I was out Friday, so I'm catching up with my e-mail. This arrived Friday.

Sen. Swecker recovering and ‘feeling great’ after open-heart surgery

OLYMPIA…State Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, is recovering and “feeling great” after undergoing open-heart surgery yesterday morning at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia.

“I’m doing just great. I feel really good. It’s almost scary how good I feel,” said Sen. Swecker late this morning. He said he felt miserable yesterday afternoon after waking up from surgery, but he felt better last evening. He added that he slept well overnight.

=> Read more!

After multiple roll call votes, the Washington State Republican Convention is officially adjourned.

See you all Monday.

In case you didn't see this.

I've e-mailed David McDonald, a Seattle lawyer and member of the committee, to get his thoughts.

Update: Just got an e-mail from McDonald. I had asked him if the decision was what he expected. "On the main. The details differ a bit."

Right now at the state Republican convention, they're counting how many delegates are left on the floor. The magic number is 676. Any fewer than that and there's not a quorum, which means adjournment is imminent.

After the platform was adopted, which was about an hour ago, people started filtering out. Then it came time to discuss resolutions, a thick packet of proposed add-ons.

A couple people asked for an early adjournment, but nobody bit. Instead, they just kept leaving.

Which brings us to now: All remaining delegates are seated on the floor while organizers count the remaining delegates. People are a bit antsy: The scheduled end is 5 p.m., and it looks like, if a quorum isn't here, they won't have time to persuade enough people to return.

There are five sections of the platform that weren't passed. That means the delegates are debating them and considering amendments now.

They just narrowly passed an amendment to add "we reserve the individual right, granted by the Second Amendment, to keep and bear arms" to the first section of the platform. The standing vote had to be counted twice.

Then they passed another amendment to change "granted" to "recognized."

At the state convention, Republicans are now adopting the platform, section by section. As with any good participatory democracy session, there's been a bit of confusion.

After each platform section is read, someone makes a motion to "set aside" the section. That means it will be debated later, not thrown out. Here's where it gets a little confusing: They vote against setting most (8 of the 13) sections aside. That means the section is automatically adopted.

Make sense?

Several audience members have alleged that a group of men -- wearing red hats, carrying No signs and walkie talkies -- are organizing the effort. By encouraging setting aside each amendment, then voting it down, they quickly adopt the platform without discussion.

"It's simply a ploy. They are not allowing any discussion on anything," one audience member said. He alleged that Kirby Wilbur was implicit in the ploy by telling the audience that they'd debate the sections.

"Who are my people, sir? My people are all of you." Wilbur replied. With radio personality flourish, he refuted the man's claims that he was in on something. He then offered to allow the man respond. By that time, he'd left.

A few in the crowd laughed, then started chanting Kirby's name.

They just finished debating whether people at the convention should be able to hold up "YES" and "NO" signs. There are more of these signs around the room today than I noticed yesterday.

The signs are used by organizers in advance of and during a vote. On one hand: Things are moving fast and sometimes parliamentary procedure gets confusing. "We're voting on whether to not set aside the ... " On the other: Some feel the signs are a way to quash dissent. Or at least tell people what they should be thinking.

They ultimately voted that it was OK to hold the signs.

With that out of the way, here's a photo from Rossi's speech yesterday:

Right now, Kirby Wilbur is reading the preamble to the state platform, written by a committee of one representative from each county plus the chair.

After this, they'll move on to adopting individual sections – which is where it might get interesting.

But the preamble has already been adopted. As Wilbur reads it, members of the crowd are clapping, letting out cheers or shouts of approval.

Here's a bit of it:

We believe that active participation by citizens is absolutely necessary to protect and preserve conservative values which include: preserving free society, free markets, free trade, the sanctity of human life, limited government, low taxes, a minimal bureaucracy, a strong national defense, private property rights, and the concept that government should do for individuals only those things they cannot do for themselves.

Washington State REpublicans believe that good government is based on respect for, and trust in, the ability of individuals to chart the course of their own lives. We believe that respect for each person's ability, dignity, and liberty is the foundation for a free and prosperous civic body politic. Good citizenship begins with protected rights and ends with accompanying responsibilities.

=> Read more!

Here's the list of delegates and alternates just adopted at the state Republican convention. (H) denotes Huckabee supporters, (M) is for McCain.

At-large delegates: Ruth Gibbs (H), Phil Bevis (H), Diane Tebelius (H), Chris Fidler (M), Ralph Munro (M), Slade Gorton (M), Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (M), Kirby Wilbur (M), John Carlson (M), Tony Benegas (M).

At-large alternates: Hossein Khorram (H), Patrick McBurney, Jr. (H), Nathan Johnson (H), Pedro Celis (M), Rose Strong (M), Ken Sletten (M), Kathy McDonald (M), Marianna Parks (M), Joe Mentor, Jr. (M), Conrad Lee (M).

Electors: Jerry Miller, Mark Hulst, Nansen Malin, Matt Manweller, Jon Wyss, Ed Mitchell, Glenn Avery, Robert McCallum, Leonard Englund, Mike McKay, Frankie DeWitt.

At the state Republican convention, they just voted in a "unity" slate of delegates and presidential electors by two-thirds vote.

What does that mean: Ron Paul supporters joined with the rest of the party to finalize the selection of delegates to the national convention.

After the vote, the convention gave itself – and, specifically, Ron Paul supporters – a standing ovation.

Kirby Wilbur, who's presiding over the convention, told the crowd that it's "vital that we understand that we're united ... Let's keep that spirit."

Here's the schedule for the state Republican convention today:

8 a.m. Doors open
9 a.m. Invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, Report of Congressional District Caucus Balloting
9:45 a.m. Election of at-large national delegates and alternates, election of presidential electors, platform committee report on platform.
Noon Recess
1 p.m. Consideration of platform continued
4 p.m. Platform committee report on resolutions, consideration of resolutions receiving a "do pass" recommendation" from platform committee, considerations of resolutions timely filed not receiving a "do pass" recommendation from platform committee.
5 p.m. Adjournment sine die.

Just a reminder: The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee is on C-SPAN right now. They're spending the day hearing arguments on whether Florida and Michigan's delegates should be seated at the national convention.

David McDonald, a Seattle lawyer who's a member of the committee, told me earlier this week he's not sure they'll make a decision today. Stay tuned.

After about a one-hour discussion, the Pierce Transit board has decided to chat it up with an unidentified developer about being part of a renovation of the old Elks Lodge at 565 Broadway.

But if this was a first date, it would be coffee not dinner.

After hearing from Pierce County Councilmember Tim Farrell and from Jim Dugan, who represents the potential buyer of the 1916 lodge building, the board agreed to write a letter expressing interest in leasing the bottom floor of the building as part of a new downtown transit center.

The buses wouldn't be in the Elks, only waiting and ticketing areas. Passengers would pass through a tunnel beneath the Spanish Stairs to reach a new complex built by the same developer. It could be a multi-story, mixed use building with bus loading and waiting on the Commerce Street level with other uses – retail and housing perhaps - above.

Dugan, who also serves on the Tacoma School Board, said the developer is studying the project and has a week to commit to a purchase. He said the developer has already spoken to someone interesting in putting a large restaurant on the top floor and to an archictural firm that wants 8,000 square feet of space - about one floor in the Elks Lodge. Pierce Transit would take the bottom floor.

"We haven't found any major deal-killers yet," Dugan said, but added, "there are a million miles to go."

In addition, the developer would build a parking garage on the other side of the Elks Lodge for both buildings.

But board chairman John Ladenburg stressed that whatever letter the board sends will not be a letter of intent to do business with the developer. Instead it means that the board is willing to continue talks.

The new transit center would replace the existing center at 10th and Commerce. Up until now, howver, the agency had no plans to relocate the center - even though there have been security and maintenance problems at the 20-year old hub that is beneath the Theater on the Square Park.

Pierce Transit chief executive officer Lynne Griffith said the options for the agency are to renovate the center, relocate it or eliminate it.

"It has reached its useful life," she said.

Dugan said he was not authorized to identify the developer. But sources familiar with the deal say it is the same interests who are building a major condo project downtown called the 505 Broadway, just up the street from the Elks Lodge.

We just received an e-mail from Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi's campaign announcing a June 7 fundraiser headlined by Mitt Romney.

The event is at the Sorrento Hotel in Seattle at 11 a.m. VIP roundtables are $1,000. Lunch is $250 a plate.

The e-mail described it as a "fundraiser event on Saturday, June 7, where you can see and meet Dino as well as former Massachusetts Governor and Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney."

I did not see any Romney signs today, but maybe I missed something!

Here's a snapshot of some Democratic staffers today in Spokane. One is wearing a dog suit with a Dino Rossi T-shirt. The other is wearing a suit. He represents the BIAW. Get it?

They rented a Prius to get to Spokane.

The party has been particularly critical of Rossi's connection to the BIAW. Yesterday, they sent out a press release saying that, "during his career in Olympia, Rossi rewarded the BIAW by voting with the group an astonishing 99 percent of the time."

The dog and his owner stood outside the convention center for a couple hours this morning, then tried to enter the convention. I hear they were kicked out. (I'm pretty sure everyone there is registered, so they couldn't have entered even without the costumes.)

OK, I'm not actually at the convention right now. I'm in my hotel room. The press aren't welcome at the Congressional District caucuses, where the national delegates will be selected. Those started this afternoon.

The convention center this morning was pretty packed. Delegates are up front, separated by county. Many of them have John McCain signs, but about a quarter of sign-holders seem to be with Ron Paul. A few others have signs that say "yes" or "no" to hold up when they're voting.

The press are on risers off to the side of the action. We have big badges and buttons to make it clear we're not delegates. There's a walkway through the middle of the floor that we have been instructed to stay inside: Going on the floor or interviewing anyone in the convention is strictly prohibited. To help ensure that, there are escorts to take us to the bathroom or out to the hallway (where we are allowed to talk to people or walk by ourselves).

I guess I wasn't clear on the rules, because earlier today I was reprimanded for going to the bathroom by myself.

(Side note: Bryan Bissell, blogger for PolitickerWa.com, wasn't allowed to be on the press risers. He's blogging from the hallway.)

Sitting in a hotel room, I can't talk to the Pierce County delegation. I want to know what their experience has been like and what their views on the convention are -- but (unless someone can please provide me a few cell phone numbers) all you'll read about in the paper are what the candidates had to say.

Update: I talked to state party spokesman Patrick Bell a few minutes ago. He told me that security is high because there have been some threats and concerns. I'll meet up with some Pierce County delegates later tonight.

Right now, they're presenting the credentials report. That basically means they're listing off how many delegates each county has and whether alternates will be seated.

But earlier, when Dave Reichert was speaking, there was a tense few moments. To preface it: There's a healthy group of Ron Paul supporters -- delegates, alternates and observers -- here today.

"As I said, there's many thoughts and ideas out there today, but first and foremost, can everyone just agree on this today, that we are proud Americans. Let's start this conference with that premise," Reichert said, to claps.

He continued, "Today, we support John McCain as our nominee." The crowd cheered. Then some of the crowd booed.

He said, louder, "Today, we support John McCain as our nominee!" The crowd cheered louder. Then some of the crowed booed louder and started chanting Ron Paul's name.

Reichert, trying to get the crowd under control, then shouted into the microphone, pointing: "Today, we support John McCain as our nominee."

Lively crowd.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi spoke a few minutes ago to the state Republican convention.

He gave a slightly altered version of his stump speech, as have all the candidates who have spoken so far.

Here are some snippets:

On fiscal responsibility: "I've got two words for Olympia: Control spending."
He criticized the governor for her spending habits, saying she'll leave behind a $2.5 billion deficit for the next governor.

On transportation: "We are stepping on our own economic hose."

On state government: "We've got the same people down there smoking each other's exhaust for a very long time." He said his goal is to change the culture of state government for a generation.

On the race: "Today, we're in a statistical dead heat. When you're an incumbent and you're in a dead heat with someone who doesn't have name I.D., you got problems."

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers just spoke briefly. The high point of her speech was her "Top 10 reasons it's good to be a Republican in 2008." Here you are:

10. We believe federal judges should follow the rule of law, not the latest episode of "Law and Order."
9. We remember the old adage about change - Be careful what you wish for.
8. Republicans are improving our communication skills - we're stoppping speaking in terms like (insert $10 words here).
7. Compared to Democrats, we finally look like fiscal conservatives.
6. We don't have to worry what our presidential candidate is doing at 3 a.m.
5. We recognize the obvious: Hydropower is a renewable resource.
4. We're not asking what our country, what our government can do for us, but what we can do for our country.
3. We believe Al Gore deserves an 'F' in science and an 'A' in creative writing.
2. Dino Rossi and one vote for every voter.
1. We are the only group that Christine Gregoire can't unionize.

Right now, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert is up. He repeated a joke I first heard him tell at the Pierce County Republicans' Lincoln Day breakfast earlier this year. It involves an airplane that's going to crash, one fewer parachute than passengers and, ultimately, Hillary Clinton dying.

I just got settled in at the Washington State Republican Convention in sunny Spokane. I'll post a photo as soon as I can.

People are still settling in, but we're supposed to get started soon. The schedule includes all the usual trappings - invocation, pledge of allegiance, national anthem - and then short speeches from Doc Hastings, Dave Reichert, Dino Rossi, Rob McKenna, Sam Reed, Doug Sutherland, Sen. Mike Hewitt and Rep. Richard DeBolt.

I'll be posting. Stay tuned.

The Pierce Transit board will discuss an idea today to lease part of the downtown Elks Lodge for a new transit center.

Pierce County Councilman Tim Farrell said he has discussed the idea with a so-far-unidentified developer who has an option to purchase the old lodge building at 7th and Commerce. The developer would be willing to lease the Commerce Street level to the transit agency for a terminal. The rest of the building would be developed for other uses.

Then, Pierce Transit would build a new bus loading and turnaround facility in the parking lots next to the Spanish Stairs. The center would be linked with a new terminal, perhaps with a tunnel beneath the Spanish Stairs. It would be part of a mixed-use development, perhaps with Lorig and Associates which owns part of the parking lot.

If the idea is adopted, Pierce Transit would try to sell the existing transit center at 10th and Commerce. The park on the roof would not be changed by any sale.

Farrell, known as an advocate for historic preservation, said the idea began when he concluded that the existing transit center was a problem. He said he thinks it is too hard to patrol, forces riders to wait outside for buses and won't work for longer, articulated buses the agency may use if ridership increases.

Farrell said the board, of which he is a member, will discuss the idea today at a special meeting at Pierce Transit headquarters at 96th and South Tacoma Way at 2:30 p.m. If the board decides to pursue the proposal, it will likely spend the next year looking at the numbers, Farrell said.

Remember that Pierce County Council resolution in favor of naming the new Narrows Bridge for the late Sen. Bob Oke? It’s going nowhere.

Council Chairman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor, introduced the resolution in March. Since then, he’s gotten an earful from constituents who oppose the idea.

“The fact is, citizens read your paper,” Lee said recently. “The citizens I represent were not in favor of it.’

Lee’s resolution would ask the Washington State Transportation Commission to name the new bridge in honor of Oke, a big supporter of the bridge and the tolls that will pay for it. That stand made Oke unpopular with opponents of the bridge, including many of Lee’s constituents.

Lee’s resolution never came up for a vote and likely won’t. “It’s probably just going to die,” he said.

A similar attempt to honor Oke died in the state Senate this year.

