Who's Up Next to be Bush's Attorney General?

Monday Bush's damaged goods Attorney General Gonzales resigned with no one protesting or lamenting from either party. Any day now Bush could nominate a new candidate.

Here in Seattle the Seattle Times did a editorial supporting former conservative Washington State US Senator Slade Gorton who also served many years as Washington State's Attorney General. David Postman reports that he is mentioned in a list by CNN.

We reported on some of the initial speculations of a possible successor. CNN reports that Larry Thompson is no longer being considered. Speculation is rife on Homeland Security Michael Chertoff while others speculate that the Hurricance Katrina fiasco dims his prospects considerably. Besides Gorton, they mention Ted Olsen, George Terwilliger, Lawrence Silberman, John Danforth and Asa Hutchinson.

The Washington Post on Wednesday reported that five names are under serious consideration at this time.

The effort to find a new Attorney General is being lead by Fred F Fielding - Bush's White House Counsel and Joshua B Bolten - the White House Chief of Staff. They are trying to find people willing to step up to take over Bush's battered Justice Department with its tattered image and credibility. They are trying to draft prospects and narrow the list down.

Currently under consideration according to the Washington Post:

Paul D Clement - is the current acting Attorney General and is the current Solicitor General for Bush. The Solicitor General is involved in cases before the US Supreme Court. Clement is a former clerk of Judge Silberman as well as Associate Justice Antio Scalia of the US Supreme Court. He is a staunch conservative, only 40 years old and a member of the Federalist Club. He was active in Bush vs Gore.

George J Terwilliger III - a former deputy Attorney General, he is a partner in White and Chase LLP in Washington DC. They note that "He was a leader on the legal team that represented President Bush and Vice President Cheney in the Florida recount of the 2000 Presidential election."

Theodore B Olsen - was Bush's Solicitor General from 2001 - 2004. You might call it payback for his efforts in getting the US Supreme Court to appoint Bush as President in 2000. On the Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher law firm's website where he currently is, it says he "has argued 46 cases in the Supreme Court, including Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board and Bush v. Gore, stemming from the 2000 presidential election; prevailing in 75% of those arguments"
He is a member of the right wing judicial activist Federalist Society.

Michael B Mukasey - former chief judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Mukasey retired last year at age 65, citing financial considerations as one reason. He earned $165,000 per year. He rejoined his old law firm, Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler where partners can make $1 million or more a year. DC JobSource lists cabinet level salaries as only slightly more than his salary as a judge. The AG job would be a salary jump of less than $20,000 to $183,500.

Lawrence H S Silberman - senior judge on the US Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit. First nominated to Court of Appeals by Ronald Reagan, went to Senior status in 2000. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown Law Center and a past visiting fellow for 8 years at the right wing American Enterprise Institute.

Silberman seems a questionable choice considering his background. As Salon has noted he "has been near the febrile center of the largest political scandals of the past two decades, from the rumored "October surprise" of 1980 and the Iran-contra trials to the character assassination of Anita Hill and the impeachment of President Clinton. Whenever right-wing conspiracies swing into action, Silberman is there."

Kevin Philips has said, "In the past, Silberman has been more involved with coverups in the Middle East than with any attempts to unravel them." Ralph Neas, president of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way, calls him "the most partisan and most political federal judge in the country"

Four of the 5 names from the Washington Post were previously mentioned in a Wall Street Journal Law Blog post. The Washington Post added George Terwilliger III to the list.

The Great Bush Toxic Popcorn Scandal

Bet you thought the Environmental Protection Agency and other Federal Agencies worked for the public good? Wrong again. The EPA under Bush is just another Federal Agency working to protect corporate interests. This time its corporate popcorn profits.

After you read the story in the Seattle PI today you probably won't want to eat any more microwavable popcorn. Remember the rush of hot moisture and vapor when you open the bag and how it smells "buttery"?

As headlined in the Seattle PI today, the chemical ingredient diacetyl, which is added to popcorn to give it a buttery taste, has been linked to "the sometime fatal destruction of the lungs of hundreds of workers in food production and flavoring factories."

As the PI correspondent Andrew Schneider writes diacetyl is in thousands of consumer products including microwaved popcorn:

Despite the worker safety findings -- and despite scores of jury decisions and settlements awarding millions of dollars to workers who sued after having their lungs destroyed by exposure to diacetyl -- neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the Consumer Product Safety Commission have investigated. The FDA years ago declared the chemical safe for consumption. Labels on almost all products containing it call it a flavoring and only rarely do the labels mention diacetyl.
The only government investigators to examine whether consumers are at risk -- whether diacetyl is released when consumers pop corn in their home microwaves, and if so, how much -- is the Environmental Protection Agency. But to the frustration of many public health workers, the findings of the EPA's study -- which began in 2003 and was completed last year -- have been released only to the popcorn industry."

The Pi notes that ConAgra, the largest supplier of microwave popcorn in the world told the EPA in 2004 that it had found that diacetyl was released when microwave popcorn bags are opened. It told EPA that "it is imperative that the health and safety of this product be assured to the extent possible within the very near future"

Bush's EPA seems to have complied with this corporate wish. If the public doesn't know, then it must be safe. Even though the study was completed last year the public has not been told of the results.

And even if they are, these days with non scientists in the Bush Administration rewriting and controlling the release of scientific studies it will be hard to discern what the actual study results found. And as the PI notes, this particular study was even done with industry involvement. Unfortunately it is also a limited study, not looking at health effects , only amounts of chemicals released.

And these releases to workers have been fatal. As the PI reports further diacetyl in food manufacturing plants "been linked to bronchiolitis obliterans -- irreversible obstructive lung diseases -- for which lung transplants are often the only way to survive."

