From the second round of questioning:Rossi was asked if he'd spent any money "on exploring the possibility of running for governor" prior to the date he says he made the decision, Oct. 11, 2007."No," he said. "That's an activity of starting a campaign if you…
Attorney Knoll Lowney has released documentsregarding Rossi's relationship with the BIAW.Among them: One showing the BIAW quietly paying off his 2006 campaign legal debts ($235,000) in 2006. (Rossi was asked about this in the afternoon part of the deposition and said that this was the…
Wow, if there's anything that can make the increasingly sharp-edged race for governor look like puppies playing, it's lawyers.I'm about halfway through the first transcript of attorneys questioning Republican candidate Dino Rossi as part of a lawsuit about a building industry group allegedly raising campaign…
Both sides in the Gregoire/Rossi rematch also seem to be rolling out the rhetorical siege guns in this final week.State Republican Party chairman Luke Esser, for example, sent out a blistering statement yesterday saying flatly that Gov. Chris Gregoire stole the 2004 election."If there's one…
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Budget and Policy Priorities today reported that...Wait. The title says it all: "STATE REVENUES PLUMMET, July-September Revenue Numbers Are Worst in Years."Of the 15 states for which current data was available, the liberal-learning group reports, nowhere was the drop steeper…
King County Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas today ruled that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi will have to give a deposition -- before Election Day -- in a lawsuit alleging illegal fundraising by a builders' group."The request is granted," Kallas wrote. "Early discovery allows the…
Gubernatorial challenger Dino Rossi's is logging a lot of miles this week in a flurry of "Road to Victory Rallies" across the state:Saturday: Everett, Mount Vernon, Bellingham, Port Angeles, ChimacumWednesday: SeattleThursday: Moses Lake, YakimaFriday: GoldendaleSaturday: Vancouver, Longview, Chehalis, Aberdeen, Shelton.
Here is the video that seems to be at the heart of the latest wave of Gregoire-wants-an-income-tax campaign ads. They cite The Spokesman-Review, especially Gregoire's comments in an editorial-board meeting last year. The video above is an unedited clip of the income-tax discussion during that…
Boy, the November election is turning into something of a referendum on independent pollster Stu Elway's methodology. Elway's latest and apparently last poll in the governor's race shows Gov. Chris Gregoire way ahead of challenger Dino Rossi, 51 percent to 39 percent.That's similar to a…
On the way in to work this morning, I caught a radio ad from Puget Sound legislative candidate Alex Rion, who suggests that electing his Democratic opponent is a dangerous step down the road to a state income tax.This mirrors campaign ads in Spokane, where…
After yesterday's post on the fight over the likelihood/near certainty that at least some inegligible felons are included on the state's voting rolls , here's the Evergreen Freedom Foundation's point-by-point fisking*of Secretary of State Sam Reed's defense of the situation.It quotes extensively from a letter…
(That's TNT as in the Tacoma News-Tribune, by the way.)This post is solely for the hardcore legislative junkies that comprise a slice of this blog's readership. You know who you are.On the TNT's excellent Political Buzz blog, writer Joe Turner speculates that a reported tussle…
Last week, Seattle's KIRO TV did some data cross matching -- the state voters rolls with a database of criminal convictions -- and concluded that election officials are wrongly mailing ballots to felons -- probably thousands of them.If so, that's a potentially big problem. Unless…
As the Gregoire campaign notes this morning, five more newspapers endorsed Gov. Chris Gregoire over Republican challenger Dino Rossi this weekend: The Spokesman-Review, Everett Herald, Bellingham Herald, Kitsap Sun and Skagit Valley Herald. From the S-R editorial:"Round 2 of Rossi vs. Gregoire differs from Round…
This summer, a downtown Olympia tavern made international news when an overzealous bouncer barred Gov. Chris Gregoire -- who is 61 -- at the door because the governor had forgotten her driver's license.To make amends, owner Todd Ruzicka asked the governor to return, which she…
From a state Supreme Court ruling this morning by Justice Jim Johnson. (I've broken this into paragraphs for readability.)"In this case we must decide who will pay for fire hydrants in the city of Seattle and its suburbs. Seattle Public Utility (SPU) used to pay…
Just as we're publishing my overview of the race for state lands commissioner comes a new poll from SurveyUSA.The poll suggests that Republican incumbent Doug Sutherland is a bit further ahead of Democratic challenger Peter Goldmark than other recent polls or the August primary would…
A Fall City man is suing Washington State's top elected official, Secretary of State Sam Reed, saying Reed should have required Barack Obama to show valid proof of citizenship before putting him on the ballot. Unless Obama can prove he's a natural-born citizen of the…
With the gubernatorial election down to the wire, the Building Industry Association of Washington and its political allies are more than doubling their bet on Republican challenger Dino Rossi.ChangePAC, a BIAW-led group that also includes farm- and small-business groups, is pouring nearly $4 million in…
As some states nervously eye their dwindling unemployment-insurance coffers, the woman in charge of Washington's system has this message for workers fearing layoffs: no worries.Washington unemployment trust fund -- a pool of money paid into by employers, then tapped to send checks to newly-jobless workers…
Look for a fat voters guide to be in your mailbox soon, if it hasn't already arrived.That booklet's no small feat. According to the Secretary of State's office, there are 43 different versions of the thing, ranging from 80 to 264 pages. Several Central- and…
I'll be away from this blog for much of next week. In the meantime, please check out my colleague Jim Camden's political blog Spin Control.
Despite what a USA Today headline said earlier this week, state environmental officials say, the state has not banned you from washing your car in the driveway.The Department of Ecology says it "provided guidance" to cities and counties last week, warning about the problems caused…
Catching up...-U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat who represents the Tacoma area, has introduced a bill to ban customs agents from summarily seizing the laptops or other devices of U.S. residents returning from overseas trips. There have been numerous reports of customs agents ordering people…
Short takes and breaking news from the Washington Legislature and the state capital.
| Oct. 2008 | ||||
| 29 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 22 |
| 21 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 15 |
| 14 | 03 |
