King County Assessor ignoring reality
I'm sorry, but a 13% property tax assessment increase for 2009 is outrageous. My assessment card showed up today with a 13% increase for 2009, and even I can't believe the gall of this county to hike assessments in the face of home value declines and a mortgage crisis that is going to hit the Puget Sound much harder before it's over. Someone needs to tell King County Assessor Scott Noble that home prices peaked in King County in 2007.... [read more]

American Flag Exchange, June 9-12
With Flag Day is coming up this Saturday, June 14, PEMCO Insurance is sponsoring a Flag Exchange where community members can exchange their old, tattered 3' x 5' American flags for a brand new flag free of charge. The Flag Exchange will take place June 9-12 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Locations are as follows: McClain Insurance Services 10410 19th Ave SE #101 Everett, WA 98208 425.379.9200 Togawa & Grinter Insurance Agencies 222 Etruria St, Suite 110 Seattle, WA... [read more]

Filing for PCO
The following is an excerpt from KC Chairman Lori Sotelo weekly email update. Filing week isn't just about candidates for public office. It also presents an opportunity for Republicans to run for Precinct Committee Officer. I am excited to report a very high level of interest among grassroots Republicans in party involvement this year. I am thankful for the efforts of our District Chairs who have worked tirelessly to promote the Republican Party and find suitable candidates for these neighborhood... [read more]

Time for Vets to take a stand
By now I am sure that all of you out there have heard the comments by Rep Baghdad Jim regarding our troops are mercanaries. Well I say it is high time that all of us vets out there let our voices be heard. Individually we are just a nussaiance to people like Baghdad Jim, but together we have a huge voice, escpecially here in Washington State where we have great numbers. I urge all vets out there to send a... [read more]

Fighting Democrat Running for Congress 8th CD
James Vaughn for US Representative, 8th Congressional District Would Like to Hear Your Views. I believe that political campaigns should address the issues and voters should challenge the candidates. When we create honost dialogue , we create public awareness and eveyone wins. (Serving most of King and Pierce Counties) Veterans, angry over Iraq, run for Congress Potentially an unprecedented number of ex-service members will be running for office. The fighting Democrats, as some call themselves, say their military experience could... [read more]

The Truth from Ruth Gibbs Part 2
OK everyone, Doug Parris is blogging again on his Reagan Wing with more inaccuracies except for one, so I will respond here. Before I do, Doug, I would like to say that my sympathies are with your family at this time of grief for you when you just lost your mother. My father died at 75. He would be 85 this May 1st if he had lived. My mother died at 55. So, I feel your pain at losing parents... [read more]

King County GOP Convention
The King County Republican Party's convention last Saturday approved the party platform without any amendments or a single word of debate. How did they pull off this miracle? Simple, it is called an absence of a quorum. You see the rules of the convention provide that if a quorum is not present, the platform as proposed by the Platform Committee, including adopted amendments up to the loss of quorum, will be considered approved. Of course, if no one challenges the... [read more]

Clay Bennett: Mayor of Seattle!
I propose that the Republican party float Clay Bennett as our candidate for Mayor of Seattle. Reasons: Obvious: He comes here. The Sonics stay here. Not so obvious: Seattle and King County face problems in quality of life, transportation, housing and environment. Most of these problems are due to Liberal politicians who float this way and that and who have the emotional level of 6 year olds. We need someone with a spine who can stand up to all the... [read more]

THE TRUTH FROM RUTH GIBBS
THE TRUTH FROM RUTH GIBBS About the 11th District Caucus, the Ron Paul and Doug Parris Slate, the people on the slate and the people and groups who endorsed the slate. Many people have contacted me with concern about the the blatant lies posted by Doug Parris on both HIS Reagan Wing Website and on the Public Blog at Sound Politics.org regarding what happened at the 11the District Republican Caucus smearing both 11th District and King County Republicans, Rev.... [read more]

Starting Out
Thank you for the ease of entry into your blog. For the record, I am thinking of running against Darcy Burner and Dave Reichert. A lifelong Democrat now living in Sammamish, I have contributed to both the McCain and Clinton campaigns this year. I am a lawyer admitted to practice law and licensed in and before Illinois and Washington State, the US Supreme Court, and many US Courts of Appeals. An American Bar Foundation Fellow, I have been ranked in... [read more]

