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The Moderate Washingtonian

  • Welcome back, Rob

    Ever since all the decent candidates chickened out of the Sherill Huff coronation, I haven't felt a whole lot like blogging. That changed today, when I read that Robert Rosencrantz is running again for city council in Seattle. Rosencrantz is the personification of the type of public servant Seattle needs' [...]
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    Posted: January 08, 2009, 1:45am EST

  • King Co elections director race - an update

    We now have three filed candidates for the position, all Democrats: Ross Baker, Lloyd Hara, and Jason Osgood. A fourth candidate, Ted Maroutsos, has the skeleton of a campaign site up but has yet to file.

    Newly-speculated candidates since my last post on this subject include Ellen Hansen [...]
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    Posted: December 07, 2008, 8:05pm EST

  • Justice Sanders hijinx

    Turns out he was loudly heckling AG Mukasey at a banquet last week before being asked to leave. How this traditionalist faux-libertarian gets elected in Washington is beyond me. [...]
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    Posted: November 25, 2008, 1:20pm EST

  • Profile: King Co. Elections Director race

    Last Thursday the Times had a pretty good article about potential candidates for this February's special election to elect King County's elections director for the first time. The short campaign season means that we should see candidates entering the race all at once here in the coming couple weeks, and [...]
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    Posted: November 22, 2008, 4:20pm EST

  • A Proposal for Democratic Election Reform

    Throughout our history as Washingtonians we have held and honoured a reputation as a progressive society, and hold a rich tradition of open and democratic elections. We continue to cling to the classic blanket primary system and its populist successor, the Top Two primary, in spite of the fact that [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2008, 9:25am EST

  • The legislative picture

    After another two days I think we can start to call some of these closer leg races. I'm not terribly interested in whether the media has called them or not because I think in a lot of cases the media makes poor judgments. Statewide, the only race that I think' [...]
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    Posted: November 07, 2008, 12:21pm EST

  • Next day numbers

    A lot has changed since last night's post, with the networks calling it for Gregoire while Rossi is keeping the faith. The 8th is a nailbiter again, as is the race for lands commissioner and OSPI, and to a lesser extent the open treasurer's seat. If we see ballots cast [...]
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    Posted: November 05, 2008, 10:23am EST

  • Early returns - 9pm

    So, yeah, Obama won. My state by state map I did for Eli at The Stranger's little contest is looking promising so far, with no mistakes yet. Should MT, NC, and IN fall to McCain and Obama takes MO then it'll be flawless, but at this point I'm feeling doubtful' [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2008, 8:57pm EST

  • Statewide elections predictions, part 2

    Now for the last round of predictions, the closer statewide contests. I fear they may open me up to the charge of bias towards Republicans, but it seems to me that for the second cycle in a row their statewide candidates are going to outperform their party counterparts at the [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2008, 10:30am EST

  • House elections predictions, part 2

    Now for the Republican targets. The GOP has several more opportunities than Democrats this year due to the aforementioned lack of fertile ground that comes with having supermajorities. If memory serves me right, this would be the first cycle since 2002 that legislative Republicans picked up a Democratic-held seat, but [...]
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    Posted: October 31, 2008, 2:39pm EDT

  • House elections predictions, part 1

    Now for the House. This is where I expect there to be some shifts, though they should be minimal. Fact is, Democrats have virtually maxed-out their pickup opportunities by now that they can only target a couple seats and will have to play defense on the rest. Fortunately for them, [...]
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    Posted: October 30, 2008, 10:31am EDT

  • Senate elections predictions, part 2

    Several days ago I posted the top five potential Democratic pickups, and this involves the Republican targets. I'm predicting no change in partisan seat distribution this cycle.

    Republican Targets:
    1. 2nd District:
    Senator Marilyn Rasmussen is a holdover from the days Democrats dominated rural Pierce County, a socially-conservative Democrat' [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2008, 12:24am EDT

  • Senate elections predictions, part 1

    This post regards this cycle's Senate races, including the top 5 potential pick-up opportunities for each caucus. First off, I'm not predicting any change in the partisan seat distribution this cycle. Each side has a couple seats that could feasibly change, but I don't think any of them are especially' [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2008, 11:22am EDT

