The one place they aren't asking that question this morning is Alaska, where GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has already made a splash as a reform-minded governor. (Although Alaskans have to be as surprised as anybody that a first-term governor from a deep red state with three electoral votes was tapped.)

Check out the coverage on our Anchorage sister paper's website for more background on the candidate. Here's a deep profile of her, written in 2006 while she was mayor of Wasilla.

Here's an excerpt:

=> Read more!

With a full slate of state races on the August primary ballot, and with the nation buzzing about the two national political conventions, you haven’t heard much of late about candidates for Pierce County offices.

That’s about to change. In coming weeks candidates for county executive, council, assessor-treasurer and sheriff will participate in a flurry of public forums.

Here’s a list of events I’ve been able to confirm. Some are conflicting, but organizers have asked candidates to send surrogates if they must. Unless otherwise noted, the events are free and open to the public. More forums are planned, and I’ll post them as I’m able to confirm details with sponsors.

Public forums for Pierce County candidates

Date: Sept. 3
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Host: City Club of Tacoma
Location: Wheelock Student Center Rotunda, University of Puget Sound, 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma.
Who: County executive candidates.
More information: Reservations required, and the deadline is today. Call 253-272-9561, email at office@cityclubtacoma.org or online at www.cityclubtacoma.org

Date: Sept. 8
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Host: Parkland Community Association
Location: Central Pierce Fire Station 61, 100 S. 114th St., Parkland.
Who: County executive candidates.

=> Read more!

Tacoma City Councilwoman Marilyn Strickland knew it would be an historic occasion the moment she became a Democratic delegate.

And it was.

Strickland, moved by her experiences at the Democratic National Convention, said it was an honor to stand on the field at Invesco Field tonight and witness Barack Obama's speech to a crowd of some 80,000.

"It was visually stunning. The speech was very powerful. It was honor to be here and see the person who I believe is going to be the next president of the United States," Strickland said shortly after the speech.

John Frazier, another Pierce County delegate, was also impressed.

"It was an amazing night. It was just incredible," Frazier said late Thursday. "I don't think words can describe it."

Frazier and Strickland both said that Obama delivered a strong attack on his opponent, Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

"He was actually standing up to McCain and calling him out," Frazier said. "We're going to have a real debate and talk about the issues. It's not going to be the old politics as usual. He showed he's going to fight 'em."

Frazier believes Obama's emphasis on the economy will help persuade undecided voters to side with Obama in November. "People are hurting right now. I don't care if you're Republican or Democrat, you're still paying high prices for gas. It doesn't make a difference what party you're in if the country's in shambles."

Next up is the Republican National Convention next week.

Frazier fully expects the party to respond to Obama's tough stance.

"Without question,they're going to attack every little thing they can," he said.

Dean Ando sent me a text message this afternoon confirming that he is among a select few (hundred) who will be seated in a circle surrounding Barack Obama during Obama's speech tonight.

Ando, the Tacoma delegate who went to school with Obama in Hawaii, wasn't certain if that was the reason that organizers upgraded his credential.

But it probably didn't hurt.

Ando will be one of about 200 seated in a circle around Obama.

When I spoke with him this morning, the upgraded credential had not been confirmed. A while later, he sent me this message:

"look 4 me in yellow shirt. i got the upgraded creds!"

State Sen. Rosa Franklin, D-Tacoma, called last night's selection of Barack Obama as the Democrat's nominee for president "another step in really accomplishing what this country is all about – equality for everyone, regardless of color of skin."

Important as it was, though, Franklin doesn't want to revel in the moment for too long.

"This is a great accomplishment, but we won't stop here," Franklin said this morning as she waited to board a bus bound for Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. "Democracy is evolving all the time. You never stop."

Franklin, 81, attended her first Democratic National Convention in 1976. She was a delegate for U.S. Sen. Scoop Jackson in the year when the party chose Jimmy Carter as its candidate.

Since then, she's attended five other national conventions including this year's in Denver. This is her third convention as a delegate. She was a Jesse Jackson delegate in 1988.

Looking back, Franklin is struck by how far the country has come in the ensuing 32 years.

But she never doubted that she could see an African American in this position.

"I never lose hope," Franklin said. "As long as there is life, there is hope, and if you keep working for the promise of this country, it will happen."

=> Read more!

Apparently people have been flying into Denver in hopes of getting into Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium for the final night of the Democratic National Convention.

Up until today, the Washington delegation had 100 guest passes, but state party leaders managed to finagle 300 for today's events, according to Dean Ando, the former Barack Obama classmate who is attending as a delegate.

But it's still a long-shot, and it sounds like there are folks who made the trip who won't get in.

For those who do, it should be an experience.

Emotions ran high yesterday when Sen. Hillary Clinton short-circuited the roll call vote and called for Obama's nomination by acclimation.

"I was prepared for a full roll call," said Ando, an early Obama backer. "It was so gracious of her."

When Obama officially became the nation's first African American presidential candidate from a major party, the group celebrated.

"Our entire Washington delegation is well represented by African Americans," Ando said. "Emotions were so high. We were crying, hugging each other, high-fiving with (state party chairman) Dwight Pelz.

"I'm so happy for Barack," Ando said. "But I'm more happy for all the people in my delegation who would dream about this day."

I connected last night with Tom Hilyard, the Tacoma Public Utilities board member who is in Denver as an alternate delegate.

He was obviously moved by the events he's attended so far, beginning with an an interfaith service Sunday afternoon.

"It was very uplifting," Hilyard said. The audience heard passages from the Quran and the Bible that called on people to "'love thy neighbor as thyself' as a place to start," he said.

People of faith are receiving more attention at this year's Democratic National Convention as they try to assert themselves within the party, a move that could bring the Democrats some votes but could also lead to tension.

We ran this story in today's paper on the subject. Among those quoted is Donald Miller, the Portland author of the book 'Blue Like Jazz.' Miller delivered the closing prayer Monday at the convention.

Earlier Monday, Hilyard was sitting in the balcony at the Pepsi Center when Sen. Ted Kennedy spoke to the crowd. "It was very precious to me," Hilyard said. "It was charged and uplifting."

Hilyard signed his name on the petition officially supporting the nomination of Barack Obama as the Democrat's nominee.

And he was impressed with Michelle Obama's speech, saying it "connected with life as we know it, and the challenges of life."

"I couldn't have asked for more from the person who is going to be the First Lady of the nation."

Tacoma City Councilwoman Marilyn Strickland, one of the Pierce County Democratic delegates in Denver, is enjoying the people-watching the event affords -- including keeping an eye on the Fox News platform that happens to be situated in front of the Washington state delegation.

The reporters were all business early in the day on Monday, Strickland said.

"By the time Michelle Obama gave her speech, one of them smiled and warmed up to the whole thing," Strickland said.

Strickland didn't want to read too much into it.

But she couldn't help but note "Her expression and body language changed."

Remember Fox, there's no cheering in the press box.

Dean Ando, a Pierce County Democratic delegate and former classmate of Barack Obama's, grew up in a family that admired and followed the Kennedys.

So hearing Caroline Kennedy speak last night at the Democratic National Convention was a special treat.

And when Sen. Ted Kennedy appeared in person, "the place just went wild," Ando said, echoing the comments I heard from another Pierce County delegate, John Frazier.

"It was a magical moment," Ando said.

Ando offered up a few additional observations from the convention's first day:

• Michelle Obama's speech reminded him of why he originally became an Obama supporter some 19 months ago. "So many of the people in our delegation were weepy-eyed," he said. "It touched on the middle class, people who are struggling, the American Dream."

• Bill Richardson is a rock star. Among the brushes with fame for Ando was seeing the New Mexico governor up close. "He is a rock star. People in the Washington delegation went nuts. He's got a star quality about him I didn't realize."

• The convention is crawling with political legends. It hit home for Ando when he turned to another delegate and asked, "Is that George McGovern?" The former senator and presidential candidate was about eight feet away. Ando and the others posed for pictures with McGovern.

• The catharsis is coming. Ando predicted that something "magical, fruitful and beneficial" will happen Wednesday that will help unify the Obama and Clinton supporters within the party. Ando understands why Clinton delegates are emotional. "If it was the other way around I would want my vote heard," he said. "They're just as passionate. I can relate."

Tacoma's John Frazier, one of the Pierce County delegates in Denver, said emotions already were running high during the first evening of the Democratic National Convention. And then an ailing Sen. Ted Kennedy took to the stage.

"It was a rockin' night the whole time," Frazier said. "That was the icing on the cake."

And then there was Michelle Obama, wife of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

"What can we say about that speech?" Frazier said. "It was incredible. She just blew them away."

Frazier was struck by the "one America" theme. How her family -- the Obama family -- resonates with average American families.

"That's our story," Frazier said. "That's all of our stories."

Just got off the phone with Sen. Patty Murray in Denver. She downplayed the division within the Democratic Party between delegates pledged to Barack Obama and those who support Hillary Clinton.

Murray (D-Washington), herself an early Clinton supporter, said the Clinton delegates she has spoken with want to make sure that Clinton gets a round of applause and proper recognition for her historic campaign.

But she claimed to not be worried about a party rift driving voters toward John McCain.

"At the end of the day, they want to change the White House," Murray said.

The McCain campaign is doing its best to exploit the issue.

The campaign held a conference call for reporters this afternon with Mike McKay, the McCain campaign state chairman, and Ralph Munro, the former Secretary of State.

Munro said this election reminded him of 1980 when he ran for Secretary of State as a Republican. "Big chunks" of Democrats came over to the Republican ticket.

He's seeing evidence of the same thing at county fairs this year.

"I think our path is a lot wider than a lot of people realize," Munro said.

I checked in with Marilyn Strickland this morning. The Tacoma City Councilwoman is one of the national delegates from Pierce County attending the Democratic National Convention this week in Denver.

Howard Dean stopped by the Washington delegation's first breakfast meeting today and delivered a pep talk, Strickland said.

The state delegation is staying at the same hotel as the Oregon and Arizona delegations. The Washington delegation plans to start each day with a breakfast meeting.

Dean told the group that the election will be a tough one, and that "it will be won on the ground" with door-belling and one-on-one conversations, Strickland said.

He also said that Democrats want to "turn Eastern Washington blue," a comment that Strickland found interesting. Bryan Bissell at PolitickerWA.com blogged about Dean's comments here.

=> Read more!

A friend reported seeing signs for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Republican Pierce County Councilman Dick Muri in the same yard in the town of Steilacoom.

