction.” The council also set aside the $175,000 in unspent 2007 Prometa funding for the same purpose, bringing the total to $575,000. The council took no action on Ladenburg’s proposal to spend the money on Prometa. Councilman Shawn Bunney, R-Lake Tapps, said the council will ask the Performance Audit Committee to devise performance measures that will be applied to programs like Prometa, with the ultimate goal of reducing the jail population. “We need to do a much better job of measuring and holding people accountable for outcomes,” Bunney said. The council last month suspended 2007 funding for Prometa – used to treat addicts in county drug court – after a performance auditors report found little evidence the program is effective. The executive’s plan would have prohibited managers and board members of the nonprofit Pierce County Alliance – which administers Prometa for the county – from owning stock in Hythiam Inc., the company that licenses the treatment. The plan also would have removed language from the alliance’s contract with Hythiam that required it to market Prometa.
Categories: Pierce County
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 09:40:05 am
The Spokesman-Review reports today that Spokane was chosen to host the vice-presidential debate next year but lost the bid when Washington State University decided not to be the sponsor. Apparently WSU and Spokane were too cool to take a debate of second-bananas and were holding out for one of the three presidential debates. The vice presidential candidates will now debate at Washington University. That's the one in St. Louis.
Categories: Campaign news, President
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 09:15:16 am
Independent candidate for Pierce County Executive Mike Lonergan has this reaction to word that rival Calvin Goings has already begun blanketing public rights of way with campaign signs:
The election is just over a year away but Goings apparently feels that year-around yard signs are key to his victory. That creates pressure on the other candidates to follow suit, something Lonergan wanted to put an end to. How about Shawn Bunney and Pat McCarthy, both considered candidates for the county's top office? Your No-Sign-Until-It's-Time pledges will be featured prominently here just as soon as you send them in.
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 04:10:15 pm
David Ammons of The Associated Press interviewed Gov. Chris Gregoire today about her decision to call a one-day special session next week.
This is one of those situations where the governor can't please anybody. From the right, Dino Rossi and Tim Eyman are criticizing how long it took for her to call a session. The state Republican Party accuses her of flip-flopping on the issue. From the left, Democratic partisans are plenty angry. The Northwest Progress Institute blog calls her decision "stupid, idiotic and cowardly." David Goldstein calls it "ill-conceived and irresponsible."
Posted by Hunter George @ 10:40:50 am
As promised last week, Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg is making a final pitch to keep funding for the Prometa drug-treatment program in the 2008 budget. The council is set to adopt the budget later today. Today, Ladenburg sent a proposal to the council that he says addresses the council's concerns about the program. "The issues are effectively resolved by this proposal and I urge you to adopt it today along with the full appropriation for this important program," he said in a letter accompanying the proposal. Here is the proposal:
Check back here for an update later today.
Categories: Pierce County
• 1 comment
Monday, November 19th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 05:09:25 pm
As we reported on Friday (with the help of The Olympian's Brad Shannon), it's looking more and more likely that the Legislature will convene a special session next week to reinstate the property tax limit recently struck down by the Washington Supreme Court. The AP's Rachel La Corte talked to House Speaker Frank Chopp about it today. From her report:
And in case you missed it, Peter Callaghan's Sunday column explained what's going on.
Categories: Governor, Legislature
Posted by Hunter George @ 05:00:34 pm
Dino Rossi's campaign apologized today for a misleading fundraising report. The campaign had implied that Rossi raised more than $570,000 in the nine days after kicking off his 2008 campaign for governor last month. In reality, Rossi had been collecting campaign donations for nearly two weeks before he formally announced his second run against Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire. It's an impressive start, but not as impressive as the campaign was happy to let everyone believe. The problems with Rossi’s Nov. 8 fundraising statement were first raised today by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
The AP pursued that today.
Categories: Governor, Campaign news
Posted by David Wickert @ 11:23:45 am
Earlier this month Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg leveled a series of charges against the County Council, saying certain members were playing politics with Prometa (read his full comments here). Here’s a scorecard on the executive’s claims. His complaints about the council’s failure to give public notice about its decision to suspend Prometa funding are on target. But his most inflammatory accusation is demonstrably false.