  • Statewide election predictions, part 1

    Apologies for not updating the spreadsheet yet, it's updated but my FTP program is causing me problems. I decided that I might as well just get its contents public through blog entries and that would also allow me to provide the thought process behind them at the same time.
    [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2008, 11:43am EDT

  • Primary recap

    Not all the runoff pictures are set in stone yet, but from what we know now I'm quite satisfied with my predictions. For statewide races I called them all pretty close, with the only real disappointment being Chang Mook Sohn's poor result in the treasurer's race. As of this posting,' [...]
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    Posted: August 20, 2008, 11:33pm EDT

  • Primary predictions: legislative

    Here are my predictions for several hand-picked races from across the state that are being effected by the new primary system. These are mostly open seats with lots of candidates, but there are some exceptions. While I've not spent a lot of time examining our federal races aside from looking' [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2008, 1:11pm EDT

  • Primary predictions: statewide

    With only two days left until our first top two primary (suck it, Pelz), I thought it might be worthwhile to come back to the weblog and post some primary predictions. Today will be statewide contests and tomorrow will be legislative contests should I have the opportunity to post. Given [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2008, 2:54pm EDT

  • WCV releases legislative scorecard for 2007-2008

    Washington Conservation Voters, an interest group that advocates environmental protection, released its voting record scorecard for our legislature today. Unlike other interest groups that issue ratings, WCV does biennial scorecards rather than annual.

    Each time one of these groups releases its rating sheets I find it interesting to look [...]
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    Posted: July 01, 2008, 6:55pm EDT

  • Spreadsheet update

    A new spreadsheet is now available which reflects all the new filings last week. Rankings have also changed slightly. [...]
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    Posted: June 08, 2008, 5:39pm EDT

  • Filing week update

    Halfway through filing week, here are the current crop of candidates for statewide office:

    Governor: John W. Aiken, Jr. [R], Christine Gregoire [D], Christopher Tudor [None]
    Lieutenant Governor: Brad Owen [D]
    Secretary of State: C. Mark Greene [Party of Commons], Marilyn Montgomery [Constitution], Jason Osgood [D], Sam Reed [R]
    [...]
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    Posted: June 05, 2008, 9:13pm EDT

  • Filing day #1

    As opposed to my usual practice of listing a bunch of candidates during filing week, I've chosen instead to provide just the statewide candidates. Full lists of candidates for state offices will be available in a future spreadsheet update, tentatively scheduled for this weekend.

    Governor: Christine Gregoire [D]
    Lieutenant' [...]
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    Posted: June 02, 2008, 8:45pm EDT

  • Three credible entries for 14th district seat

    Today's Yakima Herald had profiles of three potentially-strong candidates for the 14th district House seat being vacated by GOPer Mary Skinner. The Democratic candidate is Vickie Ybarra, who is board president of Yakima Public Schools. Two Republicans are profiled: Yakima city councillor Norm Johnson, and former Union Gap Public Schools' [...]
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    Posted: May 29, 2008, 5:04pm EDT

  • Predictions update

    The predictions spreadsheet has been updated to include new candidate entries since the last update, and is available for download at right. Rankings and control changes have not been updated at this time, nor have individual seat predictions save for those seats that have only now become contested.

    Notable [...]
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    Posted: May 15, 2008, 7:47pm EDT

  • Haler isn't getting off scot free after all

    With all eyes focused on whether Shirley Hankins will run for reelection to her 8th district House seat, seatmate Larry Haler was seemingly getting a free ride. With all the big local names (Carol Moser, Rick Jansons, to a lesser extent Brad Klippert) jumping in the first race, I expected [...]
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    Posted: May 06, 2008, 10:34am EDT

  • Olde tyme legislator to run for OSPI

    According to the News Tribune, former state Rep. Randy Dorn will soon be announcing a run for superintendent of public instruction. He was formerly a high school principal and currently heads the Public School Employees of Washington, the second largest teachers' union in the state.