Now, that's either one very divided household or one very divided psyche, which is what drive's politicians in Pierce County crazy.

And, no, I don't think it was state Rep. Tami Green's house, either, or that of her write-in opponent.

Score one for the old media, right?

Barack Obama supporters who signed up to receive an e-mail or text message were supposed to be the first to learn about his choice of running mate.

But the Associated Press, New York Times and television networks were reporting that Sen. Joe Biden was the veep pick around 10 p.m. Pacific time last night.

The News Tribune sent out a breaking news alert to our readers around 10:30 p.m.

Obama's campaign sent out the text message alert around midnight Pacific time, apparently as a result of the media reporting.

At first blush, it would appear to be a victory for the mainstream media. But The New York Times has an interesting blog post on the subject that points out Obama not only captured a lot of cell phone numbers as a result of the gimmick, but the campaign generated plenty of buzz.

From the Times blog:

“The guy gets press for putting the people first, he gets said people to commit their digits, the giftwrap gets torn prematurely, and everyone’s abuzz. Voilà. The man knows how to market himself.”

What do you think? Was this the strategy all along? Or did the AP and others really "break" the news?

Also, let me know if you received one of the Obama text messages. What time did it arrive on your phone? Did it wake you?

Gov. Chris Gregoire's lead over Dino Rossi was down to a little more than 2 percent late this afternoon, according to the Secretary of State's Web site.

The latest results show Gregoire with 48.85 percent, and Rossi with 46.14 percent statewide.

The Rossi campaign put out a press release today saying that Rossi's percentage has improved in all but three of the 25 counties where ballots have been counted since midnight on election night.

Five counties -- including Spokane and Clark -- have gone from the Gregoire to Rossi column.

Rossi's camp sees this as proof that "the more voters see Dino and hear his message, the more they like."

Voters who mailed their ballots early had not seen much Rossi advertising, campaign manager Afton Swift said, but Gregoire ads had been airing for more than a month.

"Not surprisingly, Dino trailed in early voting."

I dropped in at the Maple Valley Rotary meeting this morning to hear Rossi, and he told the crowd that Gregoire "has got problems."

Rossi blasted Gregoire on the budget, transportation, and public safety.

He said he will balance the budget without raising taxes, and he will fund major transportation projects -- without relying on declining gas tax revenue.

And he referred to Gregoire's "less than gracious" advertising, telling the crowd, "If half the things they were saying about me were true, I wouldn't vote for myself."

On the other side, the state Democratic Party put out a statement today calling Rossi's primary election "disappointing," and linking Rossi to President Bush and the Texas men who helped fund the "Swift Boat" attacks against John Kerry.

Click ahead for both statements.

=> Read more!

State director of elections Nick Handy is relieved that there were no unfortunate incidents during Tuesday's voting. Not only is the close count in the 2004 governor's race still fresh in memory but so are problems with the vote count, especially in King County.

Handy said there were only two incidents that marred the election. In one, a fluorescent light bulb exploded at a King County polling place and some voters were evacuated.

In the other, a foul smelling ballot was discovered and the hazmat team was called. The diagnosis? a ballot containing curdled Slim Fast.

Maybe that's why the primary election ballot was a little thin.

It seems likely that Republican Denise McCluskey will appear on the November ballot opposite incumbent state Rep. Tami Green in the 28th District. But it may be many days before we know for sure.

Green, a Democrat, was the only candidate for Position 2 to appear on the primary election ballot. But earlier this month McCluskey, a human resources manager who lives in University Place, filed as a write-in candidate for the primary. To advance to the general election ballot, she needs at least 1 percent of primary votes.

Results released late Wednesday show 996 write-in votes in that race – nearly 8 percent of the votes cast. By comparison, there were just 40 write-in votes (a quarter of one percent of the total) cast in the other 28th District House race, which pits incumbent Rep. Troy Kelley against Republican Dave Dooley.

The auditor’s office hasn’t counted the write-in votes yet. Auditor Pat McCarthy said the office won’t count write-ins until close to the time the primary election is certified. That’s 15 days after the election.

Until the votes are counted, we won’t know for sure whether McCluskey received the 1 percent of the votes she needs.

“It could be a whole bunch of different people (receiving write-in votes),” McCarthy said. But she noted that’s a big showing for write-ins in one race.

This just in from David Sawyer, campaign manager for Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg's run against incumbent state Attorney General Rob McKenna.

Sawyer says the formats are a bit "hazy." I guess that means we don't yet know if they are formal debates or just joint appearances.

September 18
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Debate @ Gig Harbor Chamber
1016 29th St NW, Gig Harbor, 98335
5-8 minutes of opening remarks then questions from audience.
Don Dennis is hosting

=> Read more!

I guess we were all waiting for state Rep. Dan Roach, R-Bonney Lake, to get back from China, where he was watching his wife, Melanie, place 6th in her weight-lifting category. The Seattle Times got him first.

Roach was using his campaign funds to reimburse himself for lost wages. Problem is, what he used to document his lost wages wasn't really wage statements from the previous year.

Here is a link to the Seattle Times story.

Our former colleague, David Ammons, now of the Secretary of State's office, offers up some leftovers from the primary election.

For those of your who can't get enough......

Washington’s Top 2 Primary bits & pieces …

ALL ONE PARTY PREFERENCE.
Under the provisions of the voter-approved Top 2 Primary, no party “owns” a slot on the November ballot and it is always possible that voters will send forward to the General Election two candidates who express the same party preference. There were no examples of this among the eight partisan statewide executive offices this week, but some legislative and local government contests will offer such matchups in November.

For the first time, eight legislative finals apparently will feature finalists who prefer the same party _ two Senate seats and six House races, based on partial and unofficial returns. This is eight out of 124 seats on the ballot this fall (26 Senate, 98 House). In some cases, that’s because the only candidates who filed listed the same party preference. These include the Senate seats now held by Margarita Prentice in the 11th District and Karen Fraser in the 22nd. Both filed as “prefers Democratic Party” and will be challenged by fellow prefers-Democratic Party candidates, either Juan Martinez or Scott McKay against Prentice, and Erik Lee against Fraser.

=> Read more!

Those are Larry Faulk's word's, not mine.

"When I ran the first time, they said, 'He's too young.' When I ran this time, they say, 'He's too old.' What's a guy to do?" Larry said with a laugh.

He was talking about 1966, when he got elected to the state Senate, a Republican who was representing what was then the 26th Legislative District. He was only 30 then, the youngest guy in the Senate at the time.

Now, he's 72 and running against incumbent state Sen. Debbie Regala, D-Tacoma, in what has become the 27th Legislative District, the North End of Tacoma.

I had to give Larry a bad time because he got only 30 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary election.

"We know we have an uphill battle," he said. "We know this is probably the strongest Democratic district in the state."

Well, not counting a couple districts in downtown Seattle, maybe.

I first met Larry Faulk in 1981, when he ran against Booth Gardner. They were trying to become the first ever Pierce County executive. Booth won.

An old nemesis for Larry. Booth also knocked Larry out of the Senate in 1970. This election season, Booth Gardner is pushing Initiative 1000, the Death with Dignity measure.

We have so many legislative races to cover -- there are 11 districts within The News Tribune's circulation area -- that we generally don't pay much attention to uncontested primary races. And it's just Faulk and Regala on the ballot in that race, so we'll see both of them in November.

Here is a link to Larry's home page.

I figured that's the least I can do for him. I've got a call in to Regala because I'm doing a story on Prison Industries and she's on the board, so I'll be giving her some ink, too.

Ruston Mayor Bob Everding resigned Monday, a day before residents apparently voted down a measure that would transfer the town’s executive power to an administrator.

Entering Wednesday evening, 91 people had voted against the change. Sixty-six voted for it.

Ruston has 452 active voters, according to the Piece County auditor’s office.

“This shows that not everyone agrees with the way the council wants to go,” said Karen Pickett, a vocal opponent of the proposition. “The council still has a fairly strong base, but clearly not everyone agrees with all the changes they propose.”

Proponents of the switch said the job responsibilities of the mayor have become too much to handle for one person. Opponents were wary of adding another layer of bureaucracy, the cost involved and losing an elected official who is responsive to citizens.

Now it appears the town needs a new mayor.

Everding e-mailed his resignation letter to some members of council ahead of its Monday meeting. Councilman Jim Hedrick, who said he read a copy of the letter e-mailed to Councilwoman Jane Hunt, said Everding said he would serve through Sunday and would help the council find a replacement.

Everding didn’t return a voicemail Wednesday.

The council has the task of appointing a new mayor, provided the change-of-government measure ultimately fails, Councilman Jim Hedrick said.

“The only thing officially we have done is appoint Councilman (Bradley) Huson as mayor pro tem,” Hedrick said.

Everding served on the council until Jan. 19, when he resigned amid growing frustration over in-fighting between the members of the council and Mayor Michael Transue.

Transue resigned on June 2, saying the atmosphere at council meetings was growing increasingly tense. The council unanimously appointed Everding to the vacancy two days later.

Everding wasn’t showing any obvious displeasure with his position, Hedrick said.

“This is completely out of the blue,” he said.

Carol Mathewson, known to Tacoma residents as the co-host of a program on the city's municipal television channel, is recovering at Harborview Medical Center following an "unknown injury" she suffered during the swim portion of the Danskin Triathlon Sunday in Seattle.

Her family issued a statement today saying that Mathewson was in satisfactory condition and recovering.

Mathewson's family expressed gratitude to all involved in her rescue and treatment, including a life guard, divers and the Medic One staff.

“Carol has pulled through because the ‘system’ worked,” her husband Mike Mathewson said. “Everyone was incredible and the people here at Harborview have been amazing.”

Mathewson is co-host of CityScape, a program on TV Tacoma, the city's municipal television channel. She also served as the city's interim spokeswoman in 2003 after Tacoma Police Chief David Brame killed himself and his wife, Crystal Judson.

I was curious what Deryl McCarty and Nathe Lawver, the Pierce County Republican and Democratic party chairmen, thought about yesterday's primary.

As you might expect, they didn't see the same things.

McCarty says Gregoire is in trouble. "Christine should have much higher numbers as an incumbent who has raised and spent a lot of money and with her party turning out greater numbers than ours."

Lawver, on the other hand, said Gregoire's lead in Pierce County -- a county where she lost in 2004 -- is important. (Gregoire was up about 4 percentage points last night.)