Remember, Aaron Toso, the former press secretary (which means he is a deputy communications director), is now with Gov. Chris Gregoire's campaign (instead of her office). So, I'm assuming Laura Lockard replaces him.

OLYMPIA - Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced the appointments of Laura Lockard and Karina Shagren as deputy communications directors.

=> Read more!

Kim Abel is running for the seat that will be left vacant by Rep. Pat Lantz, D-Raft Island, who is not seeking reelection.

Please come down and enjoy an evening of great politics and good people. Kim Abel's campaign kick off will be held at Port Orchard's local establishment Moondog's from 5:30 to 7:30 Thursday June 5th. This is a great chance to meet the candidate and to hear why you want Kim Abel to represent you in Olympia. Kim Abel is a democrat running for the open house seat in the 26th LD.
Please RSVP to kimabelevents@gmail.com.

=> Read more!

Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen, D-Eatonville, always has a close campaign because the 2nd District tends to run conservative. Keep in mind, both of her seatmates are Republicans--Reps. Tom Campbell of Roy and Jim McCune of Graham.

The kickoff is at the Ohop Grange, 41608 Mountain Highway E., Eatonville. It starts at 2 p.m.

Senator Marilyn Rasmussen Announces Campaign Kickoff Event

On Saturday, May 31st, at 2pm at the Ohop Grange in Eatonville, Senator Marilyn Rasmussen will host a campaign kickoff featuring "Grown in Washington" products and produce.

=> Read more!

Looks like the lone fir at Chambers Bay Golf Course will survive a recent ax attack. Pierce County just put out the following press release.

The survival of Chambers Bay's iconic Douglas fir seems assured following treatment and a preliminary root health assessment. The tree was attacked by an unknown person with an axe late April 29 or early April 30.

"The tree is surprisingly healthy considering its stressful condition," said David L. Wienecke, Chambers Bay's superintendent. "This tree is a real survivor and shows no signs of decline now. The arborists who have visited the site seem quite confident it will survive the axe attack with proper care."

=> Read more!

This just in from the Hillary Clinton campaign: Eileen Macoll, a Washington state superdelegate, is endorsing the New York senator. This comes just before Saturday's meeting of the party rules committee, which will decide whether and/or how to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations.

Update: Macoll talked to Curt Woodward of The Associated Press about her decision. From Curt's story:

Macoll had planned to wait until after the final primaries on June 3 to announce her decision, but she said Memorial Day reminders of veterans’ sacrifice changed her mind.
Clinton’s experience outweighs Obama’s, and makes her “the strongest player on the international stage” for hopes of ending the war, Macoll said.
The fact that Clinton could be the first woman president also played a part, Macoll said.
“When we started this process a year ago, I did not think that would factor in for me, but it does,” she said. “And I see this war being fueled by gallons of women’s tears.”
The lingering fight for the nomination isn’t necessarily damaging to the party, Macoll said, because Democrats will unite behind the eventual winner.
“I will be delighted to support Sen. Obama with every fiber of my being if Sen. Obama is the choice,” she said.

Here's the campaign press release.

Washington Automatic Delegate Eileen Macoll announced her support for Hillary Clinton today. Macoll is vice chair of the Washington State Democratic Party.

“I’m taking this step today because I have been inspired by Hillary’s bold commitment to solving our nation’s toughest challenges,” Macoll said. “On the issues that matter most—from establishing universal health care to improving our schools to ending the war in Iraq—she has never backed down and never wavered. Hillary has what it takes to beat John McCain this Fall and win back the White House.

“Hillary has a plan to bring an honorable end to the war in Iraq, and I know that Senator she and Senator Murray will ensure that our troops receive the care we should be proud to provide as they return home.”

Senator Patty Murray welcomed Macoll’s endorsement today. “Eileen has been a tireless advocate for the Washington State party, and I look forward to working with her to spread Hillary’s message of change in the weeks ahead.”

Here's the breakdown of Washington's superdelegates:

Barack Obama: 7
U.S. Reps. Adam Smith, Rick Larsen, Brian Baird and Jim McDermott; Gov. Chris Gregoire; state party Chairman Dwight Pelz; party official Pat Notter

Hillary Clinton: 6
U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, U.S. Reps. Norm Dicks and Jay Inslee, King County Executive Ron Sims, Eileen Macoll

Undeclared: 4*
Ed Cote, Sharon Mast, David McDonald, Tom Foley*

* The New York Times and the Associated Press say Foley is undecided. The Superdelegate Transparency Project and a spokesman for the party says Foley is a Clinton delegate. We'll err on the side of caution and say he's undecided until or unless we hear from Foley himself. He hasn't responded to our attempts to contact him.

Friday, I'm headed to the state Republican convention in Spokane. I'll be blogging about the goings-on throughout the weekend. So far, I understand there will be plenty of candidate speeches on Friday morning. They'll also have Congressional District Caucuses, where delegates to the national convention will be determined.

Also this weekend, members of the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet to discuss whether delegates from Michigan and Florida should be seated at the national convention. As you may recall, those states decided to hold their primaries perilously early in the year: The DNC warned them that, if they went ahead with their plans, their delegates would be stripped. Now, the same committee that handed down that ruling will decide whether to stick with it.

I talked to David McDonald, a member of the rules committee and uncommitted superdelegate, about the whole affair yesterday. He said the 30-member committee will hear arguments on the appeal Saturday morning, then go into discussion. He's not sure when they'll reach a decision.

McDonald said he doesn't know what direction it'll go but said there's a "fairly strong sentiment on the committee that our rules have to mean something."

Stay tuned.

Gov. Chris Gregoire will be talking to members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. She'll be at the Safeway in Lakewood Towne Center, talking to folks in the parking lot, then touring the store.

We wrote in March about Casey Knowles, the Bonney Lake teen who became known around the world as the "3 a.m. girl" after the Hillary Clinton campaign used her image in a TV ad.

We asked Casey to write about the experience at the center of the media frenzy. We published her account on our Show & Tell page today. You can find it here.

It's an interesting look behind the scenes as representatives of those national morning TV shows fight over access to her.

Casey seems like a very bright young woman who handled the intensity of the situation well.

I don't watch television news, but I know Robert Mak from his coverage of state government.

Here is the Seattle Times story.

For months Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg has been saying the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay Golf Course will produce a $100 million economic impact. Where does he get that figure? Today we get some detail.

Here’s a copy of a preliminary economic impact analysis by Denise Dyer, the county’s economic development manager. I haven’t had a chance to study this yet, but a few things jump out:

• Dyer estimates the total economic impact of hosting the championship will be $121.8 million.

• She estimates the event will generate about $17.2 million in revenue from sales, lodging and other taxes.

• Pierce County can expect $686,778 in tax revenue from hosting the tournament. But other governments would get a bigger windfall: the state ($8.7 million), Seattle/King County ($5.6 million) and University Place ($1.1 million).

My next step is to run this by some sports economists to see if projections like this hold up.

The standard toll on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge will rise by $1 per crossing – $4 for drivers who stop to pay at a toll booth and $2.75 for motorists who have electronic Good To Go toll collection account.

The new tolls will take effect July 1.

The Washington Transportation Commission approved the increase tonight after a two-hour meeting in Gig Harbor. The standard toll is for a two-axle vehicle. Toll charges actually are by the axle, so large tractor-trailer rigs will have to pay as much as $12 at a booth or $8.25 if equipped with a windshield transponder.

The new tolls are expected to remain in effect for one year, but could remain in effect for two years if the state Department of Transportation's projections for traffic and revenue collections are accurate.

The new bridge opened to traffic last July 16. About 40,000 vehicles cross the new bridge each day. Tolls are collected only on the new, eastbound bridge.

Dennis Richter, 57, is an electrical engineer. Read on:

For more information:
Contact Information
Dennis L. Richter
Bothell, WA
425-591-6293 (cell)
dennis@dennisrichterforstatesenate.com
Richter to Challenge McAuliffe for Senate Seat Dennis

Richter, an electrical engineer from Bothell, has announced he is running for State Senate in the 1st Legislative District – the seat now held by Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe.

The Washington native, who has worked for Boeing for the past 25 years, said he is eager to help taxpayers and parents in the community who are concerned about high tax bills and underperforming schools.

=> Read more!

Ron Weigelt will be running as a Democrat. His news release doesn't say so, but I think he's running against Rep. Dan Roach, Republican incumbent.

Here's his biography:

Current Occupation/Employer: Human Resources Manager for the Public Health Department.

=> Read more!

These news releases about Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, greeted me this morning.

Swecker, 61, is serving his 13th year in the Washington Senate.

Sen. Swecker in hospital following cardiac episode over weekend

OLYMPIA…State Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, is in critical care at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia following a cardiac episode at his home Saturday night.

Swecker, who has served as the 20th Legislative District’s state senator since 1995, underwent testing after being admitted into the hospital. An echocardiogram test revealed that he has a congenital heart valve abnormality that will require open heart surgery. The surgery will take place tomorrow or Thursday.

Last Wednesday, Swecker underwent hip replacement surgery at Providence St. Peter Hospital. He returned home Friday to recover from the procedure.

“Dan is in stable condition and in good spirits, but he cannot have visitors yet,” said his wife, Debby Swecker. “He appreciates the messages and prayers from others during this difficult time.”

The Sweckers have requested that messages of support and media inquiries be sent this week through Sen. Swecker’s public information officer, Brian Zylstra, at (360) 786-7399 or zylstra.brian@leg.wa.gov.

Sen. Mike Hewitt’s statement regarding Sen. Swecker’s hospitalization

OLYMPIA… Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, was hospitalized over the weekend following a cardiac episode at his home Saturday night. Following tests that revealed a congenital heart valve abnormality, Swecker is expected to have open heart surgery tomorrow or Thursday.

Senate Republican Leader Mike Hewitt issued this statement today regarding Swecker and his medical condition:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan and his family today as they face this difficult time. So many of us admire Dan for all kinds of reasons – his gracious heart and gentle spirit, the deep love he has for his family, and how much he truly cares about the people he represents in the Legislature. He’s an incredibly valued member of our caucus, and a big part of our legislative family. We wish him a full and speedy recovery.”

Anyone else notice the Pat McCarthy yard-sign blitz this weekend? We took the kids to Northwest Trek yesterday, and her county executive campaign signs were everywhere between Graham and Eatonville. Others here saw signs plenty of her signs in the Gig Harbor and University Place area.

Also noticed that big Shawn Bunney billboard on Highway 512.

You’ll be seeing a lot of this in coming months as county executive candidates try to establish that oh-so-important “name recognition.”

I just heard that John Kerry, an Obama supporter, will keynote the Washington State Democratic Convention next month in Spokane.

Dwight Pelz, state party chairman, sent an e-mail out to party leaders yesterday afternoon, according to my source. I don't have the e-mail, though maybe I will soon - I've had good luck lately with people sneaking me copies of things.

Update: I got this on Saturday night but was otherwise occupied. Here's the e-mail:

From: "Dwight Pelz"
Date: May 23, 2008 12:56:36 PM PDT
To:
Subject: Kerry to Keynote State Convention

John Kerry will be the keynote speaker at the State Convention in Spokane.

Or maybe he just wants to serve you Mexican hors d'oeuvres.

You know, I get postcards from Steve Kirby all the time. Sometimes he wants to sell me furniture at Harkness. Sometimes he wants my money.

This time, he wants publicity from me and money from you.

The South Tacoma Democrat, a charter member of the South End Mafia branch of the Pierce County's Democratic Party, is holding a fundraiser from 5 to 7:30 p.m. June 11 at Anahauc Mexican Restaurant, 9002 Pacific Ave., Tacoma.

Kirby lives in a Democratic bastion, so I wonder how much of the money he raises will find its way to House Speaker Frank Chopp, to be funnelled into a House race that is truly contested.

When I covered John Ladenburg's campaign kickoff in Tacoma Thursday evening, I didn't know who to contact for a rebuttal to Ladenburg's swipe at Rob McKenna. But now I do.

Toni McKinley, former lobbyist for the Washington Grange (you know, the group that gave you open primaries and got Top Two reinstated by the U.S. SUPREMES) and now a contract lobbyist, is now running McKenna's campaign.

Here's what she had to say today:

I wish you would have known – I would LOVE the opportunity to rebut his LAME McGruff comment. John Ladenburg says he knows McGruff, but he must not have learned anything from the Crime Dog. Ladenburg was a lap dog when it came to danngerous criminals. He has refused to seek to put away sexually violent criminals in nearly 70 percent of the cases that have come before him. GGGRRR.

From: Toni McKinley [mailto:toni@robmckenna.org]
Sent: Fri 5/23/2008 1:30 PM
To: Turner, Joe - Tacoma
Subject: Hey Buddy

Toni McKinley
Campaign Manager
Re-Elect AG Rob McKenna
PO Box 955, Mercer Island, WA 98040
206.232.0070 - office
www.robmckenna.org

I supposed I shouldn't be surprised that Rep. Dennis Flannigan, D-Tacoma's North End, knows how to get a second bite of the apple, given his appetites and knowledge of restaurants and politics. (His first bite was over on the Editorial Page blog, where I first read the e-mail that appears below a couple days ago.)

Anyway, since the Editorial Page blog is read only by Dave Seego's immediate family, Kim Bradford's husband, Pat O'Callaghan's foster children and Cheryl Tucker (herself), I figured I'd post this item where it will be seen by thousands more readers.

I truly hate to reward Flannigan for giving news to the editors first, but since it's such a good cause, I figured, what the heck.

But next time, Dennis.......

(Yes, I misspelled Seago's name.)

Friends O' Flannigan
P. O. Box 1742
Tacoma, WA 98401-1742
253.691-0099 (cell)
May 23, 2008,

Flannigan Kicks-Off Campaign.
Contributions Go to China Earthquake Relief
Wednesday, June 4, 2008, 5:30 p.m. - until it's over.
Tacoma Szechuan Restaurant, 9601 South Tacoma Way, Ste. 102,
(253) 581-0102

=> Read more!

2009 cost-of-living raises
As things stand, most county employees are looking at a 3.6 percent cost-of-living pay raise next year.

Those raises are tied to the regional Consumer Price Index. Based on the performance of that index through the first 10 months of the county’s fiscal year, county budget director Patrick Kenney is planning a 2009 budget with a 3.6 percent cost-of-living raise for most employees and a 4 percent raise for sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers.

That’s not set in stone. Inflation could change substantially over the final two months of the fiscal year. And the raises are subject to negotiation. With the exception of the corrections officers’ contract, Kenney said all of the county’s labor contracts expire at the end of 2008.

Given the county’s poor revenue outlook, there’s also the matter of what the county can afford.

“We don’t know if we can afford any of this or not,” Kenney told the council at Thursday’s budget retreat. “But that’s where we’re starting.”

=> Read more!

Here's as much of the prayer, delivered by local CBMC president Dwight Mason at the Wednesday Fircrest luncheon where Dino Rossi spoke, as I have transcribed right now. Ellipses are used when I can't quite understand what's being said, although I'll work on that throughout the day.

The prayer transcript is from an audio recording obtained - but not made by - The News Tribune.