    Dorn served the 2nd' [...]
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    Posted: April 30, 2008, 9:21am EDT

  • Majority supports nonpartisan offices in King County

    A poll by SurveyUSA shows 53% of King County residents support a proposition pushed by Pete von Reichbauer to make most of the county's offices nonpartisan. Specifically, it would make the executive, assessor, and county council offices nonpartisan, potentially making it easier for Republican candidates. That isn't the tune being [...]
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    Posted: April 24, 2008, 7:20pm EDT

  • 40th District: Today's news

    Two new candidates joined the race to replace Senator Spanel in the 40th legislative district today, as the race seems to change on an almost daily basis. One is Paul Gonzales, a veteran of the Washington State Patrol and former member of the Mount Vernon City Council, and the other [...]
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    Posted: April 22, 2008, 7:58pm EDT

  • Lonergan runs with GOP

    According to PolitickerWA, Tacoma city councillor Mike Lonergan will no longer run for Pierce County executive as an Independent and will instead return to his true party, the GOP. Lonergan had been a candidate with the GOP in the past for Congress but had previously attempted to shed the connection [...]
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    Posted: April 12, 2008, 11:24pm EDT

  • Spreadsheet Update

    A new predictions spreadsheet is now available for download, with up to date candidate entries and some changes in predictions. I rearranged the target lists for both parties based on recent candidate entries and in one case changed the predicted outcome. I'm now predicting a Republican retention in the 25th [...]
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    Posted: April 06, 2008, 1:21pm EDT

  • Another ex-legislator runs for Senate

    According to the Bellingham Herald, former Rep. Steve Van Luven will seek the open 40th district Senate seat being vacated by Harriet Spanel. Van Luven represented the 48th in the House for nearly 20 years until he lost the GOP line to Luke Esser in the district's Senate election in [...]
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    Posted: March 31, 2008, 12:02pm EDT

  • GOP challenge for Swecker

    Lewis County Senator Dan Swecker got a primary challenge today from an ex-legislator. Neal Kirby represented northwest Washington as a Democrat for one year in 1990 when then-Rep. Tom Bristow resigned his seat. Kirby did not seek reelection in that fall's elections, where Bob Morton got his start by being [...]
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    Posted: March 28, 2008, 1:52pm EDT

  • Another party switch on the horizon?

    Chris Mulick at the Tri-City Herald is reporting that Rep. Shirley Hankins [R-Richland] will be holding an exclusive event on Friday and is being secretive about what the reception is about. What is known is that Frank Chopp will attend the event and several key local Republicans are not, leading [...]
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    Posted: March 26, 2008, 10:58am EDT

  • Nixon tries for old seat

    According to Chris Mulick, former Rep. Toby Nixon [R-Kirkland] will be running for the House seat he abandoned last cycle to run unsuccessfully for the 45th district Senate seat. He will likely face freshman Democrat Roger Goodman, who won the open seat contest in Nixon's absence.

    While I think [...]
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    Posted: March 20, 2008, 12:31pm EDT

  • Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

    Sam Reed said it right: "Wow!" The US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 against the state's political parties in overturning a lower court's decision that our Top Two primary is unconstitutional. This means that starting with this year's August primary, all candidates will be on a single primary ballot with the [...]
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    Posted: March 18, 2008, 11:39am EDT

  • Another retirement

    Adding to the tally of legislative retirements is northwest WA Senator Harriet Spanel, stepping down after two decades in the legislature. Spanel has served in party leadership the past several terms as chair of the Democratic Caucus. Her sole attempt at higher office came in 1994 when she was the [...]
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    Posted: March 17, 2008, 7:21pm EDT

  • New SPI candidate?

    The Tacoma News-Tribune reports today that Senator Jim Kastama [D-Puyallup] is considering a run for superintendent of public instruction rather than seeking a third term in the Senate. Washington Education Association officials have been trying to find a strong candidate against former WEA chief-turned-charter school & WASL advocate Terry Bergeson [...]
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    Posted: March 17, 2008, 11:56am EDT

  • Prediction spreadsheet update

    Now available for download are newly-updated spreadsheets for this year's state elections. I shall try to update them more often now that virtually every day brings new candidacies. [...]
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    Posted: March 12, 2008, 11:50pm EDT

  • Helen Sommers to retire

    Rep. Helen Sommers [D-Seattle], having served Seattle in the House for the past 35 years, will not be seeking reelection this fall. Two Democrats had previously filed for the seat on the chance that Sommers would retire, and there will presumably be even more interest now that it has become [...]
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    Posted: March 12, 2008, 10:32pm EDT

  • 26th LD follow-up: Lantz to retire

    Two months ago I made a post about the candidacy of Kitsap County Commissioner Jan Angel in the 26th district, and how I thought her candidacy was a good coup for the Republican Party. Things just got rosier there as the Spokesman Review's Richard Roesler reports that Rep. Pat Lantz [...]
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    Posted: March 10, 2008, 2:27pm EDT

