Political Buzz

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

Contributors

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

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

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

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

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

Local politics links
Brad Shannon's The Politics Blog (The Olympian)
Adam Wilson (The Olympian)
Politics Northwest (Seattle Times)
Sound Politics
Horse's Ass
Richard Roesler's Eye on Olympia (Spokesman Review)
P-I's Strange Bedfellows (Seattle PI)
Crosscut
SoundInfo Databases
State Employee Pay
Statewide School Employee Pay
City of Tacoma Employee Pay
Pierce County Employee Pay
King County Employee Pay
Metro Parks Employee Pay
City of Lakewood Employee Pay
City of Puyallup Employee Pay
Pierce Transit Employee Pay
Other Resources
Washington Legislature Bill Lookup
How your lawmaker voted: WashingtonVotes.org

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Let's talk politics.
Friday, August 8th, 2008
Posted by Hunter George @ 04:08:08 pm

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!

Categories: Voting, Campaign news
Posted by Hunter George @ 06:43:07 am

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.

Categories: Governor, Campaign news