The Libertarians claim the upcoming Aug. 19 election is illegal. (See earlier post.) Democrats and Republicans also are unhappy.

But Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed says the state is on firm ground and is pushing ahead with election.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 8, 2008
Contact: David Ammons
Communications Director
(360) 902-4140
dammons@secstate.wa.gov

Washington’s Top 2 primary still on track

OLYMPIA – A strong and unambiguous Supreme Court ruling puts Washington’s new Top 2 Primary on firm legal footing, Secretary of State Sam Reed said Tuesday, flatly rejecting party attorneys’ view that the primary violates a federal court injunction and that the upcoming election is somehow in jeopardy.

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A few weeks ago, Les Blumenthal reported from our DC bureau that Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Doc Hastings sent 10 pounds of fresh Washington state asparagus to the White House after President Bush gave high praise for the German variety following a state dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In a thank you note to Murray, Bush said Tuesday it was to his liking.

"Thank you for the asparagus from the hard working farmers of Washington state," Bush wrote. "I know it is some of the best in the world, and I appreciate your thinking of me."

Murray, whose father picked asparagus in the Tri-Cities when he was growing up, said she wasn't surprised.

"I knew all the president had to do was taste Washington state asparagus to know what truly great asparagus is," Murray said in a statement.

Bush is now in Japan for an economic meeting with other world leaders. No word yet on whether he has eaten any Edamame, a type of soybean. But he should be careful. They grow Edamame in Washington state.

Gig Harbor folks should know a little about Dan O'Neal. He was the commission's liaison to the community when commissioners were deciding how tolling money should be spent. And the community didn't want its money spent on standby tow truck operators.

Elmira Forner is from Chelan County now. But several years ago she was a legislator from South King County.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 9, 2008

Contact: Reema Griffith, Transportation Commission Executive Director, 360-705-7070

Dan O’Neal elected State Transportation Commission Chair

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Transportation Commission announced today the election of Dan O’Neal (Mason County) to serve as Commission Chair and member Elmira Forner (Chelan County) to serve as Vice-chair. Commission members elect new officers every year or two.

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Sixteen-term Congressman Norm Dicks hasn't won less than 60 percent of the vote in a general election since 1994 (the Republican-dominated year when he still managed to win 58 percent). Two years ago, Dicks won 70.5 percent of the vote in his 6th District. So you could say he enjoys a fair amount of job security (but don't tell him that).

It looks like some Democrats want to send him a message.

The Daily World's Steven Friederich had a piece today about the difficulties Dicks is having in securing local party endorsements.

Friederich reports that a contingent of anti-war folks are holding up the Grays Harbor Democrats' endorsement process going into the Aug. 19 primary. Dicks got just 11 out of 25 votes, short of the two-thirds needed, in the campaign that also features anti-war candidate Paul Richmond, a Democrat from Port Townsend; Republican Doug Cloud of Gig Harbor; and Green Party candidate Gary Murrell of Hoquiam, who also opposes the war.

Congressman Dicks said Monday that he felt the vote was an "anomaly" representing a "small cadre of people on the far left."

"A few people didn’t show or we would have had the two-thirds majority," he said.

Here's the gist of the complaint:

"I’ve got three words for you," said Grays Harbor Democratic Chairwoman Dolores Cobb. "The Iraq War. They feel Congressman Dicks is supporting Bush and every time he votes for additional funding, the hairs on their neck go up. And that’s basically it."

Cobb said the decision not to endorse Dicks was clearly a message from some of the local Democrats.

"They feel he’s not listening to his constituents who want him to put his thumb down and not keep funding it," she said.

Friederich also reported that some Jefferson County Democrats also have expressed frustration with their congressman.

The county central committee overwhelmingly passed a resolution last month threatening the congressman with its formal censure if he did not explain his vote in favor of the Bush Administration’s controversial warrantless wiretapping program included in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, said Jefferson County Democratic Chairwoman Teri Nomura.

Dicks posted a statement on his congressional Web site explaining the vote. His staff members also contacted the Jefferson Democrats, Nomura said.

"I look at Dicks and he has a pretty good voting record on a lot of things, but he tends to stand by the military," Nomura said. "So, for the real progressives and the liberals, they don’t like that because we have this unjust war, we have a giant debt and all these people killed unnecessarily."

Nomura said her local Democrats will conduct an endorsement process later this month, but she said she wasn’t sure if Dicks could muster up enough support, especially with Richmond in the race.

Here's a link to the full story in The Daily World.

You can understand why the Libertarian Party is complaining about the "Top Two" primary election slated for Aug. 19. It's highly unlikely that any Libertarian will be one of the Top Two in any race.

For Immediate Release

Further information:
Rachel Hawkridge – 206-769-2492
Richard Shepard – 253-383-2235

Libertarian Party says Washington State defying U.S. District Court!

By continuing with its plan for a “Top Two” primary, Washington State is defying the U. S. District Court, Western Division. The Court issued a permanent injunction against Washington’s Top Two primary, signed by Judge Zilly. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that on its face, the Top Two was constitutional, didn’t change the fact that an injunction had already been issued.

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