"Thank you, Dino ... and CBMC thanks you for running for governor. We want to just forward this with a word of prayer... we certainly believe prayer is important to us to communicate with the God who loves us.
Father, we are thankful of your care for us and thankful for this opportunity to hear Dino's story and pray for him and his campaign and just passage and protect him and his family at this time and just thank you that we have the opportunity to hear his story and, Lord, we just now we bow our heads ...
Now, this might be an opportunity for you to pray the prayer much like Dino prayed at one point in his life where he accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and has made such a big difference in his life, just like this is your opportunity today.
So as you're sitting there thinking about what has been said and thinking about naysayers in your life who say you can't do it, and maybe they're right, you can't do it on your own... there's a God who wants that relationship with you, who wants to be there to make all things possible because you're trusting him...
Lord, I have ... I've made mistakes, I've sinned, I've fallen short, I know I can't do it on my own so I just want this moment to talk to you as my savior, I turn my life over to you ... and just believe that, by doing this Lord that I will start a new life and this new life will be a new life trusting you. so thank you, Lord, for your forgiveness and that you will take me from this point on, so I give my life to yours.
So thank you, Lord, and thank you for this time and this opportunity we have today for this fellowship and we pray all these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Ok at your table, this is not a fundraiser, though Dino did leave with us a couple envelopes there and I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

Here's a link to the story about the issue.

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler told The Daily World, the newspaper in Aberdeen, that she has no plans "now or ever" to endorse fellow Democrat John Ladenburg's campaign for attorney general.

That's because he continues to diss her open-government bill that would require local governments to record their executive sessions. The Pierce County Council was fine with it, but lots of other local governments weren't, so the bill died.

"Local governments are, obviously, still afraid of my bill even now and are trying to come up with every kind of excuse possible to avoid it," said Kessler, D-Hoquiam.

McKenna and Kessler have worked together for a couple of years on open government issues, including a reporter shield bill that passed the Legislature last year.

Kessler said "out of respect to the Democrats," she has no plans to endorse McKenna, "but I can’t see a scenario where I endorse Ladenburg now or ever. Except for defending my bill, I think this race is going to see me silent."

Here's a link to the whole Daily World story.

Update: I was off Friday, so I'm cleaning out my inbox. As a reader commented, Ladenburg sent out a statement in response to the story, which got wide play around the state. Here's what he said:

"Subsequent to the initial story in the Daily World I had a conversation with Representative Kesler and we have cleared up any misunderstandings. I have never indicated opposition to her bill. But I have expressed concerns over cost and prioritization given that Washington has the second highest rates of consumer fraud and other immediate threats to our quality of life. I believe I can earn her support and look forward to talking to her in more detail when she returns home from some time away."

"We are not a political group. We are a non denominational group of Christians. The CBMC luncheon is not a political campaign event."

That's Dan DeLorenzo, a member of the CMBC, formerly the Christian Businessmen's Connection, now known as "Connecting Business and the Marketplace with Christ." They invited Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi to speak to a luncheon on Wednesday about his "life and 'testimony,'" according to a flyer for the event.

The problem: CMBC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. And, as far as the Internal Revenue Service is concerned, Rossi could have talked exclusively about his shoe size and the event still would have run afoul of the law. (Though, if portions of this post can be trusted, there was some shop talk....)(Update: The post was removed, but I'm keeping the link. I've got a screen shot, if you're interested.)

Because nonprofits don't pay taxes, they're strictly prohibited from getting tangled up in politics. They can encourage voting in general or hold open candidate forums but, when it comes to inviting a partisan candidate to speak to a group of paying diners, the law is clear.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.

I ran this by Daniel Borochoff, president of American Institute of Philanthropy, a nonprofit that specializes in watching other nonprofits.

"Yeah, they're not supposed to be doing that."

"According to IRS rules, they're not allowed to be involved in partisan political activity, and particularly involved in influencing an election. It sounds as if that's what's happening. if they were to invite all of the candidates there, that would be a different matter."

Borochoff said the group could be at risk for losing their nonprofit status -- and the tax exemption it provides -- if the IRS catches wind of this. He said they've been cracking down on this sort of activity recently.

Dwight Mason, however, sees nothing wrong with it. He's a CBMC organizer who spoke at the event.

"I feel like it's a private party. Our purpose was not fundraising, I can say that," he said.

I asked if fundraising occurred.

"There was no plea for funds. No funds were solicited."

I told him I had heard otherwise.

"You know, if there were envelopes there, they weren't anything that I had anything to do with. When you have a political campaign, I'm sure there's going to be some envelopes around somewhere."

Understandable. But whether there was fundraising is irrelevant in the eyes of the law.

"To me this sounds to me like a reporter who has an agenda."

Correct. My agenda includes something about holding people in power accountable.

Also, just to be sure, I asked Mason whether all the candidates had been invited to speak. Was this supposed to be a roundtable that went terribly wrong?

"We could invite her. We'd be happy to have her speak ... this group started out being a men's group. In the history I've been with the group, we 've had one female speaker and that was after 9/11 and she went back and was helping with 911. That's just the way, we usually don't have female speakers."

I've put calls in to Jill Strait, spokeswoman for the Rossi campaign.

Jeff Weathersby has been a busy guy at the Washington Department of Corrections. First, the news release about the inmates in Oklahoma beating up guards, and now the payout.

Apparently, the main inmate in the lawsuit, Rickey Peralez, wanted to be released to Lincoln Park Work Release in Tacoma, but DOC wouldn't let him go there because he needed a wheelchair and the dorm was on the second floor.

Read on:

DOC Reaches Settlement in Americans with Disabilities Act Claim

OLYMPIA – The Department of Corrections (DOC) this week reached a preliminary settlement in a class action lawsuit filed by offenders who claimed work release facilities were closed to them because of their disabilities.

DOC will pay a total settlement of $298,800. This settlement includes a $30,000 payment to the named plaintiff, Rickey Peralez, and $1,800 to each of the 166 offenders who are qualified class members. DOC will also pay attorney fees as determined by the court.

=> Read more!

The Washington Department of Corrections has placed 304 of its inmates at the Oklahoma prison. The total of out of state inmates is close to 1,200.

According to DOC, four of our inmates started whoopin' on the Corrections Corporations of America guards.

Gary Bohon, Washington DOC program manager, the No. 2 guy in charge of the out-of-state placements, said in the next six to eight weeks, a "very small group of offenders" will start trickling back to Washington.

Those are the ones who are getting close to their release date, he said. In theory, all the Washington inmates who were sent out of state should be back in Washington prisons by the end of 2009. I'm not so sure. DOC will have enough new beds to accommodate most of the out-of-state inmates, but I'm skeptical DOC can hire enough custody officers to staff the new prison expansion at Coyote Ridge outside Connell in Eastern Washington.

Lorna Ovena, DOC's human resources person, said the agency is on track to hire 3,500 people over two years. That's how many will be needed to cover attrition, plus new employees to staff the bigger prisons.

Here's the news release DOC sent out today:

Assaults by Washington Offenders Under Investigation in Oklahoma

OLYMPIA – Oklahoma officials are investigating assaults on two corrections officers by a group of Washington offenders today at a private prison in Oklahoma.

=> Read more!

This story ran in today's paper and was posted on our main Web page, but I figured I'd put it here, too, because you seem to be the kind of readers who would pay attention to this stuff. (Plus, I'm trying to get the attention of the House Democratic flacks who put together the E-Clips.)

Former Eatonville High School principal Randy Dorn, who is now running for state schools superintendent, tried for the past two years to get the Legislature to pass a law to sweeten his pension benefits by more than $90,000 a year.

And he got halfway there.

In 2007, the House voted 95-0 to approve House Bill 1067, a measure that would have let Dorn and one other employee of the Public School Employees union become members in two state retirement systems. The upshot of that dual membership is that Dorn’s retirement benefits would have been based on the $137,705 he makes as PSE’s executive director, rather than the $57,720 he earned 10 years ago as Eatonville High School principal.

=> Read more!

Yesterday at noon, whilst 100-some Christian businessmen were listening to Dino Rossi share his message of faith in Fircrest, I was purchasing new windshield wipers at the auto store. Then I came to The News Tribune's office, sat in my chair and did some work.

So, um, this didn't happen. (Update: The link doesn't work, but I'm keepin' it up just in case. Someone took the post down.) Neither I nor my operatives/coworkers were getting kicked out of Rossi's event after trying to sneak in hidden cameras.

I feel conflicted. On one hand, I hate to dignify it with a response. On the other ... seriously, hidden cameras?! I'm not Dateline here, folks.

Knute Berger of Crosscut.com has been following the case of the Ballard Denny's restaurant that some wanted preserved as an example of Googie architecture. His article today sums up the worst-of-all-worlds result – the building was placed on the Seattle landmarks list but the Landmarks Commission decided to do nothing to protect it.

Here's hoping this isn't a precedent that will put at risk other regional examples of modern architecture.

Marshall McClintock is the neighbor of Frisko Freeze who is working on documentation to nominate the Division Avenue fast food haven to the local historic register. Part of his research is designed to place the Freeze in history and he had heard a rumor that Bill Clinton had stopped in before he was president. (He's already documented former Gov. Booth Gardner's role as a regular and loyal customer).

It certainly fit with Clinton's reputation as a lover of all that is good but bad for you. And Clinton had passed through Tacoma the summer before he was nominated as president. Marshall was looking for help and here is what I could provide in an e-mail:

Clinton was in the area in August, 1991 attending the National Governors Association convention in Seattle. Booth Gardner would have been the host governor.

The Tacoma Cityclub had invited Clinton to speak to them. This was before he was an announced candidate but he was getting lots of buzz. He accepted well before the conference and it was something of a coup since it was his only public appearance outside of the conference at the Seattle Convention Center.

Anyway, he was late arriving and actually walked in after the meeting started. It was held in the big room at the Sheraton. I know he didn’t get a chance to eat because I was sitting in the back and jokingly offered him a roll. He declined.

Among those on his security detail was one of Gardner’s EPUs (Executive Protection Unit). He went along because he knew the territory and might have driven. There wasn’t a big entourage, maybe two or three people including this EPU named Richard Fisher. Richard is retired from the state patrol but he is still around. If you could find him, he would know if they drove Clinton to Frisko Freeze or anywhere else after the speech.

Marshall tracked down Fisher, now the head of security at Highline Community College. But sadly, Fisher said that while he was at Frisko Freeze many times with Gov. Gardner, he was never there with Clinton. Too bad. It would have been a great story.

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation plans to announce its 2008 list of "Most Endangered Historic Properties" at a press conference next week on the Murray Morgan Bridge.

Not surprisingly, the bridge makes the list, according to a press release the group issued today.

The group calls the Murray Morgan Bridge, formerly known as the 11th Street Bridge, an "engineering marvel," and a span that "plays a rich part in the city's social history and overall development."

The Washington state Department of Transportation closed the bridge to vehicles in October for safety reasons, but it's not beyond repair, according to a consultant hired by the City of Tacoma.

The press conference is Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Here's more about the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation:

=> Read more!

Governor Chris Gregoire spoke to a crowd of about 40 veterans and supporters at the VFW in North Tacoma this morning. She said she's helped pass 47 bills for veterans' issues, and still isn't finished.

"As you know, it's been said that veterans are close to my heart, and one in particular," she said, nodding at "First Mike." She said her husband will ask her before bed whether she's gotten a bill out of committee and, if she hasn't, what's taking so long. (I have heard many stories about lobbyists following lawmakers into the bathroom, never this one...)

Gregoire has focused on healthcare and education in her previous stump speeches. But today, she spoke almost exclusively about veterans' issues (as you might expect the week before Memorial Day, speaking at a VFW hall...).

Before Gregoire spoke, several veterans talked about the work she's done to help them. Skip Dreps, a lobbyist for veterans affairs, thanked Gregoire for her efforts and, in an awkward moment, President George W. Bush.

"His stimulus check is going to help me support my next governor," he said, to laughter.

Dreps also said Gregoire's support for veterans was unique because of "her belief that veterans' benefits are not welfare, they're an entitlement," he said.

Maurice Sharp, a retired major who served in Vietnam and Korea, said veterans have benefited from Gregoire's leadership over the past four years and now it's their turn to repay the favor.

"Life is a two-way street. It is time for us to step up to the plate as individuals and reelect Gov. Gregoire to another term in Olympia," he said.

"As much as we've done, there's more to do. Working together for four more years, we'll get it done," Gregoire said.

I'm a day late with this, but here you go. Carole Washburn is just below cabinet level in Gov. Chris Gregoire's administration.

TUMWATER – Carole Washburn today was named deputy director of operations for the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I).

Washburn currently is executive secretary for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, where she is responsible for day-to-day management and operation of the agency. She fills a vacancy at L&I created by the departure in March of Deputy Director Vernon Stoner.

=> Read more!

Jim Dugan made a pitch Tuesday to the Tacoma City Council, asking council members to let his foundation use a piece of city-owned property along Orchard Street for a spay/neuter clinic.

Dugan, the Tacoma School Board president and president of the Dugan Foundation, wants the property adjacent to the Tacoma landfill for a 10,000-square-foot clinic that he believes can make substantial progress in reducing pet overpopulation in Pierce County.

The clinic would offer free spay and neuter services to pet owners on a first-come, first-served basis, Dugan said. The target market, he said, is not responsible pet owners. The foundation has learned a lot about how to offer the services through its work with a mobile spay and neuter clinic, Dugan added.

Washington State University has agreed to provide veterinary students to work at the clinic, and BLRB architects is donating its services to the project, Dugan said.

If the city goes for it, the arrangement could include an off-leash dog park nearby. The Dugan Foundation would make improvements to the property, and maintain it.

Council members appeared to like the idea, though they did not take any votes at Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting. City Manager Eric Anderson said he would work on finalizing an agreement to bring back to the council for approval.

The property belongs to Tacoma's solid waste utility. It paid $400,000 for it in 2001, city officials said. It was intended to be the site of the city's new environmental services laboratory, which is now planned for the Urban Waters facility along the Thea Foss Waterway.

I wrote about Bill Vogler's departure during the 2008 legislative session. That when he announced he was leaving.

Now, the board of directors at WSAC has elected Eric Johnson from No. 2 to No. 1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 20, 2008
Johnson Named Executive Director of Counties Association

OLYMPIA – The Board of Directors of the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) announced today that they have selected Eric Johnson as Executive Director. Johnson, a former Lewis County Commissioner, has more than 25 years of public service at the local and state levels and most recently served as the Association’s Assistant Executive Director.

=> Read more!

I got this from JeanMarie Christenson's campaign. And I'm passing it on, partly because I just noticed the JeanMarie is one word not "Jean Marie."

She's one of the Democrats going after incumbent Rep. Jim McCune, R-Graham.

JeanMarie Christenson overwhelmingly wins LD2's Democratic Nomination for State Representative.

JeanMarie Christenson won Legislative District 2's Democratic nomination for State Representative at the Nominating Convention in Graham, May 19th, easily outpacing her opponents.

Christenson's resounding 128-weighted votes reflected Party confidence.
The official tally: Christenson 128, Harper 26, Collins 27.

=> Read more!

So far at the VFW in North Tacoma:

- During the prayer, a gentleman's phone rang. His ringtone: "I'm proud to be an American..." I think he caught it before the "at least I know I'm free" part.

- Oria Berndt, retired Command Sergeant Major, spoke for a bit. He said he wrote a letter to Gov. Gregoire and Dino Rossi's campaigns in 2004 about veterans' affairs. He received a response from Gregoire's campaign (or, specifically, her husband) shortly after, and they arranged a meeting.

During the meeting (and a subsequent session with Gregoire), they came up with five issues important to veterans that she promised to deal with during office.

"In the last five years, we've accomplished more in veterans' affairs than we have in the last 25," he said.

...which is what one would expect. Peter Goldmark is running for state Lands Commissioner against Republican incumbent Doug Sutherland...

