| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2008 1:03 am |
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| RECENT POSTS: | |
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• UPDATE: Paine Field e-mail revealed July 23 • Paine Field fight soars with new e-mail July 23 • First a bus, now a boat for Gregoire July 22 • Bart posse is broke, Larsen is raking in the money July 22 • Ferries getting no bids so far July 21 |
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Local • Island County • Snohomish County State • Governor • Legislature • Secretary of State U.S. • House of Representatives • Senate • White House Useful Resources • Federal Election Commission • Public Disclosure Commission • Thomas (federal legislation tracking) • TVW |
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| RECENT COLUMNS: | |
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• Fears fed first in race for governor July 20 • Snohomish County talks big but can't ban flights July 13 • Replacing Sonics falls to Olympia July 6 • 14,167 words on Boeing's behalf June 29 |
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UPDATE: Paine Field e-mail revealed I obtained a copy of the e-mail sent out Wednesday by opponents of Allegiant Air starting service at Paine Field. I've attached it as a word doc. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Paine Field fight soars with new e-mail Consultant Ron Dotzauer launched his first salvo today to help Mukilteo keep commercial passenger flights out of Paine Field. An e-mail sent to an untold number of residents blasted the prospective carrier, Allegiant Air, as “not right for our community.” It begins: Who is trying to use Paine Field for commercial purposes? Is this someone we want Snohomish County to do business with? Don’t let Allegiant Airlines exploit Everett and South Snohomish County the way they do other communities! Above the words "No Exploitation Zone" is a drawing of an airplane and the international symbol for "no." ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
First a bus, now a boat for Gregoire Gov. Chris Gregoire launched her re-election campaign with a bus tour of several cities. This Thursday she’ll board a boat to traverse Puget Sound and talk about what she’s done to clean up pollution from this body of water . She’ll depart from Tacoma, make stops in Des Moines and Seattle, and finish in Edmonds. Campaign events are planned at each stop. No word yet whether the boat will, like the bus, be powered by biofuel. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Bart posse is broke, Larsen is raking in the money It’s tough enough to unseat an incumbent member of Congress with a bundle of cash. It’s even tougher if you have none at all. No money is exactly what Republican congressional candidate Rick Bart reported having July 1. Moreover he had debts totaling $735. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Ferries getting no bids so far No one has yet to make an offer for any of the four Steel Electric-class vessels put up for sale on eBay by Washington State Ferries. Bidding opened July 16 for the Klickitat, the Illahee, the Nisqually and the Quinault. It will end Saturday night. The minimum bid for each one is $350,000 and buyers are responsible for pick-up or delivery.. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
More gain than pain for Everett from Paine Field flights In today’s paper are details of a new study that concludes the city of Everett could reap loads of benefits from commercial jets providing passenger service in and out of Paine Field. The report’s executive summary predicted minimal impact on values of homes near the airport and suggested ways of dealing with negative effects on the quality of life of residents such as increased noise from the jets. The city paid $70,000 to Thomas/Lane & Associates for the work. This firm did not present quite the same view when it considered how Sea-Tac International Airport affects the value of homes in its neighboring communities. Here’s the opening line of that 1998 study: Airports generate noise, visual blight, surface traffic congestion, possible air pollution and other effects which cause most households to consider residential areas immediately surrounding them less desirable places to live. It concludes: The argument advanced here is simply that living under the “shadow” of an airport’s flight paths for approaching/departing aircraft will reduce the real estate market valuation of a residence. Since noise effects, health effects, visual blight, or other possible impacts are inseparably bundled when viewed from the perspective of a home owner experiencing approaching/departing aircraft directly over head, the important distinction is not between different noise level contours within which housing units are located, but between a residential housing unit’s distance from being directly under the flight track of approaching and departing aircraft. Sea-Tac and Paine Field are two very different airports today as they were then. That may explain the noticeably different tone and perspective on the potential impacts of the airports on their respective communities. Or maybe it has to do with who pays for the product. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Who's making the planes for McCain's Aces? Received an email today steering me to this pitch on Republican Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign Website. It says for $25 you can become a "McCain Ace" and get access to "exclusive downloads" -- including a "McCain Ace" paper airplane. The sender asked: "Where is it assembled? France?" Funny. Must be a Boeing fan. (If you get one, let me know. where it's made!) ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Did one poll give two results? Democratic Rep. Liz Loomis led Republican challenger Mike Hope by six points in a poll conducted late last month by the House Democratic Campaign Committee. That edge in a survey of 400 likely voters in the 44th Legislative District - split evenly among Democrats, Republicans and independents – is good news for Loomis who was appointed to the job in January and targeted for defeat this fall by the GOP. But Hope is pretty confident that he led Loomis in the same poll among the same voters. Is that possible? ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Presidential combos are three and counting The Secretary of State’s Office has certified candidates for president and vice president on three party tickets, none of them named Democratic or Republican. Candidates for those two political parties will be added following their national conventions this summer. For the Socialist Workers Party, it is James E. Harris for president and Alyson Kennedy as his running mate. I thought the SWP considers Roger Calero its candidate and wondered why Harris's name will be on the ballot. I think I found the answer in an article by Joel Britton in The Militant, official newspaper of the SWP. He was writing on Harris earning a place on the ballot in Colorado and referred to him as a “stand-in” for Calero. I presume this is the situation in Washington. Britton wrote: Presidential candidates are required to be legally eligible to take office in order to appear on the ballot. Under current law, only U.S. citizens are eligible for the office of president. Born in Nicaragua, Calero is a permanent U.S. resident. Next up is the Party for Socialism & Liberation with Gloria La Riva for president and Eugene Puryear for vice president. La Riva visited Seattle in March. Here’s coverage on the party Website. And Finally, there is an Oak Harbor man running for president who won’t be on the ballot. I tip my hat to Chris Mulick for this item. ... E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Poll Mania II: Gregoire leads Rossi in the state, trails in slice of Snohom... Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi are each finding something to crow about in recent polls of voters regarding the race for governor. But Democrats also stumbled onto some sour data for her and sweet news for him in Snohomish County. To begin, one way to track results of all the different polls is here at pollster.com which is a one-stop shop for surveys. As you’ll see, Moore Information put out numbers today showing the race to be a dead heat with Gregoire and Rossi each pulling 45 percent of those surveyed. To see Moore's data, go here. Gregoire’s campaign responded that Rossi paid for the poll and thus got the positive results he wanted as he headed out of state for a fundraiser. Her team cited data from two recent polls - Rasmussen Reports and the Elway Poll – showing the incumbent governor ahead of the incumbent challenger. In Rasmussen’s latest tally, Gregoire held a six point advantage. And Elway's survey found she had an eight-point edge, 47 - 39. In a survey nobody is talking about yet Rossi led Gregoire by seven points in a poll done by Democrats in the 44th Legislative District in Snohomish County. The survey of 400 likely voters done late last month was paid for by the House Democratic Campaign Committee. I haven’t yet been given precise numbers – if you get them, tell me. This is notable news because the 44th District is a traditionally swing district in a battleground county that Rossi won in 2004. Gregoire is focused on taking it in 2008.. The same survey found Democratic Rep. Liz Loomis and presumed Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama ahead in their respective races. On the ballot, the governor's race is sandwiched between the races involving those two. What these numbers reveal, for now, is a snapshot of the governor's ongoing challenge to win over independent-minded voters in this district. Is this a broader problem? We'll have to wait for the next poll to find out. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
McCain setting up shop The presidential campaign of Republican Sen. John McCain will open an office in Bellevue on Tuesday. Michael McKay, a co-chair of this state's effort to elect McCain, will be on hand to answer questions at an 11 a.m. event. One question he may be asked is just how much effort will McCain make to win Washington given the state's blue trend The last Republican to win this state was President Ronald Reagan. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
New Rossi ad calls Gregoire "desperate" In the grudge match between Gov. Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi, the two are punching, elbowing and kicking one another as if the UFC title is on the line. And it’s only July. Today, Rossi, who prefers GOP to Republican, started airing a new radio commercial statewide lambasting the Democratic Gregoire. In it, he does nearly all the speaking. He delivers a little attitude when he says he's running for governor “to start fixing some problems (pause) for a change.” (This line is repeated at the end of the ad. I suspect the campaign will be making calls soon to measure whether anyone who hears the ad remembers those words.. If so, "fixing some problems" may emerge as a theme around which he campaigns.) Here's the good stuff: “The incumbent must be getting pretty desperate this summer because her very first ads are attacks on me that just aren’t true. They're so desperate that they even attacked my Italian last name.” That’s a reference to the state Democratic Party’s use of the theme song for The Sopranos as the soundtrack of an online video smacking Rossi. The party changed the music after the Italian Club in Seattle and others slammed use of the song as offensive and ethnic stereotyping. Even the leader of the group that wrote the song wasn’t happy about it. Larry Love of Alabama 3 recently said: "If any political parties want to carry out tawdry campaigning utilizing radical political music, A3 suggest they check out the following: Alabama, The Charlie Daniels Band and Ted Nugent. We like to keep it underground. We make pop music for intelligent people, not politicians." Thanks to my colleague Justin Arnold for sending me UPDATE: Just received this comment from