Despite this seriousness, both the Bush Administration Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have declined to act. Corporate profits at any cost including human life reign supreme in the Bush Republican run Federal bureaucracy.

see additional articles:

artificial butter flavorings produced in popcorn factories linked with lung cancer

St Louis Post Dispatch - Popcorn Study showed Chemical was Toxic

Washington Post - Flavoring Suspected in Illness - Calif. Considers Banning Chemical in Microwave Popcorn

IndyStar.com - Microwave Popcorn Maker Takes Initiative

NY Times - OSHA Leaves Worker Safety in Hands of Industry

Darcy Burner Tops $122,000 in Netroots Fundraiser

breaking news: Darcy Burner, Democratic candidate for Congress (WA-08) announced today at her Town Hall forum on Iraq that Major General Paul D Eaton, retired, has agreed to head up a panel of experts to help develop an Exit Plan for leaving Iraq. General Eaton was in Iraq in 2003 heading efforts to rebuild Iraq's military. He is a critic of Bush's lack of direction and results in ending our war efforts in Iraq.

Thank you Darcy for taking action, and working for solutions. You can help Darcy continue her efforts. Go to http://www.darcyburner.com/ and contribute to counter Bush's effort to put $10,000 checks in the hands of the Republican Party and Congressman Reichert's back pockets.

As of about 3:45 P.M. - 2721 people have contributed over $104,788 to Burner. Contributions are still being accepted to help Darcy run a strong campaign. Watch the Town Hall discussion and give today.
Update 5:00 P.M. - 2762 people have contributed $105,945. Help the number grow. Send a loud message to Reichert that Darcy's coming again!
Update 12:00 P.M. Tues. 3195 people contributed $122,160 - final tally!

It's payola time for Reichert. Seeing Bush on the public's dollar traveling to Washington State to raise money for an incumbent Republican Congressman who nearly didn't return last year - certainly shows Bush's priorities and pay back for Reichert's loyalty in supporting Bush's War.

Bush is busy fundraising while the War rages on in Iraq and people continue to die. Instead of working today for an end to the war, like trying to get Iraq to take responsibility for working out their political differences, or dealing with any of the other pressing problems facing America, he is busy raising money for partisan gain. It shows his priorities are not to deal with the nation's problems or Iraq. No surprise here.

Instead of meeting with the general public or the press, he is meeting with partisan donors.

Meanwhile Darcy Burner is holding a unique Town Hall meeting streaming live over UStreamTV. Panelists are discussing Iraq and foreign policy issues. It is an innovative approach to help shape the public debate and put Reichert on notice that he is in for a tough re-election campaign again next year.

Gonzales Jumps Ship, Who Will Replace Him?

Gonzales has jumped from Bush's ship, swimming after Karl Rove. So will Bush appoint anyone better? What's the drawing power of Bush these days to attract quality people?

The US Senate is the last line of defense against another unqualified candidate. Also the press must do its job by giving its investigative people freedom to scrutinize Bush's nominee.

The New York Times mentions the names of 3 possible replacements:

"Among those being mentioned as a possible successor were Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security who is a former federal prosecutor, assistant attorney general and federal judge; Christopher Cox, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Larry D. Thompson, a former deputy attorney general who is now senior vice president and general counsel of PepsiCo Inc. "

Michael Chertoff according to RightWeb

"is secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A Harvard-trained lawyer who is also a member of the rightist Federalist Society, he served as special council to the Clinton-era Whitewater Commission and as assistant to former Attorney General John Ashcroft (see Chertoff's DHS biography and "Mike Chertoff's Dirty Little Secrets," LA Weekly, January 12, 2005). As head of DHS and council to the Justice Department in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, Chertoff has been heavily criticized for his role in helping craft the Patriot Act, the Bush administration's response to Katrina, and the administration's controversial immigration reform agenda, including the effort to use more law enforcement elements to detain undocumented migrants. Chertoff has also been a vocal proponent of the "war on terror."

Christopher Cox according to RightWeb was:

"a member of the House of Representatives for 17 years (R-CA), was confirmed as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 29, 2005. During his tenure in Congress, Cox was a vociferous proponent of hardline security policies. He pushed for intervention in the Middle East, supported missile defense programs, and hyped intelligence threats to the United States. "

Larry D. Thompson according to BevNet joined:

"PepsiCo from the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., where he is a Senior Fellow. He is also a member of the board of directors for Delta Airlines. His government career includes serving in the U.S. Department of Justice, where his role as Deputy Attorney General included supervision of overall operations. In 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft named Mr. Thompson to lead the National Security Coordination Council. Also in 2002, President Bush named Thompson to head the Corporate Fraud Task Force. He led the Justice Department's ongoing Enron investigation, and was responsible for corporate fraud investigations. "

We all know just what a banner job Bush and the Justice Department did of going after Enron.
Both Chertoff and Thompson are members of the right wing Federalist Society which has been behind the Bush Administrations program of appointing right wing judicial activists to fill judicial appointments as well as other government appointments.

Chertoff is an unlikely nominee, considering his "role" in the Katrina botched response by the Bush Team.

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has additional names and comments to the three already mentioned. They are Paul Clement, Jim Comey, Judge Lawrence Silberman, Patrick Fitzgerald, Michael Mukasey, Ted Olsen and Michael Luttig.

Patrick Fitzgerald is an intriguing possibility. He is the US Attorney from Northern Illinois appointed by Bush who became the Special Counsel in the Plame/CIA leak case that resulted in the conviction of I Lewis Libby Jr. Sounds just like what the Department of Justice needs right now- someone willing to pursue justice whatever the outcome.

