Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Dave Stevens announced Thursday that he'll challenge his boss, Prosecutor Steve Tucker, in the August primary.Both Tucker and Stevens are Republicans, and the battle is off to a tough start."Until I came here, I'd never seen a total lack of leadership,"…
Retiring Rep. Alex Wood said Friday he won't endorse any candidates vying to replace him until at least after the June election filing deadline.Wood, a Democrat, serves the 3rd Legislative District representing central Spokane."I wouldn't be surprised if I don't endorse anyone except the final…
John Ahern's campaign released this form Wednesday after Bob Apple denied endorsing Ahern. Both Ahern and his campaign manager, Josh Kerns, said they witnessed Apple signing it last year at the county fair.The top of the form is quite clear: "I endorse John Ahern for…
The field of candidates is growing in the race to replace retiring Democratic state Rep. Alex Wood.Spokane City Councilman Bob Apple confirmed this week that he will compete for Wood’s seat representing the 3rd Legislative District, the most reliably Democratic district in eastern Washington.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently released photos of Thursday's White House event during which Spokane Mayor Mary Verner was picked by President Obama to ask a question.
The results of the November election were on display for the first time Monday in the Spokane City Council chambers.The three council members who won seats in November, Nancy McLaughlin, Jon Snyder and Amber Waldref, were sworn in by City Clerk Terri Pfister. The brief…
Whatever you think of the outcomes, Spokane city leaders have tackled several issues that could shape the city for decades to come. What do you think was the most important news at City Hall in 2009? What was the top news in 2009 at Spokane…
As the national media craft year-end rememberances of those who passed in 2009, it's worth mentioning three who transformed Spokane.The three men who served in the top spot at Spokane City Hall stretching from 1963 until 1991 died in just the last five months.Two of…
Monday’s City Council meeting was the last with Al French as a member.French is finished with his second term representing northeast Spokane. Term limits prevented him from running again, but he has announced his candidacy for the Spokane County Commission.
The results of this month’s Spokane County election were certified on Tuesday, but the counting isn’t over.Elections officials next week will recount by hand votes in the race for Airway Heights mayor.City Councilman Patrick Rushing’s lead over incumbent Mayor Matthew Pederson grew in the latest…
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…
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…
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…
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?
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,…
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…
Ballots in Spokane County will start arriving in the mail on Thursday.For those still wondering how the candidates stand on the issues, here's a link where you can hear three Spokane City Council debates in full or broken into important topics by our very capable…
Spokane City Councilman Al French appears to be readying for a 2010 election, but what that election is, he won't say. "I look forward to serving as long as the public will allow me to serve," French said in an interview on Thursday. Earlier this…
Fresh off a fourth-place finish for a City Council seat, former Councilman Steve Eugster said he will run in 2011 for City Council president.Eugster said he was encouraged by his finish: "I got 1,800 votes, and I didn't even spend a nickel," he said in…
Jon Snyder must be smiling with the latest counts from Tuesday's primary.What was virtually a tie on election night between him and incumbent Spokane City Councilman Mike Allen has become an easy win for him. Since Tuesday's count, he has gotten 455 more votes than…
Mike Allen and Jon Snyder are virtually tied in tonight's primary election tally for Spokane City Council.Though Allen is in second place by a hair, he has some reason to feel good about the numbers. Kristina Sabestinas finished a strong third, and her conservative supporters…
Karen Kearney, who is one of five challengers to incumbent City Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin, has listed two new endorsements on her Web site. One is from the Spokane Regional Labor Council. That's no surprise. Kearney has garnered strong union support throughout her campaign.The other, however,…
My guess is that of all the labels that might stick on Steve Eugster, "Cowles sycophant" is not one of them, despite the accusation from David Elton mentioned in the previous post.Still, I think it's worth mentioning this nugget from an interview I had with…
Last night's City Council debate sponsored by the Campaign for Liberty, went free of personal attacks until David Elton landed one on Steve Eugster.Elton, who is competing against Eugster and four other candidates for the right to represent south Spokane, complained about a blog post…
Jonathan Brunt joined The Spokesman-Review in 2004. He is the government editor. He previously was a reporter who covered Spokane City Hall, Spokane County government and public safety.