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Contact: Heather Melton
Peter Goldmark for Public Lands Commissioner
206-447-4169
info@votepetergoldmark.com

Washington Conservation Voters Endorse Peter Goldmark for Commissioner of Public Lands

Lifelong Okanogan Rancher will bring balance and strong policy perspective to critical state post

SEATTLE—The campaign of Okanogan rancher Peter Goldmark for Commissioner of Public Lands gained more momentum yesterday with the endorsement of the Washington Conservation Voters, the political voice for the environment.

=> Read more!

Tacoma council members aren't happy with all the townhouse construction going on around the Tacoma Mall -- construction that's benefiting from the city's controversial multi-family tax exemption.

They talked Tuesday about a variety of options for addressing their concerns, including suspending acceptance of new applications for the property tax exemption for townhouse construction in the Tacoma Mall Mixed-Use Center until they find a long-term solution.

Townhouses could still be built in the area, they noted. But the developers wouldn't be eligible for the tax credit.

The council's concerns focused on the high number of small townhouses going up, and the apparent lack of neighborhood planning.

Councilman Jake Fey said the development occurring along South Pine Street wasn't what officials envisioned when they established the exemption. As he drives by and looks at the development, Fey said he wonders "where in the heck the kids are going to play except in the road or alley."

"It's bad enough that they're not providing open space," Fey said, adding that the city doesn't have to be offering an incentive for the developers to do it.

=> Read more!

An endorsement for the governor:

Sierra Club endorses Gov. Chris Gregoire
Chapter cites broad environmental leadership

SEATTLE, WA – The Sierra Club Cascade Chapter today announced its endorsement of Gov. Chris Gregoire. The Cascade Chapter made the endorsement on behalf of its 34,000 Washington State members in recognition of the governor’s strong record of environmental leadership, especially her work to combat global warming.

=> Read more!

Tomorrow, both Gov. Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi will be in town. As of this hour, I'll only be going to see Gregoire, who will be honoring veterans at the VFW Post at 4721 N. Baltimore St., from 10 to 11 a.m.

So ... why am I not going to see Rossi speak? Well ...

He'll be at the Fircrest Golf Club for a noon event of the Christian Businessmen's Connection, or CBMC, "connecting business in the marketplace to Christ."

I contacted Rossi's campaign to see if I could get in. They referred me to one of the CBMC organizers, Dan DeLorenzo. He told me that, if the Rossi campaign gave it the OK, they'd let me in.

Back to the Rossi campaign went I.

=> Read more!

Pierce County Council Chairman Terry Lee says he hasn’t ruled out seeking another county office in November.

The Gig Harbor Republican has previously announced and renounced bids for county executive and assessor-treasurer. But a final decision may not come until the first week of June, when candidates are required to file for office.

“I have talked to my wife quite a bit about it,” Lee said Monday. “I don’t think I’m going to. I won’t know for sure until filing week.”

Lee said that if he runs it will be for another county office. The state Public Disclosure Commission web site lists Lee’s county executive candidacy as “discontinued.” However, his filing paperwork for assessor-treasurer remains active.

Said Lee: “I honestly go back and forth on it.”

As it stands, Lee is the only County Council member not seeking re-election or election to another county office in November. Lee was re-elected to the council in 2006.

We've been thinking and writing an awful lot about delegates lately: Who's got how many and when will it be enough? (We may find out the answer today...)

So this morning when I saw a heart-warming delegate tale from our sister paper, The Olympian (via the wire), I had to post it.

Here you are:

Ex-Army chaplain cleared in Gitmo spy case is Obama delegate
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A former Army Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who was cleared of spy accusations is now a Democratic National Convention delegate pledged to Sen. Barack Obama.
Former Capt. James J. Yee was among the delegates who were elected by precinct representatives Saturday at the party’s 9th Congressional District convention at North Thurston High School.
Others chosen at the gathering were Zach Smith, a former supporter of ex-Sen. John Edwards who is now pledged to Clinton, and Natalie Stevens, an alternate pledged to Obama.
Yee, a West Point graduate, was accused in 2003 of being part of a spy ring at the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay. He spent 76 days in solitary confinement before being exonerated and later resigned from the Army, receiving an honorable discharge.
Yee now lives with his wife and daughter in Olympia, south of Fort Lewis, where he was assigned before and after his ordeal.
The experience left him as “living proof that civil liberties have been eroded since 9/11,” Yee told The Olympian newspaper on Monday.
He said that during the gathering Saturday, “I came out and basically reiterated that Sen. Obama is really the only candidate that consistently campaigns on rejecting torture without exception, on closing Guantanamo Bay, restoring habeas (corpus) and adhering to the Geneva Conventions.”

As my colleague Joe Turner noted last month, the Tacoma City Council will hear about transportation benefit districts at today's study session.

Ashley Probart, lobbyist for the Association of Washington Cities, was expected to brief the council on the political hot potato.

Creating a district would allow a local government to collect an annual $20 fee on vehicle registrations without a public vote, and more if voters agreed.

The money could pay for local street and road projects.

I'll be on Tim Eyman watch.

UPDATE: Eyman didn't show up at the meeting, but his presence was felt. At one point, Councilman Jake Fey asked whether a transportation benefit district would be "Eyman-proof."

Councilman Mike Lonergan, who suggested letting voters decide whether to impose a new fee, also invoked Eyman, saying the initiative guru couldn't object to a new license fee if it was voter-approved.

Sorry for the short notice, Gerry, but the state Department of Corrections sent out this news release only a couple hours ago.

I know the Pierce County Prosecutor Gerry Horne has an abiding interest in anything related to work releases, especially Progress House, RAP House and Lincoln Center, all in Tacoma.

Horne blames work release for a high concentration of ex-cons in Pierce County and a higher-than-it-should-be violent crime rate.

I was going to do a full-fledged story on this topic, but I didn't realize this meeting was coming up so quick.

(Just for the record, there are 16 work release centers in the state, not 15, as DOC says. DOC counts RAP and Lincoln as one place because the same company operates them. But they are separate buildings (right next door to each other) and they handle different clientele. One of for developmentally disabled. Another is more mentally ill. DOC arbitrarily changed the number from 16 to 15 on its Web site a couple years ago, I think, to make it sound as if DOC wasn't having as great an impact on Pierce County as Horne says.)

DOC Work Group to Host Public Meeting in Tacoma

OLYMPIA – A Department of Corrections (DOC) work group is hosting a public meeting in Tacoma tomorrow to discuss plans to convert work release facilities into re-entry centers that offer additional offender programs.

The meeting is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon May 20 in room 304 at the Tacoma Community Justice Center, 1016 S 28th St., Tacoma.

Re-entry is DOC’s broad effort to improve public safety by reducing the recidivism rate among offenders. A state law passed last year directs DOC to look at laws and practices to convert its
15 work release centers into re-entry centers that will provide programs that have proven to be successful in helping offenders. Those programs include education, chemical dependency treatment and employment assistance.

=> Read more!

Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, who’s running for attorney general, is busy getting known outside the Puget Sound region. Here’s an article from today’s Columbian newspaper in Vancouver. Ladenburg was in Vancouver last week to speak at a meeting of port officials.

Jean Marie Christenson is one of two Democrats running against incumbent Rep. Jim McCune, R-Graham. She ran against McCune in 2006, too.

Her kickoff is at Frontier Park in Graham, 21800 Meridian South.

Kick-off Party for JeanMarie Christenson
Candidate for State Representative
LD2, Position 1
May 30, 2008
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

JeanMarie Christenson
Candidate for State Representative
LD2, Position 1
www.jeanmarie4rep.com

Thank you for letting folks know about the Party, for your
ongoing support, and for all you do!

I'll have a more detailed story in Tuesday's paper, but in the meantime, read this news release and visit Web sites for supporters and opponents of Initiative 1000.

Basically, Human Life of Washington filed this lawsuit a month ago, but the I-1000 Death with Dignity camp just got wind of it and issued a press release today.

Human Life Washington Files Lawsuit to Keep anti- Death With Dignity Campaign Donations Secret

Effort to keep likely Catholic funding sources a secret would undermine spirit and purpose of Washington campaign finance disclosure laws;
implications could affect all campaign spending

SEATTLE—In a startling move that seeks to overturn established public disclosure laws in Washington State, a conservative Indiana-based law firm has filed suit in the Seattle U.S. District Court on behalf of Human Life Washington (HLW), a ideological organization with a track record of engaging in direct electoral politics for conservative issues and candidates.

=> Read more!

Gerry Pollet, one of two Democrats seeking to replace Rep. Jim McIntire in Seattle's 46th District, made a big deal about getting his party's "nomination" among precinct committee officers. But just how significant is that?

The Secretary of State's office won't let him put that on the ballot.

Scott White is the other Democrat.

McIntire is running for state Treasurer instead of seeking reelection to the House.

Pollet Wins “Nomination” Vote in 46th District Open Seat
By Democratic Party Precinct Committee Officers

Public interest attorney and environmental leader Gerry Pollet won the vote of Precinct Committee Officers (“PCOs”) in the race for the open State House seat in the 46th District at a “nominating convention” held last (week) in North Seattle.

=> Read more!

Al Rose, a Pierce County deputy prosecutor, has announced he’s running for the County Council’s District 2 seat as a Democrat. That’s the seat currently held by Calvin Goings, who’s running for county executive.

Rose is the second Democrat to seek the office, following Carolyn Merrival. Joyce McDonald, a Republican, also is running for the seat. Under the county’s ranked-choice voting system, all three will compete in the November general election.

For more information on Rose, read on.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor Al Rose has announced his candidacy for the Pierce County Council, District 2.

Rose, a Democrat, stresses the need for more public servants on the county council.

=> Read more!

Dwight Pelz sent a letter to Democrats across the state yesterday pledging his superdelegate support to Sen. Barack Obama. Here's the full text:

May 18, 2008

Dear Fellow Democrat,

I am writing you today to let you know that I will be supporting Sen. Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

For the past many months, as a superdelegate, I have remained neutral in this historic contest. As Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, it has been my job to represent all Democrats throughout Washington state as we navigated our way through the delegate selection process. It was of utmost importance to me that all Democrats had confidence that the Party Chair and all the party staff were working to ensure that grassroots Democrats statewide would decide how many delegates each candidate would receive.

Beginning with our historic caucuses on February 9th, and at each step throughout this process – Precinct, Legislative District, County, and Congressional District – we were determining how many delegates would be allocated to each Presidential candidate. Yesterday, that process was completed with our Congressional District Caucuses – the final opportunity for a candidate to gain or lose delegates based on turnout. (The remaining delegates to be allocated in Spokane will be apportioned in identical ratios as emerged from yesterday's caucuses.)

It is because we have essentially concluded the question of how many of our state's delegates Obama and Clinton will receive in Denver that I feel I can now announce my preference to be the Democratic Presidential nominee.

I will be supporting Barack Obama for many reasons. Over the last few years, I have gained a profound respect for Sen. Obama. I have read his books, listened to his speeches, and watched the campaign he has run on the grueling modern presidential playing-field for nearly two years. And I have spoken with literally hundreds of friends and colleagues – both in and out of politics – regarding their opinions and observations of this man. And I have concluded that Barack Obama is ready to be a great American President.

Barack Obama can win this election, and has clearly energized a generation of voters that hunger for change, helping inspire a critical voting block for Democrats for the future. He has also inspired independent voters and even some Republicans who have never considered voting Democratic.

I'm confident that between now and November, Americans will compare the inspiring vision, strong values, and energy for change embodied by Barack Obama with the tired old recycled ideas of Bush Republicanism embodied by the militaristic and fiercely-conservative John McCain – and they will vote to place Barack Obama in the White House.

Throughout this campaign, I have gained an enormous respect for Hillary Clinton. This country and this party are unquestionably far stronger for the contributions she's made throughout this campaign, and throughout her long career in public service. I will be eternally grateful for Sen. Clinton's appearance at our awards dinner last year, as she was warmly welcomed by Washington State Democrats, and for the time she has spent campaigning in Washington state. I have no doubt that Sen. Clinton would be a tough, thoughtful, intelligent, compassionate, and supremely-prepared President of the United States.

At this point in time, however, I feel the voters have spoken, that Sen. Obama will be our nominee, and that is time for us as Democrats to begin the final stretch of this historic 2008 campaign to take back America. It is time to unify our party around one candidate.

I thank the thousands of people who have contacted me asking me to support their candidate; and I profoundly acknowledge the supporters of Sen. Clinton who may be disappointed by my decision.

I am honored to serve as Chair of your Washington State Democratic Party.

Sincerely,

Dwight Pelz

Diane Leigh is now permanent head of the state Labor Relations Office. That means, as a practical matter, she will be the face-to-face representative of Gov. Chris Gregoire when it comes to negotiating contracts with 10s of thousands of state workers.

The negotiations that take place from now through the end of the year are crucial because next year is a budget year. That is, that's when the Legislature will vote up or down on pay raises and benefits for the following two years. Unions may represent about 60,000 to 70,000 workers, but as a practical matter, the contracts will set the tone for more than 100,000 state and college employees.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16, 2008
CONTACT: Glenn Kuper, 360-902-7607

Diane Leigh selected to head state Labor Relations Office

OLYMPIA – Diane Leigh has been appointed to head the state Labor Relations Office. Leigh has been acting director of the LRO since November 2007. The appointment was announced by Victor Moore, director of the state Office of Financial Management.

=> Read more!

I'll be curious to see what the state Department of Transportation staff has to say about the debut of the HOT lanes on Highway 167.

The project's Web site was supposed to have a daily count of how many solo drivers paid the toll to drive in the carpool lanes, but there's nothing after Wednesday, May 7, the third day of real commuting. And the numbers didn't look good then.

Only between 350 and 800 a day. Not the 5,000 a day that consultants predicted. What's worse, the numbers declined over the 3 days that are posted. It's really hard to interpret the numbers for those 3 days.

Based on the comments I'm getting from readers, they hate the rule that says no one can cross the double white line. That means you could be stuck in a backup for a long time before you can inch forward to a place where you can legally change lanes, get into the carpool lane.

Not much incentive or time-savings if you can't even get into the HOT lanes.

Here's the news release for next Wednesday-Thursday commission meeting:

State Transportation Commission to discuss Ferries & HOT lanes at May 21 & 22 meeting

OLYMPIA – Ferry customer surveys, long-term funding and current financing studies are key topics for discussion during the Washington State Transportation Commission’s meeting being held next week in Olympia. An update on the operations of the State Route (SR) 167 high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes and a highway naming proposal will also be presented.

=> Read more!

The 35th District is on edge of The News Tribune's circulation area, Mason, Kitsap and Thurston counties, and has a long history of electing maverick Democrat lawmakers such as Sen. Tim Sheldon and now-Lt. Gov. Brad Owen.

Daryl Daugs is running for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Bill Eickmeyer, D-Belfair, who is not seeking reelection.

According to Daugs, he is not the "annointed one" by the Democratic precinct committee officers. That went to Fred Finn.

Ain't no thang to Daugs. He's still running.

Read on:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 14, 2008
Contact: Daryl Daugs (360) 440-1947

Daryl Daugs Plans To Win District One Door At A Time
Candidate for State House has reached nearly 2,000 doors, planning two kickoffs

=> Read more!

Norm Dicks has a challenger for his Congressional seat: Dr. Gary Murrell.

Grays Harbor College history professor, Dr. Gary Murrell, will run against Norm Dicks in Washington's 6th Congressional District. Murrell made the announcement Saturday, May 10th at the Green Party State convention in Olympia, where he was the Keynote Speaker.