True Majority is asking people to send letters to their Senators, asking them to do their job and scrutinize carefully whoever it is that Bush ultimately nominates to take over Gonzales' old job. Most names mentioned so far are not any different from any of the other people Bush has appointed in the past - ones beholden to corporate America and right wing ideology above all else.

DNC Slapps Down Florida Jan. 29, 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary

The Democratic National Committee voted today to not seat any Florida delegates to the Democratic National Convention unless they push back their Presidential Primary date by at least a week.

As we previously reported, Florida Democrats are in a tough spot. The Florida Legislature is heavily Republican. In the Senate Republicans have 26 seats to the Democrat's 40 seats. In the House they have 78 seats to the Democrat's 42 seats. The Governor is Republican.

The Republicans in Florida attached the change moving the Florida State Primary to Jan 29, 2008 as an amendment to a Voting Reform Act. The legislation required a voter verified paper trail for all voting machines. Some 15 of Florida's counties still use touch screen voting machines that have no paper trail.

The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee today voted to give Florida Democrats 30 days to move its Primary Election date back at least a week. If it doesn't, it could lose its 210 delegates to the Democratic National Convention held August 25 - 28, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. Florida has the 4th largest number of delegates.

Florida Democrats can act to make the January 29th Primary non-binding and hold a later caucus to select delegates. It could hold a 2nd election or a mail in election but this is much more expensive at $7 to 8 million.

Florida has 4 million Democrats. The caucus system would draw far less people and would disenfranchise about 170,000 absentee voters, including soldiers stationed overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The next move is up to the Florida Democratic Party. They have a state convention scheduled for September 26, 2007.

Washington State Democrats are holding a caucus on Saturday Feb. 9, 2008 to select delegates. There will also be a Presidential Primary Election on February 19, 2007. Republicans will select half their delegates from a caucus and half using the voter results from the Presidential Primary.

Washington State does not have Party registration. This has been a stumbling block for Democrats using the Presidential Primary results to select delegates. This is something that Democrats should work to change in the Legislature next year. Caucuses limit voter participation and prevent many people from helping to select Presidential nominees.

Florida Republicans Creating Political Mischief for Democrats

Florida Democrats are in a bind because of a law passed by a Republican controlled Legislature and a Republican Governor. The Florida Legislature passed and Republican Governor Charlie Grist signed a law moving Florida's Presidential Election to January 31, 2008.

Florida Democrats want the Primary vote for candidates to count in their selecting delegates to the Democratic National Convention. As US News and World reports, the problem is that:

"In 2006, the Democratic National Committee voted to allow a handful of states to join the traditional "first" states of Iowa and New Hampshire in holding caucuses or primaries during the first five weeks of 2008; Florida was not among them. The rules were designed to create order, preserve tradition, and add diversity. But Florida decided to get more attention in the presidential sweepstakes, and that is creating bizarre possibilities"

"...the state could lose huge blocs of delegates to both national nominating conventions next summer. Republicans have left wiggle room to review state-by-state primary plans, probably this fall. The Democrats have gone further as disciplinarians, stipulating that any candidate campaigning in a state that violates the rules will be ineligible to win any of the state's delegates. Florida Democrats could have avoided the problem by treating the January vote as a so-called beauty contest, without the power to choose delegates, but they decided to go ahead with a full-fledged primary."

"While the GOP ponders its options, the DNC's rules and bylaws panel is scheduled to consider the Florida situation on August 25, and DNC Chairman Howard Dean says the party won't back down. "These are automatic sanctions," says a Democratic strategist close to Dean. "Without these rules, all of the states would start leapfrogging." "

The Democratic National Committee is meeting today to decide the fate of Florida's delgates if the Primary is held on January 29 in violation of the previously agreed upon rules for delegate selection and primary dates.

Progressive Majority Washington Wins 11 of 12 Contested Primary Races

Progressive Majority Washington won big in the August 21, 2007 Primary. Of 12 contested primary campaigns, they only lost 1. Now on to November.

As Dean Nielson, Progressive Majority's Washington State Director, reported on the Progressive Majority website, they had a "great day".

One of their biggest victories was that of Brian Sullivan, running for the Snohomish County Council. He beat the conservative Democratic incumbent and is now the favorite to win in the November General Election because the District leans strongly Democratic.

Sullivan's victory was important because it swings the majority of the Snohomish County Council away from a conservative majority to a progressive majority.

Another Progressive Majority candidate for the Snohomish County Council, Mike Cooper, is also on the November ballot. He is a former Washington State Legislator who previously ran for Washington State Lands Commissioner.

Another big winner was Bill Sherman who won the democratic nomination for King County Prosecuting Attorney.

Progressive Majority's endorsed candidates who won August 21, 2007 Primary are:

John Lovick - Snohomish County Sheriff
Brian Sullivan - Snohomish County Council #1
Bob Kelly - Whatcom County Council
Dan McShane - Bellingham Mayor
Maureen Judge - Mercer Island City Council #3
Terry Scott - Shoreline City Council #6
Marilyn Strickland - Tacoma City Council #8
Ron Bonlender - Yakima City Council #3
Gael Tarleton - Seattle Port Commission #2
Alec Fisken - Seattle Port Commissioner #5
Bill Sherman - King County Prosecuting Attorney

Other Progressive Majority endorsed candidates on the November 6, 2007 ballot:

Keri Andrews - Bellevue City Council #7
Mike Cooper - Snohomish County Council #3
Ken Mann - Whatcom County Council #2B
Barry Peters - Bainbridge Island City Council #1
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas - Edmonds City Council #5
Strom Peterson - Edmonds City Council #7
David Stemp - Fircrest City Council #3
Russ Olsen - Lacey City Council #1
Suzanne Quigley - Lake Stevens City Council #5
Bruce Bassett - Mercer Island City Council #5
Mia Gregerson - Sea Tac City Council #7
Terry Scott - Shoreline City Council #6
Rose Ehart - University Place City Council #6
Chase Gallagher - Shelton Finance Commissioner
Sili Gallagher - Highline School Board #1
Maren Norton - Shoreline School Board #4

To learn more about the candidates that didn't yet have a website as well as those that do you can go to Progressive Majority's national page of 2007 endorsed candidates.