  • Rep. Schindler to retire

    Another legislative GOPer will soon be leaving, according to Richard Roesler with the Spokesman Review. Rep. Lynn Schindler [R-Otis Orchards] will not be running for a sixth term for her largely-rural Spokane County seat. No Democrat had yet filed, and even in an open seat situation a Democrat will have [...]
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    Posted: February 08, 2008, 4:52pm EST

  • Profile: Dr. Chang Mook Sohn

    Linked above is a very in-depth profile of Dr. Chang Mook Sohn from the Kore-Am Journal. Sohn has served as executive director of the state's Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, and according to the article, is poised to launch a campaign for state treasurer as a Democrat. I haven't seen [...]
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    Posted: February 01, 2008, 2:29pm EST

  • A rare GOP recruiting success

    The Central Kitsap Reporter reported today that Kistap County Commissioner Jan Angel will run against six-term Rep. Pat Lantz this November. Lantz has had several close calls but won about as comfortably as one can expect in the 26th last cycle with her 13-point victory over Republican Beckie Krantz. Angel [...]
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    Posted: January 09, 2008, 7:15pm EST

  • McKenna v. Ladenburg taking shape

    It appears that Democrats have finally gotten around to nudging outgoing Pierce County Exec. John Ladenburg into the attorney general race, as the potential candidate says he'll make a decision within the month. McKenna has had a first term relatively free of scandal and is seemingly a good bet for [...]
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    Posted: January 03, 2008, 10:46pm EST

  • Initial Legislative Outlook - House Republicans

    While I don't have any pickups initially projected for the beleaguered House Republican Caucus, there are a handful of seats they could feasibly take if the pieces fall in place for them. The following are their ten best opportunities.

    1. Rep. Don Barlow, 6th District: Barlow's election was certainly [...]
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    Posted: January 01, 2008, 3:43pm EST

  • Initial Legislative Outlook - House Democrats

    Unlike their Senate counterparts, House Democrats still look to have a fine shot at picking up additional seats on top of their current supermajority. Starting out, I'm predicting a three-seat Democratic gain, counting the Jarrett seat as a pick up as well given that it last elected a Republican. Considering [...]
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    Posted: December 30, 2007, 7:34pm EST

  • Initial Legislative Outlook - Senate Republicans

    As I said earlier, the seats that are up in the Senate this cycle aren't particularly strong for either party, and I don't expect there to be much movement either way. Democrats already have nearly 2/3 of the seats and don't have a whole lot to choose from, but despite [...]
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    Posted: December 29, 2007, 11:12am EST

  • Initial Legislative Outlook - Senate Democrats

    A few early developments in next cycle's legislative elections (namely, the Fred Jarrett party switch), have led me to update the predictions spreadsheet for 2008. I've decided to focus only on state offices from now on and leaving federal and local predictions largely to others. The spreadsheet should now be [...]
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    Posted: December 29, 2007, 11:31pm EST

  • Update

    I suppose it must have seemed like I fell off the face of the earth after not posting for more than two months after having kept the weblog fairly current previously, but rest assured I haven't. I decided to take a step back from blogging after I hadn't been feeling [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2007, 12:31am EDT

  • 2007 WSLC ratings

    Looks like the first of the state's major interest groups have gotten their act together and released their rating sheets based on this year's long-completed legislative session. The Washington State Labor Council is the state's major organized labor interest group, and has been led by former Democratic legislator Rick Bender [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2007, 11:31am EDT
    by TMW

  • Ladenburg & co. take on IRV

    Last year Pierce County voters approved a landmark charter amendment implementing instant runoff voting (IRV) for most county offices, but now that the auditor's office has had some issues preparing for the 2008 county elections several politicians including outgoing Executive John Ladenburg are seeking to postpone the implementation of the [...]
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    Posted: July 27, 2007, 1:45pm EDT
    by TMW

  • 2008 spreadsheet uploaded

    I've now uploaded an Excel spreadsheet to the right for next year's elections, with a different workbook for federal, statewide, legislative, and local races. At this early stage few candidacies are listed and incumbents are italicized as speculative entries. There are currently no predictions for takeovers as a result of [...]
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    Posted: July 26, 2007, 11:31pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Spreadsheet update