"When you look at some of the key races for Pierce County, especially the governor's race, we saw Governor Gregoire go from about a 7,000 deficit in 2004 to a 3,000 voter gain. That is a meaningful swing, and it means that Pierce County approves of the work she has done to create safe communities through the fair share bill, the booming trade our state has with other countries, as well as the clean up of the Puget Sound."

The 7,000 voter deficit Lawver refers to was in the 2004 general election, not the primary.

The party chairmen agree that the election left something to be desired. McCarty said the turnout was "disappointingly low." Lawver said it looked "more like a tax-payer financed poll than an election, and that is unfortunate to the citizens of Pierce County, and Washington."

McCarty offered that "Ladenburg is toast. If he cannot win his own county as a sitting Exec in a Democratic dominated primary, then the only question is how burned is the toast."

Ladenburg, the Pierce County Executive trying to unseat Republican incumbent Attorney General Rob McKenna, was trailing statewide by about 11 percentage points last night. Ladenburg was behind about 2 percentage points in his home county, and slightly ahead of McKenna in King County.

When I reached Ladenburg last night by phone, he said he was surprised he did as well as he did considering the low Democratic turnout and lack of attention the race has received.

"We're ready to go," Ladenburg said. "Maybe the media and public will start paying more attention to (McKenna's) record."

Today, Ladenburg issued a statement that included a "Top Ten" list of questions that people should be asking in the race that has so far received "scant attention."

Click ahead for the press release.

=> Read more!

I spoke this morning with Dean Ando, the boy second from the left in the back row in this 1972 class photo from Punahou School in Hawaii. Barack Obama is next to him, third from the left.

Ando, now 47 and living in Tacoma, is one of the Pierce County Democratic delegates headed to Denver for next week's Democratic National Convention.

Ando became friends with Obama, known then as Barry, in 1971 when they were both 10 years old, and has followed his old basketball buddy's political career for years.

He couldn't be more excited that Obama is running for president.

"If you could spend just a few minutes with Barack, you would know he is the real deal," Ando said.

Ando usually turns down requests for interviews, but said he spoke with me because the TNT is the local paper.

I'll have a full write-up from the interview soon.

UPDATE: Here's the full story.

Wondering why you haven’t seen any primary election results from the Pierce County executive’s race or other county offices?

There weren’t any.

Under the county’s new ranked-choice voting system, no county offices appeared on the primary ballot. Instead, all of the candidates for county executive, county council, assessor-treasurer and sheriff will appear on the November general election ballot.

We’ve had a few calls this morning from folks wondering where the county results were. Auditor Pat McCarthy said poll workers had a few queries, too.

Want more information about ranked-choice voting? Check out the auditor’s web site.

Our business columnist, Dan Voelpel, put up an item on the Biz Buzz blog this morning that offers still more evidence of how divided America has become.

This survey examined the political preferences of shoppers at stores like Walmart, Macy's, Target and Kohl's.

Columnist Peter Callaghan blogged about the consumer divide earlier.

I'm not sure who the information helps more -- politicians or retail marketers.

Maybe journalists.

In any case, I wasn't too surprised by the findings.

Here are a few comparisons the survey missed. Tell me who is red and who is blue when it comes to these consumer choices:

• Apple vs. PC
• Beer vs. wine
• iPhone vs. Blackberry
• Starbucks vs. any other caffeine purveyor
• Gap vs. Banana Republic

These may be too obvious. Care to suggest any others?

Steve Van Luven spent 17 years in the Legislature, representing the 48th District.

Now, he's trying to come back in the 40th District.

He was the front-runner in a field of seven candidates in the primary election, a field that included a member of the Salmon Yoga Party.

Looks as if it will be Republican Van Luven vs. Democrat Kevin Ranker, with 37 and 27 percent of the vote, respectively.

The winner will replace state Sen. Harriet Spanel, D-Bellingham, so this might be an actual pick up for Republicans. They are outnumbered 32-17 in the Senate.

Ruston voters appear to be saying “no” to a proposal to hire a professional manager to run town affairs.

In the latest results from the Pierce County Auditor’s office, the proposal was failing, 57% to 43%. This amid reports the town’s mayor has resigned.

In the lone Superior Court race, incumbent Sergio Armijo continues to trail Tacoma attorney Michael Hecht. The margin in the latest results: 52 percent to 48 percent. Armijo’s low rating in a Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association survey may be fueling Hecht’s candidacy. This race won’t be on the November ballot, so whoever wins the primary is elected.

Here are the latest results from Tuesday’s primary election, courtesy of the Secretary of State’s office:

• In the 28th Legislative District, incumbent Republican state Sen. Mike Carrell has opened a lead of just 26 votes over Democrat Debi Srail. It’s all about bragging rights. Both will advance to the November general election.

• In the 31st District, Republicans Josh Hulbert and Sharon Hanek are still neck and neck for the second slot on the November ballot. Hulburt maintains a 22% to 20% lead. Incumbent Democrat Christopher Hurst appears comfortably ahead with 58% of the vote.

In the 47th District, Republican Mark Hargrove leads incumbent Democratic state Rep. Geoff Simpson. The margin: 45% to 40%. Both will advance to the general election.

• Results from the congressional races haven’t changed much. In the most closely watched race, Republican Rep. Dave Reichert maintains a lead over Democrat Darcy Burner. The margin: 48% to 45%. Read what each camp has to say about it here.

The winner gets to take on incumbent state Rep. Chris Hurst, D-Enumclaw.

Sharon Hanek has 2,001 votes. She's 78 votes behind Josh Hulburt. They're both Republicans.

This is likely to go down to the wire.

Just look at the returns. Democrat Rob Cerqui has a 25-vote lead over Republican Bruce Dammeier in the race to replace Rep. Joyce McDonald, R-Puyallup, in the House.

It's 5,995 to 5,970.

Now, that is a swing district. And that is where the political parties and caucuses tend to pour money. It's anybody's ball game and neither side wants to think what would have happened if they'd spent just a little more money on their respective candidate.

Ain't nothin' closer than a tie. Debi Srail, Democrat, must be feeling pretty good tonight. After the first returns were posted, she trailed by only 5 votes.

When Auditor Pat McCarthy posted the second batch a little after 10:40 p.m., Srail picked up those five votes.

Incumbent Sen. Mike Carell, R-Lakewood, might be feeling a little tight around the collar about now.

1. Randy Dorn succeeded in keeping incumbent schools chief Terry Bergeson under 50 percent. That means that this non-partisan race will continue until November. But predictions of a Dorn victory were unfounded. In fact, they were dead wrong.

Expect "WASL" to rival "change" as the most spoken word in the coming election.

2. Despite all the spin about which party and which candidate would benefit from the primary electorate, the results are what was predicted by opinion polls. Chris Gregoire has a slight lead over Dino Rossi - three points - but was held below 50 percent. That's what most of the polls had shown leading up to the primary.

3. All the hype about the top two primary was fun while it lasted. In the end, very few races in November will see two Democrats or two Republicans and most of those are in districts where only one party filed candidates or where one party is dominant.

He decided the 2004 race between Dino Rossi and Chris Gregoire. And while they continue to wage that battle, and will through the November election, he'll not have to worry about those results.

Chelan County Judge John E. Bridges, who ruled in favor of Gregoire after a week-long trial in Wenatchee in 2005, ran unopposed for reelection.

Two takes on the early 8th Congressional District results:

• Amanda Halligan, Rep. Dave Reichert’s communication director, said his camp is “pleased with what we’re seeing so far.”

Early results show Republican incumbent Reichert leading Democrat Darcy Burner by a few percentage points. Four other candidates trail by a wide margin.

“There’s no question for us that we would wind up in the top two, which in the end is what matters,” Halligan said.

• Not surprisingly, Burner sees it differently. She noted that Reichert has failed so far to top 50 percent of the vote.

“I’m really happy with the results,” Burner said. “The majority of voters in this district made it clear they want a change in this country.”

It counts for nothing but bragging rights, but Kitsap County Commissioner Jan Angel, a Republican, was leading Democrat Kim Abel in early returns from Kitsap County on Tuesday night as both Port Orchard women are trying to replace Rep. Pat Lantz in the 26th Legislative District.

Lantz, D-Gig Harbor, is not seeking reelection.

The significance of a good showing by Angel is that Republicans tend not to fare so well in the Kitsap portion of the 26th District, yet she was doing just that because Abel wasn’t doing well up north. Angel also was outpolling Abel in the Pierce County portion of the district, where Republicans are expected to do well.

Angel and Abel are the only two candidates in that particular race, so they will face off again in the November general election.

(Here's the rest of the story that will appear in tomorrow's print edition:)

=> Read more!

Washington Transportation Commissioner Carol Moser has 40 percent of the vote in her race for a House seat in District 8 in Benton County. She's the only Democrat.

Problem is, the four Republican candidates have 60 percent of the vote. And you know what that means in November, dontcha?

I know Rep. Mike Armstrong is the incumbent, but even as a write-in candidate, I expected Courtney Cox to make a better showing than the less than 5 percent of the vote she's getting right now.

Maybe they don't show "Friends" reruns on the east side of the Cascade Mountains.

State Rep. Jim McCune, R-Graham, said he fully expected to be facing JeanMarie Christenson in the November general election because she appeared to be the only Democrat who was actively campaigning.

She was leading fellow Democrats Chuck Collins and Ray Harper in both Pierce and Thurston counties.

She had 25.5 percent of the vote. Collins had 13.5 percent. Harper had only 9 percent.

McCune had 52 percent of the overall vote. A glimpse of things to come?

This in from The Associated Press:

Two Washington state Supreme Court justices have essentially clinched re-election.

Justices Mary Fairhurst and Charles Johnson each got more than the 50 percent margin needed in Tuesday’s primary to move unopposed to November’s general election.

With about 30 percent of the expected vote counted, Johnson has 58 percent. His closest opponent, James Beecher, has 30 percent.

Fairhurst has nabbed 61 percent in early returns. Her lone opponent, Michael Bond, has 38 percent.

Okay, argue all you want over whether the primary electorate is an accurate sampling of state voter sentiment. But so far the results in the governor's race are tracking most of the professional opinion polls done before the election.

Gregoire, 48.3 percent; Rossi, 45.8 percent.

It would appear so.

Early returns from Clark County show state Rep. Jim Dunn, R-Vancouver, running a distant third in the Top Two primary.

Democrat Tim Probst is leading with 49.5 percent of the vote. Republican Joseph James has 32 percent. Dunn has only 18.5 percent.

If this holds up, there will be no more "97 to Dunn" votes in the House.