Grassroots Democrats Missing in Action on Internet for August 21, 2007 Primary

If you were hoping to find insight and inspiration on the Internet from local Washington State grassroots Democrats for the August 21, 2007 Primary you were bound to be disappointed. A close look at the websites of the local Democratic County and Legislative District organizations right before the Primary was disappointing to say the least.

The local grassroots Democratic groups were looked at first for how well they alerted people visiting their websites about the Primary. A second point of comparison was whether the organizations were using their websites to gear up for the Feb. 2008 Caucus and Presidential Primary next year. These are just a little over 5 months away.

The first step in evaluating the Grassroots Democratic organizations was to check whether or not they even had a website. The list of websites used was taken from the list on the Washington State Democrats website . Out of 39 county Democratic organizations, 11 (28%) did not have a website. Out of 49 Democratic Legislative District organizations in the state, 19 (39%) did not have websites.

Here is a summary of what was found when looking at the Democratic websites.

Washington State County Democratic organizations:

Washington counties - 39
county Democratic organizations with websites - 28 (72%)
August 21 Primary date mentioned- 10 on first page + 2 more in calender = 12 (31%)
counties with primary endorsements posted - 5 (13%) King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, Whatcom
number including a link to endorsed candidates - 4 (10%)
counties listing Feb. 9, 2008 Caucus date - 3 (8%)
counties listing Feb. 19, 2008 Presidential Primary date - 3 (8%)
county Democratic websites with links to Presidential candidates - 6 (15%)

Washington State Legislative District organizations:

Legislative districts -49
Legislative district organizations with websites - 30 (61%)
August 21 Primary mentioned - 7 on first page + 6 more in calender = 13 (27%)
Legislative District organizations with Primary endorsements posted - 12 (24%)
number including a link to endorsed candidates - 4 (8%)
Legislative Districts listing Feb. 9, 2008 Caucus date - 6 (12%)
Legislative District organizations listing Feb. 19, 2008 Presidential Primary date - 2 (4%)
Legislative District websites with links to Presidential candidates - 4 (8%)

To be fair 5 counties did not hold a primary. Those counties are Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, San Juan, and Wahkiakum. But that still leaves 34 counties that did hold a primary election.

Why is website presence in a campaign important? Googling on "Democratic endorsements Washington August 21, 2007 Primary" yielded the following results on the first 2 pages:

MajorityRulesBlog
47th Leg District Democrats
Lefty Blogs - Metropolitan Democratic Club
SEAMEC 2007 endorsements
47th District Democrats
the Stranger
King County Democrats
Wash Fed of State Employees

Googling on "Washington State Primary Endorsements" yielded:

MajorityRulesBlog
Sierra Club (MajorityRulesBlog post)
the Stranger
36th Distrct Democrats
LeftyBlogs
Washington State Women's Political Caucus
SEAMEC endorsements

Googling on "King County Democrats 2007 endorsements" yielded:

King County Democrats
34th District Democrats
47th District Democrats
MajorityRulesBlog
Peter Sherman's website
46th District Democrats
Gael Tartelton's website
Jean Godden's website
the Stranger

Having endorsements on the Democratic websites and candidates receiving endorsements and listing them on their website drove traffic to these sites. This gives additional exposure to the Democratic Party and their endorsed candidates.

By way of comparison, googling on ""Washington State Republicans 2007 Primary" produced one relevant Republican hit to a right wing blog at the bottom of the second page. Typing in "Washington State Republicans 2007 Primary Endorsements" yielded little of the Republicans but brought up the following in the first two pages:

Washington State Stonewall Democrats
MajorityRulesBlog
LeftyBlogs
Washington Federation of State Employees
the Stranger
47th District Democrats
BlogNet News
WashBlog

Despite the lack of a strong internet effort by the Democrats in making and listing endorsements, where it was done it obviously had an impact on visibility of the Democrats.

There is a reason that the Republican presence is so minor in the google searches. Despite the untapped potential of the Democrats in using the web to get exposure and use the internet for organizing , they were far ahead of Republican Party efforts.

The Washington State Republican website has only county organizations. There are no Republican legislative district organizations listed.

The Republicans had only 15 county websites listed for the 39 counties in Washington State. And they seemed to be even less aware that a Primary was occurring. Only 4 listed the August 21, 2007 Primary date on their website and only 2 had endorsements. Regarding the Presidential Campaign only 2 had a link to the 2008 Republican Presidential candidates.

Just in terms of number of sites, the Democrat's 58 grassroots organization sites outnumbered the Republicans by almost 4 to 1. Now if they can just get some web savy and get links up for the General Election in November with endorsements listed and links to endorsed candidates they can have a much stronger presence on the web.

And they also need to copy the Democratic State Party's Road to the White House Presidential candidate's links and add them to their webpages. Island County Democrats have links with pictures of the candidates which is a nice touch. So do the Spokane Democrats. and the Walla Walla County Democrats. Whitman County, Thurston County and Mason County are the only other counties that currently have links to the Democratic Presidential candidates.

And I could only find links available on the websites of the 1st , 6th, 44th and 45th District Democrats.

One additional element that the Democratic organizations should add to their websites is the free fundraising link for Democrats by ActBlue. ActBlue is set up to raise funds for all the Democratic Presidential candidates. John Edwards for President, for example, using the ActBlue website has raised $3,599,983 from 44,058 donors.

