It's still early in the season, but candidates have been busy this summer raising money for Tacoma City Council contests. Already it's clear fundraising will surpass total contributions in the past two council election cycles, as reported to the Public Disclosure Commission.

At this rate, it may approach the 2001 election, when mayoral candidates Bill Baarsma and Harold Moss each raised more than $100,000. This year's activity is mostly driven by the open seats for mayor and the at-large position 6. Interestingly, with the exception of Marty Campbell, candidates in the three-person primary races for districts 4 and 5 haven't raised nearly as much. But because those are elected by district, rather than citywide, you can get away with less money and more doorbelling.

Here are the contributions standings as of today:

In my next installment of "follow the money," we'll take a look at where the contributions are coming from.

I missed this morning's meeting of GMAP (Government Management Accountability and Performance). It was at 8:30 a.m. and I guess I don't check the governor's Web site often enough.

But others were there.

Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Council has this post today.

It's worth reading. There are some good tidbits.

This just in from the National Conference of State Legislatures:

Our former governor, Gary Locke, who is now U.S. Commerce Secretary, will be the featured speaker tomorrow at the Legislative Summit in Philadelphia. He'll be talking about the "next steps" in the economic recovery plan to about 5,000 legislators and staffers.

Locke, as many of you know, used to be one of them. He was the consummate budget wonk when he was a legislator from Seattle.

State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee, will be in the audience. Not sure how many other Washington state folks are there. I think the state House and Senate stopped paying for that kind of travel, although they would pay for registration. And some Washington legislators could be traveling on their own or with the help of another "sponsor."

White House Brings Message to State Legislators
Commerce Secretary to discuss trade, 2010 Census, smart grid

PHILADELPHIA – In just the first six months of the new administration, the White House has worked with state legislatures to address the most pressing issues affecting states—budget shortfalls, rising unemployment, increased Medicaid enrollment and a rise in welfare case loads. In February, President Barack Obama signed the sweeping $787 billion stimulus package that provided much-needed assistance to states.

Now, state lawmakers attending the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Legislative Summit in Philadelphia will hear an update on Thursday from Washington on the next steps for economic recovery from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke.

=> Read more!

The Pierce County Council has rejected a call to send a one-tenth of one percent sales tax increase to voters in November.

The advisory measure would have asked voters if the council should raise the sales tax for five years to support mental health and chemical dependency treatment programs. Council members agree those services are hurting.

“The needs don’t just disappear (in a recession),” said Councilman Tim Farrell, D-Tacoma. “Sometimes they get worse.”

But the measure failed on a 2-5 vote Tuesday. A majority of council members said mental health funding is the state's responsibility and now isn't the time to raise the local sales taxes beyond its current rate of 9.3 percent.

“I don’t know that it will ever be time to raise our sales tax more than 9.3 percent,” said Councilwoman Joyce McDonald, R-Puyallup.

Funding for mental health services has been a persistent problem in Pierce County. In 2007 the county ended its long-standing contract with the state to provide mental health services, citing inadequate state funding.

Earlier this year, the state chose a Minnesota firm to administer mental health services for about 15,000 Pierce County residents who couldn’t afford to pay for care. But with state budgets tight, advocates say mental health services are suffering.

=> Read more!

I'm not exactly sure how this e-mail new release showed up in my mail box, but here it is. JZ Knight, who channels 35,000-year-old warrior Ramtha out in Yelm, is going to auction off a bunch of stuff come September.

Not sure why. Maybe enrollment at the School of Enlightenment has been hurt by the recession and there aren't as many "Ramsters" as there used to be. Anyway, it looks as if Knight will be selling off a bunch of his old rugs and other stuff from the 17th Century, etc.

Here is a link to the Bonhams & Butterfield site. Click on events, scroll down to Sept. 27 and you'll see the auction of J.Z. Knight collection will be held in Los Angeles. I actually called the auction house to confirm the news release was legit.

And here is the news release I got yesterday.

The Collection of JZ Knight on Offer at Bonhams & Butterfields in September

Dear Journalists and Friends of the Firm,

Bonhams & Butterfields is pleased to announce the September 27, 2009 auction of The JZ Knight Collection. Amassed over a decade, the Collection will feature eclectic and unique examples of period furniture, decorative arts, carpets and paintings from the 17th through 20th centuries with a particular focus on European and American elegance.

=> Read more!

New rules designed to discourage boorish behavior by some boaters on Lake Tapps might be used to rein in parties on other Pierce County lakes in the future.

On Tuesday the County Council approved temporary rules prohibiting motorized vessels from anchoring, drifting or tying together in Fairweather Cove – also known as “Party Cove”– on Lake Tapps. The move was in response to years of complaints about noise, public urination, nudity and lewd behavior by some boaters in the cove.

The council vote was unanimous. And two council members suggested

that if the new rules are successful at Lake Tapps they could be used at other Pierce County lakes.

Councilwoman Barbara Gelman, D-Tacoma, said all council members have lakes in their districts with problem areas similar to Party Cove. Gelman, whose district includes Spanaway Lake, said the Lake Tapps rules are “sort of like a pilot project. She said she’s “almost positive” there will be requests for similar rules at other lakes.

Councilman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor, echoed those comment. He noted his district includes many miles of Puget Sound shoreline.

Stay tuned.