    Late is better than never, I suppose. The 2007 Locals spreadsheet under the Downloads header at the right is now updated for all the filings this year. I'm also working on an early spreadsheet for 2008. [...]
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    Posted: July 24, 2007, 11:59pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Darcy v. Rodney takes shape

    Earlier today, Senator Rodney Tom confirmed rumours that he will be running for Congress from the 8th district next year. He joins a race that already contains Darcy Burner, last year's Democratic nominee, and starts off as a likely underdog against her. Tom kicked off his campaign at Renton Technical [...]
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    Posted: July 19, 2007, 10:30pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Another presidential endorsement

    I can't find confirmation of it online, but I heard that former Congressman and 2004 GOP US Senate nominee George Nethercutt has endorsed Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. Not terribly surprising, considering the aid Giuliani gave Nethercutt and Dino Rossi in their respective 2004 campaigns. [...]
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    Posted: July 06, 2007, 8:28pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Update your scorecards

    The presidential campaign for Mitt Romney announced yesterday that former US Rep. Jennifer Dunn has officially endorsed Romney for the Republican nomination and will co-chair his "Women for Mitt" committee. By my count, that gives Romney his first major in-state endorsement. Others to date include:

    US Rep. Jay Inslee [...]
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    Posted: June 27, 2007, 2:54am EDT
    by TMW

  • Two more Democratic challengers for Reichert -- sort of

    According to Postman's two Democratic state legislators are considering facing Dave Reichert next year: Senator Rodney Tom and Rep. Christopher Hurst. Although Darcy Burner is once again running, and probably once again losing as she surely did not fix her experience issue in the five months she hasn't been running, [...]
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    Posted: June 22, 2007, 11:46pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Filing week: Day 5

    Filing has now ended, with these candidates having filed for the following offices (previous entries once again in green):

    State
    Senate Dist. 14: Jim Clements [R-incumbent], Curtis King [R], Wylie Mills [D].
    Senate Dist. 19: Brian Hatfield [D-incumbent].

    Clark County
    Vancouver City Council Pos. 4: David Kallstrom, Tim Leavitt [incumbent].
    [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2007, 10:16pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Filing week: Day 4

    The following are today's new filings for the fourth day of filing week, with the previous entries once again shaded green.  Notable in today's filing is the re-emergence of Michael Goodspaceguy Nelson, who will be challenging Dow Constantine in the Democratic primary for the 8th King County Council district.  Also [...]
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    Posted: June 07, 2007, 5:39pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Filing week: Day 4

    The following are today's new filings for the fourth day of filing week, with the previous entries once again shaded green.  Notable in today's filing is the re-emergence of Michael Goodspaceguy Nelson, who will be challenging Dow Constantine in the Democratic primary for the 8th King County Council district.  Also [...]
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    Posted: June 07, 2007, 5:39pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Filing week: Day 3

    Here's day three's filings, with previously filed candidates in green once again.

    State
    Senate Dist. 14: Jim Clements [R-incumbent], Curtis King [R].
    Senate Dist. 19: Brian Hatfield [D-incumbent].

    Clark County
    Vancouver City Council Pos. 4: Tim Leavitt [incumbent].
    Vancouver City Council Pos. 5: Larry Smith [incumbent].
    Vancouver City [...]
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    Posted: June 06, 2007, 5:47pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Republican files for open treasurer position

    While testing out how a new browser works with our occasionally-difficult PDC website, I discovered that there has finally been a candidate filing for next year's open state treasurer race.  Allan Martin, the state's deputy treasurer and formerly Chelan County's treasurer, filed June 1 as a Republican for the seat [...]
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    Posted: June 06, 2007, 5:45am EDT
    by TMW

  • Filing week: Day 2

    Here's day two's filings, with previously filed candidates in green.

    State
    Senate Dist. 14: Jim Clements [R-incumbent], Curtis King [R].
    Senate Dist. 19: Brian Hatfield [D-incumbent].