MajorityRulesBlog recently set up an ActBlue page for all the Presidential candidates. You can click on the link to see what one could look like for the Democratic organizations. Each organization would get exposure and credit for funds raised for the candidates.

Preserve or Destroy! Not all Primary 2007 Candidates Respond

Historic Seattle has posted their survey responses from candidates on the August 21, 2007 Primary. The survey covered "local historic preservation issues, concerns and opportunities"

Not all candidates responded. Campaigns are busy times and candidates get deluged by all sorts of questionnaires. At the same time when people are elected to office it doesn't get any less busy.

So I think you can read something into whether a candidate responded to a questionnaire or not. Their response or non-response once elected is likely to be similar. At a minimum it shows how important an issue is to them.

As Historic Seattle notes:

"Preservation of the community's heritage is a key quality-of-life issue and is also a primary component of sustainable development, as well as a valuable comprehensive planning tool which helps build strong communities. In Seattle, historic preservation practice and procedures have been crucial to maintain critical pieces of our urban identity such as Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, Downtown Ballard, the International District, and more.

Community voters, and especially Historic Seattle members, are seeking to understand the positions of political leaders who will be responsible for protecting the historic components of our built environment and thoughtfully balance the preservation of Seattle’s unique identity with other public purposes including urban growth."

Historic Seattle's election survey pages are divided into 4 areas. Responses noted and posted are those received by a July 23, 2007 posting date on the website.

Seattle City Council Candidates

Responding: Jean Godden , Lauren V Biel, Robert Sondheim, Venus Velazquez, Al Runte, Tim Burgess, Sally Clark

Not Responding: Joe Szwaja,Bruce Harrell, Scott Feldman, John Manning, Tom Rasmussen, David Della, Robert J Brown III, Judy Fenton, Stan Lippman

King County Assessor- on Nov election ballot

Not Responding: Scott Noble(D), Jim Nobles(R)

King County Council

Responding: Jane Hague (R), Dow Constantine (D), Goodspaceguy Nelson (D)

Not Responding: Larry Gossett (D),Larry Phillips (D), Richard Pope (D), John Potter(R)

Seattle School Board

Responding: Patrick Kelley, Darlene Flynn, Lisa Stuebling, Sherry Carr, Harrium Martin-Morris, Maria G Ramirez, Edwin B Fruit, Danaker M Dempsey, Jr.

Not responding: Sally Soriano, Peter Maier, Courtney Hill, David Blomstrom, Steve Sundquist

Seattle School Board Races Produce Some Surprises

Maybe its just the dog days of August but incumbent Seattle School Board members are not faring well in raising money compared to their challengers. Both Sally Soriano and Darlene Flynn, who are running for re-election, lag far behind their challengers in raising money.

Three candidates have raised over $40,000 each - Peter Maier, Sherry Carr, and Stephen J Sundquist. The following data is taken from reports filed on the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission website

Seattle School Board District 1

MAIER PETER L (N) 7/31/2007 raised $40,087.33 spent $9,650.83
SORIANO SALLY J (N) 7/31/2007 raised $6,034.76 spent $4,980.05

Seattle School Board District 2

CARR SHERRY L (N) 08/13/2007raised $45,889.67 spent $22,457.48
FlYNN DARLENE E (N) 08/13/2007 raised $6,655.50 spent $5,138.38
KELLEY PATRICK A (N) 08/14/2007 raised $5,645.48 spent $4,117.72
STUEBING LISA C (N) 08/13/2007 raised $22,669.63 spent $20,944.90

Seattle School Board District 3

MARTIN-MORRIS HARIUM J (N) 08/13/2007 raised $16,685.00 spent $4,167.48

Seattle School Board District 6

RAMIREZ MARIA G (N) raised $0 07/24/2007 spent $533.86
SUNDQUIST STEPHEN J (N)08/13/2007 raised $46,009.94 spent $34,636.61

Seattle School Board District 2 is the only race that will appear on the August 21, 2007 Primary ballot because the Washington State Legislature, when it changed the primary date to August from September, also cancelled primary elections in nonpartisan races with only one or two candidates running. These races will appear on the November 4, 2007 election.

8/16/2007 Correction, There are 5 candidates running for position 6 according to King County Elections. Stephen Sundquist is the only candidate who has reported raising any money for this race. None of the other 4 candidates, including Ramirez have reported raising any money. Besides one mention of an expenditure of $534 by Ramirez no other report shows up on the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission website under searches for registration, contributions or expenditures by candidates for the other 4 candidates.
So there will be a primary vote for District 6. My mistake, you can get your name on the ballot without having to raise lots of money. Winning is something else.

Seven Seattle City Council Candidates Join the $100,000 Club

Here are the latest fundraising figures from the Washington Public Disclosure Commission as of August 13, 2007 for the Seattle City Council races on the August 21, 2007 ballot. Seven candidates have raised over $100,000.

Three incumbents are far ahead in cash. Incumbent Jean Godden, with $179,191 has out raised her closest opponent by 4 to 1. Thomas M Rasmussen is unopposed, but still has raised the most of any candidate, with $193,993. Because he is unopposed his name will not appear on the August 21, 2007 primary ballot. Sally Clark has raised $137,398 without serious challengers.

The most hotly contested races are for Positions 3 and 7.

Position 3 is the seat being vacated by Peter Steinbrueck. The two strongest contenders are Bruce Harrell who has raised $156,073 and Venus Velazquez who has raised $124,595.

David Della currently holds Position No. 7. He has raised $170,143. He is facing a strong challenge from Timothy L Burgess who has raised $154,528. Because there are only two candidates in this race it does not appear on the August 21, 2007 ballot but will be decided in the November general election..

