State Relations
October 23, 2007
Rossi to Make Run for Governor Official Thursday
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer broke the story on their blog yesterday afternoon that Dino Rossi would announce this Thursday that he will run again for Governor in the 2008 general election. I realize there isn’t a whole lot of drama about this since speculation he would run has been a regular feature of the political blogs
October 22, 2007
2007 Election Preview — Part Three
In part three of our 2007 election preview, let’s focus on Engrossed House Joint Resolution 4204 (EHJR 4204) the so-called “simple majority school levy” ballot measure. As you may know, the state Constitution gives school districts the authority to collect property tax revenues in excess of 1 percent of the assessed value of county property for
October 16, 2007
Olympia News and Notes
As expected, Rep. Joe McDermott (D-Seattle) has been appointed to the state Senate seat in the 34th District (West Seattle, Burien, Vashon Island) to replace Sen. Erik Poulsen. McDermott, a graduate of the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs was chosen Monday by the Metropolitan King County Council to succeed Poulsen who left
October 15, 2007
The “Lowest” Profession?
I think I got “dissed,” but really, it’s ok. Seattle Times reporter Ralph Thomas posted a story this afternoon about Governor Gregoire’s “Citizen Engagement Tour” which has been making the rounds through the state over the past couple of weeks. The story mentions that in response to criticism from some Republicans that the tour is really
October 12, 2007
2007 Election Preview — Part Two
It’s Friday again and time for the next review of an upcoming statewide ballot measure which will appear on the November 2007 election ballot. Today, we will review Engrossed Senate Joint Resolution 8206 — the so-called “Rainy Day Fund” ballot measure. The state constitution currently does not require the state to maintain a budget reserve account although state
October 10, 2007
Olympia Comings and Goings
Barbara Baker has been tapped by House Speaker Frank Chopp to be the next Chief Clerk of the state House of Representatives. Baker replaces Rich Nafiziger who left to become the staff director for the Senate Democratic Caucus. Baker has worked for the House Democratic Caucus since 1996, serving a policy director for the past seven
October 8, 2007
Rep. Buri to Resign for Eastern Washington University Post
Rep. David Buri, a Republican from Colfax who represents the 9th legislative district in southeastern Washington will resign his post on November 1st to become the government relations director for Eastern Washington University. Buri replaces another former House of Representatives member Jeff Gombosky, who had served in the government relations post until leaving last year
October 5, 2007
2007 Election Preview – Part One
The 2007 November general election is about one month away so I thought it might be a good idea to provide some focus on each of the statewide ballot measures that will be considered over the next several weeks. We have already posted quite a bit about Initiative 960 which is sponsored by Tim Eyman and
October 4, 2007
Sputnik at 50
As I was sitting last night in the Everett Events Center for a town hall meeting on the new UW North Puget Sound campus, I was struck by the steady parade of representatives from local businesses who came up to the microphone to describe their dire need for more college graduates in science, technology, engineering
October 3, 2007
Chief Revenue Forecaster May Run for State Treasurer
One of the worst kept secrets in Olympia over the past couple of months is the persistent rumor that Dr. Chang Mook Sohn, the long-time head of the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (which determines official general fund revenue projections) would run for state treasurer in 2008 when incumbant Mike Murphy steps down. Today,