More Lane Capacity DOES improve traffic flow--Here's Proof
For years, our commute off the plateau to school each weekday morning used to be 25 long minutes. Occasionally it was even worse than that. But now it's down to 10 minutes. How did this amazing achievement occur? More lanes. Yep---despite the false claims of anti-roads leftists that more lanes doesn't ease traffic, it certainly did over here in outer Redmond/Sammamish at the intersection of Sahalee Way and Redmond-Fall City Road, also known as SR-202. Getting off the plateau and... [read more]

Darcy's Plan to Kill the Troops
Darcy takes to the newspaper to air her "Plan to Withdraw". That plan coincides with the release of a new Harvard study... Insurgents in Iraq get a boost from coverage in the news media that shows support for troop withdrawals from the war torn country, according to a study. Two Harvard University economists found that insurgent groups are responsive to "antiresolve" statements in the media. "It shows that the various insurgent groups do respond to incentives and shows that a... [read more]

Go Get 'em TOBY!
Finally, the voters in the 45th District who still think that Toby Nixon is representing them in the State Legislature (that's what recent polls showed!) can have their wishes come true! Toby is going to run for the State House and HE WILL WIN. Go up on http://www.tobynixon.com/ and give money. Even if you can only do a $50 shot, that's fine we will forgive you...THIS TIME!... [read more]

March 18 election: property rights protection
This from CAPR ... [ KCD election page - looks like Vos is unchallenged? ] You must walk in to vote, no ballots in the mail. To All CAPR Supporters, Next Tuesday, March 18th, we have an opportunity to re-elect Bob Vos to another three-year term on the King Conservation District Board of Supervisors. KCD is an autonomous agency, which works on real projects that benefit farmers and rural landowners while respecting their properties. Bob has worked hard to keep... [read more]

Residential Burn Ban Nixed
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has nixed plans to permanently ban residential outdoor burning in rural areas in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties. Good. They did continue with their recommendation to ban land clearing burning, which I found more reasonable. Quote from today's email: based on the comments received and issues raised about the availability and costs of alternatives to residential burning, particularly for large parcels of property located in rural areas, staff believes it is not clear that... [read more]

MICHAEL YOUNG TO RESIGN
The Reagan Wing has learned that "Mainstream" King County Republican Chairman Michael Young will announce his resignation next Tuesday. No reason has been given for the impending announcement. King County is one of the most populous counties in the nation. Speculation is high that Young will become a part of the John McCain campaign team. He was rumored two years ago to have coveted a top Washington State position with the "Mainstreamer's" Presidential campaign that has the favor of Washington... [read more]

34th (and 43rd) District Delegate Report
These are the unconfirmed delegate counts for 34th and 43rd Leg Districts ... Delegate Counts... [read more]

Like Hogs At The Trough III
Like the pigs that took over "Animal Farm", our state legislature is now trying to protect their swine brethren over at the Port by enacting silly transparency laws that will only cause more darkness and confusion to a system that has been screaming for sunlight and easily followed audit trails. The proposal is to require executive sessions to be tape recorded in order to persuade bureaucrats from breaking the law behind closed doors. Say what? This is stupid, we can't... [read more]

Like Hogs at the Trough II
Today there is real (as in more than just talk) good news about action to reign in local government in King County--YES! It's not so much that the Port of Seattle is still receiving a well deserved public black eye from its recent woeful audit, nor is it because there is now a criminal probe in the matter (institutions like the Port, King County, and City of Seattle are adept at weathering bad PR and even seeking profit from scorn),... [read more]

RE: Carnation Sextuple Homicide
I lead my life on generally Christian terms. And I think it is generally noble to want to preserve life. But I think there are certain heinous crimes that cross the line by so far, that they change the ethics of capital punishment in to those of self defense. Frankly, I can't find a single good reason that Joseph McEnroe or Michele Anderson should not be subject to the death penalty, and as soon as possible. Not only was this... [read more]