Categories: Pierce County
• 1 comment
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 09:35:31 am
The courts have ruled that government cannot regulate the placement of campaign signs in public rights of way. That means the only restraint on the use of yard signs is the judgment of the candidates themselves. But what if they show bad judgment and no restraint? What if they decide to put them up not months before the election but a full year? Then they start a competition among other candidates to do the same and test the patience of voters who aren't thrilled by what many call litter on a stick. So what is Calvin Goings thinking when he puts signs up in the rights of way 11 1/2 months before the next election? I saw them on Schuster Parkway, Union Avenue and N. 21st Street under the power lines. Do we really have to put up with year-round yard signs? Before Goings' rivals for Pierce County Executive get an idea to match Goings sign-for-sign, Goings needs to show some restraint and show some respect for voters and neighbors and take down his signs until summer at least. Saturday, November 17th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 06:00:00 am
Our DC reporter, Les Blumenthal, interviewed U.S. Reps. Adam Smith and Norm Dicks about the situation in Iraq. Smith made his third trip to Iraq last week. Both say that Congress needs to keep the pressure on President Bush to change his Iraq policy. They warn that the administration’s single-minded attention on Iraq is allowing an al-Qaeda resurgence in such places as Afghanistan and Pakistan. “There is no question in terms of achieving greater stability in Iraq, progress is being made,” Smith said. “But we cannot afford to keep spending $200 billion a year and keep 100,000 troops there indefinitely.” Smith was also critical of Democratic activists who he says should be focused on winning the White House and defeating Republicans, rather than blaming congressional Democrats for failing to end the war. “People who want to end the war in Iraq have the temerity to attack those who voted to end the war in Iraq,” Smith said. “If we are going to ratchet up the pressure on Republicans and the White House, it doesn’t help if the base of our party brutally attacks Democrats.” Read more on our home page on Monday. Friday, November 16th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 05:44:15 pm
Aides to Gov. Chris Gregoire say she hasn't ruled out calling a brief special session for later this month. The pressure is building to call a session to re-enact the state's 1 percent limit on property tax increases. The state Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved limit last week. Our sister paper, The Olympian, has published a brief story on the issue. We plan to publish that paper's full story on Saturday. And Peter Callaghan explores the topic in his Sunday column. He writes:
Categories: Governor, Legislature
Thursday, November 15th, 2007
Posted by John Henrikson @ 05:56:21 pm
This just in from reporter Kris Sherman: A statewide measure making it easier to pass school levies gained today, moving nearly 15,000 votes ahead. Supporters of the simple majority amendment to the state Constitution declared victory Wednesday, eight days after the Nov. 6 election. Tonight, the lead was about 11,200 votes. Thursday evening, the statewide count for EHJR 4204 showed a 14,896-vote lead, 50.47 percent yes and 49.52 percent no. The measure would lower the bar for passing school levies from a 60-percent supermajority to the 50-percent-plus-one simple majority. It would not apply to school bond issues. Mail-in votes couted this week from King County, where the measure received a 59-percent favorable vote, sealed the win. Voters in Pierce County rejected the measure, with about 52 percent voting no, according to totals released Thursday. It was ahead in Thurston County.
Categories: Voting
Posted by Hunter George @ 04:53:59 pm
As reported on our home page, the Pierce County Council has prevailed in its bid to suspend funding for the Prometa drug-treatment program. Ladenburg had been considering a veto of the budget ordinance the council passed last month that included the Prometa proviso. But he decided today to sign the measure, though he's not giving up on restoring full funding for next year. Ladenburg said he will present a compromise proposal to the council by Monday that aims to address some concerns about the program. Here's the letter:
As reported today, the council held a hearing yesterday. The discussion didn't appear to change any minds.
Categories: Pierce County
Posted by Hunter George @ 01:29:23 pm
Have you been following the tale of the sleazy city council campaign in Yakima? Challenger Rick Ensey defeated Councilman Ron Bonlender last week. Throughout the campaign, an anonymous blogger repeatedly criticized Bonlender and Democrats on the Internet site InsideYakima.com. The blogger also referred to “rumors” that Bonlender had been arrested several times for investigation of drunken driving and that the arrest reports had been covered up by the police, city manager and local newspaper. The newspaper could find no such evidence. After the election, Ensey admitted that the blogger was his wife Diane. On Wednesday, Bonlender sued Diane Ensey for defamation. Read the Yakima Herald-Republic's full story here.
Categories: Campaign news
Posted by David Wickert @ 09:54:06 am
Democratic Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg is considering a run for state attorney general in 2008, county communications director Ron Klein confirmed this morning. But Klein says Ladenburg, who's out of town, has not made a decision and probably won't until the end of the year. Incumbent Attorney General Rob McKenna, a Republican, launched his own re-election campaign Wednesday. Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
Posted by Hunter George @ 05:29:55 pm
There's been a lot of speculation in Pierce County political circles over the past year about the next career move for county Executive John Ladenburg. He's prohibited by term limits from seeking a third term next year. The latest theory is that Ladenburg, a Democrat and former Pierce County prosecutor, will challenge Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna. We've been asking around and checking with Public Disclosure Commission filings, but nothing confirmed so far. Still, Ladenburg's name came up today in an Associated Press report on McKenna's campaign kickoff this morning in Bellevue.