You can read more about all the candidates running for Seattle City Council by clicking on the official Seattle Voters Guide for the August 21, 2007 primary election. In addition MajorityRulesBlog has collected as many endorsement sites as we could find and have posted them at "Washington State- August 21, 2007 Primary Endorsements."

Seattle City Council Position No 1
JEAN H GODDEN raised $179,190.72 spent $136,905.14
SONDHEIM ROBERT C raised $2,867 spent $1,548.03
SZWAJA JOSEPH B raised $43,497.03 spent $42,390.49

Seattle City Council Position No 3
FELDMAN SCOTT M raised $1,524.68 spent $1,074.68
HARRELL BRUCE A raised $156,072.76 spent $90,084.97
MANNING JOHN E raised $3,573.18 spent $3,034.08 (as of 5/07)
NOBLES JAMES L raised $1,635.00 spent $69.00 (as of 5/07)
RUNTE ALFRED raised $6,069.73 spent $5,684.73
VELAZQUEZ VENUS raised $124,595.32 spent $86,227.83

Seattle City Council Position No 5 (on Nov 6 ballot only)
RASMUSSEN THOMAS M raised $193,993.40 spent $72,283.53

Seattle City Council Position No 7 (on Nov 6 ballot only)
BURGESS TIMOTHY L raised $154,528.57 spent $77,765.59
DELLA DAVID J raised $170,140.13 spent $89,871.71

Seattle City Council Position No 9
CLARK SALLY J raised $137,397.82 spent $48,875.35
FENTON JUDITH L raised $355.00 spent $0.00
LIPPMANN STANLEY I raised $0.00

Fisken and Bryant Seattle Port Race Getting Expensive

Alec M Fisken Jr is an incumbent Seattle Port Commissioner running for re-election in Position 5. His Primary opponent, Bill Bryant, has raised more than twice as much money as he has but has spent almost four times as much as Fisken as of August 13, 2007.

As of August 13, 2007 , Public Disclosure Commission records show Bryant has raised $181,904 and spent $117,707. Fisken has raised $90,865 and spent only $32,037. They are almost equal when comparing cash on hand. Fisken has $58,828 cash on hand and Bryant has $64,197.

Two other candidates will appear on the August 21, 2007 ballot , Catherine Perkins and Stephen Symms. Neither report that they have raised or spent any money on their campaigns.

The race is dividing progressive/ Democrat/ labor versus business/Republican interests.

Alec Fisken has secured the endorsements of King County Labor Council, King County Democrats, Washington Conservation Voters, Sierra Club-Cascade Chapter as well as the Seattle Times. Seattle PI and Stranger. He is rated outstanding by the Municipal League. Former Governor Gary Locke,and Mike Lowry as well as King County Executive Ron Sims and House Speaker Frank Chopp support Fisken.

Meanwhile Bill Bryant sports few organizational endorsements. There are four organizational endorsements on his web page including 2 builders groups - the Affordable Housing Council and BUILD. His personal endorsements include a number of Republicans, including Slade Gorton , AG Rob McKenna and former Governor Dan Evans.

Alec Fisken is an independent voice on the Seattle Port Commission and deserves re-election. If you can help with a contribution to help his voice be heard above special interest money go to Fisken's website now.

Sherman Shoots Ahead, Scully Stumbles in Fundraising in Prosecutor's Race

Bill Sherman has surged ahead of Keith Scully in fundraising according to the latest reports on the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission website. Both are running to win the Democratic nomination for King County Prosecutor in the August 21, 2007 Primary election.

As of August 13, 2007:

William R Sherman (D) had raised $66,212 and spent $40, 571.

Keith Scully (D) his primary opponent had raised $36,699 and spent $33,883.

Daniel T Satterberg (R), is unopposed in the Primary and has raised $133,538 and spent $41,452.

When the candidates first reported their fundraising on July 24, 2007, Sherman and Scully had raised almost the same amount of money. Sherman had raised $31,947 and Scully had raised $32,016. Sherman doubled his fundraising since July 24, raising another $34,226. Meanwhile Scully's fundraising fizzled - he only raised another $4,186.

Satterberg, after his first spurt of raising $87,798 by July 24, slowed down and raised half as much - some $45,740 by August 13, 2007.

Donors who maxed out for Bill Sherman with a total of $1400 ($700 for the primary and $700 for the general) include: Todd Achilles, Paul Brainerd, Brian Carnell, Denise Casper, Marc Casper, Will Lewis, Katie Proctor, Lynn S Prunhuber and Jon A Shigley.

Bill Sherman's donors includes organizational contributions of $700 from SEIU 775, $700 from Washington Conservation Voters, $500 from Progressive Majority Washington D.C., $300 King County COPE, $250 from Amalgated Transit Union, COPE, $200 41st District Democrats, and $100 form the 45th District Democrats.

Satterberg donors who have maxed out at $1400 for the primary and general include: Stephen J Banchero, Chris Bailey, Sam Chapin, Robert L Christie, James Danielson, Richard Drham, Martin J Durkan Jr, Mrs G O Fisher, Cherrel Furiga, Clinton Furiga, Theresa E Gillespie, Gregory Gorder, Kevin R Hughes, Kathryn Johnson, Virginia McLarson, Linda A Lee, Yvonne Anne-Marie Lee, Cheryl W O'Leary, Thomas O'Leary, Ron Perey, John Rindlaub, Sarah Rindlaub, George W Rowley, Richard Satterberg, Bradford L Smith, John Stanton, Rich Wallis, Washington Teamsters, and Robert W Wray.

Former Secretary of State Ralph Munro gave Satterberg $100 and current Secretary of State Ralph Reed gave $50. Former Senator Slade Gorton gave $700.

