Public Periscope

Bet he’s really worried now

The city and county employees union is taking off the gloves in its long-running dispute with County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser. Union leaders are asking the Spokane Labor Council to place Sweetser on its “unfair to labor” list…The union isn’t stopping there in its battle with Sweetser, who already faces a slew of labor complaints before the Public Employees Relations Commission. It wants the Spokane Democratic Party to remove Sweetser from the party…OK, so that might be a little embarrassing for a while, but it wouldn’t keep Sweetser from running for re-election with a big D after his name. In Washington state, any candidate can claim to be a Democrat (or a Republican) regardless of political beliefs.

Shooting at the messenger

County Commissioner George Marlton has traded the commissioner’s gold badge for a new one, a bright yellow button with a red circle and slash through the letters “S-R.” As a firm believer in free speech, Public Periscope would never question Marlton’s choice of lapel apparel, or even suggest he’s acting like a sore loser upset over the newspaper’s coverage of his travails during the recently completed primary…The slashed-circle S-R, along with the words “Bad Paper,” can also be seen gracing the pickup of acting County Engineer Bill Johns. Periscope is sure that’s not because the newspaper reported Johns, a GOP activist and contributor to commissioner Phil Harris’s campaign, was promoted over several more experienced employees. Probably just wants to keep up with a fad.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Valleyfest organizer Sue Delucchi said she was taken aback last week while watching the Spokane City Council meeting on Cable Channel 5. There was David Elton, sometime pollster and wannabe political maven, thanking Valleyfest volunteers for their hard work and singling out Delucchi’s efforts…Not that the event wasn’t praiseworthy, she said. It’s just that Elton wasn’t an organizer, or even a longtime volunteer. He called three days before the event and became one of about 300 volunteers who pitched in, she said…Also puzzling, she noted, was the fact that he chose to make his statement before the City Council, which has nothing to do with Valleyfest. “I don’t know where this guy is coming from,” Delucchi said.

Getting involved

The City-County Historic Landmarks Commission needs to fill five vacancies. If you fit one of the following descriptions, you could apply: A city resident; a county resident (there are two openings in that category); an owner or manager of property in the central business district; an experienced preservation construction specialist…The city is also looking for a city resident to sit on the Public Facilities District Board. And it still needs someone who knows something about plumbing or the mechanical trades to volunteer for the Construction Review Board…Get applications for any and all at the Spokane mayor’s office, 5th Floor, City Hall.

, DataTimes MEMO: Public Periscope, published Mondays, is compiled by Jim Camden from staff reports. If you have a question about government, growth or development, we’d like to help find an answer. Write us c/o The Spokesman-Review, Box 2160, Spokane 99210. Or call Cityline at 458-8800 on a TouchTone phone, then press 9120 to leave a message. Or send E-mail to jimc@spokesman.com for on-line readers.

This sidebar appeared with the story: HOT TOPICS Thursday: Folks around Third and Thor can get in on the ground floor of plans for a possible supermarket on the southwest corner of that intersection. A predevelopment meeting for a possible zone change for a 48,000-square-foot store will explain the project and talk about traffic at 7:30 p.m., Sheridan Elementary School multipurpose room.