Like Hogs at the Trough
Recently Tim Eyman said it would be "like hogs at the trough" when the state Supreme Court struck down the cap on property taxes earlier this year. He was referring to the opportunity for local government swine to gorge themselves on the new feed made available by the court's decision. As a New Year's resolution, please remember that every time we pass a property tax levy (or extend one) we create another trough. You need only look to the trough... [read more]

Oh Christmas Tree!
I had some business down at the King County Administration Bldg this afternoon and was pleased to see a very lovely Christmas tree in the lobby. Let's hope the Port Commission will take note (or that the same craziness that enveloped them last year doesn't infect the KCC.... [read more]

Darcy Burner is back!
Darcy Burner is back. Sponsoring toy lead testing. [read more]

Can we tame the P-I?
I sent an e-mail to the Hearst Corporation today, complaining of the P-I Management and Editorial staff. Somehow we have to throttle them back on their leftist propaganda. HearstNewspapers@hearst.com Anybody care to join me?... [read more]

Dan Satterberg's First Official Act
Business as usual was Dan Satterberg's first official act after Bill Sherman conceded the prosecutor's race. That was to announce no formal perjury charges will be filed against the WSP lab manager for falsifying official documents and signing them under penalty of perjury. The excuse was that (I paraphrase) "no harm was done". As a Libertarian this excuse really bothers me. Juries are given the impression that the type of evidence Ms. Gordon was responsible for is highly accurate. Now... [read more]

Election reflections with some surprises and a small rant
I offer up front that because of the mail in vote delays, many of these races are not actually certified, so there is a possibility that some results may shift. I am not betting on it, but it is possible. I posted my thoughts on Elections in general yesterday, and I still remain somewhat disgruntled.  I was reminded that moving to an adjacent county would offer me my ballot again, and I admit it is tempting, but I do like... [read more]

Washington State Pro-Lifers Determined to End Abortion
Last night, David Bereit, the national director of 40 Days for Life, addressed the large crowd gathered from all over Washington, including leaders of all 4 Washington locations where 40 Days for Life campaigns are being held and where David visited earlier in the day (Everett, Olympia, Seattle and Tacoma). In today's daily campaign update and devotional, which is received by thousands of 40 Days for Life participants across the nation, David recounts the enthusiasm and determination of Washington State... [read more]

Who are the "Top Staff Reporters" at Character Assassin Central? Nathan Johnson? Matthew Lundh?
On October 3rd, I was alerted to the existence of a character assassination website designed to ruin the reputation of Republican Jane Hague's opponent for the King County Council. I went there and was immediately confronted by a blatant lie in large red type, right under the fake newspaper title banner. Here is a snapshot of what I saw... [Click Here]... [read more]

Michael Young: The King of Character Assassination
"It takes large murder to turn rocks in the shade and expose the strange worms beneath. The lives of our discontented madmen are revealed." ~ James Douglas Morrison, "THE LORDS, Notes on Vision," ©1969 I will never forget those few minutes last year, seeing the incredible ferocity of a beast on the face of a man; the Chairman of the King County Republican Party, no less, sitting a few feet away. It was a suddenly open window on the soul... [read more]

King County Council rejects I-25; will be on November ballot
The King County Council this morning voted 4-5, along party lines, and rejected Initiative 25, which would create a separate department of elections headed by an elected non-partisan Director of Elections. Councilmember Reagan Dunn, who made an extraordinary effort to return to Washington state from Virginia where he had been with family following the death of his mother, made the motion to adopt I-25 and presented outstanding remarks, as did Councilmember Kathy Lambert. Councilmember Julia Patterson said she opposed I-25... [read more]

Hagues DUI
Stefan are you holding back comments on Jane Hague's DUI arrest and verbal attack on the police officers because you gave her a campaign contribution of $100? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003847694_hague22e.html... [read more]

The Truth about Global warming
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3028847519933351566 cut and paste this link Watch this video. It is an hour long. It provides an objective view of the political movement on global warming. The look at the county's global warming team. NO scientists only attorneys, self proclaimed experts and well intended but mislead staff. Stop this hoax from continuing. Replace the county leadership now.... [read more]