    Clark County
    Vancouver City Council Pos. 4: Tim Leavitt [incumbent].
    Vancouver City Council Pos. 5: Larry Smith [incumbent].
    Vancouver City Council Pos. [...]
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    Posted: June 05, 2007, 6:50pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Filing week: Day 1

    Today marks the beginning of filing week, where local races across the state will begin to take shape. Each day I intend to post recent candidate filings for specific races I've been monitoring, though at least for today I had to wait until several hours after the daily deadline due [...]
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    Posted: June 04, 2007, 3:43pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Ferguson likely to run for Maleng position

    King County Councilman Bob Ferguson apparently has his eyes set on the Democratic nomination for the open county prosecuting attorney race, according to party officials. He says he has yet to decide, but the Democratic Party is already beginning to get behind him as their candidate. On the GOP side, [...]
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    Posted: June 02, 2007, 10:26pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Satterberg named interim prosecutor

    Not surprisingly, Norm Maleng's chief of staff Dan Satterberg was named interim prosecuting attorney today. He'll act in the position until the King County Council makes an appointment to serve until a special election this fall dictates who will serve out the remaining three years of his term. Patrick at [...]
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    Posted: May 30, 2007, 1:58am EDT
    by TMW

  • Rare open seat could become local race of the year

    Although everybody is hesitant to say anything remotely resembling considering running for the King County Prosecuting Attorney office for fear of looking politically-ambitious while people are still coping with the passing of decades-long prosecutor Norm Maleng, the P-I recently ran an article highlighting how this rare opening could provide a [...]
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    Posted: May 28, 2007, 11:00pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Norm Maleng dies

    I got a breaking news email from the P-I not long ago saying that decades-long King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng died of a heart attack last night at UW. It came as a big surprise to me given that from all I'd seen he'd been going strong, but I suppose [...]
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    Posted: May 25, 2007, 4:16am EDT
    by TMW

  • Semi-interesting new city council candidates!

    Casually checking PDC filings as I often do, I just noticed that two new and notable candidates have recently filed for this fall's Seattle City Council races. First, 2005 mayoral runner-up Al Runte has joined the club in running for the seat being vacated by Peter Steinbrueck. Runte received roughly [...]
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    Posted: May 23, 2007, 4:27am EDT
    by TMW

  • Sump to retire, one candidate already declared

    A recent post at Ridenbaugh Press states that GOP Rep. Bob Sump will be retiring, opening up a seat in the safe-GOP 7th district. Sue Lani Madsen has already declared her intent to run, though there will likely be several others in what I hope will turn into a tight, [...]
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    Posted: May 23, 2007, 4:00am EDT
    by TMW

  • Bergeson out?

    Call it a hunch. The article linked above spells out how she's lost support of some key supporters and seems to be tiring of her position and constant squabbles with the WEA. She still hasn't filed with the PDC and now that Mike Murphy has announced his retirement as treasurer [...]
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    Posted: May 21, 2007, 4:38pm EDT
    by TMW

  • McKay to run for office?

    Today's P-I reported that former US Atty. John McKay will be speaking with Mainstream Republicans in the near future and speculate he may run for office now that he's out of a job. They don't mention any in particular, but the one they seem to dance around throughout the article [...]
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    Posted: May 17, 2007, 8:19pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Spotlight on Federal Way

    This fall, four of Federal Way's seven city council districts are up for election, with only one incumbent thus far filing for reelection. However, as far as I know, only Councilman Dean McColgan has announced he will not be running for another term, and two moderately-known Republican women are thus [...]
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    Posted: May 12, 2007, 11:56pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Rep. Lovick to run for sheriff

    As speculated prior to the recently-finished legislative session, Democratic Rep. John Lovick has announced a run for the open Snohomish County Sheriff position, being vacated by a term-limited Rick Bart. The position already had several candidates in the race, but presumably the entry of Lovick will make him a heavy [...]
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    Posted: May 05, 2007, 12:13am EDT
    by TMW

  • Another open seat in Tacoma

    The News Tribune reported recently that Tom Stenger will not be running for another term. Stenger had gotten in some hot water several times over his past term, including an incident where a microphone picked up him cursing at fellow Councilman Rick Talbert. This opens up another seat on the [...]
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    Posted: April 27, 2007, 7:52am EDT
    by TMW

  • RIP John L. O'Brien

    I just found out via Ridenbaugh Press that John L. O'Brien, essentially the father of the state legislature, has died today at the age of 95. Honestly, I had no idea he was still alive, being that he first set foot in the House in 1939, [...]
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    Posted: April 23, 2007, 10:21pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Go out and buy the new Hugh Foskett album