Posted by Hunter George @ 10:45:16 am
The Olympian's political editor, Brad Shannon, reports that backers of the school levy measure on the Nov. 6 ballot expect to declare victory today.
Read more on Shannon's Notes from the Campaign Trail blog. UPDATE: Backers did indeed declare victory today. Here's an updated story on our home page.
Categories: Voting, Campaign news
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
Posted by John Henrikson @ 05:55:38 pm
Another day of counting has provided a surge of votes for EHJR 4204, better known as the simple majority measure. It's now passing by more than 7,000 votes. As of 5 p.m. the state had the measure ahead 755,061 to 747,863. Since election night, when it was failing by more than 55,000, the measure has gained ground. That's because the biggest bottleneck of outstanding votes is coming from King County, where the measure is easily passing. According to the state election Web site, King still has 32,000 ballots to plow through. But this isn't over: other counties have 40,600 left to count, many of those smaller counties where the measure is far behind. The constitutional amendment was championed by the school lobby and teacher unions, who wanted to do away with the required 60 percent supermajority to pass local education levies.
Categories: Voting
• 3 comments
Posted by Hunter George @ 12:35:30 pm
Shawn Bunney is making his 2008 bid for Pierce County executive official. The Republican county councilman from Lake Tapps has scheduled a campaign kickoff luncheon on Dec. 5 at noon at the Landmark Convention Center, 47 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma. To RSVP, call 253-446-9798 or send an e-mail to andreainnes@msn.com. The deadline is Nov. 28. Bunney says in the invitation that he'll be joined by Attorney General Rob McKenna, Secretary of State Sam Reed, Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland and former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton. Two-term Executive John Ladenburg is prohibited from running again due to term limits. Tacoma City Councilman Mike Lonergan announced his bid for the seat last Tuesday, running as an independent. County Councilman Calvin Goings, D-Puyallup, has been running for months. County Auditor Pat McCarthy, a Democrat, has said she'll announce a decision soon.
Categories: Pierce County, Campaign news
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 12:01:00 pm
Secretary of State Sam Reed unveiled the list of candidates who will appear on the state's presidential primary ballot Feb. 19. Unlike other states – and unlike other Washington state elections – candidates don't file to be on the ballot. Instead, the secretary of state decides which candidates have been "generally advocated" or "recognized by national media." Here's the list: Republicans – Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo and Fred Thompson. Alan Keyes? He's not a declared candidate that we can tell, although there is a draft Keyes movement. His last campaign was in 2004 when he lost the Illinois U.S. Senate race to Barack Obama. State Democrats will ignore the primary results, instead using precinct caucuses to begin a long delegate distribution process. Republicans will use both, with half of their delegates chosen by the primary results and half by the caucuses. Not on the ballot? State law allows candidates to petition Reed by Dec. 21. To qualify, they must submit the signatures of 1,000 registered voters. Monday, November 12th, 2007
Posted by John Henrikson @ 09:28:07 am
Straggler mail ballots may put House Joint Resolution 4204 over the top. On election night, the so-called simple majority looked to have been defeated. When we went home, it was behind by more than 55,000 votes - a 53 percent-47 percent margin. But the measure has gained ground as more ballots are counted from big counties, notably from King and Snohomish, where the measure is passing. As of this morning, the measure was failing by only 2,620 votes. If this holds up, the measure will pass. As my colleague Peter Callaghan points out, this case is a reminder that in the future, we'll need to look closely at how major counties are voting before calling results on election night. The measure would eliminate the 60 percent supermajority requirement for local school levies, allowing them to pass with a 50 percent majority. Check here for updated results.
Categories: Voting
• 6 comments
Friday, November 9th, 2007
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 03:46:12 pm
This statement just moved out of Gov. Chris Gregoire's press office in Olympia.
That's a change from Thursday when she said she supported some level of cap but wanted to discuss it with legislative leaders.
Categories: Campaign news
• 12 comments
Posted by David Wickert @ 08:57:45 am
Pierce County performance auditor coordinator Matt Temmel takes exception to accusations his work on Prometa has been tainted by politics. County Executive John Ladenburg has accused some on the County Council of ordering auditors to produce a negative report to justify the Oct. 23 suspension of Prometa funding. He also says the report was kept secret until the last minute and the council provided inadequate notice of its vote to suspend funding. Several council members have dismissed those complaints. Here’s what Temmel had to say in an e-mail:
Categories: Campaign news
Posted by David Wickert @ 08:00:56 am
Want to know why some Pierce County Council members have been long-time skeptics of Prometa? Check out this February article from MSNBC.com. The article reports concerns in the medical community that Prometa – used to treat addicts in Pierce County drug court – is more hype than help. Says one doctor: “The marketing is way ahead of the science. It preys on the needs of desperate patients, sets unreasonable hopes and expectations and takes advantage of scarce economic resources.” The article examines Pierce County’s role in testing and promoting the treatment.