"This election isn't about me or about Norm Dicks," Murrell said. "It's about you, about us, about what kind of country we want to live in, about what kind of people we are. We need to restore our constitutional republic."

His bio says Murrell has served in the Air Force, lived in a "TP," taught black history and authored a book.

So far, Dicks is the only candidate registered on the FEC site. And Murrell is the first I've heard from. Know of others?

Update: Steven Gardner of the Kitsap Sun tells me that Paul Richmond has decided he'll run against Dicks, too.

After launching his campaign for attorney general in Seattle campaign earlier this month, Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg plans a second kickoff event in Tacoma next week.

The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. May 22 at the Venice Ballroom of the Murano Hotel, 1320 Broadway Plaza. U.S. Reps. Norm Dicks and Adam Smith will host the event, which is expected to draw more than 500 people. His campaign says the event is sold out.

Ladenburg, a Democrat, is seeking to oust Republican incumbent Attorney General Rob McKenna.

Naturally, since incumbent state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland is a Republican, he's emphasizing the support he's getting from Democrats.

Sutherland's opponent is Democrat Peter Goldmark.

(By the way, if you want to see Goldmark's stand on the issues, click on this link. And you'll find that he doesn't have any, yet -- at least, not on his Web site.)

Republican and Democratic Legislative Leaders Endorse Doug Sutherland
Seven Former Speakers of the House and Senate Majority Leaders

Citing his ability to bring people together on tough environmental issues, several prominent Democrats, including Speakers of the House Bill Polk (R), Wayne Ehlers (D), Clyde Ballard (R) and Brian Ebersole announced their endorsement of Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland.

Three Senate Majority Leaders announced their endorsement of Doug as well, including Sen. Dan McDonald (R), Sen. Ted Bottiger (D) and Sen. Bill Finkbeiner (R).

=> Read more!

Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, is the dean of the gay caucus in the Washington Legislature. He's one of six openly gay members.

He and his partner, Michael, registered as domestic partners in Washington as soon as it was permitted. So naturally, he's pleased with California's court ruling.

Washington's Supreme Court, on the other hand, took an opposite view about a year ago. It upheld a state law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

Here's Murray's statement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 15, 2008

Statement from Sen. Ed Murray on the California Supreme Court decision overturning the ban on same-sex marriage

“This is a historic day – the goal of marriage is now closer than ever for same-sex couples in California.

“Here in our own state, we remain hopeful that our efforts to build a way to marriage through domestic partnerships will continue to win the support of lawmakers and citizens.

“The public increasingly agrees that it’s only fair to allow same-sex couples to marry.

“I’m confident that we’ll have a similar historic day in Washington, and I believe that day will come soon.”

The United States Golf Association will pay Pierce County $2.5 million to lease Chambers Bay Golf Course for the 2015 U.S. Open, according to a draft contract for the tournament.

The county also will get a share of proceeds from the sale of hospitality packages, merchandise and food and beverages under the contract, which will soon go to the County Council for approval.

Pierce County’s full take from the tournament is uncertain. It will have to spend money to modify the course, build a clubhouse and make other preparations for the tournament.

Based on the experience of previous U.S. Open tournaments, county officials believe the event could have a total economic impact of at least $100 million. The tournament could draw up to 65,000 people a day to Pierce County and fill 10,000 hotel rooms throughout the region.

The proposed contract between Pierce County and the USGA will get a public hearing before the County Council’s Rules Committee on May 27. It’s scheduled to go to the full council on June 3.

Among the provisions:

• The USGA will pay the county $2.5 million to lease Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place. Most of the money – about $2 million – isn’t due until July 1, 2015, after the June 18-21, 2015, tournament.

=> Read more!

Postcards are in the mail today, inviting the public to meetings and asking for feedback on a couple of new proposals for building out the light rail system in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties.

There are basically three options: Two of them have a 12-year horizon for construction and focus light-rail construction to Seattle and King County. Any light rail construction in Federal Way, Fife or Tacoma would have to wait until sometime after 2020, and would require a favorable vote on a third ballot measure and tax package.

Which makes me wonder: If King County has light rail from Highline Community College to Sea-Tac Airport to downtown Seattle, to the University of Washington, to Northgate and to Bellevue in the first two phases, why would its voters ever approve a third phase to help Pierce and Snohomish counties?

The third option is a transit-only portion of Proposition 1, the $17.8 billion roads and transit package that voters defeated 56-44 last November. That is, the $7 billion for highway and road projects is deleted, leaving the $10.8 billion for Sound Transit.

Although Sound Transit is selling this as a dramatically smaller package, it really isn't. Not for them. The sales tax would still rise by 0.5 percent for Sound Transit (or by 0.4 percent under one option). So the tax burden for transit projects is likely to be the same as it was in Proposition 1. The only real difference is the work would be broken into 2 parts, before 2020 and after 2020.

The meetings down in our neck of the woods start after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

May 28: Highline Community College, 2400 S. 240 St., Des Moines
June 3: Daffodil Valley Elementary School, 1509 Valley Ave., Sumner
June 10: Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma

Here's the full news release:

=> Read more!

The Associated Press reports that superdelegate Jim McDermott, the congressman from Seattle, endorsed Barack Obama today.

McDermott said Democrats were fortunate to have two talented candidates for president, adding that he respects Sen. Hillary Clinton.
But he said he believes now is the time to unite behind Obama so Democrats can be in the strongest position to win in November.

Obama: 6
U.S. Reps. Adam Smith, Rick Larsen, Brian Baird, McDermott, Gov. Chris Gregoire, party official Pat Notter

Clinton: 5
U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee and Norm Dicks, U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, King County Executive Ron Sims

Undeclared: 6*
Ed Cote, Eileen Macoll, Sharon Mast, David McDonald, state party chairman Dwight Pelz, Tom Foley*

* The New York Times and the Associated Press say Foley is undecided. The Superdelegate Transparency Project and a spokesman for the party says Foley is a Clinton delegate. We'll err on the side of caution and say he's undecided until or unless we hear from Foley himself.

Karen Cooper is the longtime executive director of the Washington state affiliate of NARAL, the National Abortion Rights Action League.

She sent a message out Wednesday to supporters, taking issue with the decision of the group's national Pro-Choice America PAC to endorse Barack Obama. It's not that the state group dislikes Obama, it is just that it thinks an endorsement now is an insult to Hillary Clinton. Both candidates have 100 percent voting records on abortion rights.

As you may have heard, today NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC announced its endorsement of U.S. Senator Barack Obama for president. I wanted to let all of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington's supporters know the story behind the endorsement.

None of us here, myself included, knew about it until a phone call this morning from D.C., and at that point it was a done deal. To be clear, we at NARAL Pro-Choice Washington remain neutral in the race between Senators Clinton and Obama. We strongly disagree with NARAL Pro-Choice America's decision to endorse at this time.

Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are 100% pro-choice and have been vocal advocates for the right to choose. Both are co-sponsors of the Federal Freedom of Choice Act, which would put the protections of the Roe v. Wade into federal law. To endorse Obama at this point in the race is an unconscionable slap in the face to Senator Hillary Clinton.

Furthermore, I want to make sure you know there is no transfer of funds between our affiliate and NARAL Pro-Choice America. We are separate entities. As I write this to you, our Board of Directors is planning a meeting to discuss our affiliate's next steps. We will keep you updated on what we decide.

Please read our press release on the endorsement. Thank you, Karen S. Cooper Executive Director

I just got back from the Ralph Nader event at TCC. Look for a story in tomorrow's paper.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this tidbit: Portland lawyer and activist Greg Kafoury said a man like Nader "comes around once a century..."

I had to pause: I'm pretty sure a man just like Nader comes around exactly once every four years.

Skip Priest, R-Federal Way, is going for a fourth two-year term. He was pretty active this past session on sex offender bills, many of them related to the Zina Linnick case.

But the Democrat majority didn't enact many of them, and the ones the Democrats did enact were sponsored by their own House members.

For Immediate Release:
Rep. Skip Priest Announces Re-Election Campaign Kickoff

Federal Way…State Representative Skip Priest announced today that he will seek his fourth term as 30th District Representative. The candidate is inviting the public to a campaign kickoff celebration Sunday, May 18th from 4:30 to 6:00pm at the Federal Way Courtyard Marriott located at 31910 Gateway Center Blvd. South in Federal Way.

=> Read more!

The Washington Education Association's assembly is meeting in Spokane through the weekend, and they usually talk about "special assessments" when they hold their annual meeting.

The 81,000-member union currently is getting near the end of a $2-a-month assessment it levied on its members for the past couple years. That money was supposed to promote the need for paying teachers higher salaries, among other things. You know, radio ads, lobbying lawmakers, etc.

WEA-PAC, the political action committee, is a potent force in the governor's race and the WEA loves Gov. Chris Gregoire. (My headline for this post was intended to grab your attention. I don't really know whether the WEA will be assessing its members a special "elect Gregoire" fee.)

Actually, word is, the assembly will consider just letting the current $2-a-month special assessment lapse, and replacing it with a $1-a-month regular dues increase.

And then there's the state schools superintendent race, and the union withdrawing its support of former union boss Terry Bergeson.

Gregoire will be there Thursday:

Gov. Gregoire to address teacher convention in Spokane

SPOKANE – Gov. Chris Gregoire tomorrow will address more than 1,200 teachers, school employees and college faculty at the annual assembly of the Washington Education Association (WEA) convention being held in Spokane. Gregoire will speak about what it takes to make Washington’s public education system world class.
What: Gregoire speaks at WEA Assembly
When: Thursday, May 15 - 7 p.m.
Where: Spokane Convention Center

We saw quite a few lawmakers announce their departure from the Legislature at the end of this past session. Rep. Mary Skinner, R-Yakima, makes it almost a full dozen.

This is an even greater loss of institutional memory. Skinner has been here for 16 years. Her district in Yakima is decidedly Republican, so there won't be any change in the 63-35 advantage now enjoyed by Democrats.

Skinner announces retirement at end of term
After 14 years of service, Yakima legislator plans to spend more time with family

Saying it has been one of the greatest honors of her life to represent the citizens of the 14th District, Rep. Mary Skinner today announced she will retire from her legislative seat at the end of her term in January.

"After long and careful consideration and much prayer, I have decided not to seek an eighth term in office as state representative and will retire in January," said Skinner, R-Yakima.

=> Read more!

This project has been on the books for a long, long time, and it's finally under way.

The money to pay for it comes from the 5-cent gas tax increase the Legislature approved in 2003.

Interstate 5 between Maytown and Grand Mound, an 8-mile stretch, will be widened to 3 lanes in each direction at a cost of $88 million. It will take more than 2 years.

Here is a map of the area.

And here's the official news release:

Transportation secretary breaks ground on I-5 widening south of Olympia

OLYMPIA – Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond took control of an excavator this morning and deftly plowed a pile of dirt to kick off an I-5 widening project in Thurston County.

=> Read more!

It sounds like the Sunshine Committee, the group studying whether all of the exemptions to Washington state's public records law are necessary, had a spirited meeting Tuesday.

State Sen. Pam Roach and the committee chairman, Seattle city attorney Tom Carr, tangled. And farm industry representatives strongly objected to proposals to lift the exemptions that keep agricultural data secret. Check out this gem by Jim Halstrom of the Washington State Horticultural Association, which represents tree fruit growers and shippers.

"You're subjecting my farmers' information to scrutiny by the public," without showing there's a problem, said Halstrom. He called the proposal "ludicrous" and said the committee is just "a cynical political exercise pandering to a public perception that there should be openness in government."

Yeah, read that quote again.

Richard Roesler of The Spokesman-Review has a full account, along with links to TVW audio clips.

Update: Open-government advocate Greg Overstreet also saw Roesler's story.

The need for open government is merely a "public perception"? Is that because closed governments have such a swell history of treating people well? Name one. Anywhere in the world. At any point in human history.

Find the rest of Overstreet's opinion, along with comments about other important open-government issues in Washington state, on his Og-blog.

Leslie Brown, a News Tribune alum, has written a fine story about our former governor and his campaign on behalf of an assisted suicide ballot measure, Initiative 1000.

Here's her story from the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber.

A lengthy extension of the county’s waste management contract with Land Recovery Inc. is getting some scrutiny on the County Council and in the community.

LRI provides solid waste recycling, composting and disposal services and manages the county’s solid waste facilities. The county’s current contract with LRI – executed in 1998 and amended in 2002 – runs through 2011. County Executive John Ladenburg’s administration has negotiated a proposed extension through 2036.

The council on Tuesday responded with a resolution asking Ladenburg to address several questions. Among them: Why such a long extension? And under what circumstances could the county terminate the contract?

The council also referred the contract to the county’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee. The committee will get a briefing on the contract at 5:30 p.m. today at the Pierce County Environmental Services Building, 9850 64th St. W., University Place. A public hearing is tentatively set for May 28.

I haven’t had a chance to read the proposed contract. But if you’re interested, here’s a copy of the contract and the council resolution. Warning: this is a 64-page document.

Here are a couple of meet-the-candidate events that have come in via e-mail:

The 25th District Republican Club will meet May 21 at 7 p.m. at the City of Puyallup library. The guest will be Jan Shabro, candidate for Pierce County assessor-treasurer. The public is invited. Contact Bob Neilson at 253-845-0038.

Republican Women’s Clubs of the South Puget Sound region (south of Olympia and north across the Narrows Bridge) are invited to meet with Dino Rossi. The event will be held June 12 at noon at Oakbrook Country and Golf Club. The cost is $17. Reservations are required.
More information is available here.

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna and Secretary of State Sam Reed promised again today to do vigorous battle with the state's political parties over the new top two primary.

You thought that was resolved? The U.S. Suprme Court ruled in favor of the state, upholding the system that lets voters pick among all party candidates during the August primary. But a press release from the two offices outlines the latest legal arguments against the primary, including a challenge based on the same technicality that voided Initiative 747 last year.

The release also takes a shot across the bow of the parties. McKenna has asked the court to order the parties to repay the state for legal fees that the state was forced to cover when it was losing. Now that the state has won, the money – $107,000 – should be returned, McKenna argues.

=> Read more!

Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg has approved $7.1 million in staffing cuts and other adjustments to balance a 2008 budget that’s taken a hit from the real estate slump and falling interest rates.

County budget director Patrick Kenney detailed the cuts today in a letter to elected officials and department directors. The cuts include postponing hiring six new sheriff’s deputies included in this year’s budget and postponing other hires. It also includes using $1 million in fund balance to cover the revenue shortfall.

In his letter, Kenney said the cuts should be seen as temporary and subject to revision if revenue picks up later this year. Ladenburg is still reviewing proposed cuts for the 2009 budget and hopes to announce a decision in five to 10 days.

You can read the full list by downloading Kenney’s letter here.

Rob Cerqui is running for the 25th District House seat that incumbent Rep. Joyce McDonald, R-Puyallup, is leaving to run for the Pierce County Council.

Cerqui says he's a Democrat. Although McDonald is a Republican, her seatmates, Rep. Dawn Morrell and Sen. Jim Kastama are Democrats. So, it would appear he has a chance for an open seat.

Update: The other candidates are Bruce Dammeier, a Puyallup School Board member who's running as a Republican, and Laurence Pratt of the Progressive Party.

For Immediate Release
May 13, 2008
Cerqui Announces Bid for 25th District Open Seat
After careful consideration and with much encouragement and support I have decided to run for the State House of Representatives in the 25th district, my home district. I am very excited to get the opportunity to run for this seat and hopefully to represent the people at a higher level and to carry forth my ideas, perspectives, and hard work ethic.