Dunn was censored by his own party after some embarrassing remarks to a woman in a bar. But this past session, he ignored all the insults and regularly spoke on the floor of the House. And often, he was the only dissenting vote on bills passed by his colleagues.

This could mean Democrats pick up still another seat and pad their 63-35 majority in the House.

Dino Rossi's campaign just put out this statement:

“We had a strong showing in the primary tonight. Current returns show we have received over 45 percent of the vote. To put these results into perspective, during the 2004 campaign I received just 34 percent of the vote in the primary and the General Election turned out to be significantly closer.

“Fewer than half of the voters who will vote in November cast their ballots in this primary. Independent polls of all voters show this race is a statistical dead heat and I feel confident going into the General Election. I’m happier having 45 percent tonight than the 34 percent we got in the 2004 primary.

=> Read more!

Opponents of the Top Two primary predicted all sorts of funny business if a system was created that let two candidates from the same party to advance to the general election.

But the only race in the state where something out of the ordinary is taking place is in Tacoma's 27th. Incumbent Dennis Flannigan is expected to win re-election and had he faced off against Republican Dale Woodard, Flannigan's chances would improve.

Hey, nothing against Woodard but it's a Democratic district that hasn't elected a Republican since 1962.

However, if a moderate Democrat was sent to the runoff with Flannigan, that candidate might be able to build a coalition of moderates, independents and Republicans.

So Jessica Smeall filed as a Democrat and her fiance-roommate Brent Wiley filed as a Republican. Wiley told me in June that he urged Woodard to drop out and when he didn,t filed against him to dilute the Republican vote. That would enhance Smeall's changes of advancing.

Wiley, despite taking a Democratic ballot in this year's presidential primary, touted himself in the voters pamphlet as a conservative who opposed state money for stem cell research.

"If you are retired you should vote for me because McCain and Wiley will take care of the aging! Thank God for your right to vote."

Early results have Flannigan finishing first, Smeall second, Woodard third and Wiley fourth. If all of Wiley's votes went to Woodard, he'd still be trailing Smeall, but it would be a lot closer.

Republican Allan Martin and Democrat Jim McIntire are leading right now.

In honor of this evening's classic attempts by the candidates for governor to pre-spin the results of the governor's race, I recount this from the 2000 primary.

Republican Chris Vance was challenging incumbent Adam Smith in the 9th congressional district. Vance knew he would do poorly in the primary, given that another Republican was in the race.

So he set his expectations low, allowing his campaign to assert that if Vance didn't get 31 percent of the primary vote he should pack it in. At the same time Vance's campaign said that if Smith received 50 percent or less, it was a horse race.

Vance totaled 28 percent; Smith 61 percent.

The Secretary of State's Web site is reporting some numbers from most -- but not all -- counties now.

They're updating pretty frequently, so remember to refresh your browser.

Gregoire now has a slim lead over Rossi. Bergeson is still ahead of Dorn. And Brad Owen still is cruising.

The first results from Pierce County show Superior Court Judge Sergio Armijo trailing challenger Michael Hecht:

Superior Court Judge Department 9
Michael Hecht 29,215 52.32%
Sergio Armijo 26,402 47.28%

Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg is trailing incumbent Attorney General Rob McKenna. Here are some numbers the Secretary of State is reporting now:

Candidate Vote Vote %
John Ladenburg 171,922 41.88 %
Rob McKenna 238,589 58.12 %

Ladenburg is leading McKenna in Jefferson, Pacific and San Juan counties.

UPDATE: Ladenburg is slightly trailing McKenna in the first report from his home county. From the Pierce County Auditor:

John Ladenburg

31,313
49.68%

Rob McKenna

31,557
50.07%

Write-In
156
0.25%

From the Secretary of State:

Boleslaw (John) Orlinski
No Party Preference
461 1.05 %
Richard Todd
No Party Preference
634 1.44 %
James E. Vaughn
Democrat
1,629 3.71 %
Dave Reichert
Republican Party
20,356 46.40 %
Keith Arnold
Democrat
655 1.49 %
Darcy Burner
Democrat
20,140 45.90 %

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith has a sizable lead over James Postma in early returns. Both will advance to the general election.

Here are the numbers from the Secretary of State:

Adam Smith
Democrat
11,169 66.38 %
James Postma
Republican
5,658 33.62 %

A few early numbers are available, but the only big county with any numbers is Spokane.

Check out the state-wide "executive" races here.

Of course, it's impossible to make any conclusions yet. But if you're curious, Republican gubernatorial challenger Dino Rossi is a few thousand votes ahead of incumbent Chris Gregoire.

Terry Bergeson is leading challenger Randy Dorn in what could be a competitive race for superintendent of public instruction.

And Brad Owen has a comfortable lead in his bid for another term as lieutenant governor.

From the Secretary of State's office:

Brian Baird
Democrat
14,421 53.68 %
Cheryl Crist
Democrat
3,232 12.03 %
Michael Delavar
Republican
5,019 18.68 %
Christine Webb
Republican
4,195 15.61 %

The first results are coming in from the Secretary of State's office. Here's what I have on the 6th Congressional District:

Doug Cloud
Republican
8,030 votes 27.48 %
Norm Dicks
Democrat
17,220 votes 58.93 %
Paul Richmond
Democrat
2,950 votes 10.09 %
Gary Murrell
Green Party
1,023 votes 3.50 %

1. Will Randy Dorn pull off a tremendous upset and win election as state schools chief. Dorn is challenging three-term incumbent Terry Bergeson and is running heavily on unhappiness with the WASL test. All he needs to do is finish in the top two and keep Bergeson from winning 50 percent plus one. That would force the race into a November runoff.

But there seems now to be a chance that it is Dorn, not Bergeson who will flirt with 50 percent. And if he wins a majority tonight, he'll essentially be elected. I say essentially because the candidate who gets more than 50 percent in the primary appears on the November ballot alone.

2. Which candidate for governor will get bragging rights - and perhaps a fund raising boost - from tonight's results. Both Dino Rossi and Chris Gregoire - and their surrogates - have been poor-mouthing their chances (see post below). But one of them is going to do better than the other and will certainly proclaim that it has great meaning.

3. What effect will the new Top Two primary have? Most likely, the answer is very little as only a handful of races will end up with either two Democrats or two Republicans in the general election. But still, the existence of real races in otherwise safe districts might increase attention and at least give everyone something to talk about.

Those districts are the 7th in Northeast Washington, the 8th in the Tri-Cities, the 22nd in Olympia, the 27th in Tacoma and the 11th, 36th and 46th in the Seattle area.

Because I’m on election duty today, I had to skip today’s Pierce County Council meeting. So I’ll pass along the news that the council approved a budget-cutting proposal sponsored by Democrats Calvin Goings and Tim Farrell. It would ban out-of-state travel and freeze some county hiring.

Here’s the press release:

Council approves cost-cutting plan

A set of initiatives the Pierce County Council approved today (Aug. 19) should reduce unnecessary county expenses, Councilmembers Calvin Goings and Tim Farrell said. The government cost-cutting measures take aim at Pierce County's slowing job market and declining tax receipts.

"Our budget situation demands attention now," Goings (District 2) said. "Just like our county's families, our county government needs to live within its means and use its money as wisely as possible."

The initiatives approved today include:
-banning all out-of-state travel by county employees; and
-freezing all hiring in county general-fund departments, excluding public safety and criminal justice.

"Pierce County needs to focus on core services such as economic development and public safety," Farrell (District 4) said. "When it comes to reductions in other areas, every penny counts."

The legislation (ordinance 2008-35s) amends the county's 2008 budget. It takes effect 10 days after being signed by the county executive.

CONTACTS: Councilmember Calvin Goings, 253-798-6694; or Councilmember Tim Farrell, 253-798-7590

What does an anti-war voter from Federal Way do when she is upset with U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Tacoma)?

Write-in Dennis Kucinich's name, of course.

At least a couple voters in Smith's 9th Congressional District say they're writing in the name of the Ohio congressman and failed presidential hopeful to protest Smith's alleged failure to rein in Bush and Cheney.

Click ahead to read the letters that two of them sent Smith -- and forwarded to News Tribune columnist Peter Callaghan.

=> Read more!

The opinion makers at The Oregonian offered their take on our gubernatorial race.

They think it's got "sizzle" and a "ton of beneath-the-surface drama" thanks to the top-two format.

And they think Dino Rossi has to win or come close.

In other words, it's a telling preview of the Nov. 4 election, since both are certain to be on that ballot. And it raises the stakes considerably for Rossi, who must win Tuesday or come close, because Gregoire is likely to benefit in the November election from an anticipated surge in voting for Barack Obama.

Average citizens with access to the Internet pose questions. Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi respond.

I counted five questions:

• How do you plan to close the budget deficit?
• What is your position on the Real I.D. Act?
• Are you willing to re-think transportation to help stop global warming?
• What will you to help improve the quality of patient care?
• Are there any limits to what a pharmacist can refuse to dispense?

Fun with video: It's possible -- if you're interested -- to get all three video clips rolling at the same time. (The questioner, Gregoire and Rossi.) I know because I did it by accident.

Check it out here.

Checked in with Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy a while ago. A few notes from our conversation:

• There have been some minor technical glitches – a ballot sorting machine has gone down, and four technicians are repairing it – but otherwise things are going fairly well. The office will be counting ballots through the night.

• McCarthy expects a turnout of 43 to 45 percent of registered voters, not bad for a primary, but not as much as she’d hoped. She’s hoping the polls will pick up this afternoon, and expects a big batch of mail ballots tomorrow. Ballots will trickle in through Friday.

• She hasn’t heard of any confusion about the lack of county offices on the primary ballot (all candidates for county executive, county council, sheriff and assessor-treasurer will appear on the November ballot, thanks to Pierce County’s ranked-choice voting system).

In the final days before today's primary election, both the Dino Rossi and Chris Gregoire campaigns apparently were struck with cases of modesty.

Or spin.

Or something.

The Rossi camp weighed in first, with an e-mail to reporters and others announcing that they do not expect to win tonight's primary.

It's not a problem, though, because they don't expect the primary to be a good indicator of the November general election.

A few days later, the Gregoire campaign fired back with its own analysis of the primary. They think the demographics of a primary favor Rossi.

Click ahead for the full text of both e-mails.

And then click the comment button and share your own analysis.

But do it quick. It won't matter in a few hours.

=> Read more!

Want to know what’s at stake in tonight’s 8th District congressional race? Listen to Democratic candidate Darcey Burner in this YouTube video.

