Incumbent Rocky Treppeidi inched a bit farther ahead of challenger Laura Carder in Thursday’s vote count. But there’s still a dramatic north-south split in the votes as shown in the map here.

Andy Billig, the president of the Spokane Indians baseball, wants to play in a different league. He’s running for the state Legislature in central Spokane’s 3rd District.

As ballots were being cast and counted this week for the 2009 election, Billig filed papers with the state Public Disclosure Commission to run for the state House of Representatives seat currently held by seven-term incumbent Alex Wood. Both are Democrats.

To read more, go inside the blog

Continue reading Billig to run for 3rd Dist. House seat »

Spokane School Board incumbent Jeff Bierman is in a tight race with challenger Heidi Olson. As in the Treppiedi-Carder race, there’s a distinct north-south split, as the map illustrates. Here’s the latest tally, as of Wednesday evening:

Bierman 17,344 (51,35%)
Olson     16,431 (48.65%)

The Spokane School Board races are too tight to call with any certainty. But a look at the vote patterns shows a definite north-south split in both races.

It’s probably most pronounced in the Position 4 race, where incumbent Rocky Treppiedi has a narrow lead over challenger Laura Carder. Current tally is:

Treppiedi 17,893 (51.64%)
Carder     16,758 (48.36%)

Spokane City Proposition 1, aka the Fire Bond Issue, inched a bit toward the supermajority it needs for passage in Wednesday evening’s count. As the map shows, its support varied around the city. The ballot measure currently has a 58.85 percent approval; it needs 60 percent.

Jon Snyder continues to lead Mike Allen in the South Spokane Council District race. Latest tally:

Snyder 7,091

Allen    6,412.

We’re about two hours from another drop of election numbers in Spokane County. Elections Manager Mike McLaughlin said he expects 8,000 to 10,000 votes to be included in the count. That will leave roughly 30,000 votes left for the rest of the week.

The county received 22,567 ballots in the mail on Wednesday, pushing turnout to 52 percent. McLaughlin said another 500 to 1,000 more could be expected the rest of the week.

Continue reading New numbers expected soon; turnout rises above 50 percent »

There are few, if any, bright spots supporters of Envision Spokane’s Community Bill of Rights will find in last night’s count.

As a whole, Proposition 4 only garnered 25 percent support. It failed in all of the city’s nearly 125 precincts.

The measure won 40 percent support only in four precincts: downtown Spokane, one that covers most of Browne’s Addition and the western portion of Peaceful Valley, one precinct in East Central and one in the Bemiss Neighborhood, which is just south of Hillyard.

The worst showing was in a precinct bordering Latah Creek in the far south of the city where only 7.7 percent of voters supported the proposition.

Click here to download a high-resolution JPG of the above map.

Spokane’s Fire Bond Issue didn’t have the 60 percent super majority in ballots counted Tuesday night.

Click here to view a high-resolution JPG of this map.

Initiative 1033 got hammered in the city of Spokane, but did well outside it.

Click here to download a high-resolution JPG of this map.

As of Tuesday night, here’s how the vote totals look in Spokane County for Referendum 71.

The showing of Spokane City Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin — the City Council’s most conservative member — in a district that voted for President Obama has prompted speculation that she may run as a Republican for state Rep. Alex Wood’s seat next year in Spokane’s 3rd Legislative District. That’s eastern Washington’s most solidly Democratic district.

McLaughlin won all 43 precincts in her council district race in the August primary, a feat she repeated in Tuesday’s general election.

Speaking from her campaign party Tuesday night, McLaughlin said she will not rule out a run for the Legislature, but added: “At this point, I have no intention of running next year.”

She added that her husband isn’t sold on the idea of her running for an office that would require a campaign every two years.

Spokane voters seemed to spend a bit more time weighing their options this year. The two biggest days for ballots showing up at the elections office were yesterday and today.

The current ballot count stands at 98,968, which is 38.5 percent of all registered voters in the county. More than 39,000 of those ballots showed up in the last two days — and that doesn’t count the final pickups from drop boxes all over the county.

Could it be that some voters regretted voting too early in previous years, and held on to their ballots until closer to the deadline, to see how the campaigns played out? Hard to say, but it does seem to undercut the argument of some campaign operatives that so many resources should be targeted at the week the ballots get mailed out.

If tradition holds, biggest day for turnout will be tomorrow, when most ballots mailed yesterday and today get delivered.

For more on how the ballot turn-in count stands, go inside the blog.

Continue reading Spokane County turnout: 38.5% so far »

Here’s one of the more talked about election mailers distributed locally this campaign season.

