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

Calendar
November 2009
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 << <   > >>
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30          
Archives
XML Feeds
What is RSS?
Misc
Who's Online?
  • hgeorge Email
  • Dukeshire Email
  • Dirtdawg Email
  • artman77 Email
  • Jon Aqui Email
  • Guest Users: 337
Let's talk politics.
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
Posted by Joe Turner @ 07:38:18 pm

Eagle-eyed Ian Morrison, Gov. Chris Gregoire's liaison guy in Pierce County, alerted Political Buzz that there is a 253 connection for Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in as Alaska's new governor July 26.

Here's his bio.

Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell arrived in Alaska in 1973 at the age of 10. He inherited his love of our vast state from his father, Pat Parnell, who decided to move his wife and two sons to Alaska after being stationed at Fort Richardson. Sean graduated from East Anchorage High School in 1980, going on to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pacific Lutheran University, as well as a doctorate of jurisprudence from University of Puget Sound School of Law (now known as Seattle University School of Law). He has been an attorney since 1987 and is admitted to practice in Alaska and Washington, D.C. Like his father before him, Sean owned his own business for many years, a small law practice located in downtown Anchorage.

Sean's father, Pat, served Alaska honorably as an Anchorage Assembly Member and as a member of the Alaska House of Representatives, modeling ethical political leadership for both his sons and birthing a dream in his eldest. Sean pursued his childhood dream, and in 1992 he was elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives. While serving in the House, Sean was active as a member of the House Finance Committee and chaired numerous budget subcommittees. After serving two terms in the House, Sean ran for, and won, a seat in the Alaska State Senate in 1996. In the Senate, Sean was a dynamic leader who served on the Senate Finance Committee during his first two years, and he later co-chaired the Senate's Finance Committee during a financially difficult time in our state's history. Oil was at $9 per barrel, state revenues were down dramatically, and Sean lead the way with his Caucus in cutting the budget while maintaining priorities like education, public safety, and transportation. He was also a member of the Energy Council.

[More:]

In 2006, after campaigning on a theme of "Alaskans Free of Fear-Alaskans with Hope and Opportunity," Sean was elected as Lieutenant Governor serving with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Sean and his wife, Sandy, have been married for 21 years, and they reside in Anchorage, Alaska with their daughters, Grace and Rachel. In their downtime they enjoy running, hiking, fly-fishing, playing volleyball and soccer, and staying involved in their church and community. Sean is devoted to his family and is passionate about making Alaska safe for all families, particularly championing safety for women and children; as such, he fights vigorously for tough laws and penalties involving domestic violence and child abuse. One of Sean's greatest hopes is to empower Alaskans by unleashing their potential to build healthy families, to develop job and life-skills, and to serve and strengthen their communities.

Categories: Governor, Tacoma