Burner, seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Dave Reichert in November, appears to be speaking to supporters. She says tonight’s results will have a “huge impact on what kind of resources go in on either side of this race. We’d really like to see … I’ll refrain myself. We would like to do really well in the primary on the 19th of August because it will have a big impact. We’ll get more resources, they’ll get fewer. We like that.”

The state Republican Party forwarded the video link to me today, suggesting they like Reichert’s chances of showing up Burner. Or maybe that’s just what they want you to think. Let the expectations game begin.

A note for readers: check back here as the evening progresses for updates on tonight’s primary election. I’ll be following the congressional races. Reporter Jason Hagey is watching statewide races, including the governor and school superintendent. Reporter Joe Turner is covering the legislative races.

Here’s a schedule for Pierce County election returns, courtesy of the auditor’s office. With due respect to the office, we wonder whether this schedule is a little optimistic. It could be pretty late before we get a second batch of returns.

TO: Media and Pierce County Jurisdictions

FROM: Pat McCarthy

DATE: August 14, 2008

RE: Primary Election Night Reporting Schedule

I’d like to take this opportunity to inform you of our reporting schedule for this 2008 Election Season.

Absentee results will be reported as usual in the 1st release at approximately 8:30 p.m. Poll site results will be released throughout the night until all poll site ballots are counted.

The implementation of Ranked Choice Voting coming this November necessitated that ballots be counted by a central count method for both the Primary and General elections. Poll site tabulators will not be used, but touch screen voting machines will be available at the polls. After the closing of the polls, polling place ballots along with the touch screen results will be securely transported to the Election Center. Ballots will be sorted and centrally counted by precinct. We will continue the tabulation throughout the night until all poll site ballots are counted and cumulative results are released.

Tentative schedule – (subject to change)
(Please note: all Election Night Results are Unofficial)

8:30 p.m. 1st Release - Absentee Ballots processed through Election Day
10:30 p.m. 2nd Release
Midnight 3rd Release
3:00 a.m. 4th Release - Final Election Night Unofficial Results
Daily results will be released Monday through Friday at approximately 5:00 p.m.

Okay, we thought we'd made this clear. But apparently, we didn't.

So here's why your primary ballot does not have Pierce County Executive, Assessor-Treasurer, Sheriff and the county council. Those county offices will be decided in November using the new instant runoff voting/ranked choice voting system approved by county voters two years ago.

There is no primary for county offices. Instead, voters will rank their top three choices. If a candidate doesn't win a majority of first-choice votes, the election computer will kick out the last-place finisher and tally the second-choice votes on those ballots.

It will be lots of fun. Really. But it won't happen until November.

The mayor of Ruston who resigned his council seat earlier this year and was appointed mayor after his predecessor resigned announced his resignation at Monday’s town council meeting, according to the Ruston Home blog.

Bob Everding, a retired college dean, gave no reasons for his resignation in the e-mail, the blog reported. He stepped down two days before Tuesday's ballot measure that aims to replace the mayor-council form of government with a council-town manager format.

Everding served on the council until Jan. 19, when he resigned amid growing frustration over in-fighting between the members of the council and Mayor Michael Transue.

Transue resigned on June 2, saying the atmosphere at council meetings was growing increasingly tense. The council unanimously appointed Everding to the vacancy two days later.

It's so strong that Dennis Callies, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 76 in Tacoma, said he's recruiting workers from around the country to keep up with demand.

Construction is particularly active in eastern Washington in places like Moses Lake, Quincy and Wenatchee where server farms are sprouting, labor leaders told me.

But building also is robust here in the Puget Sound corridor, said Tracy Prezeau, statewide political coordinator for the IBEW.

The two labor leaders spoke with me this morning following Gov. Chris Gregoire's stop at the Tacoma General and Mary Bridge Children's hospital construction site on the site of the former First United Methodist Church.

About 60 workers took a short break from their work on the hospital's emergency room department and cancer center expansion to listen to Gregoire.

On the day before the state's primary election, Gregoire told the workers that Washington is leading the country in converting "helmets to hard hats" -- creating construction work for military veterans.

=> Read more!

Pierce County has 378,612 voters registered to participate in Tuesday's primary. Of those, 288,124 - or 76 percent - are registered to vote by mail.

And of those absentee voters, 59,793 submitted ballots as of Friday.

Turnout so far among absentee voters: 20.75 percent.

It's called "push-polling," a series of questions designed to badmouth a candidate and help devise a strategy to defeat him or her.

You know, it's like: "Would you vote for Joe Turner is you knew he tortured kittens and other little furry animals?"

If enough people answer "Yes," then there's bound to be a hit piece in the mail, telling prospective voters about my alleged treatment of Gizmo and Jules. (Those are my cats.)

Incumbent state Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, says he was the recipient of one such call Sunday night. But the pollster apparently didn't realize he was interviewing the subject of the poll. He's asked to speak to "James" Kastama." That's a dead give-away.

Kastama jotted a few of them down and sent me an e-mail.

Q: “How would the following influence your vote if you knew this about Jim Kastama:”

1. He allowed sex offenders to be released into your community?

2. He voted against tough measures to keep criminals locked up?

3. He voted against health care for women and children?

4. He voted against low cost health care for businesses?

5. He voted against abstinence education?

6. He rides an expensive scooter called the Segway?

Q: Knowing this would you still vote the same way?

(Kastama said he never let on that HE was Sen. Kastama, and answered all the questions with "I know Jim. He would never do that!")

Most of the question are your standard fare. The truth doesn't really matter. I haven't researched each of the allegations posed by the pollster, but I know Kastama is a huge supporter of abstinence education, enough to drive some of his more liberal Democratic colleagues crazy.

But where the heck did that Segway question come from?

=> Read more!

You could see this news release coming out of Jim McIntire's camp after ChangMook Sohn started running those radio ads last week. Sohn got former Gov. Gary Locke to sing his praises and endorse him in the radio spots that I heard on KOMO 1000.

Sohn and McIntire are running as Democrats and one of them is likely to face Republican Allan Martin, now deputy treasurer, in the general election.

UPDATE: McIntire's campaign manager says he has former governor endorsements, too.

Joe,
I just saw the post.
Just as an FYI the “thee former Governors” who support Jim are:
Former Governor Booth Gardner
Former Governor Mike Lowry
Former Governor Al Rosellini
Gregoire has not made an endorsement. A list of our endorsements in full can be found here http://www.jimmcintire.com/default.aspx?ID=3

Have a good one.
Andrew

McIntire has a bunch of local names -- Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma, Pierce County executive John Ladenburg, etc. -- that he's ballyhooing on this eve of the primary election, plus the state labor council and teachers' union.

Jim McIntire for State Treasurer
For Immediate Release
Contact, Jim McIntire- (206) 399-9847
Info@jimmcintire.com

Local Officials Endorse McIntire for State Treasurer

Several elected officials from Pierce County have announced their support for State Representative Jim McIntire in his bid for State Treasurer.

=> Read more!

Gov. Chris Gregoire exhorted a roomful of Democratic Party members this morning to help turn out voters for Tuesday's primary election so she can build momentum for November.

So far, the rate of ballot returns is not good, Gregoire said -- about 27 percent.

"No governor in America understands better than I do that every vote counts," Gregoire told a crowd of more than 80 partisans who gathered in a meeting room at the IBEW Hall on South 36th Street.

Gregoire made it clear that she does not want a repeat of the 2004 election drama, which included two recounts, a court challenge and a razor-thin 133-vote victory over Dino Rossi. She said she wants this year's race called at 8:10 p.m. on election night, with a landslide victory and no re-counts.

Gregoire did not mention Rossi by name, but spent much of her time countering claims that he is making in television ads on issues ranging from the state budget to gas taxes.

* She claimed she inherited a $2.2 billion budget deficit in 2005 and turned it into an $800 million surplus.
* She said Rossi removed 40,000 children from healthcare, but she added 84,000 children during her term as governor.
* She said she is trying to clean up Puget Sound, and the only opponent of her effort is the Building Industry Association of Washington, which supports Rossi.
* She said Rossi is still debating the science of global climate change, while she is working to add "green-collar" jobs to the economy.
* She touted her support for military veterans, noting that she has signed some 47 bills for veterans. "What have you ever done for veterans in the state of Washington?" Gregoire asked of Rossi (even though he was not present.)
* And she suggested that Rossi must be suffering for memory loss because of his TV attacks that blast her for raising the state's gas tax. Rossi voted for a higher gas tax in 2003 when he was in the state Senate, she said, and voters agreed to raise the gas tax in 2005.

=> Read more!

If it looks like a campaign flyer and arrives when your mailbox is filling up with campaign flyers, is it a campaign flyer?

Take a look at the postcard below and decide for yourself.

It’s one of three large postcards recently mailed to some Pierce County residents. County Councilmen Shawn Bunney and Terry Lee mailed two of the postcards. Bunney and Councilman Dick Muri sent another.

The councilmen tapped their district mailing budgets to pay for the postcards. The total cost to taxpayers for the three mailings: about $18,000.

All three Republican councilmen are running for public office this year – Bunney for county executive, Lee for assessor-treasurer and Muri for re-election to his council seat.

State law prohibits the use of public resources – including postage – to assist a campaign or candidate. The law does not prohibit activities that are part of the normal and regular conduct of a public agency.

Some government agencies have rules that spell out in some detail what kind of constituent communication is allowed in an election year. The state House of Representatives, for example, limits members to two newsletters, with the last mailed no later than 60 days after the end of a regular legislative session. The House even removes press releases and other material from representatives’ web sites from June 30 until after the November election.

The County Council’s rules prohibit bulk mailings after July 31 in an election year when a council member is seeking office. Lee said the postcards were sent just before the July 31 deadline.

The deadline dates to a time when candidates for county offices appeared on the primary ballot. This year – thanks to Pierce County’s new ranked-choice voting system – the three councilmen featured in the postcards won’t appear on the ballot until the November general election.

Lee and Muri said the postcards were not intended to promote the council members’ candidacies. Instead, they said the postcards seek public input on important county issues.

“I think they’re very similar to a typical newsletter we would send out,” Lee said.

=> Read more!

With the eyes of America firmly glued to the Olympics, Washington's gubernatorial candidates are busy trying to remind voters that there's a primary election next week.

Gov. Chris Gregoire is planning to spend the final few days before Tuesday's election right here in Pierce County.

On Saturday, Gregoire plans to visit the Pierce County Democratic Campaign office.

On Sunday, she and First Mike are scheduled to drop by the 25th Legislative District's office in Puyallup before heading over to the Puyallup Farmer's Market.

