State Representative Pos. 2
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6th Legislative District candidates, issues
John E. Ahern Personal: 75. Republican. Married. Has three grown children.
Newcomer battles familiar faces in 6th
Two years ago John Driscoll beat four-term incumbent state Rep. John Ahern by only 72 votes. This year, the two face off again in the August primary, along with political newcomer Shelly O’Quinn in a three-way primary that has been one of the most contentious for local Republicans.
Hospital impasse prompts bill
OLYMPIA – A dispute between Spokane’s two hospital systems spilled over into the legislative session Tuesday as a Senate panel considered changing a law that would determine how a judge could settle any impasse. The dispute involves Inland Northwest Health Services, a nonprofit jointly operated by the companies that own Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Deaconess Medical Center. Inland Northwest Health Services operates an electronic medical records system, an air ambulance service and other systems shared by hospitals, clinics and doctors in the region.
State budget plans in ‘fuzzy zone’
OLYMPIA – Washington Republicans wasted little time trying to draw connections between a Democratic Senate loss in Massachusetts and political prospects in the Evergreen State. Washington Democrats conceded that the loss of a supermajority in the U.S. Senate complicates plans in the Legislature. They can’t expect Congress to adopt health care reform or a stimulus package before they have to patch a $2.6 billion budget hole and leave town.