=> Read more!

John McCain is in Western Washington today. The AP reports that the Arizona senator arrived from Oregon about 10:30 a.m. today at Boeing Field. He headed to an 11:30 a.m. roundtable on the environment. We'll post the AP's coverage of that event.

As the AP notes,

Members of the Machinists union met McCain at the airport. The union says he was instrumental in allowing an Air Force contract for air tankers to go to Airbus instead of Boeing.

The state Democratic Party also sent out a news release blasting McCain as the Washington state "job slayer."

The AP has reported that McCain helped EADS, the French-owned company for which many of his top campaign advisors lobbied, to win a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract over Boeing. Last month, McCain boasted about his efforts to ship Washingtonians’ jobs overseas on National Public Radio:

SIEGEL: But when you talk about cutting $100 billion in spending, though, I mean, the bridge to nowhere, the famous Alaska bridge that you've talked about as the epitome of the useless earmark, it's about $350 million. There's a huge difference between programs like that and hundreds of billions.

McCAIN: Well, in all due respect, I saved $6 billion in killing off a bogus Air Force tanker deal. I can identify billions and billions and billions of dollars. As I said, I mentioned 35, and I mentioned another 65 that's been made part of the baseline of the budget which has contributed to the largest expansion in government since the Great Society. (NPR, 4/23/08)

But it was a bogus deal, wasn't it?

Former Boeing CFO Michael Sears pleaded guilty to a single count of aiding and abetting illegal employment negotiations. He was sentenced to four months in prison.
Darleen Druyun, a former high-ranking Air Force acquisitions officer, got a nine-month sentence for her roll in the scam, which included getting jobs at Boeing for relatives and herself. She drove up the price of the tankers - paid by taxpayers - to help Boeing.

Read this account by CBS News and get a refresher on the details.

The second time around, Boeing had to "play by the rules and win the contract on the strength of its bid, not with an under-the-table deal that hurt the company’s bottom line and ended careers," as our editorial board wrote.

This isn't to say there aren't issues or concerns about the awarding of the revised contract to Airbus. Investigations continue. But don't forget how bad that original deal was.

Thanks to Politickerwa.com for the tip about a survey of U.S. Senators regarding the vice presidency, that is, would they serve if asked? That's what Washington, D.C. publication The Hill wanted to know.

Forget that Washington's two senators endorsed Hillary Clinton and - for that reason alone - are unlikely to be tapped by Barack Obama. It is still fun to hear their responses.

Said Patty Murray: “Any American citizen, large or small, would be honored to be asked. But I totally expect any of our candidates to have a tremendous list of people. I don’t expect to be asked."

And Maria Cantwell: “Does that include any sports picks or anything like that? … I would certainly consider it.”

Next week’s Pierce County Council budget retreat is shaping up as a bummer.

Thanks to falling interest rates and a slumping real estate market, the county faces a 2008 revenue shortfall of about $7 million and growing. In the past, council budget retreats have been a forum for hashing out new spending priorities. This year’s is likely going to be about how to cut spending.

Democratic Councilmen Calvin Goings and Tim Farrell yesterday announced their plan to address budget problems. The plan would:

• Create a “strategic economic development reserve fund.”

• Borrow up to $10 million to fast-track construction of several county road projects that would increase freight mobility.

=> Read more!

Not surprisingly, my article in Monday's paper on Tacoma's legal battle over the question of whether a "pig" is a "hog" sparked a few e-mails and phone calls. Many readers were amazed that officials are spending time and money on the matter.

A couple of comments stood out. One was this this helpful e-mail from a reader with a farming background:

I was raised on a farm and my children raised and showed pigs for 4H and FFA projects. The following is the generally accepted definition of pig/hog to the people who raise them. I'm sure it wouldn't make any difference to the court, but...

The words "swine," "hogs," and "pigs" refer to animals of the porcine family or pig family. The term swine can also refer to the pig family in a general way, and "pig" can be used in referencing young animals. "Hog" will generally refer to animals at or nearing market weight or finished for market. The term "barrow" means a neutered male, and "gilt" means a young female. Pigs are also referred to as weaner pigs (weaned to 40 pounds) growing pigs (40 - 125 pounds), and finishing pigs, weighing from 125 pounds to market weight--usually about 230 pounds.

Sharon Lindsey

You're right, Sharon. I'm sure it won't make any difference to the court. But it's interesting reading all the same.

Another reader left me a voice mail saying the whole flap called to mind the great Washington state Pig War. Either Oregon schools didn't teach this bit of history, or it completely escaped my memory.

HistoryLink.org has a write-up about the incident, which states in part:

The "Pig War" was a standoff between the U.S. Army and the British Royal Navy that began in the summer of 1859. A marauding pig could easily have sparked war between the U.S. and Great Britain as both nations sought to occupy North America.

Fortunately, Tacoma's pig/hog case doesn't appear this serious. At least not yet.

Ever wanted to know what a fundraising poster for Barack Obama in Hungarian looks like?

Wonder no more.

State Senate Republicans wanted to make sure we saw the monthly revenue collection report put together by the state Department of Revenue, mainly because they've been predicting doom and gloom on the financial front.

Doom and gloom isn't here yet. But there was a downward tick in collections. For the quarter, collections are a half percent below projections. About $13 million.

Click here to see the report.

I'm going to wait another month before I write the story that Republicans want, provided the tax scene worsens. The headline on that story, of course, would be "Democrats spend Washington state into bankruptcy!"

Todd Gibson, who owns an advertising agency, is running for the seat now held by Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Normandy Park. She is not seeking reelection.

Two Democrats also are in the race -- Tina Louise Orwall and Elizabeth A. Albertson.

The 33rd District is South King County.

Here's Gibson's announcement:

Gibson announces ‘Locally Grown’ race for State House in 33rd District

Todd Gibson, a local entrepreneur and community college instructor today announced he is running for the 33rd District state House position to bring new energy and ideas to the Legislature.

=> Read more!

In his fund-raising appeal (detailed in Joe's item earlier today), state Rep. Jim McCune of Graham points out that he is a member of a minority group.

If Puyallup Republican Joyce McDonald is replaced by a Democrat in the 25th (she's running for County Council), then McCune says he'll be one of just two Pierce County Republicans in the state House. It is not quite that bad since you have to count Dan Roach who represents the mostly King County 31st District but lives in Pierce County.

But then again, maybe it is that. We presume McCune counts his seatmate Tom Campbell, but Campbell is sort of a caucus of one – rarely if ever attending Republican meetings.

Still, of the seven districts that make up Pierce County, only three of 14 seats would be Republican if McDonald's seat goes to the D's. In the Senate, it could be just Mike Carrell of Lakewood and Pam Roach. And we count Mama Roach who represents a corner of the county but lives in Auburn.

It wasn't always this way. Just 10 years ago Republicans held six of the 14 House seats and three of the seven Senate seats. Just 12 years ago Republicans had a majority of the 21 seats.

What happened? They lost the suburbs, turning over seats in the 2nd, the 25th, the 26th, the 28th and the 31st. Similar losses happened east and north of Lake Washington and is the best explanation of how Democrats took control of the Legislature.

Gov. Chris Gregoire is going to attend a fundraiser later this month for Rep. Fred Jarrett, D-Mercer Island, who is running for state Senate in the 41st Legislative District.

Jarrett, you'll recall, switched parties late last year with the very intention of running for the seat being vacated by Sen. Brian Weinstein, D-Mercer Island. (Weinstein was a recovering lawyer but relapsed. He's going back to lawyering.)

King County's Eastside, long a stronghold for the GOP, is the new frontier for Democrats.

Please Join Governor Chris Gregoire and Rep. Fred Jarrett at a Breakfast Event to Kick Off Fred's Senate Campaign

Fred and Governor Gregoire have made a great team

=> Read more!

I just talked to Jill Strait, spokeswoman for Dino Rossi's 2008 gubernatorial campaign. She called about this story, specifically this part:

“From Day 1, Rossi has lied about his fundraising, has lied about Governor Gregoire’s fundraising and has bragged about so-called ‘new’ supporters,” said state (Democratic) party spokesman Kelly Steele, referring to a Public Disclosure Commission investigation into Rossi’s using his nonprofit group to build his campaign donor list.

The agency said its investigation found that Rossi, “with the efforts of the Foundation’s own staff, served to further develop the mailing list that Mr. Rossi has carried forward from campaign to campaign,” but that doing so didn’t violate the state’s disclosure law.

Strait said the accusations were baseless.

The figures are “absolutely not an exaggeration,” she said. “It’s our donors that we track based on how the (Public Disclosure Commission) counts donors and how they tell us to track our donors.”

The problem: Strait commented on the accusation that donor numbers were exaggerated, but didn't feel like she had a chance to address the whole PDC investigation thing. So, here you are:

"No lists were carried over for the campaign... He did bring his list from the '04 campaign to the foundation and they stayed there."

"The only is that we are using on our 2008 campaign was our 2004 campaign list."

A reader forwarded this plea for money, sent out by incumbent Rep. Jim McCune, R-Graham.

I'm sure many of you will appreciate McCune's description of the forces that are arrayed against him. Sounds a lot like the Evil Empire.

"I have been targeted by the ultra-liberal Democrat Speaker of the House Frank Chopp's (he hails from Capitol Hill) campaign machine for elimination. Frank Chopp runs typical slashing, slanderous attack campaigns, with vast sums of money pouring in from his interest groups. This political bulldozer is fueled by interest groups such as trial lawyers, environmentalists, tribal casino barons, and union bosses."

Wow! And McCune is just, well, I'll let him tell you who he is.

Dear Pierce County Republican Friends,

For those of you who may not know me, I am State Representative Jim McCune. I represent the 2nd Legislative District, and I live in Graham.
With the departure of Rep. Joyce McDonald to run for the County Council, I am one of only two Republican State Representatives left in Pierce County.

=> Read more!

Presidential candidate and Arizona Senator John McCain will be in the neighborhood tomorrow. I'm just getting details on the visit -- and finding that none of it will be open to the public. Sorry, folks.

However, there's an environmental roundtable at 11:30 a.m. in North Bend tomorrow morning. I won't be there, but we'll have AP coverage of the whole shebang.

From the campaign:

Today in Portland, Ore. at Vestas, a global wind energy company, John McCain will lay out his plan to combat global climate change, including a domestic cap and trade program. Tomorrow while in Washington, Senator McCain will sit down with stakeholders including members of environmental groups, conservationists, and the business community, to talk about how best to implement the programs we need to take on this problem.

After, McCain will go on a hike with some of the national press and maybe a local reporter.

In related news, the state Democratic party is planning a foil:

McCain is bringing his campaign to give Americans a 3rd Bush term to our state next week, and when he steps out of his limo on May 13th, we're planning to make sure "it's written in the skies" that his views are out of step with those of Washington voters. The plan is to hire an airplane that will carry a special message to Republican John McCain, and everybody else who is paying attention. Can you help us by donating just $25?

Kelly Steele, spokesman for the party, pondered whether McCain would fly in on a French plane with Oregon plates.

Rep. Steve Conway, D-Tacoma, will kick off his re-election campaign Wednesday 5-7 p.m. at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall, 3049 S. 36th St., Tacoma.

Conway has been in the House since 1993, when he was appointed to replace now-Sen. Rosa Franklin in the 29th District.

Democrat Troy Kelley will be a target of the Republicans this time around because he won by only a slight margin in 2006, he's a freshman and the 28th District is still a swing district. (Sen. Mike Carrell is a Republican; Rep. Tami Green is a Democrat.)

Kelley says he lives in Tacoma, but I think he actually lives in University Place. But he's only 1 block on the UP side. The 28th includes Lakewood, DuPont, Steilacoom, Fircrest, UP and a little bit bit of Tacoma.

Here's what Kelley's campaign sent out while I was on vacation:

For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Ali Riveness, Campaign Manager – 800.831.8397

REPRESENTATIVE TROY KELLEY TO HOST CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF, MAY 13
State Representative Troy Kelley (D), who currently serves in the 28th legislative district (Pos. 1), will be hosting his 2008 re-election campaign kick-off at the Pierce County Environmental Building, located at 9850 64th Street West in University Place, on May 13, 2008 at 5:30 pm.

=> Read more!

David Ammons, that's who.

The Associated Press held a retirement party Friday night for Ammons, who covered state government and politics for the non-profit news cooperative for 37 years. As Seattle Times political reporter David Postman noted, Ammons got there even before Helen Sommers. His departure brought a Who's Who in Evergreen State politics to the reception room at the Temple of Justice in Olympia.

Ammons was roasted and toasted by Gov. Chris Gregoire, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler. Other guests included Mike "First Mike" Gregoire, former Gov. Booth Gardner, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, Secretary of State Sam Reed (Dave's new boss), state schools Superintendent Terry Bergeson, state Treasurer Mike Murphy and former Senate Majority Leader Sid Snyder. A buzz went around the room when Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi entered - you know, the guy who beat Gregoire in 2004 after the first two counts but lost by 133 votes after a second recount and a two-week court case.

Postman and the other speakers were very entertaining. But Ammons might have had the line of the night when he mentioned his new job with the Secretary of State's office and implored either Gregoire or Rossi "to win by a lot this time." Both candidates laughed and said they'll try to do just that.

It was a special evening as a room full of politicians and reporters celebrated the career of a gentleman journalist who covered issues fairly, objectively and accurately for more than three decades.

More news today from DC, courtesy of Les Blumenthal:

As the House headed out of town for the weekend, lawmakers approved a Democratic plan to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners caught up in the housing mess. And, Dave Reichert was among the 39 Republicans who went along for the ride.

The Auburn Republican, who faces a tough re-election campaign and is a top target of Democrats, plays the moderate card every now and then.

Reichert says in a press release that "appropriate assistance and mortgage products" must be available for "worthy" homeowners. Plus, the government needs to crackdown on predatory lenders and tax incentives need to be offered, he says.

All of this has to be done a way that won’t give a "free pass to the bad actors who contributed to this market downturn."

But then he parrots the White House and Republican leadership in calling for permanent tax relief for families, individuals and businesses.

A bonus factoid: Reichert said Washington state ranks 48th out of the 50 states in terms of foreclosure rates.

From Les Blumenthal in our D.C. bureau:

Boeing has hired a new head flack in Washington, D.C., and his roots are strictly Democratic. Congress Daily (sorry, subscription required) says Timothy Keating will be Boeing’s new senior vice president for public policy.

Most recently, Keating has been at Honeywell heading up government relations and before that was a Washington lobbyist. He worked in the Clinton administration as a special assistant to the president and staff director for legislative affairs and was involved in planning the 1996 and 2000 Democratic National Conventions and the 1997 presidential inaugural.

So what angle is Boeing playing? If Republican John McCain is elected president, it probably doesn’t matter who heads the Boeing lobbying shop. McCain has been one of Boeing’s toughest critics. If a Democrat is elected, Keating could be golden. But his ties are to the Clintons, not Obama. On the other hand, there aren’t a lot of former Obama staffers floating around. Reading the tea leaves is tough.

Barack Obama's Washington state campaign has announced a series of Vote for Change events Saturday at 18 places around the state. They will be part of a nationwide drive to register voters and activate grassroots volunteers.

The Tacoma event will begin at 3 p.m. at Pierce County Democratic Party offices at 3049 S. 36th St.

The Kent event will be at Kent Station, 417 Ramsay Way, Suite 110, beginning at 1 p.m.