Vote NO on ALL the Propositions!
I'm new to blogging, so I hope you'll all be patient with me. Please visit my blog for my reasons why everyone should vote against both of the King County propositions as well as against the two City of Redmond propositions. Both the city and county have plenty of funding, but the council members lack the guts to make tough budget choices. Time to say NO! Indy... [read more]

Blog Victimization: Political Trolls
There was a news story this weekend about liberal blogging and what in-roads they are making on the polls. That said, according the Washington Post, only 2 percent polled read political blogs. Hmmm... Makes one think how desperate the news is for stories and what their agenda is. Coincidently, and with much surprise, I discovered an unrelated and unsolicited comment on a family members blog this weekend about attacking the Fox News Station. Now, if the post had been at... [read more]

King County is Attacking Farmers Again!
Posted from the PropRights.org mail list, this will be of interest to any who remember KingRon's diatribe about rich people building McMansions on farm land in King County... More on the Alert! County confines farmers to small houses! What: Agricultural Commission public comment meeting When: This Thursday, June 14, at 4:00 p.m. Where: Issaquah fish hatchery, meeting room south of hatchery building Thanks to Jeff for alerting the CAPR distribution to this crucial meeting. As an Ag Commissioner and CAPR... [read more]

King County Fire District 40
Half of the citizens of King County Fire District 40 have petitioned to become part of the City of Renton. This area includes the Cascade and Benson Hill areas. KCFD 40, has two fire stations. One is being rebuilt and will house their headquarters. It is within this annexation area. The other is in the Fairwood area. It is 35 years old and needs rebuilding. If this vote passes, and by all means it should, then the fire district would... [read more]

Coming prosecution of KCGOP?
In his latest update, Richard Pope predicts the PDC will recommend civil prosecution of the KCGOP by the State Attorney General's office, in addition to thousands in PDC administrative fines ... http://www.exordia.net/kcgopcomplaint/ Follow the update link.... [read more]

Private property is evil ...
How do you win for individual freedom when the next generations are taught otherwise ... L'Eggo My Lego... [read more]

Elect property rights candidate, Feb 13
From the CAPR email list ... PLEASE help us again this year to elect a Conservation District Supervisor, Matt Livengood, who has our interests at heart. Last year you successfully helped elect Bobbi Lindemulder by a vote of about 500 to 300, so this is a small election and every vote counts. The Conservation District is crucial to farmers and other property owners, often serving as a protection from the abuses of the county DDES. This year a Sims/Phillips candidate... [read more]

GMA not to blame for housing prices----Really?
In a guest editorial in this morning's Times, Aaron Ostrom and Carla Okigwe argue that the growth management act isn't to blame for median home prices in King County that exceed $440,000.00. They cite as their primary evidence a Brookings Institute study that asserts that "market demand, not land constraints, is the primary determinant of housing prices". Since our guest columnists are liberals, it shouldn't surprise any of us that they missed the critical third leg of the market demand/land... [read more]

Are You A Conservative?
There seems to be an awful lot of confusion, or propaganda, these days as to what a true Conservative actually believes. Hang tight - to answer this, we'll have to get into some ideology.. We're all "ideological" at our cores because it shapes us as individual human beings - it's how we tell right from wrong, it guides our thoughts and actions, and ultimately it informs our decision-making for which political policies we will support, and for whom we'll actually... [read more]

8th District Partial Recount Coming
A recount of two precincts in Washington's 8th Congressional District will soon take place, at the request of a group that calls itself "Voters for Democracy in America". A total of 925 votes cast by mail and at the polls in an area of Issaquah will be the focus, reports the King County Journal today. The group apparently did some exit polling on election day (scroll down on link to "Republicans Complain about volunteer exit polling) and found "4 percent... [read more]

Attention PCO's -- KC GOP complaint filed
King County GOP PCO's should review the following public complaint in your consideration of who to elect as your future Officers of the County Party ... http://www.exordia.net/kcgopcomplaint/ West Seattle GOP PCO... [read more]