Categories: Pierce County
Thursday, November 8th, 2007
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 04:13:13 pm
If Dino Rossi has a goal to raise and spend $16 million to defeat Gov. Chris Gregoire next year, it is breaking news to Rossi himself. Gregoire told Washington, D.C.-based reporters today that she was shocked to hear that her likely Republican rival would spend that much. Gregoire, who raised roughly $6 million in 2004, says she probably couldn’t raise $16 million, in part because of state regulations that keep her from fundraising for four months starting in December. “It’s mind boggling to me,” she said. “To suggest we go to $16 million is beyond my comprehension.” But Rossi spokeswoman Jill Strait said the campaign doesn't know where Gregoire got her numbers. "I have no clue where Gregoire came up with the idea that we have a fundraising goal of $16 million. It is simply not true. I find it comical that Gregoire is getting worked up over a number that she herself made up."
Posted by Joe Turner @ 04:08:37 pm
Initiative 960 is still passing by a 52-48 margin with nearly 1 million ballots counted. In Pierce County, it's passing by a greater margin. It has 55.6 percent of the vote. That's the Tim Eyman measure to require a two-thirds vote by the Legislature to increase taxes. The Roads and Transit measure, Proposition 1, is failing by a 44-56 margin. There actually are two measures in Proposition 1, the $7 billion roads component put forth by the Regional Transportation Investment District in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties and the $10.8 billion light rail and transit package offered up by Sound Transit. Although both measures appear on the ballot in most of all three counties, the boundaries are somewhat different. The main difference is in Snohmish County. Parts of that county are outside the boundaries of Sound Transit, but inside the boundaries of RTID. So the vote totals are higher for the RTID measure. The vote for Sound Transit's phase II is 152,436 for and 193,194 against. That's for all three counties. The vote for RTID's highway and road package is 161,524 for and 207,811 against. There were more votes against the roads package than the rail package, both in raw numbers and in terms of percentages. The counties are still counting.
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 02:49:54 pm
Pierce County Councilman Dick Muri is a bit puzzled by conclusions that this is the last election for the polling place. A column I wrote last Sunday suggested that Pierce would join the rest of the state in going to all-mail elections by next year. But while all other counties have formally made such a decision, Pierce County has not. And Muri said he doesn't think there is support for such a move. "Unless something dramatic happens I don't see the votes on the council to close the polls," Muri said. State law requires agreement between the auditor and the council to shift to all-mail balloting. And McCarthy thinks the complexity of a ballot that would implement Instant Runoff Voting for county offices would require a single voting system – mail. But Muri said he thinks it would be possible to run such an election with both mail and polling places. He doubts that the county would save much money closing the polls since it has already purchased precinct voting equipment. And while just 25 percent of the electorate remain poll voters, they are a passionate bunch who want to keep it that way, Muri said. A council majority will block any changes, he said. "We have our finger in the dam."
Categories: Pierce County, Voting
Posted by Joe Turner @ 12:42:20 pm
Even though cities, counties and other local taxing districts could raise their property tax collections to 6 percent next year, Gov. Chris Gregoire is asking them not to do so. The Supreme Court earlier today threw out Initiative 747, which had put a 1 percent limit on the growth of local government property tax revenues from year to year. “I know that voters must be disappointed by the court decision to overturn I-747," Gregoire said today in a news release. "As we know, voters approved I-747 by a wide margin in 2001." Yes, they did. It was 58 percent in favor and 42 percent against. You'll notice the governor didn't say she wants the limit restored to 1 percent. She continues to be coy about how much of a limit she wants. Before this year's legislative session, the governor said she favored a limit somewhere between 1 percent and 6 percent, but never said how much. And House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, wouldn't let his majority Democrats vote on a Republican proposal to put the 1 percent limit in law before the Supreme Court even ruled on it. Chopp said the Legislature didn't need to do anything because he was convinced the Supremes would uphold Tim Eyman's 2001 ballot measure. He wouldn't let any alternatives be voted on either. When the governor says "a" property tax cap, she doesn't mean 1 percent. Look for the governor and Legislature to come up with a cap that's pegged to inflation, maybe the Implicit Price Deflator or the Consumer Price Index. Incidentally, Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma told me this morning he sees no reason for Tacoma to ask for more than a 1 percent increase for 2008. Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg told reporter David Wickert he won't ask the council for a higher increase. And Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow told reporter Mike Archbold the same thing.
Categories: Campaign news
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