The Olympia event will be at the Olympia Farmer's Market beginning at 10 a.m.

More information is available at the Obama website.

Who hasn't done this: You get a check, put it in your wallet and just sort of forget about it? Anyone?

Horse's Ass is reporting that the state Republican Party did it with a $30,000 check. Oops. It had only been, like, four months.

I just got an e-mail from Ralph Nader's Washington office. In case you forgot, he's running for president and he'll be in town next week!

At least they're honest: "If you have any interest in talking to Ralph before then to discuss his campaign, the effect of his 'spoiler' role, the '08 election in general and what he hopes to accomplish in Tacoma, please don't hesitate to let me know."

He'll be at Tacoma Community College (Building No. 3, 6501 S. 19th St.) on Wed., May 14 at 1:30 p.m. General public welcome, but bring $10 for admission (or $5 for students).

He'll then head to UW's Kane Hall, room 120 for a 7 p.m. Seattle event.

I saw Nader speak in Portland at the Rose Garden in 2001. Or, I should say, I, a conservative friend and what sure seemed like half of the Earth Liberation Front saw Nader (and Eddie Vedder and Jello Biafra!) at the Rose Garden in 2000. I think there's a joke in there somewhere.

If Joel Shomaker isn't the biggest Tacoma booster in history, I don't know who is. I came across his guest editorial, published in The News Tribune May 16, 1925, while researching the paper's coverage of the opening of the Winthrop Hotel.

My Winthrop article, part of the paper's 125th anniversary celebration, runs Sunday. Here, for your enjoyment and astonishment, is what Shomaker wrote 83 years ago for a feature called "Editorials by Readers."

Tacoma, a City of Optimism

By Joel Shomaker

Tacoma is a city of optimism. The people believe that life is worth living. They know there is more good than evil in Tacoma. The spirit of progress is in the air. It breathes upon the wheels of industry. The voice of prosperity is heard in the streets. It comes from the ships of the sea and the farms of the earth. It rings out a new dawn on the waves and in the furrows of commerce.

=> Read more!

U.S. rep. and superdelegate Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) pledged his support to Barack Obama today, a move that will likely increase the "Clinton's presidential bid is dead" headlines by a measure.

I'll post the full statement below. But first, here's where Washington's superdelegates are at, according to The Superdelegate Transparency Project and our own notes:

Obama: 5
(Congressman Larsen, Rep. Brian Baird, Adam Smith, Gov. Chris Gregoire, Pat Notter)

Clinton: 5
(U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, Ron Sims)

Undeclared: 7*
(U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, Ed Cote, Eileen Macoll, Sharon Mast, David McDonald, state party chairman Dwight Pelz, Tom Foley*)

(Total of 17. Plus, there are two unnamed add-ons that will be chosen later.)
* The New York Times and the Associated Press say Foley is undecided. The Superdelegate Transparency Project and a spokesman for the party says Foley is a Clinton delegate. We'll err on the side of caution and say he's undecided until or unless we hear from Foley himself.

And now, for the Larsen statement you've been waiting for:

“Today I am endorsing Senator Barack Obama for President. I believe Senator Obama is the best candidate to turn our country’s hopes for a better future into reality.

=> Read more!

In case you missed it, today's Hot Button poll is your chance to weigh in on whether Hillary should get out of the primary race or hold out.

And we won't even ask you to declare a party affiliation.

Superdelegates, superdelegates, superdelegates.

We ran a story this morning (posted here last night) about Washington state's remaining uncommitted superdelegates and whether their resolve has cracked yet. The answer: No. But one Washington superdelegate has announced support for Obama. (See below.)

But we were puzzled by one bit: The Superdelegate Transparency Project said Sharon Mast is uncommitted. The New York Times says she's a Hillary delegate.

I just got off the phone with Mast. She says she's uncommitted.

"I was surprised when I went to The New York Times site and saw that I was committed," she said. "I have been uncommitted all along in this process."

She said she intends to "remain so until this process completes itself."

I'm always suspicious of passive statements, so I asked how the process will "complete itself." "We have some states left and one more territory," she said.

I asked where she thinks the Times got the idea she was a Clinton supporter: "I have no idea. It doesn't matter. In real life, I know where I'm at, which is uncommitted."

Update: Rep. Rick Larsen just announced on a conference call that he's throwing his superdelegate support to Obama. I know that because I read it on other blogs, which I had to do because I wasn't invited to the conference call.

I rescind my birthday party invitation to Larsen.

I spent much of the past two days filling in for a reporter as the Reader Representative, answering questions, fielding complaints (and a few compliments), etc.

A reader named Bernadine wanted to know if something she got in an e-mail is true. The question: Did Barack Obama really say he'd rather salute "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" instead of the National Anthem because he feels the anthem conveys "a war-like message"?

Answer: No. This is an urban legend debunked by snopes.com and factcheck.com, both of which determined that it was a satirical column written by an Arizona writer that's now being circulated via chain e-mail as true.

Brad Shannon, political reporter for The Olympian, and I spent some time today talking to Washington's uncommitted superdelegates. The question: Do you have any plans to commit to a candidate now that headlines are declaring Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid all but over?

The answer: Not for now.

What follows is a good portion of a story written by Shannon and I that will run in Thursday's paper. It will accompany a national story by the McClatchy national political reporter. Stay tuned, the superdelegates will have to make a call (or change their phone numbers) sooner or later:

“I think over the next 48 hours I’ll be talking to the other uncommitted delegates in the state to see where the mood is. ... It may be time for us to make that choice as a Washington delegation,’’ superdelegate and party vice chairwoman Eileen Macoll of Pullman said Wednesday by telephone. “It’s definitely time to have a serious discussion.’’

But state party chairman Dwight Pelz and David McDonald, a member of the Democratic National Committee, say they’ll stay out of it for now.

“I remain uncommitted. Perhaps not all the way to the convention, but I’m the chair of the party and we’re still picking delegates,” Pelz said. He says he hopes the party can have a nominee in June and avoid a divisive national convention.

=> Read more!

I've been writing about April fundraising totals for Gov. Chris Gregoire and her opponent, Dino Rossi, since the month ended. And, while I now have some memos and guestimations, I don't have all the answers.

I do, however, have some questions. And math. Here goes.

Gregoire reported $2.843 million cash on hand in March. Subtract $75,803.16 in unpaid debt and you've got $2.767 million.

Rossi ended the month with $2.623 million cash on hand, zero unpaid debts. (Spokeswoman Jill Strait says the campaign pays debts as they're incurred, which means none carry over.)

So ... Gregoire's campaign memo says they raised $1.3 million this month and indicated they'd end up with about a million more cash on hand. That means they spent the $.3 million (OK, $300,000) and will now have somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.8 million. Got that?

Now for Rossi: Strait told me they raised about $625,000 and ended with around $3.1 million cash on hand. Get out your pencils.

$2.623 million + $625,000 = $3.248 million.

$3.248 million - X = $3.1 million. (X = all expenditures for the month.)

X = $148,000.

Question = The Rossi campaign spent about twice that during the previous month. And the month before. So how did they save all that dough? Strait told me they were being fiscally conservative.

To be clear, I believe and distrust everyone equally. Nobody wants to tell me – and, by extension, you and their competition – the truth about money until they have to.

So we'll wait, impatiently, for the final numbers. Unless anyone cares to enlighten me. You know how to reach me.

I asked campaign representatives from Gov. Chris Gregoire and challenger Dino Rossi's campaigns today for their April numbers. I've already gotten a ballpark figure for each campaign and an e-mail to Gregoire supporters that gives their haul for the month.

The response: We won't have final numbers until Monday, the deadline to file to the PDC.

I understand: No campaign wants the other campaign to know exactly how they're doing until they absolutely have to, which is the 10th of every month.

But give me some credit! I know you know. And now, courtesy of an e-mail sent to a handful of Gregoire supporters, you know that I know.

Without further delay:

April 2008
Total contributions: $1,323,089.49
Number of contributors: 6,353
Average contribution last month: $160.27

Cycle-to-date
Total contributions: $6,011,067.84
Number of contributors: 21,635
Average contribution: $167.20

So, Rossi's campaign told me earlier that they had about $3.1 million cash-on-hand. In the one of the last lines of the memo I received it says: Gregoire "will end April with around $1 million more in cash-on-hand." That means $4.1 million, give or take. Or does it? Because that might mean that she spent zero dollars, and statewide bus tours cost money.

Maybe the seemingly quickly written letter (there's a few grammar problems, but who am I to complain?) should have said a million more than last month, which would mean they'd have spent .3 of the $1.3 million raised.

I'm working on it. Stay tuned.

Bill Pugh joins Diane Supler, Tacoma's former budget director, at Sumner City Hall. Supler is Sumner's deputy city administrator.

This from my colleague Mike Archbold:

The City of Sumner has hired recently retired Tacoma assistant city manager and public works director Bill Pugh to be Sumner’s public works director.

Pugh is taking over for longtime Sumner public works director Bill
Shoemaker, who is retiring May 21.

Pugh was recruited by the city for the job. His salary will be $107,856.

“Bill Pugh brings a huge level of talent and experience to Sumner,” Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow said in a press release. “ Frankly, hiring him is a great opportunity and I’m very proud ‘little old Sumner’ could do it.”

City Administrator John Doan noted: “Bill recently sponsored a program called Community Based Services: staff from different
departments got together with the community to address their needs. This kind of initiative really matches well with Sumner’s mission and vision.”

In announcing his retirement in September, Pugh, who worked for the City of Tacoma for 33 years, said he planned to continue working.
“I’m too young to not be doing anything,” he said.

Pugh is out of town and couldn’t be reached.

Pugh will head a Sumner Department with 34 employees. As Tacoma public works director he directed 900 employees. Last year he was recognized as one of the top 10 public works leaders by the American Public Works 2007 National Congress.

Throughout his career, Pugh was responsible for the operations of the Tacoma Dome and Cheney Stadium, worked to attract investment in the city and establish Tacoma as a destination city, and partnered with the Tacoma School District to develop an environmental education program.

"We are coping with a private organization's decision to consolidate its line of business," Councilwoman Julie Anderson said near the end of last night's council meeting.

Anderson and other council members felt the need to respond to folks who testified during the Citizen's Forum about the fate of Tacoma's homeless population.

Last week, the board of directors of the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association voted to get out of the business of running the men's and women's overnight shelters on Tacoma Avenue.

Council members observed that several citizen's who spoke at the council meeting seemed to be testifying under the false impression that the homeless shelter was closing, and that the city had made the decision to shut it down.

Councilman Mike Lonergan said the source of confusion may be a piece of paper circulated at the shelter indicating it was closing June 1. "It's absolutely false," Lonergan said. "Whoever is putting out that information, it's very sad," he added.

Earlier in the day, John Briehl, Tacoma's director of Human Rights and Human Services, gave council members on update on the city's efforts to find a new operator for the shelter. Briehl also attempted to set the record straight on a couple of issues, one of them being something I reported. From Briehl's e-mail yesterday to council members:

=> Read more!

...I thought you're just the kind of group that might like to see this:

Tacoma City Councilwoman Connie Ladenburg wants the City Council to consider asking voters voters this fall either to extend the current two-term limit on City Council service to three terms, or eliminate term limits entirely.

Ladenburg said the role of a council member is changing, with more emphasis being placed on long-term projects. Under the city's current two four-year term limit, council members often are not able to see something to fruition, she said.

She cited former Councilman Tom Stenger's work on the planned Water Ditch Trail -- a project she has since taken an interest in promoting -- as an example.

"I've kind of taken a lead, but it still won't be completed when I finish my term," Ladenburg said Tuesday during the council's Committee of the Whole meeting.

Ladenburg was elected to her second term in November 2005. It expires at the end of 2009.

Ladenburg cited the work of several other council members as well, including Julie Anderson's work as a Sound Transit board member, Marilyn Strickland's interest in education, and Spiro Manthou's work on the old Asarco smelter site.

Other council members showed some interest in the idea, but they also expressed some concerns.

=> Read more!

The City Council is expected to vote soon on a request to loan the Tacoma Dome $250,000 to get started in the event promotion business.

With the Dome's small theater nearly finished, Deputy Director Rob Henson said it's time for Dome officials to go out and book their own -- primarily smaller -- events, bypassing promoters.

They need the money to get started. Any profits from shows would go back into the fund; any losses would come out of the fund. "You're going to win some and lose some," Henson told me. "At the end of the day, we believe we will win more than we lose."

In a memo to City Manager Eric Anderson, he wrote:

This will be a key part of our strategy to compete against other facilities in our market, namely the Paramount Theater, McCaw Hall, Everett Events Center and the new Kent arena that is projected to be operational in 2009. This will also give us the ability to fill the "dark days" on our calendar with revenue producing events.

Henson also told me he expects increased competition from Key Arena "with the Sonics leaving." "If I were Key Arena, I would be putting together a very aggressive plan to attract as much business as possible," he said.

=> Read more!

I just got an e-mail from Team Gregoire. I did it! Or you did, since I don't contribute to anyone: "Together, you and 6,352 energetic supporters helped us raise more than $1.3 million for our campaign in less than 30 days."

That's a bit more than the estimate I got last week. I'm still waiting to find out their cash on hand.

Now, for Rossi's campaign. I talked to spokeswoman Jill Strait, who tells me:
1. Rossi's campaign lists on their PDC report all donors who cumulatively donate more than $25. That explains the discrepancy between the numbers they send out to us and the number reported on the site.
2. Less than half a percent of their donors are out-of-state. Strait said that's about 150 of the 31,000 or so.
3. A group or company counts as one donor.

Pierce County continues to baby the Douglas fir tree at Chambers Bay Golf Course in the wake of last week’s ax attack.

Over the weekend an arborist attached metal bracing to the tree. It also got a good soil-scraping to uncover roots in preparation for the application of composting, according to the latest update from Tony Tipton, the county’s project manager for the golf course.

The wound itself initially will be allowed to heal the natural way, using its own sap to fend off moisture and disease. In two to three weeks the arborist will apply a high-strength epoxy resin to fill the wound.

The county also is considering how much to monitor the tree as it recovers.

I've received regular e-mails from Dino Rossi's gubernatorial campaign marking each thousandth donor.

But for Rhonda Ray Wells, donor No. 30,746, Rossi made a special, Publisher's Clearinghouse-style surprise visit (and corresponding press release and video).

For your viewing pleasure:

If you didn't watch the video, Rossi was celebrating 30,746 because it marks the total number of donors in his failed 2004 campaign. And there's six months of campaigning left!

So far, all the donors we've heard about have been in-state, salt of the earth types. I can't tell you what percentage of donors are out-of-state for either candidate, but they're out there. I kind of wonder what will happen if one of them is the next thousandth donor...

Update: A reader pointed out something curious. The car is moving and Rossi is in it. But where's his seat belt?! There's a chance he adjusted it so as not to obstruct the shot but ... isn't that illegal?!?!? Oy.

The AFL-CIO has unanimously voted to endorse Gov. Chris Gregoire's re-election bid:

Over the weekend the WSLC hosted its annual convention where Gregoire received unanimous support of the more than 350 union delegates who represent more than 400,000 union members across the state.

“It only required a two-thirds vote but Chris Gregoire got unanimous approval from the delegates at our convention. She’s been a great governor for Washington’s working families. She has overseen the creation of more than 220,000 new jobs, has doubled the number of apprenticeship opportunities in the state and is presiding over the lowest unemployment rate in the history of our state,” said Rick Bender, president, WSLC.