Bill Sherman's strong fundraising push before the primary is a strong indication he is the frontrunner in the race in the Democratic Primary. He has picked up most of the endorsements, including the Seattle Times and Seattle PI.

Scully is a good candidate but in the short race to fill the vacancy after King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng died, Bill Sherman's campaign for the Washington State Legislature last year seems to have given him a strong advantage and momentum. He is also running a strong campaign this year and is a great candidate.

What's Behind Karl Rove's Resignation?

The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Karl Rove is abandoning the sinking Bush ship. He gives the reason as wanting to spend more time with his family. There is obviously more to this than meets the eye.

My guess is that he wants to be free to work for the Republicans to try to keep the White House.
Considering all the dirty tricks that are associated with his being around expect him to be a political consultant of one form or another to the Republican Presidential nominees and eventual nominee or the Republican National Party.

Expect that he could pop up quietly working with Senate or House races. And don't be surprised to see him involved in the effort to chnage the electoral college rules that California Republicans are kicking off.

see also:

Washington Post "Karl Rove, Advisor to President to Resign"

Washington Post Transcript of Bush and Rove Announcing Resignation

CNN VIdeo of Resignation Statement

LA Times "Karl Rove, Chief Adviser to Bush, Stepping Down"

BBC "Top White House Aide Rove Resigns"

Can Democrats Win the White House without Washington and Oregon?

Republicans, in fear of being sucked under by the anti-Bush whirlpool, are looking desperately for ways to win the White House in 2008.

Republicans in California think the answer is to change the rules for next year's Presidential election. Their strategy is to change California's statewide winner take all primary with its 55 electoral votes to one allocating the votes based on who wins individual Congressional District votes.

Except for Maine (4 electoral votes) and Nebraska (5 electoral votes) states currently allocate their electoral college votes by a winner take all process statewide. Each state is allocated 2 votes for their 2 Senators and 1 vote for each Representative.

Currently 19 of California's Congressional Districts are held by Republicans. In 2004 John Kerry won the statewide vote over Bush by 54% to 44%. However Bush won majorities in 22 of California's 53 Congressional Districts.

Changing how California allocates its electoral votes would be the equivalent to transferring the combined vote of Washington (11 electoral votes)and Oregon (7 electoral votes) to the Republican column. Remember Ohio's 20 electoral votes - we're talking about a sizable impact if the Republicans proposed change in California is successful.

According to the LA Times> a California Republican group is pushing the "Presidential Election Reform Act Initiative" for the June 2008 California Primary ballot. If passed by voters it would change significantly change the 2008 Presidential election.

"We've hit the mother lode of political interest," said Republican consultant Kevin Eckery, part of the group pushing the Presidential Election Reform Act Initiative.

The measure was written by attorney Thomas Hiltachk, whose Sacramento firm represents the California Republican Party. Also backing the initiative is campaign strategist Marty Wilson, a fundraiser last year for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and now for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Neither Schwarzenegger nor any of the presidential candidates has signed on to the effort. Nor is there confirmed financial backing; Eckery said the fundraising to begin this week is aimed at getting $300,000 to $500,000 for polling and other preliminary work before signature-gathering. Collecting the necessary 434,000 signatures could cost $2 million.

Proponents are optimistic that backers of the presidential candidates will ante up. Though there are federal limits to donations to candidates, California law places no bar on the amount donors can spend on initiatives.

Can California do this? Yes they can. Each individual state and not the Federal Constitution determines how electoral votes are determined. Hiltachk has filed the text of the Presidential Election Reform Initiative with the California Secretary of State on July 17, 2007. He has paid his $200 filing fee and is awaiting the assignment of a ballot tile and summary. He filed in the name of "Californians for Equal Representation" based in Sacramento, California.

Of course no similar effort is slated for decidedly Republican states like Texas which has 34 electoral votes. Altering the rules in specific Democratic states like California to benefit Republican Presidential ambitions is totally in character for Republicans and is a serious threat to Democrats in 2008.

You only need to look at two recent instances where Republicans used the legislative and electoral process to change rules and commonly accepted legal procedures to benefit Republicans. One was the Republican recall campaign of Democratic Governor Gray Davis in 2003 which resulted in Davis's recall and the election of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor.

The New Yorker in an article entitled Votescam by Hendrick Hertzberg in fact reports that California Republican Hiltachk was involved in the recall effort that put Schwarzenegger into office and that he is "Governor Schwarzenegger's personal lawyers for election matters."

The other was the effort by Texas Republicans with the aid of Congressman Tom DeLay to redraw the Congressional District boundaries in Texas to gain Republican seats in Congress

Texas Republicans and Delay did their controversial redistricting action after they won control of the Texas Legislature in 2002. In 2004 the Congressional District numbers shifted dramatically. A 17/15 Democrat advantage changed to a 21/11 Republican advantage. In 2006 the Republicans still had a 19/13 advantage.

Distributing electoral votes to winners of Congressional Districts rather than winner take all state votes would seem at first look to be fair if every state had the same rules. But that would clearly not be the case if California alone shifted the way it proportions its electoral votes. The end result would be to shift electoral votes to the Republicans at the expense of the Democrats. Its like spotting the Republicans some 20 electoral votes before the counting even starts.

Would the proposal solve the problem of states clearly being Republican or Democratic and being ignored by the candidates because the outcome is not really in doubt? Actually it would probably make it even worse. You just need to look at the last Congressional campaign in 2006. National attention and money was focused into only 30 -40 battleground Congressional districts.
Would candidates really campaign all over Ohio for example? No - they would concentrate their resources in the much smaller geographical areas of contested battleground Congressional Districts up for grabs in Ohio. They would not be very smart if they spent their time in Congressional Districts that are clearly Republican or Democratic and unlikely to change.