It’s from Envision Spokane, the campaign in support of Proposition 4. It hit mailboxes last week.

What do you think? Is it effective?

(Note: This story appeared in Sunday’s paper, and through an oversight on my part didn’t get posted simultaneously to the blog. So it appears here with links to the spread sheets that show the campaign spending, for those political junkies out there that eat this stuff up. Jim Camden.)

Among the talking points hotly debated by both sides in the campaign over the city of Spokane’s Proposition 4 is whether the proposed changes are good or bad for local business.

The talking point on the “Yes” side says a requirement for local banks to reinvest local money in local business will pump more money into the Spokane economy and help mom-and-pop businesses struggling against the national chains and big-box stores. The talking point on the “No” side says that provision isn’t what local businesses need, and requirements for prevailing wages and apprenticeship programs will put locals at a disadvantage against competitors just across the city line.

Talk, as the saying goes, is cheap – although during a campaign, speech covers everything from folks bloviating at forums to literature in the mailbox, TV ads and radio spots. Campaign speech often comes with a payment-due notice from sign makers, print shops, commercial schedulers and consultants.

So the question is, when the campaigns pay for such speech, and anything else they need to convince you of the rightness or wrongness of Prop 4, who spends their money locally, and who spends it elsewhere?

Continue reading Following the money: Prop 4 spending »

In a new video from BarelyPolitical.com, Obama Girl, aka Amber Ettinger, makes a pitch for someone to be appointed to the Social Security Board.

The plea is set to “Man of Constant Sorrow,” and proves that blue-grass legend Ralph Stanley can still pick and sing, Obama Girl can dance even though she can’t lip-synch too well, and the guy they’re hyping, Eric C. Conn, should never ever quit his day job to become a dancer. But it’s a fun watch.

Spokane County commissioners fired the company they hired less than a year ago to operate the county’s Raceway Park, their controversial purchase near Airway Heights that drew good crowds this summer but racked up some $1.2 million in unpaid construction debt.

The county’s insurance may be needed to pay contractors that performed the work ordered by Austin Motor Sports Management but never approved by the county, they said.

Commissioners voted unanimously during a special afternoon meeting Thursday to terminate the contract with the company and its owner Bucky Austin, a racing enthusiast who owns a chain of auto repair shops in the Puget Sound region. Despite promises in August and September that he would make good on all outstanding debts for improvements in the park, Austin still owes several local contractors, who have filed liens worth about $1.2 million against him and the county.

They’re looking for a new operator to run the track in 2010, although next time, they expect to keep “a closer, watchful eye” on Austin’s replacement, County Board Chairman Todd Mielke said.

The county became aware of financial problems at the track last summer, when contractors began serving notice that they would file liens for unpaid bills. Austin called the liens standard procedure, said he had to review billing to make sure the work was actually done and promised to pay everybody by November.

But commissioners discovered Austin had ordered more construction than they expected, essentially compressing renovations the county thought would take two years into the first year the track operated. He did it without securing performance bonds, as required by state law, or putting the projects out to competitive bids, commissioners said.

Because of those problems, commissioners said Austin’s contract was in default and terminated on Thursday afternoon.

Austin was put on notice in September that he’d lose the contract in 60 days if he didn’t “cure” those problems. He said he would find financing or partners to make payments. But this week, his attorney confirmed that “Austin Motor Sports Management is unable to find additional financing to continue to operate the raceway,” Jim Emacio, the county’s chief civil deputy, told commissioners.

The notice of default had a 60-day time limit, which would have been up on Sunday. When asked why they were terminating it just three days early, they said the weather was turning cold and they wanted to have county staff “winterize” the facility as soon as possible.

Asked if the decision was at all prompted by fears Austin’s management company, a limited liability corporation apart from his repair shops, could declare bankruptcy, Mielke would only say: “Rumors abound.”

The county will draft a new request for proposal and allow potential operators to submit bids.

“We hope to find an operator that can continue to operate the track… and maintain it’s credibility with the community,” Mielke said. “We’re going to do our due diligence with any construction projects that take place.”

They want to  county will also review all the outstanding claims to make sure the work was done, is up to standards and has been double-billed, Commissioner Mark Richard said. Legitimate claims will be submitted to the county’s insurance carrier for payment.

That process could take up to 60 days. John Black, an attorney who represents seven of the contractors holding some $1.19 million in unpaid bills, said his clients could eventually file suit against the county if they aren’t paid. But it might take about two months to prepare a lawsuit, so the contractors might hold off.