And on Monday, Gregoire is expected to show up at a Tacoma General Hospital construction site to symbolize her support for the building trades.

Dino Rossi, meanwhile, is spending the next few days east of the Cascades in presumably friendly territory. Rossi is in Chelan/Wenatchee today, the Tri-Cities on Saturday and Spokane on Monday, according to spokeswoman Jill Strait.

But that doesn't mean his supporters are writing off Pierce County, which he won by 4 percentage points in 2004. On the contrary, Don Anderson, Pierce County Chairman of Dino Rossi for Governor 2008, said in an e-mail to supporters yesterday that, "If Dino wins big in Pierce County, he wins - period!"

"But Christine Gregoire is coming to Pierce County almost every day!" Anderson writes.

Click on to read the full e-mail.

=> Read more!

On Aug. 7, we reported that Republicans were recruiting University Place resident Denise McCluskey to run as a write-in against state Rep. Tami Green, a Lakewood Democrat who's unopposed on the ballot.

On Monday, McCluskey filed her write-in candidacy for the 28th District seat with the Pierce County auditor's office. Since her name isn't on the ballot, she needs 1 percent of the vote in that race to advance and get her name on the Nov. 4 ballot. She figures 300 write-in votes would do it.

Since she's "official" in the eyes of the county, I've left a message with McCluskey inviting her to fill out the questionnaire for our voter guide.

Auditor Pat McCarthy says there are no other write-in candidates in Pierce County.

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign offered a special chance to those who were helping pay off her debt. If they gave as little as $5 they would be entered into a drawing to be the New York senator's special guest at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

According to this solicitation for more funds, "Leslie of Tacoma, WA" is one of the winners. The letter offers new contributors the same chance.

"If you're the lucky winner, we'll fly you to Denver, where you'll be my special guest at the convention. And I'll make sure that you and I have some time together to chat. You'll get to see me speak Tuesday night and see Senator Obama accept the nomination at Mile High Stadium on Thursday," the fund-raising e-mail says.

"So let's have some fun in Denver – try your luck and contribute today. You might be the one joining me for the 2008 Democratic Convention!"

So Leslie is going to Denver. But who is Leslie?

Additional evidence, in case you needed any, that Gov. Chris Gregoire is taking Pierce County seriously this election: Two more Tacoma visits are planned over a three-day span.

Gregoire will visit with supporters and field questions Saturday morning at the Pierce County Democratic Campaign office, inside the IBEW Hall at 3049 South 36th Street.

The event begins at 10 a.m. and Gregoire is expected to arrive about 10:15 a.m.

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Belfair) and Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma are scheduled to make opening remarks.

Everyone is invited to attend. RSVP Jason Watkins at jwatson@chrisgregoire.com or by phone at 253-272-2429.

Gregoire will be back in town Monday, touring a Tacoma General Hospital construction site at 8:30 a.m.

That visit was announced today by the Washington State Labor Council, which touted Gregoire's "strong record of creating good family wage jobs and a better workplace for members of the building trades."

And Gregoire was just here Tuesday, congratulating the Washington State Patrol.

For those of you keeping score at home, the upcoming events will make three Pierce County stops in a week. That I know about.

I met today with Nathe Lawver, Pierce County Democratic Party chairman. He supplied me with a list of Pierce County's Democratic delegates. I'm hoping to stay in touch with at least a few of them while they're in Denver later this month for the Democratic National Convention.

I realize that talking with a reporter back home -- or texting or IM'ing -- may not be the top priority of a busy delegate. (What exactly is the top priority of a busy delegate?)

But I told Nathe that I was hoping the more tech-savvy of the bunch could at least squeeze off a quick e-mail via cell phone if they have a little down time.

And then Lawver mentioned "microtargeting."

I missed this story while I was on vacation. But it seems the Obama camp doesn't want anyone twiddling their thumbs while they wait for the next speaker to take the stage during the final night of the convention.

They want all 75,000 people at Invesco Field using their cell phones to call unregistered people back home. I suppose they figure recipients will be impressed by a call that begins with, "Hey, guess where I am?"

From the AP story:

As they settle in their seats, campaign aides will be on stage asking them to text message their friends and use call sheets to get people to register. "There will be a lot of idle time. We put idle people to work," (Obama adviser Steve) Hildebrand said.

I'm still hoping at least one or two members of Pierce County's contingent will make a little time for me.

Click ahead to see the list of Pierce County Democratic delegates. I'll post a list of the Pierce County Republican delegates when I track it down.

=> Read more!

The Washington Coalition for Open Government sent a survey to candidates for local offices, the Legislature and statewide elected offices. The point was to get them on the record in support of a batch of open government issues ranging from recording executive sessions as a way of enforcing the open meetings act to creating an independent open government advocate.

The survey, with results available here, also asked candidates to take the pledge to support the coalition's positive on its priority issues.

Among those taking the pledge were Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg who is running for state Attorney General and three of the candidates for Pierce County Executive – Calvin Goings, Mike Lonergan and Shawn Bunney.

Missing are both Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi and current Attorney General Rob McKenna. None returned the survey to the council.

I remember the floor debates on the bill that authorized on-premise taste tests for beers and wines.

Washington State Liquor Control Board
Press Release

For Immediate Release
August 13, 2008

Liquor Control Board selects independent grocery stores for tasting pilot

30 grocery stores across the state will participate

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) today randomly selected the 15 independently owned grocery stores that will participate in a yearlong pilot program that allows on premise wine and beer tastings in 30 grocery stores across Washington. The pilot runs from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2009.

In addition to the 15 independently owned stores, 15 stores that are part of four nationally known chains of grocery stores will participate in the pilot. The allocated amount of stores for each chain is approximately proportionate to the number of submissions. The pilot will include seven Safeway stores, five Fred Meyer/QFC stores, two Haggen/Top Foods stores, and one Albertsons store. Store locations will be selected by the participating chains in the coming weeks.

=> Read more!

Political junkies already know their way around the state Public Disclosure Commission's Web site.

You can find out how much money a candidate has raised and spent, which PAC has given them money and who your neighbors and co-workers support.

But did you know that during the eight days before an election, you can schedule an appointment to look at a candidate's books in person, unfiltered by the PDC?

I didn't, until today.

But it's right there on the Candidate Registration form, otherwise known as the C1:

Campaign books must be open to the public by appointment between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. during the eight days before the election, except Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. In the space below, provide contact information for scheduling an appointment and the address where the inspection will take place. It is not acceptable to provide a post office box or an out-of-town address.

Gregoire's C1 provided the following phone number and address: 206-382-5552; 603 Stewart Street #819, Seattle.

Rossi's C1 provided this phone and address: 425-498-2008; 2723 152nd Ave NE, Redmond.

Next week's primary is just a week away, meaning anyone and everyone is free to schedule away. And not just with the candidates for governor.

Previously, candidates were required to open up their books for two hours per day during the eight-day window, said Doug Ellis at the PDC. Anyone who wanted could drop in.

The rules were changed to require an appointment after candidates complained they were wasting time if no one showed up.

Ellis isn't sure how many people know about the rule and take advantage of it. His office generally only hears about problems -- such as when a candidate refuses to schedule a meeting.

He estimates three or four of those type of complaints come into his office each year.

Let me know if you're someone who has scheduled one of these appointments -- or tried to. I'd like to hear about the experience.

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith briefed the Tacoma City Council today on happenings in Congress. Which, given the level of activity there, didn't take long.

"We are not doing a great deal right now," the Tacoma Democrat said at the council's weekly study session.

"Just about anything a Republican president can get through a Democratic Congress and just about anything a Democratic Congress can get by a Republican president has been done," Smith said.

But if inactivity is a bad thing, actual activity might be worse, he joked.

"Come January with a new president and a new Congress there will be a burst of activity," Smith said. "Trust me, that will be a more-dangerous time than this one."

Gov. Chris Gregoire stopped by the Tacoma area this morning to congratulate the Washington State Patrol on being named the best U.S. police agency by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

"Now I didn't need them to tell me that, but it sure is nice to have the recognition," Gregoire said, standing in front of a backdrop that included a Ford Crown Victoria cruiser, a shiny white BMW motorcycle and the WSP District 1 Headquarters on 112th Street East in Summit, just outside Tacoma.

WSP Chief John Batiste and Ron Ruecker, the IACP president and former Oregon State Police superintendent, also spoke.

The award, called the National Law Enforcement Challenge, recognizes law enforcement agencies with the best overall traffic safety programs in the country, according to the organization's Web site.

Last year, the WSP was recognized as the best state police agency of its size. This year, the State Patrol was named best in the championship class, a field that included 23 applicants of various sizes.

=> Read more!

Ranked-choice voting advocate Kelly Haughton predicts a close race for the Pierce County Council’s District 2 seat.

The seat currently is held by Democrat Calvin Goings, who is running for county executive. Vying to replace him are Republican state Rep. Joyce McDonald and Democrats Carolyn Merrival and Al Rose.

On his blog, Haughton calls McDonald a “strong candidate in this race given her name recognition and ability to campaign.” Though he expects McDonald to win the most first-place votes, he doubts any candidate will receive the majority of first-place votes needed for a first-count win.

That could give Merrival or Rose a chance to win the seat by collecting second-choice votes.

Read Haughton’s full analysis here.

Confused about ranked-choice voting? Check out the county auditor’s web site.

Pierce County plans to use some of the proceeds from the sale of 63 acres near Graham to help buy the Tacoma Narrows Airport.

Selling the county’s Elk Plain road shop property on Highway 7 near 224th Street East would bring in $17.5 million – money that would be used to buy the airport, improve roads and help pay for road maintenance facilities.

But some local residents object to the sale. They want part of the property set aside for a community park.

The County Council’s Rules Committee approved the proposed sale by a vote of 2-1 on Monday. The full council will take it up at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

For months Pierce County has been negotiating to buy the airport from the City of Tacoma for $5 million. The Peninsula Metropolitan Park District – which would acquire the adjacent Madrona Links Golf Course – is picking up $2 million of the cost.

County officials already have set aside $1 million for the purchase. Now they plan to use $2 million from the sale of the Elk Plain property to cover the remainder of the airport purchase price.

Another $1.3 million in proceeds from the sale of the Elk Plain property would be used for runway safety improvements.

County Council Chairman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor, said if the council approves the Elk Plain property sale the airport purchase could be finished in a matter of weeks.

The county is selling the Elk Plain property to Managing Green LLC of Tacoma. It’s zoned for a mix of commercial and residential development.

