Public Periscope

Next maybe they’ll clean up City Hall

U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton is on the “Clean up Congress” hit list. The aggressive citizens group soon will be banging on doors in Spokane, criticizing Gorton, and trying to rally voters to oust the Washington Republican.

“Sen. Gorton says he’s for the people. He’s not for me,” said Julian Powers, a Spokane senior citizen. “He’s not for the people I know. Could he be for Exxon, Dow Chemical, Weyerhaeuser?” Clean Up Congress was formed four years ago and boasts of six victories in eight congressional races it has worked, including U.S. Sen. Patty Murray’s victory over former congressman Rod Chandler in 1992. The group usually targets conservative Republicans and relies on armies of volunteer and lowpaid college students.

“I think they have no credibility,” said Jay Vander Stoep, Gorton’s campaign chairman. Vander Stoep said Clean Up Congress ignores Gorton’s environmental accomplishments, such as helping ban log exports on public land and blocking oil drilling off the Washington coast.

A family that plans together …

The name of Steve Horobiowski may be familiar to readers who saw the story about how the assistant county planner was doing a housing development of his own on Five Mile Prairie along with other family members. Planning experts said Horobiowski’s dual role of planner and developer causes a conflict of interest.

But there is another Horobiowski involved in planning. Steve’s brother, Ted, is a member of the Spokane City Plan Commission. Ted Horobiowski, who works for Washington Water Power Co., has no ownership interest in his brother’s development, and the city plan commission has no authority over the plats or permits.

To his friends he’s just Orville

Spokane City Councilman Orville Barnes seems to be pretty good at getting nicknames. Earlier this month, people were calling him Commodore Barnes for his letting his golf cart roll into a lake while he was playing a green.

This week, he’s being called Orville “Tax and Hide” Barnes after scheduling a hearing for Aug. 15 on a real estate excise tax increase and then announcing he will be on vacation that day. Mayor Jack Geraghty is credited with both nicknames.

Tuning into the election

Jon Tuning is at it again. The Spokane resident is a one-man ambassador for public participation in elections. There’s a novel idea! He is pushing something called Voter Quest ‘94. He did the samething last year. His self-financed campagn encourages businesses to get workers involved in voting and politics. “If we don’t participate in the campaigns or vote in the elections, we are placing our current representative form of government at risk,” Tuning said…Look for his red VOTE! signs in the windows of participating businesses. Want one? Call 326-6925.

Sally rides

Sally Gorton, wife of U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, will ride in the annual parade in Hillyard on Saturday at 11 a.m.

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