“If in fact there is a commitment to pay, it would make sense to wait,” said Black, who added he heard about the commissioners’ decision from the reporter calling to ask for comment.

Story also filed on the Local News section, and generating comments. Join the discussion here.

Spokane County Commissioners have an executive session at 2 p.m. to talk about cancelling the contract to run the Raceway Park.

They had already given Bucky Austin, the embattled operator, a 60-day deadline, that’s set to run out next week. They may cancel today.

Unanswered questions include what will they do if Austin doesn’t pay the contractors who did the work this summer at the raceway? What will they do with the track, which the county bought last year — find a new operator or have the county Parks run it themselves?

Stay tuned.

Boeing Co.’s announcement that it will build jetliners in South Carolina was not particularly well received in Washington, as most readers can well imagine.

Some Democrats were disappointed. Some Republicans were disappointed but more in a “we warned you” mind set.

For a compilation of comments, go inside the blog…

Continue reading Coming soon: Boeing blame game »

Prosecutor Steve Tucker and Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich made their best pitches for some wiggle room on budget cuts Tuesday night. Maybe dip into the budget reserve, or borrow from money set aside for streets. After all, what good are streets if they aren’t safe to drive on. How much rainier does it have to get before you use the rainy day fund?

County commissioners responded with praise for the work that they and their staff do.

And no to any give on the budget cuts, or using the budget reserve, which would lower the bond rating and up the cost of borrowing money.

Sounded like a No? Tucker was asked outside the hearing room as TV cameras were set up.

“Sounded like a no — and a lecture on tax policy” Tucker replied.

Spokane County jail lieutenants agreed to contract concessions that will wipe out their cost-of-living raises, overtime and comp time in 2010.

The agreement with the county, which comes as most departments are expecting to start next year with a budget that is 11 percent smaller than the one the had at the end of last year, would reduced the Sheriff’s budget by about $57,000.

“It wasn’t a hard sell at all,” Lt. Jay Hughes, the head of the seven member unit said Wednesday. “We all knew the budget was suffering.”

Under their existing contract, members of Local 492CL were scheduled to get a 1 percent cost-of-living raise on Jan. 1, and another 1 percent on July 1. They are also entitled to overtime or compensatory time when working more than 40 hours a week. Under the agreement, proposed by the unit members themselves, they will remain at this year’s pay, and become salaried employees not eligible for overtime or comp time. In return, Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich guaranteed that none of them would be demoted to close the gap in the budget.

Jail lieutenants, who work at either the County Jail or the Geiger Corrections Center, earn between $64,990 and $87,695 a year. Their three-year contract, which ends Dec. 31, 2010, had a 1 percent cost of living increase in 2008, plus 1 percent increases this year on Jan. 1 and July 1.

Continue reading Jail Lts. give up COLAs »

Stephen Colbert takes off on the fight over releasing the names from the Referendum 71 petitions, as well as a campaign ad from the Protect Marriage folks.

Spokane City Council President Joe Shogan’s threat to “bring hell” didn’t stop the council — or even himself — from approving on Monday new rules governing the body.

The lone opposition belonged to Councilman Richard Rush, who expressed concern that the final version was rushed.

The rules, many routine, had been under consideration for almost a year, but they were put under the spotlight earlier this month when the council scheduled a meeting held when Shogan was out of town to set a time to vote on the rules.

Continue reading Hell has little fury »

Secretary of State Sam Reed was named a Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine, the publication said Monday.

Reed will be one of eight elected or appointed government officials to get one of the annual awards in the November issue of the magazine, as well as a soiree in the other Washington on Nov. 16.

He’s being honored as an elected official who “who exuded fairness in managing a disputed gubernatorial election in 2004, then reformed the administration of elections in his state.”

That first part could have prompted a debate from members of Reed’s own party in early 2005, after Chris Gregoire overturned Dino Rossi’s lead in the second recount and was declared the winner, and the whole thing wound up in court. With Reed’s pushing and prodding, the Legislature made some major changes to the state’s voting laws that year and the next.

The award is bipartisan. Arkansa Gov. Mike Huckabee, a GOP presidential aspirant last year, got one in  2005. Gregoire, a Democrat, got one in 2007. And it’s not a guarantee of continued good performance. New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer got one in 2002.

Reed joins a relatively long list of Washington government folk so honored by the magazine. To see that list, go inside the blog.

Continue reading Reed named a top public official »

Opponents of Proposition 4 have complained that out-of-town influence helped shape the proposed amendment to the Spokane City Charter. But the opponents rely heavily on national and state development interests to bankroll the campaigns against the proposal.

