THIS WORD JUST IN FROM REPORTER JASON HAGEY

The Pierce County Council has appointed former county councilwoman and state legislator Jan Shabro, a Republican, as auditor to replace Pat McCarthy, who was elected county executive.

The council chose Shabro over Katie Blinn, assistant state director of elections, and Dick McEntee, a former Nalley's executive and community volunteer.

The council voted 5-1. Councilwoman Barbara Gelman voted no. Councilman Terry Lee was absent.

Cliff Webster, who actually still reads the print edition of newspapers, just dropped by to see if the press corps in Olympia still exists because he read that we are a dwindling lot.

He also wanted to rent space in our building if we have space.

(We're on campus, so we reporters (our digs, anyway) are the envy of regulars during session.)

Yes. We are dwindling. Yes. We have space. No. It's not available to lobbyists.

But thanks for asking, Cliff.

Gov. Chris Gregoire also will be sworn in at noon Wednesday. She delivers her speech to members of the Legislature (and a TV audience) from the House chambers in the Legislative (domed) Building.

I don't know who decided she would deliver it at noon (maybe it's so she can get it out of the way before the ball tomorrow night) but I'm glad they did. Always annoyed me how the guv's office was trying to accommodate the 5 and 6 o'oclock TV news shows.

OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday will take the oath of office before delivering her inaugural address in the House chambers at a joint session that also will be attended by members of the Washington Supreme Court, state elected officials and other dignitaries as well as the public.

For interested media TVW will be carrying both the ceremony and inaugural address LIVE on statewide cable TV – Comcast Channel 23 – or on-line at www.tvw.org</blockquote>

Channel 23 is TVW on Comcast in Olympia. The rest of you, check your local listings.

Adam Glickman of the Service Employees International Union 775NW, the local that represents 23,000 home care workers in contract negotiations with the governor, just dropped by the office.

He said the Supremes have agreed to fast track the lawsuit that SEIU filed against Gov. Chris Gregoire for not forwarding their contract to the Legislature for approval (or rejection.) That contract contains a 47-cent-an-hour pay raise for workers over the next two years.

The union contends the governor has no right to not send it on. State law requires her to do so if the contract if approved by an arbitrator, which is what happened in this case.

The governor's budget director, Victor Moore, said the state basically can't afford to pay for the raises because the state is facing a $6 billion deficit.

Here is the ruling, signed by the court commissioner. Looks as if most of the paperwork has to be filed by mid-February.

As Marty Brown, the governor's main lobbyist, observed last week, fast track just means the lawyers for both sides have to file stuff in a hurry. The Supremes still take their sweet time making a decision. (Or something like that.)

Here's an earlier posting on the SEIU stuff.

It took me awhile, (I've been working on this off and on since Christmas) but I've finally done a line-by-line analysis of Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed 2009-11 transportation budget and compared it to the project list approved by the 2008 Legislature.

Both budgets are actually 6- to 10-year plans.

Here are the winners and losers in the governor's budget. The key is this: any project that is delayed beyond 2015 probably won’t get built unless the state gets a whole lot more money -- either from higher taxes or from a huge federal windfall from Santa Obama Claus.

The governor balances her budget six years out, and she does so by borrowing one heckuva lot of money. So much so, that by 2016, almost 80 cents out of every $1 the state collects in transportation taxes will be spent paying off old debts. That doesn't leave much money for new stuff.

LOSERS

Tacoma carpool lanes: The 2008 Legislature committed $586 million to build carpool lanes on Interstate 5 from the Tacoma Mall through Fife between 2009 and 2013. Gregoire cuts that amount to $116 million in that four-year period, shifts another $370 million to the 2013-15 biennium and puts off more than $160 million of work beyond 2015.

Highway 167 (Pierce County): The 2008 Legislature included money only to buy property and do preliminary design work on the future extension of the highway from Port of Tacoma to Puyallup, but Gregoire that amount by $73 million in the current 2007-09 budget -- from $90 million to $17 million. More than $100 in funding from the Legislature would be moved beyond 2015. That means costs are $40 million higher because property will cost more 10 years out.

=> Read more!

BY BRIAN EVERSTINE
The News Tribune

The Pierce County Democratic Party filed a lawsuit Monday afternoon to attempt to block the appointment of the next Pierce County auditor, which is scheduled for this afternoon.

The party had said for weeks that they would seek a court rule to stop the appointment because the process the council used was illegal and that the body repeatedly violated state law while looking for a replacement.

“My hope is that they stop this process,” party chairman Nathe Lawver said Monday evening. “What the County Council is doing is illegal.”

=> Read more!

And Gov. Chris Gregoire's office finally is confirming what Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels was telling everybody yesterday.

The total cost of the replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct is now pegged at $4.24 billion, including the 2-mile tunnel that will open up the downtown Seattle waterfront.

The governor says the state’s commitment is $2.81 billion. That includes restoring the land under the existing viaduct to a four-lane surface street.

Here's the deal: The Legislature has committed only $2.4 billion to the Alaskan Way Viaduct. That means, if the governor gets her way, the additional $400 million probably will come from one of the other 391 projects that were supposed to be built with money from the 14.5-cent gas tax hikes in 2003 and 2005.

Hmmmm. I wonder which projects will be postponed to the point of never getting done. Gregoire's proposed 2009-11 transportation budget already would postpone at least $400 million of work for the ferry system and $400 million of work in Pierce County. And that was when she was assuming a total state commitment of only $2.4 billion!

Those carpool lanes on Interstate 5 from Tacoma to Fife? Not gonna happen. Only part of them will get built if Gregoire prevails.

Keep this in mind: The guv, Seattle, the port and King County exec SEEM to be in agreement, but it's still only a recommendation to the Legislature.

UPDATE: And House Speaker Frank Chopp, who has his own ideas, makes it clear the Legislature has the final say. They hold the purse strings. Chopp notes the guv and others chose the most expensive option, one that Seattle voters rejected. And they are the ones who, theoretically, might be on the hook for part of the difference between $2.8 billion and $4.24 billion.

=> Read more!

This is not a new request. Counties, particularly the highly urbanized counties like King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, want the same kinds of taxes that cities have. Chief among them is the utility tax.

This was to be expected, given the budget and revenue problems that local governments are running into. It's also highly unlikely they will get a utility taxing authority, but the Legislature may find some other ways to help counties.

King County Council calls on state lawmakers
to act on revenue options for counties
State legislative agenda seeks flexibility for counties
to set local fees and revenue sources to avert another budget crisis

As the state Legislature convenes today in Olympia, one of its priorities must be to fix the broken structure for providing revenues for all counties across the state, according to the state legislative agenda unanimously adopted today by the Metropolitan King County Council.

=> Read more!

I'm just catching up with my e-mail inbox.

Dow Constantine, who is from West Seattle, used to be a state senator. Our paths crossed mostly when it came to ferry service, since his legislative district includes Vashon Island.

Constantine had a hand in creating a ferry district in King County so the county could take over state foot ferry service between Vashon and downtown Seattle.

Dow Constantine to chair King County Council in 2009
New vice-chairs, committees, and committee chairs also named

Members of the Metropolitan King County Council today unanimously elected Dow Constantine as Council Chair for 2009, named Bob Ferguson and Jane Hague as Vice-Chairs, and approved a reorganization of their standing committees that shares leadership on a non-partisan basis and shifts their weekly Committee of the Whole meetings from Mondays to Wednesdays.

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