State Relations
November 2, 2007
Governor Receives National Honor
Governor Christine Gregoire was honored this month by Governing Magazine as one of the nation’s top public officials. The Governor actually appears on the cover of the November issue which singles out nine prominent leaders around the nation for their transformational impact on their respective public organizations. Gregoire was the only governor to make the
State Corrections Head To Step Down
Harold Clarke, the head of the state Department of Corrections (DOC) announced his resignation today effective November 23. He is leaving to become head of the Massachusetts prison system said a DOC spokesman. Clarke was hired by Governor Gregoire in January 2005 after having served as head of the correction system in Nebraska. He has
King County Council Aide to Succeed Joe McDermott
The Seattle Weekly reports that Sharon Nelson, chief of staff to King County Councilmember Dow Constantine will get the nod from local Democrats to succeed Joe McDermott as a House member in the 34th legislative district (West Seattle, Vashon Island). McDermott was recently appointed to the State Senate to complete the term of Erik Poulsen
November 1, 2007
2007 Election Preview — Part Four
Well, we are less than a week away from the general election so I figured I’d better finish this preview or you will all have send your ballots in without reading these truly insightful comments. In this election final preview, we will cover the two remaining ballot measures that we have not yet discussed —
October 29, 2007
HEC Board Endorses a Limited 2008 Budget Agenda
Last Thursday, representatives from the four-year and two-year institutions attended the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) meeting at WSU Vancouver to present their respective 2008 supplemental budget proposals. As you may know, the University is asking Olympia for about $21 million additional state dollars on the operating side and about $19 million in additional capital budget support.
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