    I don't know how I keep getting back to Hugh Foskett on this weblog. For a candidate who drew a respectable 13% of the vote last year in the most left-wing legislative district in the state, even now he's popping up where I wouldn't expect it. According to an anonymous [...]
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    Posted: April 23, 2007, 9:13pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Spotlight on Tacoma

    Tacoma-hater though I am, I figured the time was nigh to say something about how their local races are developing for this fall, given that I've been spending most of my few-and-far-between posts on Seattle, Spokane, and Snohomish County races. I received an email yesterday from David Hyres, who has [...]
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    Posted: April 12, 2007, 1:16pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Nobles files for Seattle City Council

    Monorail board member Jim Nobles has filed for the Seattle City Council, joining a mash of candidates after the seat being vacated by Peter Steinbrueck. Best known as the only Republican currently elected to office in Seattle (albeit for a nonpartisan office), Nobles' entry is significant not only in [...]
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    Posted: April 11, 2007, 8:36pm EDT
    by TMW

  • House passes domestic partnerships

    Yesterday the House passed SB5336, instituting a domestic partnership registry in the state for gay and lesbian couples along with elderly heterosexual couples. The vote was very lopsided due to the partisan split, and had little crossovers in contrast with last month's Senate vote where four conservative Democrats opposed the [...]
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    Posted: April 11, 2007, 8:15pm EDT
    by TMW

  • House passes medical pot bill

    And did so rather easily, by a margin of 64-30. The Senate passed SB6032 39-10 in mid-March and the bill will go to the governor's desk for passage, though I have yet to hear her intents. [...]
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    Posted: April 05, 2007, 11:39pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Three's a crowd for Hession

    Two days ago the Spokesman Review reported what had been rumoured weeks before, that Mary Verner, a liberal member of the City Council, is jumping into this fall's mayoral race. Initially appointed in 2004, Verner was overwhelmingly retained in 2005 in her downtown/south hill district. Her entry causes potential problems [...]
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    Posted: March 29, 2007, 12:28pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Reardon foe drops out

    In a somewhat surprising move, Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart, who was the assumed Republican nominee for county executive against incumbent Aaron Reardon, has dropped out of the race citing fundraising issues most prominently. His intent to run had been well-known for months, yet had only raised about $20,000 compared [...]
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    Posted: March 22, 2007, 5:30am EDT
    by TMW

  • Primary lives?

    After Rep. Sam Hunt [D-Olympia] introduced a bill to eliminate the state's 2008 presidential primary and was backed by Dwight Pelz, I expected it would succeed and Washington's national convention delegates would be decided by solely partisan caucuses. Now Pelz says they are giving up on the effort, which was [...]
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    Posted: March 21, 2007, 6:29pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Block Jr. in for Port

    According to a recent Public Disclosure Commission filing, Jack Block Jr. is running for Seattle Port Commission against incumbent Bob Edwards. If the name sounds familiar, it should, as Jack Block Sr. served on the Port Commission prior to being defeated by Lawrence Molloy in 2001. Block Jr. has served [...]
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    Posted: March 19, 2007, 8:37am EDT
    by TMW

  • RIP Jack Metcalf

    Longtime state legislator and former Congressman Jack Metcalf died yesterday at the age of 79. His political career bloomed late, being elected to Congress in the 1994 GOP revolution and being one of the few to keep their promise of serving three terms, it came decades [...]
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    Posted: March 16, 2007, 4:18pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Back to square one

    If you have not already heard, both Seattle ballot measures regarding the fate of the Alaskan Way Viaduct were defeated tonight. Given that the tunnel option failed miserably by a lopsided 30-70% margin, I hope this will be the last we hear of that horrible plan. While the rebuild lost [...]
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    Posted: March 14, 2007, 10:22pm EDT
    by TMW

  • Dino's still coy, is anybody surprised?