3rd party holds KC GOP accountable
As a King County GOP PCO I am none too pleased that the County Party must find accountablity from a 3rd party in the form of a PDC complaint. I do not appreciate political Treasuries that cannot meet public deadlines, and possibly lose donor money, or at best improperly account for donor money. I will be following this closely this week before the Dec. 2 KC GOP org meeting, and how the incumbents respond to these accusations. PDC complaint against... [read more]

Big Government, Big "Savings"?
There is an article in the PI discussing the King County Councils brave (my description) move to shave $24 million from the 2007 budget. Now, while this sounds like a lot of money, it does fall short of being respectable. The budget is $500 million more than 2006, making this "savings" only 4.8% of the increase. The total budget is $3.86 BILLION. The savings is .0062% of the whole budget amount. BIG DEAL. The King County Council shaved $24 million... [read more]

Sound Politics PCO's - your KC org vote?
The two Sound Politics editors / authors who appear to be voting PCO's in King County are ... SEA 34-1504 Matt Rosenberg SEA 36-2164 Andrew MacDonald (please correct me, if I'm wrong) As a fellow KC GOP PCO I would welcome some commentary from these authors about who they will vote or lobby for KC Officers and Reps to the State Committee, at the coming PCO Central Committee meeting (Dec 2?). Are the incumbents, in these positions, worthy of another... [read more]

David Goldstein: "Exploiting children is art."
You may be familiar with the flap, if not, here are the details: David Goldstein, local liberal blogger and founder of HorsesAss.org, posted an open comment with this video. The video is supposedly an ad for a band, "The Bastard Fairies." Goldstein calls the video art. If you watch the video, you'll see that it is a lot more of a political message, and a lot less of an ad for a band. Hat tip to commenter RagnarDanneskold here on... [read more]

Marcy/Darcy Burner: Willing Beneficiary of Child Exploitation
Renounce/Denounce them Marcy/Darcy!... [read more]

Who is calling you?
Let's keep a rolling list of who you are getting calls from in this election season. Friday I got a call with a recording from Kristen Breitweiser campaigning to throw the Republicans out, the recording was sponsored by the AFL-CIO I believe (should have kept better notes that day). Today I got a call with Rep. Murtha from Pennsylvania saying that we need to get the democrats in control so we can save our soldiers and have them leave Iraq.... [read more]

Ron Sims - Trail Master
Ron Sims is on his trail quest again. This time he wants to trade Boeing Field for a railroad. If this sounds like a bad Monopoly trade, it is. The value of Boeing Field is around $200 million, while the railroad is worth "somewhere between $100 million and $180 million." So despite the disparity in the value of the two properties, creating the trail there eliminates a route that Boeing uses to move goods from Renton to Everett, and puts... [read more]

Burner's Campaign is Calling Again
I got another call from the Darcy Burner for Congress Campaign. (425-454-0548) The volunteer this time was a woman. She asked if I knew I was going to vote for in the upcoming election. I told her that I would not be voting for the liar Darcy Burner. The volunteer became very agitated and told me that Darcy never lies. I told her that her resume had been inflated, she did not found Hoppers at Microsoft, she didn't bother voting... [read more]

Attention 8th District Liberals--Burner Not Your Only Option
So you're liberal and only ever vote for the leftwing candidate in a political race. If you live in the 8th and only ever vote for the liberal, and are grudgingly filling in the oval for the less-than-stellar Darcy Burner, then wait----have I got a candidate for YOU. Enter Keith Arnold--a guy who ran an ad in the King County Journal today (Sunday 10-22) who is running as an independent (because he has to, of course; the dem primary is... [read more]

Burner's Rudeness and (thin) Resume Didn't Impress King County Journal
In pointing out certain moments of this year's political campaigns, the King County Journal notes the interview where Republican Luke Esser described his 48th District St. Senate opponent Rodney Tom as "too liberal". Democrat Tom in turn called Esser "nothing but a government bureaucrat", whereupon the KC Journal observed "Note to Rodney Tom: Dems' leader, Gov. Gregoire, has been a"government bureaucrat" her entire career." Bingo! The embarrassed Tom won't be hauling THAT one out again! Then there's the moment where... [read more]

Burner King
This pretty much speaks for itself.... [read more]

