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Peter Callaghan is a local columnist. He’s covered the
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Joe Turner has covered state government and transportation
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Northwest for 19 years, supervising coverage and reporting on local and
state government, the environment and growth. Email John
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Three pretty big hitters in Pierce County politics have asked to co-author the voters pamphlet statement opposing Pierce County Prop. 1. That's the charter amendment that would extend the term limits of the county executive and county council as well as shift elections for those offices from even-numbered years to odd numbered years.
In a letter to the county council, State Auditor Brian Sonntag, Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma and County Executive Pat McCarthy ask to be appointed to the committee writing the argument against making the changes.
McCarthy also spoke out against the charter amendment this week at the Graham Land Use Advisory Council meeting.
McCarthy spokesman Hunter George said she thinks putting two different issues inside one charter amendment – growing the allowed terms from two to three as well as changing the election year – is confusing.
McCarthy also worries that there is a chance to really make a mess of elections if a separate amendment changing the election date for county auditor, assessor-treasurer and sheriff passes but Prop. 1 fails. That would leave some county offices in even-numbered years and some in odd-numbered years.
The county executive said it would be better for these issues to be reviewed by a future charter review commission of citizens than to be placed on the ballot directly by the county council.
The issues will be decided at the November election.
This morning's Seattle Times carried this story about Sen. Maria Cantwell's inquiry into the case of Ernesto Gamboa, a Salvadoran national who is being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at its Tideflats jail.
Gamboa is no ordinary illegal immigrant.
Ernesto Gamboa had worked undercover with law enforcement on major national and international drug investigations that resulted in more than 90 federal convictions. All along, he'd hoped his work as an informant might earn him a kind of legal status the federal government extends to illegal immigrants who assist law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting crimes.
But ICE arrested the 43-year-old last week for being in the country illegally. Cantwell plans to discuss the case with an ICE official.
"At this point she plans to raise the point: Did the government make some mistakes; could we take another look at his case?" said Cantwell spokeswoman Ciaran Clayton.
Here's an earlier Times story on Gamboa.