    I'm not, and while I'd generally love for all the 2008 matchups to start to take shape this early, I don't think he has to jump into anything 18 months before the campaign would be getting into full swing. I also am not looking forward to this rematch (aside from [...]
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    Posted: March 13, 2007, 12:38am EDT
    by TMW

  • Lee enters Pierce executive mash

    The News Tribune reported yesterday that current Pierce County Council President Terry Lee will enter next year's open seat race for county executive. He joins former Council President Shawn Bunney as declared Republicans in addition to Democratic Councilman Calvin Goings. Also in new news, Tacoma Councilman Mike Lonergan says if [...]
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    Posted: March 11, 2007, 5:43pm EDT
    by TMW

  • 8th CD Democratic primary poll - go vote

    After reading Willis' comment regarding the developing Democratic primary in the 8th Congressional district, I found his post (linked above) at Washblog that includes a poll on who the Democrats should nominate against Dave Reichert come 2008. So, feel free to chime in with your own votes. I put Ross [...]
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    Posted: March 09, 2007, 7:45pm EST
    by TMW

  • Site Update

    I finally got around to getting the site I house all my graphics on rehosted, so the background is now back and I put up a link under downloads for a spreadsheet of select local races this fall. Enjoy the green. [...]
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    Posted: March 04, 2007, 7:20pm EST
    by TMW

  • 2006 National Journal ratings released

    The National Journal has released its annual vote record ratings for members of Congress. The results for Washington are linked above, though there are some notable things to point out. Jim McDermott had a rather conservative year, not even placing in the top ten of most liberal members of the [...]
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    Posted: March 03, 2007, 3:21pm EST
    by TMW

  • Domestic partnership bill passes Senate

    Senator Ed Murray's SB5336 has passed the Senate on a 28-19 vote, the first step to making it law. Considering that Chris Gregoire has stated she supports it and a majority of House members are signed on as cosponsors, this fight is pretty much over. It was not without the [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: March 01, 2007, 7:40pm EST
    by TMW

  • Rep. Smith makes presidential endorsement

    Rep. Adam Smith [D-Tacoma], my Congressman not long ago, has endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. This is certainly good news for Obama, in that it gives him more moderate credibility, though it is also pointful to note that Smith backed Senator Kerry in [...]
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    Posted: March 01, 2007, 1:04pm EST
    by TMW

  • Gov opposes impeachment bill

    Calling Sen. Eric Oemig's bill seeking to impeach President Bush a "distraction" and a "waste of time," Gov. Chris Gregoire joins federal liberal leaders Patty Murray and Jay Inslee in opposition. Considering that both Frank Chopp and Lisa Brown don't want to take legislative time on the bill, I think [...]
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    Posted: March 01, 2007, 12:46am EST
    by TMW

  • You've heard it everywhere: Steinbrueck out

    Seems we will have an open Seattle City Council seat this fall after all. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of one of the better members, in my opinion. Councilman Peter Steinbrueck has announced he will not seek reelection to his seat and will instead focus on defeating a new [...]
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    Posted: February 28, 2007, 3:16am EST
    by TMW

  • Ammons: Why the GOP keeps losing elections

    Linked above is a superb article by David Ammons from the other day (hat tip to Whacky Nation) about the flight of Dan Evans Republicans away from the increasingly right-wing GOP, and how Rep. Fred Jarrett is the last one sticking around to fight. The underlying theme plays on what [...]
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    Posted: February 26, 2007, 8:32pm EST
    by TMW

  • Murphy out, McCain wins endorsement

    Yesterday, David Ammons reported that our three-term Democratic state treasurer, Mike Murphy, will retire at the end of his term. Murphy also says he's aiming to shoot down proposed Supersonics and NASCAR deals the state is considering, and wants to make the office he's vacating the state's second nonpartisan [...]
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    Posted: February 23, 2007, 7:22pm EST
    by TMW

  • Slow time of year

    I have not disappeared off the face of the earth, contrary to what one may think due to the lack of posting as of late. Since the legislature is not voting on much right now, that I've grown tired of the Viaduct issue, and there has not been any election-related [...]
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    Posted: February 21, 2007, 2:31am EST
    by TMW

  • French on verge of mayoral announcement

    City Councilman Al French will formally announce his campaign for mayor of Spokane tomorrow, according to a tip from local news outlets and a source close to the campaign. About three weeks ago I offered a post speculating about the possibility of a rematch between French and Mayor Dennis [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: February 13, 2007, 11:06pm EST
    by TMW

  • Gun control bill a tough sell even to Democrats

    According to an article in today's Seattle P-I, Democratic legislative leaders are predicting Senator Tom's SB5197 will finally get a vote in the Senate but will likely die in the House, where Speaker Chopp says many in his own caucus oppose it. The bill, which has often been proposed in [...]
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    Posted: February 09, 2007, 3:00pm EST
    by TMW
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