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Advisory votes, cost on the rise
OLYMPIA – Washington voters will be asked in November what they think about five tax increases. What legislators do with that knowledge is pretty much up to them, because the taxes are already law, and the election won’t change that.
City Council’s balance could hinge on District 3 race
Call it a race for supremacy at City Hall. A tug of war between the mayor and City Council president. Just don’t call it boring.
Spokane City Council 2nd District candidates disparate
Jon Snyder knows he’s in a fight for his political life. His two opponents in the race to represent Spokane City Council District 2, John Ahern and LaVerne Biel, are making sure he knows it. Two years after joining the council in 2009, Snyder watched two of his progressive compatriots fall to their more conservative opponents.
Lawmaker rejects views of grandfather’s church
State Sen. John Smith lives in a remote part of the largest legislative district in Washington, an area with sparse population and wide open spaces that over the decades has attracted people with extreme political and religious views. Smith acknowledges that both his grandfather and his wife’s grandfather were among those with extremist, anti-Semitic views, and that both ended up living in northeast Washington. Both were adherents of a radical strain of Christianity known as Christian Identity, an offshoot of a belief known as British Israelism.
Appointed senator to face two challengers in 7th District
Most years, it’s considered an advantage to hold the office you are seeking in the upcoming election. Brian Dansel and Mike Brunson, who are challenging appointed Sen. John Smith for the seat in northeast Washington’s sprawling 7th District, are hoping 2013 isn’t like most years. Being in the state Senate is not exactly a badge of honor after a prolonged session that needed nearly 50 extra days to accomplish the Legislature’s primary goal of passing the operating budget.
Three vie for Spokane Valley City Council spot in primary
Spokane Valley Deputy Mayor Gary Schimmels, who has served on the City Council since the city incorporated in 2003, appears to have lost favor among the Positive Change group that holds five of the seven council seats. In the 2009 elections, five candidates ran together on a Positive Change ticket, including Schimmels. His fellow council members twice elected him to the post of deputy mayor, but donors that supported Schimmels in that election, most notably businessman Jack Pring, have shifted their support to Ed Pace. Pace and Dee Dee Loberg are facing off against Schimmels on the primary ballot that will be mailed to voters next week. The two who receive the most votes will advance to the general election in November.
Council hopeful loses challenge over residency
The troubled candidacy of Mark Hamilton came to an end Friday. A Superior Court judge ruled that Hamilton failed to meet residency requirements for a Spokane City Council seat and prohibited his name from appearing on the general election ballot in November.
City Council candidate Mark Hamilton tossed from ballot
Spokane City Council candidate Mark Hamilton is not qualified to run for city office, a Spokane County Superior Court judge ruled this afternoon.
Judges hire fired city attorney Howard Delaney
The city of Spokane’s former top attorney, who was fired last year by Mayor David Condon, is back on the city’s payroll. Howard Delaney was hired last month by the city’s three elected Municipal Court judges to be the court’s top administrator.
GMO issue attracts out-of-state interest
OLYMPIA – In another sign that Washington will be the national battleground this fall for the fight over genetically altered foods, opponents of a ballot measure requiring those products to be labeled raised almost $1 million last month. None of it came from Washington state.
City braces for budget cuts despite strong sales taxes
Spokane is collecting sales taxes like it hasn’t since before the recession. Even so, city officials are preparing for another multimillion-dollar deficit in 2014.
Spin Control: When all else fails, candidates shouldn’t whine
The lineup card for the August primary shows we’re fielding quite a few rookie candidates for local office this year. Welcome to the ring. Watch out for all those hats being tossed around.
Suit tests whether candidate a resident
The race for a City Council seat representing northeast Spokane could soon be down to one. Two voters in Spokane’s northeast council district are suing Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton, claiming that candidate Mark Hamilton should not be allowed on the ballot because he was not a resident of the city for a year before officially entering the race last week.
Candidates give voters a choice at deadline
Two city council incumbents in Spokane County face challengers who declared their intent to run for office Friday, the last day to file. Spokane Valley Councilman Rod Higgins will again face Linda J. Thompson, who he beat in a coin toss in February for a vacant seat, while Spokane Councilwoman Amber Waldref will be opposed by Mark Hamilton, whose city residency is disputed.
City Council races draw more candidates
Two more candidates jumped into Spokane City Council races Thursday, ensuring primary races in two of the city’s three council districts. Laverne Biel, 60, the CEO at Access Unified Networks, filed Thursday for the south Spokane District 2 race.