Another Democratic hat in the ring for U.S. Senate

Washington’s U.S. Senate race picked up another contestant last week. Seattle attorney Hong Tran is a Democrat running to the left of incumbent Maria Cantwell on issues like the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act and foreign trade pacts.

So far, Tran has what every fledgling campaign needs, a Web site (www.hongtran.com), an office and a press secretary.

She’s got a more interesting than usual resume, having fled Vietnam with her family at age 7 after Saigon fell, coming to the United States and working briefly in Spokane as a lawyer on domestic violence cases at Spokane Legal Services. She’s been in Seattle for about 10 years, where until recently she worked for Northwest Justice Project on low-income housing advocacy.

Tran made her campaign debut at the King County Democratic Convention last weekend, where Cantwell was also on the agenda. She’ll have to compete for the anti-war vote in the Democratic primary with Mark Wilson.

Cantwell, who voted for the resolution to give President Bush the authority to invade Iraq in 2003, is facing criticism from the growing block of Ds and independents who want U.S. troops out of Iraq immediately, if not sooner.

Tran insists she’s not running solely on an anti-war platform. She says she’s familiar with federal laws and regulations after spending some 14 years working on low-income housing and other social service programs, and she takes issue with Cantwell’s support of the Central America Free Trade Act.

“It’s not just me running on principle because of the war,” she said in an interview. “A lot of social programs have been cut, in part to fund the tax cuts and to fund the war.”

She had a bit of a rolling start, sending out a press release to Seattle media on May 2, announcing her candidacy at the county convention on May 6, faxing that week-old press release to Spokane on Wednesday and attending the state Homeless Coalition Convention in Yakima on Thursday.

With about $2,000 in her fledgling campaign fund, Tran has just over five months to get herself and her stands on the issues known well enough to knock off an incumbent senator who, at last report had nearly $5.6 million in the bank and decent if not overpowering approval ratings.

Look for her to campaign primarily in Pugetopolis. When she comes to Eastern Washington, we’ll try to let folks know.

Politics is more fun in Idaho

At least this time of year it is. Take the governor’s race, which last week was good for yucks even though U.S. Rep. Butch Otter is the odds-on favorite to win the GOP primary this month.

And to borrow an old saying, winning the GOP primary in Idaho may be tantamount to election, much the way being a hog is tantamount to becoming bacon.

But that didn’t keep another GOP challenger, Dan Adamson, from teaming up with Democrat Jerry Brady for a campaign stunt – or as they prefer to call it, photo op.

Otter said he couldn’t meet Adamson this week in a previously scheduled public television debate because of congressional business. So Adamson and Brady called a joint press conference to denounce his non-appearance, and for Brady to offer his services as a stand-in. Even more fun than the prospect of Brady mimicking Otter’s down-home homilies at the debate was the setting for the photo op: a chicken coop in Meridian.

Let’s hope they checked their shoes before heading back into town.

Idaho public television turned thumbs down to Brady-as-Otter. The debate was cancelled when Otter’s campaign rejected alternate time slots because of scheduling conflicts.

The Spin On: tax changes

Last week the political parties had tax cuts to kick around, after Congress passed a bill to extend some tax cuts on capital gains and dividends, plus changes to the alternative minimum tax. Republicans, including those in Washington and Idaho, voted yes; Democrats, including those in the two states, voted no.

Republican lawmakers were talking about how good this was for the economy and the GOP spin machines were all over Maria Cantwell for her no vote, saying either she had voted against tax cuts or, even worse, voted for a tax increase. Democrats made some fairly predictable warnings about cutting taxes for rich people when the deficit is so high.

Conspicuous by its absence, however was any mention of an extension of the sales tax deduction for Washington state residents.

In many pronouncements on previous tax cut bills, the sales tax deduction got prominent billing as a huge boon for residents of states like Washington without an income tax.

But an extension of the deduction was cut from this tax cut bill and left for a later vote. The silence on the part of the GOP spin machine was pretty deafening.