Political Buzz

A team of experienced reporters keep you updated on what's happening in political arenas at the city, county, state and federal levels. From presidential campaign visits to who's running for city council, we've got it covered.

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Peter Callaghan is a local columnist. He’s covered the statehouse and state politics since 1981. Before joining The News Tribune in 1985, the Stadium High grad worked for newspapers in Everett and Lewiston, Idaho, and for The Associated Press in Olympia and Seattle. Email Peter

Joe Turner has covered state government and transportation issues since 1990. Since the Bellarmine grad’s arrival in the newsroom in 1978, he’s covered police, suburban cities, Tacoma City Hall, Federal Way City Hall and the Pierce and King county governments. Email Joe

David Wickert covers Pierce County government. Before coming to The News Tribune in 1998, he covered local government for newspapers in Illinois, Virginia and Tennessee. Email David

Ian Demsky is a general assignment reporter who specializes in database-driven reporting. He's been at the News Tribune since 2007 and has previously worked in Nashville, Tenn. and Portland, Ore. When he's not at work, he enjoys hiking and science fiction. Email Ian
Les Blumenthal has been covering Washington, D.C. for The News Tribune since 1990, focusing on issues and politicians involving the state. Before joining The News Tribune, he spent 13 years working for The Associated Press in Seattle, Illinois and Washington, D.C. Email Les

John Henrikson is a local news editor who oversees political coverage. He's worked as a journalist in the Northwest for 19 years, supervising coverage and reporting on local and state government, the environment and growth. Email John

Local politics links
Brad Shannon's The Politics Blog (The Olympian)
Adam Wilson (The Olympian)
Politics Northwest (Seattle Times)
Sound Politics
Horse's Ass
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P-I's Strange Bedfellows (Seattle PI)
Crosscut
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Other Resources
Washington Legislature Bill Lookup
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Let's talk politics.
Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Posted by Joe Turner @ 03:10:58 pm

It sure looks like it.

Richard Semler, the hand-picked candidate of the 81,000-member Washington Education Association union, dropped out of the race. So, if he's holding a joint news conference with Randy Dorn to "announce two major developments" my guess is he will say (1)he's backing Dorn and (2)so is the powerful union.

And then Dorn will go after 12-year incumbent Terry Bergeson with a whole lot of clout on his side. He's already got the backing of his own Public School Employees Association and its 24,000 members. (Dorn is that union's executive director.)

MEDIA ADVISORY—Event on June 27, 2008

Contact: Robert Harkins, office, 253-833-9253

Dr. Richard Semler to Make Major Announcement
in Tri-Cities on SPI Race and candidate Randy Dorn

(Pasco)—On Friday, June 27, 2008, at 11:00 AM, Randy Dorn and Dr. Richard Semler will make a joint appearance in Pasco to announce two major developments in Dorn's race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

[More:]

Dorn is running again incumbent Terry Bergeson to bring about change in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. As Chair of the House Education Committee, he was the leader in the State Legislature for the passage of major education reform in 1993. He speaks of how far off track Bergeson has led of public schools to the detriment of our kids. He advocates replacing the WASL with an assessment that is cheaper, fairer, takes less time away from classroom instruction and is truly diagnostic to assist teachers, parents and students in improving their performance.

Semler, the retiring Superintendent fo the Richland School District, was previously the leading challenger to Bergeson before withdrawing due to a family health issue.

What: Media availability with Randy Dorn, candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) & Dr. Richard Semler, former candidate for SPI.

When: Friday, June 27, 2008 at 11:00 AM Pasco, Washington