The Anti-Reichert Burner Buddies
The letters to the editor brigade is going full steam against Rep. Reichert. In Saturday's King County Journal two letters (Letter 1, Letter 2 ) to the editor that came off the same boiler plate were put next to each other. I wonder how many of these letters were delivered to the paper, I find it rather funny to see the talking points put right next to each other. It shows that an organized effort is being made to attack... [read more]

Darcy Burner's Call Centers working today
I got a call from the Darcy Burner for Congress call center (425-454-0519) again. I think that the last one was about a month ago. Started with the normal pleasantries. The volunteer asked if I knew who Darcy Burner was, and who I was supporting in the upcoming election. I told him that there was no way that I would send a person to Washington DC to represent my interests who doesn't take the time to vote in local elections.... [read more]

Lead in Soft Vinyl Lunchboxes--yikes!
The local angle is that I got this bit of startling news out of the monthly newspaper published by Puget Consumers Co-op, the local natural foods chain better known around these parts as PCC. I submit it as a sort of public service. So what if I'm the only conservative republican who shops at PCC and has to amble past the far-left bumperstickers in the parking lot, or even endure the elderly customer who snarked at me as I walked... [read more]

To No One's Surprise...Mail Ballot Problems Happening in King County.
Whether voters are just plain clueless, or whether they are rebelling against the relatively new "pick-a-party" ballots, one in ten voters in King County are not marking the oval indicating a party preference. The King County Journal reports that King County Elections officials discovered this while doing a sampling of the ballots that had already come in for the primary. Of course, those ballots will count for the non-partisan races such as judgeships, but not for the primary party races.... [read more]

Darcy Burner's Campaign Calls
I just got a call from a live human being calling for Darcy Burner's campaign. She was a volunteer so I was nice to her. She asked if I was aware of Darcy Burner running against Dave Reichart. I told her yes I was. She asked if I knew who I was going to vote for, I told her that yes I did. After a pause she asked who I was going to vote for. I told her that my... [read more]

Update on, and announcement of, September 20 oral argument in Court of Appeals in ongoing Public Disclosure Act case of Yousoufian vs. Ron Sims and King County
September 8, 2006 Item: Update on still ongoing (9 years) Public Disclosure Act litigation: September 20 oral argument in Court of Appeals in Seattle in Yousoufian vs. King County Executive Ron Sims/King County. To the many Sound Politics readers who already know me and my 9 year long saga, and anyone for whom this is news... The latest update on my still ongoing Public Disclosure Act litigation against Ron Sims and King County is now posted at my blog -... [read more]

Developers and their media mouthpieces
Today's King County Journal has as its lead editorial, Thumbs up for approval of Redmond Ridge. For anyone who has read any of my accounts of this debacle, including the wrongdoing, the whistleblower complaints, or the hearing examiner's recommendation to deny Redmond Ridge East and to rescind Quadrant's concurrency certificate, take note of which local paper has come running to Quadrant's aid to help cover up the stink left by last week's vote by the County Council to approve Redmond... [read more]

Understanding Islam?!
Okay, before any RDDBs reading this post jump on my case let me just say that I know plenty of patriotic, kind and good Muslims so this is not directed at the religion itself. That being said, I was driving through Redmond today and saw a new yardsign. This wasn't Ross Hunter, finally posting some notice although the one's I saw may help him with his "jihad" on education. No, these stated, in "patriotic" Saudi colors (yellow and green) "Understanding... [read more]

King County Council ignores concurrency again
If anyone still believes that King County cares about supporting growth with roads, yesterday's approval of Redmond Ridge East should drive the last nail in that thinking. If anyone still thinks that this county council cares about hearing examiner recommendations to deny development, or that they might be concerned with the ongoing wrongdoing by KCDOT to cheat for developers, the decision should quickly erase that too. Yesterday's approval of Redmond Ridge East, on an 8-1 vote, is the clearest evidence... [read more]

Gun Control Idiocy
The Seattle PI reported on the press conference of one of the survivors of the Jewish Federation shooting. PI Article. "A pregnant woman who survived last month's deadly shooting at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle said that she trusts authorities to decide whether accused gunman Naveed Haq lives or dies. "I'm really happy not to make that decision," Dayna Klein said Thursday at a press conference held in Seattle's Hotel Monaco." Not apparently wanting to appear judgmental, she did... [read more]

