I don't want to sound holier than thou when it comes to spelling. I can never remember if "I" comes before "E" or "E" comes before "I."

But I have usually been pretty good about spelling my own name correctly (there's a "g" in there someplace.)

Not so Tacoma City Council candidate Beckie Summers Kirby (note the spelling of her first name and last name.) Beckie is a candidate for the council seat from District 5 and sent a mailing into homes in the district recently called "Teamwork."

"We made progress because true community leaders were willing to step forward and make things happen. Leaders like Becky Sommers Kirby."

In case voters didn't catch it, the brochure then spells both names correctly in big type just to the right.

She will face Joe Longeran, I mean Lonergan, in November.

From reporter Lewis Kamb -

Officials for the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association told a city panel this morning they have a clear vision for bringing the agency out
of financial turmoil: Selling properties, getting out of the development business and returning to their roots.

“We’re going to get back to the MLK Corridor, the Hilltop, and get back focusing on our affordable housing,” Linda Fotiou, the association’s interim director, told the Tacoma Community Redevelopment Authority.

In a detailed presentation to the city-commissioned panel, Fotiou and three board members for the non-profit said the agency is now in discussions with several potential buyers of its Tacoma Avenue headquarters and property at Martin Luther King Way and 11th Street, where it had planned a lavish business center.

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Former Tacoma city manager Ray Corpuz is involved in political turmoil involving his police chief - in his new home of Seaside, Calif.

Here's a report from the Monterey Herald site from yesterday.

Seaside Police Chief Stephen Cercone has filed a grievance with the City Council against City Manager Ray Corpuz for retaliation, threats, delaying an investigation and defamation, The Herald has learned.

The actions, the grievance alleges, are cause to fire Corpuz.

Cercone, who was placed on administrative leave Aug. 10, claims in the document that Corpuz removed him from his position to retaliate for disclosing to Monterey County prosecutors that Corpuz obstructed police work. Corpuz, the claim says, refused to turn in evidence for an ongoing investigation.

The piece spends a lot of ink on some of the lowlights for Corpuz's career here, including the David Brame case, the supposed police buffer zone around his son and the Safeco Insurance episode.

Read the entire story here..

A followup piece today shows Corpuz's past is still dogging him.

Corpuz has been harshly chastised by several members of the community for being involved in controversial events that led to his firing as city manager of Tacoma, Wash., before arriving in Seaside. Residents said they were involved in the hiring process and he was not among the top community picks.

"We don't know what the unknowns are." – Martha Anderson, city economic development staff, in response to question by Mayor Bill Baarsma about the unknown contamination along the Foss Waterway.

The folks opposed to Sound Transit’s plans to build a berm to elevate railroad tracks through Tacoma’s Dome District aren’t giving up.

Do It Right Tacoma, a group promoting a “post and beam” alternative to the berm, will host a public meeting and walking tour at 5 p.m. Wednesday at 402 E. 26th St. to rally support for the cause.

Sound Transit plans to elevate the tracks as part of a new section of track required to extend Sounder commuter rail service to Lakewood. Opponents of the berm – basically a mound of earth – say it will create an unsightly barrier in the neighborhood and impede future development.

Sound Transit official say redesigning the section would cost more and further delay the completion of a project that originally was scheduled to be finished in 2001.

This time it is developer Grace Pleasants.

But unlike last week's story about Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy withdrawing her support for Tacoma mayor candidate Jim Merritt, Pleasants says she never agreed to be listed.

"He's a very nice man," Pleasants said of Merritt. But she said she prefers Tacoma Councilwoman Marilyn Strickland for mayor. Pleasants has even agreed to co-host a fundraising event for Stickland with Blaine Johnson. The event is set for Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Traver Gallery in the Albers Mill building.

Merritt's campaign manager Ronnie Bush said Merritt thought he had gotten Pleasant's permission to list her among his supporters back in January. She said the campaign was surprised when it saw the announcement of the fundraiser for Strickland.

The Sixth Avenue Business District is sponsoring a "meet the candidates" forum for contenders for Tacoma city office on Thursday (Aug. 27). Expected are mayoral candidates Jim Merritt and Marilyn Strickland, at-large council candidates Keven Rojecki and Victoria Woodards, along with Councilman Jake Fey, who's running unopposed.

The forum starts a 7:30 p.m., following a 30-minute social time. It will be at Epworth LeSourd United Methodist Church, 710 S. Anderson St.

A good laugh to start your weekend over at Feed Tacoma. R.R. Anderson pens a spot-on tribute to John Hathaway. We're big Tacomic fans here at Political Buzz. Mr. Anderson's satiric cartoons are sometimes over-the-top, but always well-drawn, opinionated and frequently funny. (Not that talking worms aren't funny.)

Early morning returns show Marty Campbell still has a substantial lead in the Tacoma District 4 City Council race. Roxanne Murphy remains in second place, with Susanne Marten a close third.

The latest results show Campbell with 58 percent of the vote, Murphy with 23 percent and Marten with 19 percent.

The Pierce County Auditor’s Office will release more results at 5 p.m. today.

The candidates for Tacoma’s District 4 City Council seat weigh in on the early results:

Marty Campbell: “I do think they look good. It really reflects a lot of hard work by a lot of people … It’s early, so I’ll be anxious to see the further returns.”

Roxanne Murphy: “It’s exciting that I’m at 22 percent as a rookie candidate. It will be fascinating to see additional votes come in. This is also showing that there are three very strong candidates running for this East Side seat. And that’s a very good thing.”

Susanne Marten: “It was a great campaign. I enjoyed learning more and more about this neighborhood and talking to people. I certainly want to wish the best to everyone.”

An incumbent on the Tacoma School Board looked as if she may be losing her seat in early primary election returns Tuesday night.

Tacoma school board member Connie Rickman trailed four challengers Tuesday in her re-election bid for the board’s Position 2. A total of six people are in the running for the school board seat.

Rickman didn’t answer a call to her home Tuesday evening. Calls to her cell phone went straight to an automated voice message.

Late Tuesday, former Port of Tacoma Commissioner Jerry Thorpe had gathered the most votes of all the candidates, followed closely by neighborhood activist Catherine Ushka-Hall.

The two candidates who earn the most votes in Tuesday’s primary will advance to November’s general election. Pierce County election officials are to release final results from the primary at 2 a.m. today.

Also trailing in the race Tuesday were Chris Van Vechten, an online journalist and former state legislative aide; Amy Bates, a prevention specialist with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department; and Deb Blakeslee, a former voter outreach coordinator for Alliance of People with Disabilities.

The race for Rickman’s seat on the Tacoma School Board attracted more candidates than any other contest in Pierce County this year.

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Downtown business owner Marty Campbell led a three-way race for Tacoma's District 4 City Council race in early returns.

Campbell held a significant lead over Roxanne Murphy, a former City of Tacoma community relations specialist, and Susanne Marten, a community development officer at the Supportive Housing Association in Puyallup.

Early returns showed the race between Murphy and Marten for the second spot on the November ballot was too close to call.

Meanwhile, Joe Lonergan and Beckie Summers Kirby appeared to be heading to the November election in District 5. Early returns showed John Miles trailing by a significant margin.