Who can say whether Ruston will ever become the Medina of Tacoma, as Mayor Kim Wheeler predicted nearly four years ago? But as the town struggles with issues of growth and change, Tacoma's former finance director offers a few other examples that Ruston might emulate.

From Steve Marcotte's Analysis of Current Financial Condition, submitted in February:

The situation currently facing Ruston is unique in its history and, doubtless, unique to the public officials trying to deal with it. But it is not unique to cities and towns elsewhere. There are several local communities that might provide insights on how some of these same issues have been successfully addressed.

Town of Beaux Arts Village
This is a town on the shores of Lake Washington that has about half the current population of Ruston yest is financially stable without major business development. It has maintained a separate identity while surrounded by Bellevue and using contracted services from King County for Police services and Bellevue for Fire services.

Town of Fircrest
Fircrest is virtually surrounded by the City of Tacoma and uses Tacoma Public Utilities for electric services and has a contract with the Tacoma Fire Department for fire and emergency medical services.

City of Fife
Fife has doubled its population in the past five years and has experienced a great deal of commercial development. It now has a resident population of about 7,500 and a daytime population of about 35,000. They have adapted their staffing and service models to meet these rapidly expanding requirements.

Marcotte's report included three recommendations for Ruston.

=> Read more!

Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg will formally launch his campaign for attorney general today in Seattle. He’ll hold a similar rally later this month in Tacoma.

More details below.

Advisory for Monday, May 5 2008
Contact: Christian Sinderman (206) 683-8380

John Ladenburg to formally kick off Attorney General campaign with large events Monday in Seattle, late May in Tacoma
Smaller events around the state will be announced as Pierce County Executive continues to build momentum

SEATTLE—Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, Democratic candidate for Attorney General, will formally kick off his campaign for Attorney General with a May 5 event in Seattle and Tacoma event later in the month. Both are expected to draw several hundred supporters.

=> Read more!

I don't know how one can use the phrase "ship shape" and "perfect storm" in the same news release, but somehow the state Department of Transportation did use those contradictory descriptions of the HOT lane debut.

As I recall, in the movie version of "Perfect Storm," the boat sank!

Something tells me there's gonna be a whole lotta drivers complaining to their legislators and others about those HOT lanes. Especially carpoolers. We're all used to being able to move in and out of the carpool lanes whenever we want, but that's not allowed anymore on Highway 167.

Here's the officials version of today's events.

=> Read more!

Arborist Rob Lloyd delivered a mixed report on the Chambers Bay Golf Course Douglas fir today.

According to the report, the iconic tree – attacked with an ax earlier this week – has an 18-inch-long wound that cuts about 8 inches deep. Lloyd recommends placing two steel straps over the damaged area and filling the wound with an epoxy putty. The work will be done Saturday.

But the tree has other issues that may determine whether it survives, according to Lloyd.

“If this tree were in good condition I do not believe it would have much difficulty in overcoming this injury, however, the tree has already been stressed for some time,” Lloyd wrote.

He noted the tree “is yellowing, and has a stressed cone crop typically symbolic of decline of root tissue. The composition of the soil is mostly sand, with no organic content.”

His advice: a plant-care program including mulching, fertilizing and minor reduction in the fill materials near the base of the tree.

To download the four-page report, click here.

County Councilman and executive candidate Shawn Bunney will ask Pierce County to develop an “economic stimulus package” to boost the local economy.

In an announcement released this afternoon, Bunney said he will ask the county Office of Economic Development to study whether unspecified “front-loaded fees and charges” can be collected later or be amortized over time.

Bunney billed the proposal as a way to counter the real estate slump that has led to the county’s multi-million dollar budget shortfall.

“Bringing new jobs to Pierce County and making it easier for companies to do business are two keys to reversing that trend,” Bunney said.

Read the full announcement below.

Pierce County Councilmember Shawn Bunney will submit a resolution next week targeted at stimulating economic growth in the local economy.

“My resolution focuses on keeping Pierce County families working,”
Bunney (District 1) said.

=> Read more!

The board of the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association voted last night to notify the City of Tacoma that it intends to get out of the business of running a homeless shelter.

Kevin Phelps, the former Tacoma City Councilman and current MLKHDA board member, said the organization wants to focus on its core mission of developing housing for at-risk and low-income individuals.

The decision is not solely related to the apparent failure of a pair of grant applications. A citizen's commission recommended not awarding the federal block grants, but the City Council will make the final decision.

"We were very concerned that we would be perceived as our oganization was holding the city hostage," Phelps said. "We understand the process." He added, "At this point, we really feel the money is not going to be coming."

=> Read more!

Frank Chopp's people just sent this out. See earlier posting on Rep. Geoff Simpson, one of Chopp's 63 caucus members, for the time being.

Statement from Speaker Frank Chopp

I met with Representative Simpson yesterday afternoon. He understands the gravity of the situation, and he has decided that he will take leave of his position as chair of the House Committee on Local Government pending resolution of the charges he faces. We both believe this is the best course of action for all involved.

The Pierce County Auditor’s Office this fall will launch a $250,000 campaign to educate voters about the new ranked-choice voting system. But you can see the first fruits of that campaign by downloading a copy of this new brochure.

Under ranked-choice voting (a/k/a “instant-runoff voting”), there will be no August primary for most county offices. Instead, voters will rank candidates for county offices in order of preference at the general election.

If no candidate wins a majority of first-place votes, the candidate with the least votes will be eliminated, and the second choice of that candidate’s supporters will be counted. The process of elimination continues until two candidates remain, and the remaining candidate with the most votes wins.

The new brochure explains the new system and includes instructions for voters. For more information on ranked-choice voting from the auditor’s office, click here.

Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor will kick off his first election campaign on May 15. So far, he has no opposition. See details of his campaign event below.

You are cordially invited to Sheriff Paul Pastor’s campaign kickoff! This will be a spirited event on Thursday May 15th from 5 – 7pm at the Landmark Convention Center in downtown Tacoma, featuring a special musical guest and brief regards from Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag and from Pierce County Council Chair Terry Lee. We hope you can make it out to support the Pierce County Sheriff and help us create additional awareness about his campaign.

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UPDATE: House Speaker Frank Chopp weighs in on Simpson situation:

Statement from Speaker Frank Chopp

I met with Representative Simpson yesterday afternoon. He understands the gravity of the situation, and he has decided that he will take leave of his position as chair of the House Committee on Local Government pending resolution of the charges he faces. We both believe this is the best course of action for all involved.

State Rep. Geoff Simpson, who has been charged with four-degree assault earlier this week for allegedly assaulting his ex-wife, sent out a news release today. He says he's taking a leave of absence from his committee, but not stepping down from the Legislature.

Read on:

Friday, May 2, 2008
Statement from Representative Geoff Simpson (LD 47)

Serving as chair of the House Local Government Committee is an important and time consuming responsibility. Today, I have decided to take leave of my position as Chair of the Committee until my legal issues are resolved.As always, I intend to remain accessible and responsive to my constituents while I focus on the unfortunate personal matters that have arisen.

As I have stated, I remain confident I will be exonerated of these unwarranted charges once the facts are revealed. At such time, I plan to resume my leadership duties as chairman of the committee.

My apologies to Alex Hays of the Mainstream Republicans. I got this announcement a couple weeks ago and just forgot to post it. So those of you who are relying on this notice won't get the reduced rate for rooms. Sorry.

The moderate middle of the GOP is meeting on May 16-18 at The Inn at Gig Harbor. Time was, Mainstream meant "Republicans who are pro-choice." Not sure what it means now. Alex?

We'll be tackling the biggest issues of the day:
Gay Rights
Global Warming
Immigration

Here's the rest:

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I'm guessing that the toll for solo drivers who want to get into the carpool lanes on Saturday will be only 50 cents all day, but to tell the truth, I don't drive that far north on 167 on weekends.

So I don't know how congested the highway gets between Auburn and Renton on Saturdays.

Anyway, after being postponed a week, the lanes finally are opening.

Here's the official word:

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The San Francisco Chronicle published a story about dogs and cats, similar to the one we ran in March.

Their article focused on the trend toward giving animals more human-sounding names -- Max, Lucy, Samantha and Charlie instead of Fluffy, Rover or Fido.

Like our piece, the Chronicle article included a list of the most popular names, and a searchable database. Tacoma's database is here.

Turns out there is a remarkable similarity in the Top 10 lists. Buddy and Max are the most popular dog names in Tacoma and San Francisco, and six of Tacoma's Top 10 names also are in San Francisco's Top 10 (Buddy, Max, Molly, Lucy, Bailey, and Daisy).

Eight of Tacoma's Top 10 cat names also score in San Francisco's Top 10 (Tigger, Smokey, Max, Shadow, Tiger, Kitty, Missy and Lucy.)

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Tacoma set aside almost $4 million in the 2007-08 budget to cover the cost of a new police contract, but will end up paying out a little more -- something in the range of $4.1 million to $4.4 million, according to an e-mail Finance Director Bob Biles sent to Kim Bradford in our editorial department.

It took a while for the city to crunch the numbers. Biles told me they tried to figure it out with the city's SAP computer system, but encountered problems and went back to other means.

The difference did not strike council members Spiro Manthou or Jake Fey as a big concern. I spoke with both of them today on other matters and asked about it.

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I'm one of about a zillion people keeping track of Washington's superdelegates. So this caught my eye: A former national party chairman and Hillary Rodham Clinton superdelegate defected. He's urging others to unite behind Obama, just in time for his home state of Indiana's primary next week.

So ... Washington superdelegates, where do you stand? (Find out here and, of course, here.)

Yesterday, I posted a blog entry about Chuck Collins running for a seat in the 2nd District. He sent the following e-mail today.

Hi Joe,
Thank you, for posting the blog so quickly. I do appreciate it.

I do want to clarify that, technically speaking, I approached Jeff Morris about running and he and the HDCC have since 'steered me in the right direction'. When you mentioned 'recruited' yesterday I was thinking more generically about my relationship with the House Dems, and not thinking in literal terms about them approaching me and "asking" me to run. This is something I am doing on my own initiative and, fortunately, have had good advice and support from Jeff and others. I do still have to 'prove myself' to the HDCC and the citizens of the 2nd District, and they will disperse funding and support at their discretion.

For what it's worth, I just wanted to clarify.
Again, thank you.
Chuck

Chuck Collins
Citizens for Chuck Collins
www.chuckcollins2008.org
PO Box 4879
Spanaway, WA 98387
(360) 894-1427

Rossi's camp just called me back: They're estimating they raised $625,000 last month.

This morning, I posted that gubernatorial candidate (and current governor) Chris Gregoire's campaign estimates they raised about $1 million in April.

So Gregoire wins for April's fundraising. That's a flip from March, when Gregoire had something like 10 days to raise money and ended the month with far less than Rossi's $900,000.

Rossi's cash on hand (total raised minus expenditures) is around $3.1 million for April, up from $2.62 million last month. (Again, these are estimates.)

I'm waiting to hear about cash on hand from the Gregoire campaign. I hope to have something today (hint, hint, campaign insiders).

From Les Blumenthal in our DC bureau:

Just talked with Rep. Norm Dicks, who was headed to the airport for a flight home to his district. Dicks said he has asked the Interior Department to further clarify a new rule allowing people to carry a concealed firearm in a national park or wildlife refuge. Here's our story about the proposal.

As chairman of the House interior appropriations subcommittee, Dicks is in a position to block it. But such a move could touch off a major Second Amendment flare-up on Capitol Hill in an election year.

Dicks said park rangers have told him they prefer the current policy that requires weapons be temporarily inoperable or stored in a secure place like a locked car trunk. The new Interior rule would allow people to carry concealed weapons if they have a permit and if the state where the national park is located allows guns in its own parks. Washington state does.

"I don’t like it, but there may not much we can do," Dicks said. "I think it is unnecessary, but I am a realist."

Dicks said the proposal is probably not everything the National Rifle Association wanted, but once 51 senators sent them a letter Interior had little choice but to act.

The public now has 60 days to comment.

"We need to watch this carefully and see the public reaction," Dicks said.

I just got off the phone with a source inside Gov. Chris Gregoire's campaign who tells me they haven't quite finished tallying up April's fundraising numbers but they expect to top $1 million.

The reports aren't due to the PDC until the 10th of May, so we won't know an exact number until then.

I talked to challenger Dino Rossi's campaign this morning -- they tell me they're also still counting, and that Rossi missed out on some precious fundraising time while he peddled his transportation plan around the state.

Is touring the state not fundraising? Was the comment a way to soften the blow of a soft month? I don't know, but I'll find out and then tell you all.

I'm posting this mainly for the humor.

I do recall that Aaron Ostrom used to be with 1,000 Friends of Washington, I think. Now they are FutureWise?

Never heard of his new group until this e-mail arrived today.

Read about their awards.

And here's the news release that explains who they are:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Aaron Ostrom, Fuse, 206-498-2620
aaron@fusewashington.org
Chris McCullough, Fuse, 206-898-4677
chris@fusewashington.org

Fuse Campaign Highlights Which Legislators Sizzle and Which Fizzle

Seattle, Washington, May 1, 2008 – Fuse unveiled its first annual “Sizzle Awards” today, recognizing leaders and identifying roadblocks to common sense solutions in the State Legislature.

Fuse is giving Sizzle Awards to six legislators, the Governor, and one reporter for outstanding leadership. Four legislators have earned Fizzles for consistently standing in the way of progress.

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Former state Rep. Randy Dorn, once principal of Eatonville High School and now head of the second-largest public school workers’ union, announced Thursday he is running for the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Dorn becomes the third candidate to enter the race. Incumbent Terry Bergeson is seeking a fourth four-year term and Richland School Superintendent Richard Semler, former superintendent at Vashon Island, announced his campaign last week

Dorn, 54, actually would take a pay cut if he were to win. He is paid $130,000 as executive director of the 26,000-member Public School Employees of Washington, a job he has had the past eight years. The salary for state schools chief will go up to $121,618 in September.

He claims Bergeson has lost the respect of the education community and the Legislature, and that he is the only one of the three candidates who has the education background and political savvy to improve the state’s school system.

“First, you have to reestablish respect for the office,” Dorn said. “People do not believe Terry is listening. Then, you have to change the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) to make if more accountable.”

Dorn was chairman of the House Education Committee in 1993, the year the Legislature passed House Bill 1209, the Education Reform bill that later led to adoption of the WASL exams as a requirement for graduation. The state has since backed off that requirement.

I'll have more in Friday's print edition. Dorn and I had been playing telephone tag since last week and we finally connected this morning. The PSE Web site had his campaign announcement on Monday, along with an endorsement from the union's executive board.

Here's his official news release:

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Check out Sen. Patty Murray's email header. She looks like she's about to burst into a number from "The Sound of Music" or start yodeling or something.

That ain't Capitol Hill in the background. According to Murray spokesman Matt McAlvanah, it's the Wild Sky area of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, which will soon be the nation's newest wilderness area. Sen. Murray was the cosponsor of the designation bill, along with Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Lake Stevens. So, I guess she's entitled to yodel.

My post worked! Someone sent me confirmation that John McCain is actually coming to Washington this month. (OK, so the information had been posted on McCain's own Web site, but who's counting?)

If you have aspirations to see McCain, I hope you have lots of money: It's $33,100 to attend the Victory Dinner.

Here's the catch: That's per couple or per individual. I guess you could look at that two ways: Either it's discrimination against singles or financial incentive to bring a friend.

Read on if you don't have $33,100 -- there are some lower-cost options:

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