The P.I. champions of public scrutiny, unless it involves them.
The Seattle P.I. recently disclosed that it will not participate in a probe by the Washington News Council into their series "Conduct Unbecoming" an obviously biased attack on the King County Sheriff's Department. See Link: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/281252_newscouncil15.html When pressed for an explanation why, the management at the P.I. made vague references to conflict of interest by 4 members of the News Council. The members offered to recuse themselves from the inquiry but the P.I. still refuses to participate. What does this... [read more]

Darcy Burner's Tag line
Just got a unsolicited recorded message from Darcy Burner's campaign with her voice droning on and on over the phone. I really detest the phone spam that politicians allowed themselves. Burner's tag line, "I won't disappoint you" is rather funny. Someone leaving Microsoft after only 3 years, or quitting law school is someone that seems pretty adept at disappointing performance. The difference between Reichart and Burner is rather stark. It is a study in contrasts, one of accomplishment versus unfinished... [read more]

Darcy Burner's assistants
I regularly read the letters to the editor in the King County Journal. They have a tendancy to at least be a bit more balanced in their choice of letters. Today there was a letter from Dennis Higgins. He finishes up his letter by saying that, "For security's sake, we must elect Democrats like Darcy Burner to Congress this fall." I can't think of a worse idea. Darcy Burner has burnished her resume, she left Microsoft after only 3 years,... [read more]

KC GOP Executive antagonism
I would be interested in knowing if there was any higher attendance number for the 2006 King County GOP Picnic. What has past attendance been, in earlier years? This year seemed well publicized on radio, so what happened? The Reagan Wing has pics, and cites about 27 people attended the County wide Picnic - Reagan Wing article, pics This is a sad turnout. Does it indicate the KC GOP base is not enthused, this year; and why? And the unfriendly... [read more]

Audit of King County Concurrency System backs critics' allegations
On July 10, the King County Committee of the Whole was presented the results of the 2-year audit of the King County Department of Transportation Road Services Division, and specifically its concurrency program designed to support new development with the necessary road infrastructure. The conclusions align with more than a decade of allegations and charges made by critics of King County DOT and its actions on behalf of certain developers. Among the findings made by Tom Noguchi of Mirai Transportation... [read more]

Rural Ombudsman just another defender of status quo
I recently filed an ethics complaint against King County DOT and DDES for their decision to allow Quadrant's attorney to testify on their behalf in the recent Redmond Ridge East appeal hearing. DOT and DDES allowed both a perceived and clear conflict of interest to occur in allowing Quadrant's Richard Wilson to represent the views of not only his employer, but to also imply the full agreement of these two agencies in arguments such as the unfairness to Quadrant in... [read more]

5th Legislative District Republican Representatives Will Run Unopposed
Republican WA House of Representatives members Glenn Anderson and Jay Rodne of the 5th legislative district apparently will not have democrat challengers when they stand for re-election this fall, the King County Journal reported earlier this week. The 5th District has largely been a republican stronghold and includes Sammamish and Issaquah and spans out to east to Snoqualmie Pass and south as far as Black Diamond and Maple Valley. Dino Rossi represented the 5th as State Senator for about 7... [read more]

King County Journal slaps Sims
Time for Sims to re-read election report It's been one year this week since a blue-ribbon committee appointed by County Executive Ron Sims issued a report on King County's elections office. One of the committee's recommendations: that the county elections chief be elected, not appointed. On Tuesday, two county council members -- Republican Reagan Dunn of Bellevue and Democrat Bob Ferguson of Shoreline -- proposed an ordinance that would do just that. With Ferguson on board, the four Republican council... [read more]

King County launches online candidate filing Monday
(this is a sample post just to help fill up the page) King County Elections announcesPeople wanting to run for political office can now file online in King County. King County Elections is using online banking technology to make it easier to file for office. Beginning Monday, candidates will be able to file from their personal computers instead of making a trip to downtown Seattle. Candidates still have the option to file in-person or by mail during candidate filing week... [read more]