Led by the National Association of Home Builders, out-of-town business groups account for about 85 percent of the identified contributions to Save Our Spokane, which opposes Proposition 4’s Community Bill of Rights. Out-of-town business groups account for about 30 percent of identified contributions to the other opposition group, Jobs and Opportunities Benefiting Spokane, or JOBS. The national home builders association has funneled some $85,000 to the political action committee of its local affiliate.

Together, the two campaign committees have raised more than $275,000. When expense reports were filed last week, they had almost half of that total still available for a pre-election day push.

Envision Spokane, a group that spearheaded discussions that produced the proposed charter changes, has raised about $69,500, with $55,000 coming from Jim Sheehan, a retired local attorney who established the Center for Justice and owns the Community Building on Main Avenue. The largest out-of-town contribution for Envision Spokane was about $450 for the donated work of a graphic artist in Wauwato, Wash.

To read more, and for links to a list of the PAC contributors, go inside the blog

Continue reading Prop4: Where’s the money coming from? »

Vote, that is.

Or at least that’s Secretary of State Sam Reed’s projection, released today.

Reed projects turnout at 51 percent, down markedly from about 85 percent last  year. Ah, for the halcyon days of ‘08. Obama vs. McCain. A gaffe-watch on Joe Biden. A dissection of every word Sarah Palin uttered. Gregoire v. Rossi, part deux.

Even with two statewide initiatives — one on government spending and another on domestic partnership rights — there just arent as many vote grabbers this year.

If he’s right, 2009 will be about average for an off-year, mostly local election, Reed said.

As a reporter responsible for my share of embarrassing typos over the years, I am hesitant to point out spelling and grammatical errors in others’ work (especially in a blog that usually isn’t edited before it’s posted).

That said, City Councilman Mike Allen’s campaign flier that arrived in South Hill mailboxes last week has enough grammatical and other errors that the candidate declared himself “disappointed” in the mailer.

Continue reading There goes the English teacher vote »

Latest in the legal battle over the names of people who signed Referendum 71 petitions: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy today blocked the release of the names which the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unblocked last week.

Kennedy got a request from the group supporting the petition drive, and said the order will stay in place until he’s had a chance to review the appeal.

His decision also will stay any release of other initiative petitions, which are being fought over in state courts.

Anyone want to bet that this isn’t settled either way until after the Nov. 3 election?

Thursday’s post challenging Councilman Bob Apple’s label of “carpetbagger” on a city judicial candidate brought more than a dozen comments, including one from Apple himself.

” I honestly believe any body still considers an elected official who would literaly refuse to live in the area they are elected for would qualify as a carpetbagger. Now Mrs Staab wants us to, elect her as a Spokane City Municipal Court Judge and only hearing cases of Spokane City residents however will not reside within our City as Brian Whitaker dose and as a result, he has my vote. Honestly I cannot imagine voting any other way concerning this simple question.” he wrote.

To save occasional readers from scrolling down, the Reader’s Digest version of this discussion goes like this: Judge Tracy Staab, who is seeking election to the position to which she was appointed earlier this year, lives outside the city limits in Spokane County. The law allows that, although Apple and some others think that regardless of what the law allows, Staab ought not to hold the post. In an e-mail, to constituents and others last week, Apple said he was voting for her opponent, Bryan Whitaker, because she’s a carpetbagger.

The term carpetbagger dates to the 19th Century and  comes from a description of outsiders who move into an area to take advantage of something, such as a political race. It doesn’t apply to Staab, the post argued.

In his rebuttal, Apple makes two interesting arguments. One is that she would “literally refuse to live in the city”. Ignoring for a moment the all too common misuse of literally, Apple seems to be suggesting that Staab should move from the county to the city to be eligible for the job.

That would actually be carpetbagging, because she’d be moving in an attempt to get elected.

The other argument is that he’s using the word properly because under his definition, which he believes is acceptable to “anybody”, that’s what a carpetbagger is.

That’s the argument Humpty Dumpty made to Alice, that a word “means just what I choose it to mean, nothing more nor less.”

But on this side of the looking glass, words mean what they mean.

Washington state can release the names and addresses of people who signed the petion for Referendum 71, a ballot measure that attempts to peel back the latest changes to the state’s domestic partnership laws, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said today.

A 9th Circuit panel this morning revesed a trial court ruling that releasing the names could chill the First Amendment rights of petition signmers. But the names aren’t going to be released right now, because a separate court ruling in Thurston County has a temporary restraining order blocking that.

To read the Associated Press’s latest version, go inside the blog. We’ll try to keep it updated regularly.

Continue reading 9th Circ: Release the names »