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

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Let's talk politics.
Friday, September 4th, 2009
Posted by Laura Gentry @ 11:03:00 am

Political Buzz has changed blogging systems and the URL. Please go here to check out the new site.

Make sure to update any bookmarks or RSS feeds you had pointing to our old system as they will no longer work.

New blog URL: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics
New RSS feed: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics/feed
New Atom feed: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics/feed/atom

Categories: Media
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
Posted by Peter Callaghan @ 01:39:04 pm

We wrote a few days ago about the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee's targets for the 2010 election. None are in Washington.

U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert and the 8th District has been a target of Democrats since he was elected in 2004. It bothers Democrats that the district keeps voting for Democrats for president (Clinton, Gore, Kerry and Obama) but the party can't make inroads on the congressional seat.

Now comes the latest shot at Reichert, part of a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee effort related to the health care debate. It accuses Republicans of supporting health insurance companies, not citizens in need of affordable care.

Reichert is one of seven Republicans who will be the target of radio ads that began this week. He'll also face calls, e-mails, letters and comments on tele-conferences – the emerging electronic alternative to live townhall meetings. (Republicans and conservative groups are also urging their supporters to attend Democratic townhalls – both the live and electronic versions).

Here's the text of a radio ad aimed at Pennsylvania Rep. Charles Dent. The Reichert ads are similar:

“Blocked” – 60 second radio ad

Announcer: “Health care bills. Every year, the cost goes higher…. Making it harder to make ends meet.

“But year after year, Congressman Charlie Dent opposed reforms to make health care more affordable.

“Congressman Dent’s gotten nearly 75 thousand dollars from the insurance industry while we’ve gotten stuck with runaway healthcare costs. And what do the insurance companies get? Record profits.

“Call Congressman Dent – tell him not to side with insurance companies… and start supporting real health care reform…

“To lower costs by forcing insurance companies to compete.

“Prevent companies from denying your coverage.

“And keep your current coverage if you’re happy with it.

“Tell Congressman Dent it’s not about insurance company profits. It’s about people.

“Paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, www.dccc.org . Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.”

Categories: Congress, Campaign news, Media
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Posted by Matt Misterek @ 02:28:56 pm

The City of Federal Way has released a more complete copy of an investigative report into whether Municipal Court Judge Michael Morgan operated a hostile workplace.

We went all the way to the state Supreme Court recently to win release of the report. We feel voters are entitled to see it, especially as Morgan pursues reelection this year. To see a copy of the original, redacted version released by the city, click here. To see our story about the report, click here.

The more complete report goes into much greater detail about comments that Morgan allegedly made to court staff about his former colleague, Judge Colleen Hartl.

It's easy to see why Federal Way took its time before releasing the extra material. The things Morgan allegedly said about Hartl are unflattering and salacious. We have decided not to write a story about them or post them to our Web site.

The new information might be of interest to voters as they consider Morgan's reelection. But we had to weigh that public interest against the potential of doing further damage to the reputation of Hartl by publishing unsubstantiated claims. Hartl is no longer a public figure and isn't running for elected office.

Even so, we are happy to have spent the time and money to secure the full report as a public document. You can make a request in person at City Hall, 33325 Eighth Ave South, or you can e-mail city clerk Carol McNeilly at carol.mcneilly@cityoffederalway.com.

An electronic copy is free; a printed copy will cost 15 cents per page.

Thursday, April 9th, 2009
Posted by John Henrikson @ 12:56:12 pm

The Washingtonpost.com politics blog The Fix, just released its list of the best political blogs state-by-state across the country. Post blogger Chris Cillizza compiled the list from hundreds of suggestions from readers.

Here are the top political blogs for Washington state:

Yeah, it's unscientific and you can argue about who's on or off the list. (How about Crosscut, Sound Politics?, Eye on Olympia? Not to mention Brad Shannon and Adam Wilson at The Olympian.)

But it's heartening to see that four out of the six listed blogs are products of traditional news organizations. I think Washington state journalists - both newspaper/online and online only - have been particularly adept at adapting the best aspects of traditional reporting (facts, original content, context, fairness) with the advantages of a blog (speed, personality, interactivity.)

Horses Ass (HA) had the double distinction of getting on the "best named blogs" list. The others: Doc's Political Parlor & Lawn Mower Repair (Ala.), Rum, Romanism, Rebellion (Ariz.), My Left Nutmeg (Conn.), The Old River Road (La.), Writes Like She Talks (Ohio) and Not Larry Sabato (Va.)

Categories: State government, Media