Other proposed uses for the proceeds from the sale include:

=> Read more!

I didn't keep an official count of how many times the word "grassroots" was used during a conference call for reporters this morning with Barack Obama campaign leaders.

But it was a lot.

Patrick Gaspard, national political director, and Carol Albert, Washington state director, told reporters that Obama's Washington state campaign will combine old-school get-out-the-vote efforts with innovative high-tech tools, including mybarackobama.com -- the social network on Obama's Web site known affectionately as "MyBO."

Albert said the site already has 230 active grassroots groups in Washington, and lists 191 events being held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention.

Gaspard spoke of the "grassroots energy" evidenced by the record turnout during the Democratic caucuses in February.

They claimed to have more than 10,000 volunteers in Washington.

No doubt many of them have already signed up to receive word of Obama's veep pick, which will be announced via e-mail and text message.

More details from the conference call, including a listing of all 18 Obama campaign offices in Washington, are included in a press release sent out by the campaign.

=> Read more!

Project Vote Smart, the national nonpartisan outfit that aims to give voters useful information about candidates, is coming to Tacoma next week to launch its Voter Self-Defense System.

You might ask: what are voters defending themselves against? The answer: "self-serving, manipulative claims made by campaigns."

Ah, that.

The "mobile training center" includes a movie theater and free WiFi computer terminals to use in learning more about candidates. Information also will be available about Washington state's "top two" primary and Pierce County's ranked choice voting system, to be implemented in November.

The event will be held Wednesday, Aug. 13, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Tacoma Central Plaza (where the Target store is), S. 23rd and Union.

Here's a description of the group's work by spokesman Benjamin Kastan:

We were founded by former Presidents Ford and Carter, former Sens. Goldwater and McGovern, and current national leaders across the political spectrum. We are a 501(c)(3) research organization and track every incumbent and candidate running for president, U.S. House and Senate, governor and state legislature in every state. Primary data includes voting records, issue positions, special interests' ratings, backgrounds, contact information, campaign contributions, and speeches and public statements, searchable by key word or phrase.

We are funded entirely by foundations and individual contributions, and most of our research is done by college interns and volunteers from around the country. (We are headquartered on a 150-acre ranch right outside of Philipsburg, MT.)

Here's the news release announcing the tour:

=> Read more!

The gubernatorial rematch between Democrat Chris Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi has attracted some national attention.

It's a focus this week of YouTube's "You Choose '08" program. Viewers can submit questions, and YouTube will select the best five and send them to the candidates, who've promised to respond.

The deadline to submit a question (by word or video, though video is preferred) is Aug. 12.

Here's the link.

It's true, the Democratic Party has a slate of candidate that it wants you to vote for in the Aug. 19 primary election. Maybe the party should stick to partison (I mean, partisan) offices, because it runs into trouble when it comes to nonpartisan offices such as SuperintenDANT of Public Instruction.

(Or was it Superintendent of PUBIC Instruction?)

(Is it worse when the spelling error is for an education job?)

See for yourself. Here's the link to the site that tells you how to vote, although I suspect they will change it right after reading this...

UPDATE: Note to self: Never let the fear of making exactly the same mistake keep you from making fun of someone who already has made that mistake.

Update No. 2: They fixed it quickly. But here's a PDF of the original.

The coalition is the group of insurance companies, doctors and medical folks that has been butting heads with trial lawyers and victims' advocates the past several years to limit payouts for pain and suffering in tort cases.

So far, they've pretty much failed at any major changes.

I wonder if that dentist vs. insurance company case has driven any sort of wedge between the docs and their insurers. Read on.

LRC issues 2008 judicial candidate recommendations

Michael J. Bond endorsed in Supreme Court race;

Judge Robin Hunt earns nod for return to Court of Appeals bench

Seattle—The Liability Reform Coalition (LRC) issued its judicial recommendations in two important higher-court races that will likely be decided in Washington’s August 19 primary election. The LRC endorsed the challenger in one Supreme Court race and an incumbent in a Court of Appeals contest.

=> Read more!

Mike Carrell is the only one in our neck of the woods who got a primary election endorsement from the Washington Retail Association. I guess you could add state Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Hobart, to the list, too, since she's sorta on the fringe of our circulation area.

Likewise for House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, and Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia, both in the 20th District.

Note: There's not a single Democrat on the list.

Retail Association announces candidate endorsements

The Washington Retail Association has announced endorsements for state legislative races to be decided in the August 19 primary.

=> Read more!

I finally got an explanation for the "limited endorsement" that state Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, got from the Washington State Labor Council earlier this week.

Limited means Kastama can tell people he is endorsed by the labor council, but the council isn't going to lift a finger to do any heavy lifting for him on the campaign trail.

Kastama lost out on a full-blown endorsement because of the trades people. Apparently, they're not real happy with his "listening" abilities when it comes to their proposal for state certification for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) workers.

So they blocked his endorsement twice, once back in May, then again when the council met Monday in Vancouver. Then the motion was changed to make it a "limited" endorsement.

Cody Arledge, lobbyist for the HVAC folks, said they relented in view of Kastama's 80 percent favorable voting record on general labor issues. But they still sent Kastama a message, twice.

Wanna earn some cash while serving your country? (Well, technically, you'd be serving your county.)

County election departments are recruiting temporary workers to staff poll sites during the Aug. 19 primary and the Nov. 4 general election. Pierce County pays $120 for the day; King pays $125.

"Any help in recruitment will be appreciated. We plan on having close to 650 workers help carry out the primary," Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy told me.

King County said last week that it still needed 700 people to finish filling nearly 4,000 poll worker positions.

”King County hasn’t yet made the transition to all-mail voting, and poll workers are still needed to help ensure that poll voters can cast their vote on Election Day,” Sherril Huff, King County elections director, said in a news release. “This will be one of the final opportunities to work at the polls, and I urge anyone interested to get involved today.”

It's a long day. The job starts around 6 a.m. and lasts until 9 or 10 p.m. But you get to talk to all of the nice people who don't vote by mail.

Here are the eligibility requirements in Pierce County: be at least 16 years old, attend three training sessions, lift 30 pounds, and bring a car (mileage is reimbursed).

Here are links to more information in Pierce and King counties.

OK, readers, sharpen your No. 2 pencils for today's pop quiz on political science.

True or False: The following is the oath of office that John McCain, Barack Obama or Ralph Nader (kidding) will take next January:

"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same: that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

That's the oath printed on page 81 of the Washington State Voters' Pamphlet. That page is dedicated to explaining the process of electing a president.

But it's the wrong oath.

Glenn Burden spotted it. Glenn is a Fircrest resident and Tacoma school teacher who helps disabled students transition from school to work. He's also my neighbor (note to other neighbors: I've got dibs on claiming Glenn as my partner the next time we play Trivial Pursuit).

Glenn wrote a letter to Secretary of State Sam Reed's office to point out the error. Reed's office wrote back to say it was an "unfortunate mistake." The office fixed the online version of the guide and promised that "more care will be taken in the future."

The oath in the voters' guide is actually the oath taken by members of Congress, the vice president, members of the president's Cabinet, federal judges and folks in civil service and the military. It's set out in Title 5 of the U.S. Code.

The presidential oath is contained in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution:

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: - I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Wikipedia says modern presidents have added "so help me God" at the end, though it's not required by the Constitution.

The Justice for Washington Foundation, which claims to have the only bipartisan judicial candidate rating process in the state, has released its findings.

The foundation rates candidates on both general qualifications and on what it calls their judicial philosophy. To score high with this group a candidate must practice judicial restraint, as defined by the group.

For example incumbent state Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst is termed "well qualified" but has "insufficent" respect for the law and constitution, according to the foundation.

Justice Charles Johnson gets the same ratings.

The only candidate considered unqualified by the group is incumbent Court of Appeals Judge Robin Hunt.

After Filing Week in June, Rep. Tami Green was the only member of Pierce County's legislative delegation who didn't draw a challenger. Even the Steves - Kirby and Conway, in the 29th District - got challengers this time, and those guys usually get free passes.

Green's free ride in the 28th could be viewed as a bit of a surprise because that's a swing district. The district's senator, Mike Carrell, is a Republican. And Democratic freshman Rep. Troy Kelley won the district's other House seat by a little more than 3 percentage points in 2006.

Now it looks like Green, a Lakewood Democrat, will have to campaign to keep the seat. (Full disclosure: I live in this district.)

Dick Muri, the Pierce County Councilman from Steilacoom and a Republican activist, is recruiting Denise McCluskey as a write-in candidate against Green. If McCluskey registers with the county auditor as a write-in and gets at least 1 percent of the vote in the Aug. 19 primary, she advances to the November ballot as a named candidate on the ballot. In the 2006 primary (the last to be held in September before the state moved it to August), the 1 percent threshold in the three-way race for Green's seat was 192 votes.

McCluskey is a human resources manager who lives in University Place. She tried to unseat UPlace City Councilwoman Jean Brooks last year. Brooks beat her by 115 votes out of 8,201 cast.

I talked to McCluskey on Wednesday. She said she was surprised by the recruitment and is "strongly leaning toward" jumping in the race. She said she's making phone calls and checking on what kind of support she'll get.

Mail-in voting began late last week.

This is a coup for incumbent state schools superintendent Terry Bergeson. Randy Dorn has his own union, Public School Employees, (he's the executive director) and the Washington Education Association behind him.

But Bergeson has the backing of the broader labor community.

Note that state Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, garnered a "limited endorsement."

What the heck is that? (I have a call in to the Labor Council flack.)

Labor also is against Tim Eyman's Initiative 985, which would take some sales tax money on cars and spend it on congestion relief.

WSLC endorses Bergeson, legislative candidates

Today, delegates to the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, made additional endorsements for the 2008 elections at their annual convention in Vancouver, WA. Support from more than two-thirds of the 350 delegates was required to win the WSLC's endorsement.

=> Read more!

In a fascinating new analysis, pollster John Zogby asked voters what their favorite store was and who their favored candidate for president was. The results give new meaning, as Zogby notes, to the term retail politics.

Shoppers who favor upscale stores like Neiman Marcus favor Barack Obama while those who shop at bargain stores like Penney's and Kohl's prefer John McCain. Obama's lead in the polls when this survey was done skews the numbers a bit, giving him advantages with most shoppers. But the 2004 version shows a more-striking difference.

It could be just-for-fun. But it also could reveal something about how the parties are appealing to voters across economic lines.

