The race for Connie Rickman’s seat on the Tacoma School Board is shaping up to be the most competitive race in Pierce County this year.

Five people are challenging Rickman for her position on the board.

They include East Tacoma activist Catherine Ushka-Hall, former Port of Tacoma Commissioner Jerry Thorpe and Chris Van Vechten, a former state legislative aide who co-founded the online magazine “The Melon.”

A fourth candidate for Rickman’s seat, Deb Blakeslee, is a former administrative assistant who has also worked in financial analysis.

Still another candidate, Amy Bates, would like to oust Rickman.

Rickman, a former Tacoma Schools administrator, was president of the school board in 2007, the year a state audit found that the board twice violated open public meetings laws by making decisions in executive session.

That same year, former Tacoma Schools Superintendent Charlie Milligan negotiated a $418,000 severance package when he left the district after one year on the job.

This outcome was pretty much expected when the Legislature passed its supplemental transportation budget, a budget that included the federal stimulus funds.

Transportation chairwoman Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, and Rep. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, included a list of alternates at the news conference they held.

Hungry contractors are coming in about 20 percent below estimates. Part of the reason for the low bids is that materials aren't nearly as expensive as they were after the "China" factor drove up costs.

Most of the stimulus projects, alternates, too, are highway paving projects. Those were the kinds of projects that can be started right away because they don't require elaborate and time-consuming environmental impact statements. But most of them are in Eastern Washington. I'll check to see if any local projects are on that list.

Gov. Gregoire, Secretary Hammond announce that lower construction bids result in more transportation projects in the state

OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire and Washington Department of Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond announced today that Washington state will deliver more highway projects with federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds than first envisioned, thanks to the recent trend toward lower construction bids.

=> Read more!

It looked like Don Meyer, a former port manager and the director of the Foss Waterway Development Authority was going to walk into office. But a late filing by former Pierce County Auditor Cathy Pearsall-Stipek means that all three Port of Tacoma positions will be contested.

Pearsall-Stipek, who also has been a Tacoma School Board members, a state legislators and a Pierce County Councilwoman, filed for position 3. One of them will replace Ted Bottiger who is not running for reelection.

In port position one, incumbent Connie Bacon will have to wage both a primary and a general election campaign. Bernardo Tuma and Bill Casper, both former port candidates, filed against her.

And in port position two, Charles Kelly Creso filed against incumbent Dick Marzano.

Another late filing means Pierce County will get to use Ranked Choice Voting at least one more time. Will Baker filed for the county auditor race, a special election needed to replace Pat McCarthy who was elected county executive.

Appointed incumbent Jan Shabro and Tacoma City Councilwoman Julie Anderson have also filed. The non-partisan race moves directly to the November election where voters will be allowed to rank the three candidates.

Go here for a complete list of Pierce County filings.

On Sunday I take a look at one of Tacoma's first public relations efforts to entice people and business from Seattle.

It happened in and around the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition that opened 100 years ago this week on what is now the University of Washington's main campus. Tacoma boosters used the fair to make a pitch for Tacoma - even though the fair itself was a celebration of Seattle's dominance in the battle to dominate the Puget Sound economy.

Even though it happened 100 years ago, the competition exists today from the rivalry between the ports of Tacoma and Seattle and the attempts by Seattle to entice Russell Investments to move its headquarters.

The centerpiece was a huge illuminated sign mounted on the lakeshore in such a place that it could be seen from the fairgrounds. That's the story I try to tell in my next column.

In the meantime, here are some great links about the exposition.

A performance of the song "You'll Like Tacoma" as performed by the Cecile Farmer of the UW's Collegium Musicum.
http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?id=47677

An interactive map that compares the fairgrounds to the current UW campus, compliments of University Libraries.
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aypweb/

Another University Libraries map of the grounds. The lifesaving station would be in the lower left-hand corner.
http://content.lib.washington.edu/extras/images/Viewer/viewer.html

HistoryLink's suite on the exposition
http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=results.cfm&keyword=ALYuPaEx

Tacoma Library's Northwest Room postcard collection. (search for Alaska Yukon Pacific)
http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/postcard/

The Museum of History And Industry in Seattle. Search for Alaska Yukon Pacific).
http://www.seattlehistory.org

There is $212,000 in the state budget for 2009-11 to pay for a 23rd Superior Court judgeship in Pierce County. That's $106,000 a year for each of two years to pay the state's half of salary and benefits for the new judge.

It's up to the Pierce County Council to decide whether it wants to pony up it half of salary and benefits, but if they don't make a decision sometime soon the state money will go away.

I'm assuming the County Council at some point wanted the option to create a position. Otherwise, the money wouldn't be in the state budget. But all levels of government are having money problems, and the County Council may have had second thoughts.