the Gregoire campaign: "Republican Dino Rossi is playing damage control and trying to hide from his George Bush record of cutting kids off of healthcare and opposing stem cell research.” Here's a good place to note that Gregoire's latest ad is all about linking Rossi with Bush on social and environmental issues. ... E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Web connects candidate with campaign team Congressional candidate Doug Schaffer has broken up with the campaign manager he met online. But he didn't wait long to find a replacement. Again he made the connection online. Schaffer, who is a first-time candidate trying to dislodge Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen from office, will be listed on the ballot as a Democrat but insists he's an independent. Schaffer hired Kelly Chandler as a campaign manager in early June through an ad posted at Craigslist. Read the story here. They parted ways a week latre. Schaffer returned to the list of those who answered the original ad and hired Sherry Dorey. She looks to have a bit of experience. Dorey said she managed the campaigns of Catherine Moore for King County Superior Court Judge in 2004, and Susan Harmon for Seattle City Council in 2003. Both resulted in losses. Win or lose, the pay is good. Dorey didn't disclose the precise amount but confirmed it is between $1,500 and $2,000 a month. As advertised. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Tanker Battle III begins Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is calling for another do-over in the competition for the multi-billion dollar contract to build the next generation of air tankers. This will be the nation's third try to get it right. Here's what we knew before the official announcement. Here's Herald Reporter Michelle Dunlop's blog with more info about the process and a reader poll. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Bats, balls and lots of bucks in guv's race Tonight, the Everett AquaSox are hosting the Yakima Bears. Before the game, Republican Dino Rossi, a part-owner of the AquaSox, will be pitching to donors in the stadium's bullpen barbecue area. His campaign said about 130 people made advance reservations for the $100 a person event that includes tickets to the game. ($200 for a family of up to four people with tickets included). He should pick up at least $13,000 for his ever swelling campaign warchest. In June, both he and Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire padded their fundraising totals pretty well. Gregoire raised $752,875 and Rossi took in $721,800, according to the campaigns. The governor's sum includes a $200,000 check from the state party June 30. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Sonics deal - read it here For the interested, I've attached the settlement agreement between the city and Clay Bennett as a PDF. For the fan, here's the take of our sports guy, E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! His and her Dino-fact checking services available now A few days back Dino Rossi started taking fire from the Evergreen Progress PAC, an amalgamation of powerful interest groups backing Gov. Chris Gregoire. Along with a number of TV ads, the group set up the Don'tKnowDino Web site to give their view of the political history of the Republican candidate for governor. Today, Rossi announced he's started his own site FactCheck.DinoRossi where he'll provide folks with facts he wants them to know about his political positions. Under the item on the budget, he names those Democrats who voted for the 2003 budget he helped write as chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. House Speaker Frank Chopp may be the most notable name. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
UPDATE: AquaSox GM says it won't happen again UPDATE: I just had a nice conversation with Everett AquaSox General Manager Brian Sloan who wanted to assure the team's fans that "the e-mail list is secured and you will not be receiving any more e-mails from any political candidates." And for those wondering if the club ever shares or sells the list to third parties, his answer was "no." (here's the earlier post:) Majority owners of the Everett AquaSox may want to bench minority owner Dino Rossi because Rossi’s campaign tapped the baseball club’s private e-mail list to solicit attendees to a fund raiser at the ballpark this Monday. Peter A. and Peter E. Carfagna of the AquaSox apologized to fans Tuesday hours after Rossi’s campaign sent out invites to 5,500 addresses on the list. The Carfagnas wrote: “We recently learned that our personal privacy policy was compromised in an attempt to solicit your support for a partisan political fundraiser. In that regard, on behalf of our family ownership group, we would like to express our sincere apologies. Although we did not authorize this communication nor were we aware of it in advance, we have justifiably received numerous complaints from you expressing your displeasure. We take full responsibility and again beg your pardon. Rossi's campaign apologized this morning in a statement from Communications Director Jill Strait: Our Snohomish County Finance Chair Tom Hoban, who is also a part owner of the AquaSox, requested the list from the AquaSox General Manager, who then gave a list of e-mails to one of our campaign staffers. The campaign believed that since we had received the list from AquaSox management, we had permission to send an email about the upcoming event. We were wrong. It is our fault for not double checking. Dino Rossi was unaware that the list had been requested or used. We apologize to AquaSox fans who received this email. Strait said the event is still on. She said the AquaSox knew about the fund raiser beforehand and did give permission to use the team logo on the invitation. Hoban told me today that he is sorry if anyone was offended. He said he wanted to be sure fans know about all activities going on at the ballpark and they can decide if they want to participate. "My intention was not to exclude anybody. It is not a partisan event. It is a fund raiser for Dino but it is not targeting any one particular group. I authorized sending the invitation out to baseball fans because I wanted them to be aware of it and feel comfortable coming if they wanted to." If Gov. Christine Gregoire wants to have an event at the ballpark, he said he'd help get the word out the same way. He said a number of groups will hold activities at the stadium throughout the season. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Looks like Eyman has done it again I decided to get a dose of Vitamin D and Tim Eyman this afternoon. I went to the press conference where Eyman of Mukilteo along with Spokane pals Jack and Mike Fagan announced they had collected 299,019 signatures on petitions for their latest initiative. If this measure qualifies for the November ballot – and they seem to have enough signatures to make it happen – it will change a few rules and redistribute a few million dollars in the name of “reducing congestion.” It’s Initiative 985. Here’s the Web site. (Disclaimer: This is Eyman's site and if you go there you will see the smiling faces of the political trio.) In a very small nutshell... ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Fire ravages Darcy Burner's home Details are trickling out on a story that a fire has destroyed the Ames Lake home of Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner. Here is information from AP: Authorities told AP the fire began around 7:30 a.m. \ Burner, her husband, Mike and son Henry were getting ready for the day when they noticed the fire, said Sandeep Kaushik, Burner’s spokesman. Everyone made it out without injury, but the house is “badly damaged”, he said. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! A teen and a teacher take on two reps A high school teacher is taking on three-term incumbent Democratic Rep. John McCoy. The reason? Cris Larson of Everett told me it was because the representative didn't respond to his phone calls and e-mails. Here's a story that ran Monday. McCoy said he received one e-mail from Larson and responded to it. One of this year's youngest seekers of state office is 18-year-old Andrew Funk of Mountlake Terrace. He's challenging Rep. Marko Liias, D-Mukilteo, who at 26 is the youngest legislator at this point in time. Funk raised a few bucks for his campaign at a pizza bash last Friday. Here's his story. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Maybe it's all that sunshine but... After reading these headlines on recent state press releases I'm left wondering...do I drive with my feet? Enforcement of “hands free” law begins July 1 Washington State Hands-Free Driving Law in Effect July 1 ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Murray's words, survey findings Thanks to Alex Glass in Sen. Patty Murray's office, I now know how many words the senator spoke on the subject of Boeing and the disputed air tanker contract. It's right here. Also at that link are results of a poll showing U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen with an 18-point lead on Republican challenger Rick Bart. The poll results came out about the same time that Bart, the former Snohomish County sheriff, learned Larsen had received endorsements from a couple law enforcement groups. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! Welcome your 2008 national convention delegates There are a few familiar names among those from Snohomish and Island counties who will be attending the national party conventions this summer. Democrats are celebrating in Denver from Aug. 25-28 with Republicans holding their bash the following week in Minneapolis St. Paul. Here are the names I have plus a little on those that I know. Feel free to e-mail me to fill in the blanks. DEMOCRATS Sen. Barack Obama delegates: Luis Moscoso of Mountlake Terrace, a state party leader; Kendall Hamilton of Edmonds; Ronald Oshima of Lynnwood; Marsha Scutvick of Snohomish, leader of the Obama effort in Snohomish County. Sen. Hillary Clinton delegates: Aaron Reardon of Everett, the Snohomish County executive; Deanna Dawson of Edmonds, an Edmonds Councilwoman; James Trefry of Everett and Myriam Marquez of Stanwood. REPUBLICANS (The breakdown I received does not list their candidate preference) Mary Jane Aurdahl of Clinton, a state party committeewoman; Jason Bontrager of Snohomish, a state party committeeman; Dullain Ehrlich of Mill Creek, a state party committeewoman; Evelyn Spencer of Everett, political director of the Snohomish County Republicans; Doug Roulstone of Snohomish, a 2006 candidate for Congress; Nathan Johnson of Everett; Iris Lilly of Marysville and Linda Sturza of Camano Island. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Few candidates go an entire campaign without having their campaign signs knocked down or stolen. State Sen. Val Stevens found a couple of her signs destroyed by arson. She sent out photos. I've included one with her torched signs and the undamaged signs of other candidates, including Republican presidential candidate John McCain. In a press release, Stevens said her husband discovered the ruined signs in southern Skagit County and filed a malicious mischief complaint with the Sheriff’s Department. “This appears to be specifically directed at me because signs of other candidates in the same vicinity are being left alone,” she said in a prepared statement. More from the statement: Stevens called destruction of these signs, “not only vandalism but an infringement on the right of political free speech as well… “Campaign signs help voters become more aware of the political process so they can make more intelligent choices when marking their ballots.” “By burning my signs, those responsible for this vandalism are not only hurting my campaign, they are attacking the integrity of the election process itself.” Stevens, a Republican, is seeking a fourth term in the 39th Legislative District. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! |
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