I'm just back from a 4-day weekend, so pardon me if this is old news for some of you. It arrived in my e-mail on Friday.

The Washington Supreme Court has scheduled the oral argument for Initiative 1029 for September 4. The justices are coming back early to listen to the arguments. Election experts say they expect a ruling from the court as early as the following week.

Election ‘08: Initiative 1029 cleared for November ballot

OLYMPIA…Secretary of State Sam Reed announced Friday that Initiative Measure No. 1029, which would provide for certification of long-term care aides, has enough valid signatures to qualify for a spot on the statewide ballot in November if the courts clear the way.

Critics of the measure are asking the state Supreme Court to block the state from placing the measure on the fall ballot and, instead, send it to the Legislature in January. No hearing date has been set, but both the state and the challengers have asked the court for expedited handling of the case. The state Elections Division and County Auditors face early printing deadlines for the Voters’ Pamphlet and ballots. Military and overseas ballots must go in the mail by Oct. 5 and other vote-by-mail citizens can start voting by mid-October. That pushes printing deadlines back to early September.

=> Read more!

I have jokingly complained to Scott Merriman that I have to get a new business card from him every year because chances are he has moved on to another job.

Sure 'nuff. He's done it again.

Merriman is the new deputy director of the Association of Counties.

As for the "peasant" reference: State Sen. Brian Weinstein, D-Mercer Island, once referred to Seattle Times political reporter David Postman as a "(F-word) peasant." Weinstein later said he mistook Postman for someone who worked in the governor's office, someone who wouldn't mind being called a peasant because the two of them got along so well.

Don't know about how well they got along, but we in the press corps later discovered it was Merriman. A Postman double he is not. But they've got the Van Dyke thing goin'.

So, ever since, Merriman has been referred to as the peasant -- and the expletive is not deleted.

Good luck, Scott.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 5, 2008

Scott Merriman Appointed WSAC Deputy Director

Eric Johnson, Executive Director for the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC), today announced the appointment of Scott Merriman to the position of Deputy Director for the Washington State Association of Counties.

Since January 2005, Mr. Merriman has served as Director of Legislative Affairs for the Washington State Office of Financial Management. Mr. Merriman also served as a Policy Director with WSAC from 2002-2004, working on Land Use, Transportation, and other issues important to Counties.

=> Read more!

This just in from education reporter Kris Sherman:

Former Tacoma School District Superintendent Rudy Crew is in trouble in Miami. Crew survived - barely - a School Board attempt to dethrone him Monday. You may recall he was the charismatic and ultimately controversial superintendent in Tacoma from 1993-1995. Here's the link to today's Miami Herald story.

Tacoma schools' only black superintendent, Crew was seen as a role model for minority students when he was hired in 1993. He was a powerful and engaging speaker. Some said that while he was a great big-picture leader, he didn't follow through on the details. Crew left shortly after the beginning of the 1995 school year to head off the New York City public school system.

The League of Women Voters is sponsoring a forum Wednesday night for the candidates for the 6th Congressional District. But will 16-term incumbent Norm Dicks be there?

Nope.

His challengers plan to be there: Republican Doug Cloud of Tacoma and Democrat Paul Richmond of Port Townsend tell me they'll attend. I've left a message with the campaign of Green Party candidate Gary Murrell of Hoquiam.

Exit133 reported yesterday that Dicks had not yet accepted the invitation to appear. I've left a message with his campaign manager to find out more. His campaign web site only shows one event in August - the Aug. 19 primary.

Update: A League of Women Voters representative says the Dicks campaign sent its official regrets today.

Update No. 2: Here is the reply from Dicks' campaign manager, Hart Edmonson:

Norm has always campaigned hard for re-election and is running once again on his record of service for his district. Congressman Dicks has had a longstanding policy of scheduling a mutually agreed upon joint appearance with his opponent before the general election and we expect to continue that this year. He looks forward to running on his record of accomplishments for his constituents in the upcoming primary election and in November.

Update No. 3: Murrell's campaign manager says he'll be there, too.

The event will be held Wednesday, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. at the University of Puget Sound's Trimble Hall.

As we reported last month, Dicks usually wins re-election by huge margins. Around here, he has higher name recognition than Ichiro. But the challengers say there's discontent out there. In Grays Harbor County, Democrats who oppose the Iraq war were balking last month at endorsing Dicks. Richmond recently touted the endorsement of William Jamie Nixon, a Dicks campaign field coordinator in 2006. Murrell rails against Dicks for being too cozy with the Bush administration and lobbyists.

More information about all four candidates is available here on our Voter Guide.

Clearing out the in-box. Here are some upcoming events and a notice of a voter registration drive targeted at women:

* The 2nd & 29th Districts Republican Club will host a candidate forum on Wednesday, Aug. 6. Invited candidates include state Lands Commissioner (and former Tacoma mayor and Pierce County executive) Doug Sutherland and a number of candidates for the Legislature. The meeting, which is open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in Dryers Fellowship Hall, 220 134th St. So., Tacoma (Parkland). For information, contact Bob Jewell at 360-893-1712 or bobjewell@hotmail.com.

* Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy, who's competing in the four-way race for county executive, will speak to the Pierce County Democratic Women's League on Thursday, Aug. 7. The event, which is open to the public, will be held at noon at the Tacoma Elks Club. For information, contact Judie Fortier at 253-627-8130 or mstplaza@comcast.net.

* The 25th Legislative District Democrats will meet Thursday, Aug. 7, to listen to candidates for county and judicial offices and consider endorsements for the Nov. 4 election. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Puyallup Public Library, 324 South Meridian. For more information, contact Charley Stokes at cwstokes@earthlink.net or 253-861-8744.

* The 25th District Republican Club and the South Sound Ronald Reagan Republican Club will host a picnic on Wednesday, Aug. 13. The event will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Pioneer Park Pavilion in Puyallup. Tickets (which include food) cost $20. Checks payable to the 25th District Republican Club should be sent to 2409 34th Ave SE, Puyallup, 98374-4142. For more information, contact Bob Neilson at 253-845-0038 or rhneilson@earthlink.net.

* If you are an unmarried women in Washington state and you're not registered to vote, there's a campaign to find you and fix that (the unregistered part). Some D.C. folks sent a news release last week saying they expect to register 1 million unmarried women in 24 states to vote by election day. The target figure in Washington state is 195,059 women. The campaign is run by the national organization Women's Voices Women Vote, which says unmarried women run an increasing number of households but are statistically less likely to vote.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell is coming to Tacoma on Tuesday. She plans to hold a news conference to talk about her efforts to hold corporations accountable for environmental cleanups so that taxpayers aren't left holding the bag.

She's particularly concerned about the outcome of Asarco's bankruptcy.

Here's the press release:

=> Read more!

As The Olympian's Brad Shannon reports, Gov. Chris Gregoire today ordered an immediate hiring freeze that's designed to save $90 million. She took action in light of slowing tax collections as the economy limps along. (Note: I did my part this weekend by buying a $40 "Need for Speed" game for my Wii).

Below is Gregoire's news release announcing the action.

I'd expect we'll get some Republican reaction in short order. If so, I'll post it here as well. Update: Dino Rossi's campaign issued a statement in which he points out the increased state spending under Gregoire's watch. I've pasted it below Gregoire's announcement.

=> Read more!

After more than two months of work, our online voter guide is ready.

In June, I sent questionnaires to more than 100 candidates running for Congress, the Legislature, the Supreme Court, governor and eight other statewide offices. Before you vote, check out our online voter guide and find out such things as:

* What 16 candidates for Congress would do about Iraq.

* What candidates for state superintendent of public instruction would do about the WASL.

* What the dozens of candidates for the Legislature say about taxes, transportation tolls and even how they feel about banning fatty foods from vending machines in schools (you might be surprised by the answers).

You also can find out about the candidates’ civic and educational backgrounds, and you’ll find contact information, including links to their campaign Web sites.

In October, we'll publish the answers in a 32-page guide for the print edition.

Note: I also sent questionnaires to candidates for Pierce County offices. But they aren't on the ballot until November, so I'll post their answers after the primary.

In the previous post, Gov. Chris Gregoire responded late today to claims about tribal gambling. Also late today,
Dino Rossi's gubernatorial campaign responded to claims in new advertisements about his positions and voting record in the state Senate.

You can see the ads here. David Postman wrote about the group here.

Rossi's campaign complains that the ads - primarily funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Washington Federation of State Employees and the Democratic Governors Association - come at the same time as Gregoire's office negotiates labor contracts with state unions. Once you get past that rhetoric, the Rossi campaign refutes the ads' claims:

=> Read more!

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has published stories linking Gov. Chris Gregoire's acceptance of campaign contributions from tribes to a new tribal gambling compact. The most recent story appeared today. The guv ain't happy about that.

Late today, her office sent out this statement:

The truth about tribal gaming
Governor’s Office presents the facts

OLYMPIA – Recent media coverage questioning removal of a revenue sharing provision from a tribal compact is inaccurate and ignores the facts.

* Following the lead of state voters who in 2004 overwhelmingly rejected Initiative 892, which would have led to a massive expansion of gambling in Washington state, Gov. Gregoire and a bipartisan group of state and local leaders opposed revenue sharing provisions. This was based on their shared fears that revenue sharing would result in a rampant expansion and lead to a reliance on gambling revenue by the state.

* There is no evidence that Washington state would have raised $140 million from revenue sharing (“Tribes give big to Gregoire, avoid sharing casino cash,” June 12, 2008), or lost “hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the state” by abandoning the revenue-sharing provision (“Democrats defend tribal compacts,” August 1, 2008) both as carried by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

* Until yesterday, the issue of revenue sharing was not raised at earlier hearings on the Spokane compact. A joint legislative committee had ample opportunity to review the approval process for compacts during which they could have addressed their concerns on revenue sharing.

* Tribal lottery machines first appeared in Washington state in 1998 following a federal court order. Each federally recognized tribe was allowed 675 machines. When the compacts were renegotiated in 2005, the tribes initially requested unlimited number of machines per tribe. Through negotiations spanning almost two years, the parties agreed to 975 machines.

=> Read more!

Got an hour to kill? Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg discussed his candidacy for state attorney general on KUOW’s “Weekday” program Thursday. You can listen to the program here.

Secretary of State Sam Reed reported today that sponsors of Initiative 1029 submitted enough signatures to win a spot on the November statewide ballot.

Now it's up to the courts to decide whether that's this November or next November due to an error in petition printing. Here is Reed's press release that explains what's going on:

=> Read more!