UPDATE: (2:32 p.m.) Pierce County lobbyist George Walk called me back to say he's not sure how the money for another judge got into the 2009-11 state budget. It might be a carryover from the 2007-09 budget because back then the county did want the option of adding another judge.
On the other hand, it could just be a mistake. In the Agency Detail budget notes (another document that seeks to elaborate on stuff in the actual state budget document) there is no money for Pierce, but there is a $212,000 appropriation to the state Administrative Office of the Courts for King County to add a 53rd Superior Court judgeship.
Sounds like it's just a mix-up.
King County is having its own budget problems. At any rate, if push comes to shove, the money belongs to Pierce County because it was the budget bill that was signed into law, not the budget footnotes.

If Pierce County were to create the position, Gov. Chris Gregoire would be making the initial appointment. Perhaps another woman to break up the still predominantly good ol' white boys on the Pierce County bench.

Here are links to check up on candidate filings ...

Pierce County

Secretary of State

King County

Thurston County

I'd almost forgotten this is candidate filing week until I got this news release from Susan Hutchison's campaign.

King County Executive theoretically is a nonpartisan job, but there are 4 Democrats, (plus, whatever Hutchison is) in the race. Or 4 boys and a girl in the race. Hmmm. Ya think she might be one of the survivors in a Top Two primary?

Fred Jarrett, Ross Hunter, Dow Constantine and Larry Phillips are the boys and the Democrats.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Jordan McCarren
Friends of Susan Hutchison
www.susanhutchison.com

WORKING TOGETHER,
A NEW KIND OF LEADERSHIP FOR KING COUNTY
SUSAN HUTCHISON FILES CANDIDACY FOR KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE

SEATTLE: Susan Hutchison today filed the necessary paperwork to place her name on the August ballot as a candidate for the office of King County Executive, her campaign announced this morning. Documents were submitted to King County Elections in advance of Fridays filing deadline.

=> Read more!

"The Labor Department’s most comprehensive alternative unemployment rate measure — which includes people who want to work but are discouraged from looking and people working part time because they can’t find full-time jobs — stood at 16.4 percent in May, up 7.7 percentage points since the recession began and the highest level on record in data that go back to 1994."

Those remarks come from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an organization whose e-mails I signed up to get late last year when Congress was putting together what eventually became a $787 billion economic stimulus package.

The "official" national unemployment rate for May came out today. It's 9.4 percent. I just wanted to point out something that most of us (including me) either forgot or don't realize: The jobless rate that gets most of the attention does count people who are out of work, but who no longer are looking for a job. That 16.4 percent figure does include that.

Congress approved some extra unemployment benefits ($25 a week and other stuff) but those extras run out at the end of the year.

Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the May Employment Report
Today’s jobs report shows a labor market that is still deteriorating but that offers signs that the worst of the current recession may be over.

Job losses in May, while still high at 345,000, were less than half of January’s level. The unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent but, for the second month in a row, the labor force grew as more people entered it to look for work than left it.

=> Read more!

And by the way, we're talking about "a" Gregoire, not "the" Gregoire when it comes to any association with King County Councilman Dow Constantine's campaign to move into the county executive's office.

One of Gov. Chris Gregoire's daughters, Michelle, is pictured with Constantine wearing a "Dow Now!" T-shirt during NARAL's 6th annual Run For Your Rights on May 9. The picture is on Constantine's campaign Web site.

(By the way, Dow is not claiming any endorsement. The description of the photo simply says it is "Team Dow," with no names.)

Michelle was working for state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, during the just completed legislative session, and I met her only once in the wings of the Senate. I gotta think she was out for the abortion rights event, and probably just wanted a T-shirt.

(I'm holding out for a "Dow: How Now Brown Cow?" T-shirt.)

Here's a link to Constantine's election site, the one with the NARAL run pix.

If you've been dying to join an advisory board, but just haven't found the right one, here's a new opportunity.

The Department of Social Services has selected OptumHealth as the new RSN for Pierce County, effective July 1, 2009. We are seeking residents of Pierce County, and persons currently or previously served by the public mental health program, who are interested in serving on the Mental Health Advisory Board (MHAB). The MHAB is a 15 member citizen's advisory board which focuses on efficiency and effectiveness of community mental health services in Pierce County. They review and provide comments on plans and policies, reviews and approves recommendations from subcommittees, and promotes issues of importance in prevention, treatment and recovery. The MHAB also recommends the allocation of funding for the Federal Block Grant.

We are seeking representation from minority interests, persons with experience or expertise in mental health, persons representing consumers, including youth and foster parents, law enforcement and the community at large.

You may visit our website at: www.optumhealthpiercersn.com

For an application or further information you may call:
Kathryn Lippincott, Office Administrator - Pierce RSN at 253-292-4184 or email: kathryn.lippincott@optumhealth.com

That's what the British magazine The Economist recommends in this article in the current issue.

After pointing out that Washington resolved its budget problems quickly and that California is still struggling with them, it suggests two Washington political traits – a primary system that tends to elect moderates and a bipartisan redistricting process that resists gerrymandering.

(It actually calls our redistricting commission neutral. But a commission made up of two appointed Democrats and two appointed Republicans isn't neutral, it's compromised partisanship).