Here in Washington State the biggest spending Congressional race was between Darcy Burner and Dave Reichert in the 8th C.D. Not much attention was paid to Congressman Jim McDermotts race in Seattle. If electoral votes were allocated by Congressional District, Presidential candidates would go to Bellevue, not Seattle or Everett or Yakima.

Another alternative being considered by some states is a movement to elect the President by popular vote. Such a bill was before the Washington State Legislature this last session. As proposed the legislation would not go into effect until states with a majority of electoral votes (270) passes the legislation. Maryland is the first state to pass such legislation.

See also:
Newsweek "A Red Play for the Golden State"
Sacramento Bee "Electoral System Initiative worries Dems"

Iowa Governor Rules out Christmas 2007 Caucus

In what is continuing to be an absurd leapfrogging process, Iowa's Governor Chet Culver has ruled out moving Iowa's caucus to December of this year. According to the Washington Post, some of Iowa's politicians had proposed that in response to the actions reported yesterday of South Carolina Republicans moving their primary to January 19, 2008.

For the record no moves at this time are being considered in Washington state to compete with the Holiday shopping season or Christmas on Tuesday December 25th, 2007, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or New Year's Day on Tuesday January 1, 2008.

Meanwhile Iowa's Governor Culver is quoted as saying that, "The bottom line is Iowa will have the first caucus and we're going in January." As the Washington Post reports:

"Culver said Iowa would work with New Hampshire officials to find mutually agreeable dates for their contests and acknowledged that both states might need to be flexible in terms of the spacing between the caucuses and the primary -- by Iowa law eight days -- and the days of the week when the events are held. He also said Iowa officials will take into account holiday travel and disruptions and seek to avoid scheduling the caucuses on New Year's day.
Asked if he expects the Nevada caucuses to be held between events in Iowa and New Hampshire, he said, "They are now." Asked if he cared whether that remains the case, he said, "I do care"."

Current Iowa law requires that Iowa hold its caucus 8 days before any other state. The Politico reports that Governor Culver would change the state law if necessary to keep its caucus in 2008. The issue is further complicated because New Hampshire also has a law requiring that it hold its primary 7 days before any other primary.

"The dominoes were set tumbling this week when South Carolina Republicans announced they were moving up their primary to Jan. 19, a Saturday.
According to New Hampshire law, the Granite State would then have to hold its primary at least seven days before, which would mean Jan. 12 or before. But Jan. 12 is a Saturday and New Hampshire has always held its primaries on Tuesday, meaning New Hampshire would probably move to Jan. 8, forcing Iowa into 2007. Politico learned, however, that New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner would, for the first time, consider a date other than a Tuesday. With Culver’s pledge to change state law if he has to, all three states might be able to wedge into January. "

Washington State is scheduled to hold a Presidential Primary on Feb 19, 2007. Republicans will allocate 51% of their delegates according to the vote. Washington State Democrats will allocate none from this vote. Instead they will allocate delegates based on a rather complicated caucus process that starts on Feb 9, 2007 and culminates in the bulk of the delegates being selected at Congressional District caucuses on Saturday May 17, 2008. The remainder are decided by an "Election Committee" based on credentials on Sunday June 17, 2007.

Washington State Republicans are also slated to hold their preliminary caucus on Feb. 9, 2008

We have previously written about our concerns with the caucus selection process by the Democrats to select delegates to The Democratic National Convention and their ignoring the results of the Washington State Presidential Primary that was set up by an initiative to the Legislature, Initiative 99. Initiative 99 was enacted into law by the Washington State Legislature in 1989.

The stumbling block for the Washington State Democrats participating in the Presidential Primary has to do with the fact that Washington State does not require voters to declare a Party affiliation when they register to vote. Until recently in regular elections Washington State had a blanket primary where you could vote for any candidate for office, whether a Republican or Democrat. That has changed in that you can only vote for a specific party in the primary now but there is still no official party registration.

Many grassroots Democrats like the caucus process but the vote by the Washington State Democratic Central Committee on April 29, 2007 was not unamious . The Seattle Times reported the vote as being 119 to 42 to support the caucus over the primary to select delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

If the Washington State Democrats want to be more sincere about involving the public in the process of picking the Democratic nominee for President they need to include a plank in their state platform supporting voter registration by party.

Otherwise it is just a little too convenient to use the existing non-party voter registration process in Washington State as an excuse to hold a caucus which severely limits voters being able to participate in what one might characterize as the ultimate American voting experience - electing a President of the United States.
See "Presidential Primary Makes Sense" for more discussion on this issue.

Other questions about the Presidential Primary process in Washington State are answered at "Presidential Primary FAQ" and "Presidential Primary Background Paper" which are posted on the Washington Secretary of State's website.

One of the more updated sites keeping track of the changing dates of the 2008 Presidential Primaries and Caucuses is at Stateline.org

Cascade Bicycle Club Releases August 21, 2007 Primary Endorsements

The Cascade Bicycle Club has just come out with their endorsements for the August 21, 2007 Washington State Primary. They are a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that defines their mission to be "creating more livable communities by promoting health & recreation through bicycle activities, advocacy, & education."

On their primary endorsement page they note that their involvement in election politics is for "one vitally important reason - policies that effect bicycling begin and end with our elected representatives."

Besides evaluating the candidates on specific issues they "also evaluate a candidate's past votes, talk to local activists and, when necessary, interview them face to face.
Critical votes for incumbents spanned a range of issues impacting bicycling, including: child safety, bicycle lanes and trails, transportation funding, land-use and sprawl."

The endorsements cover both King and Snohomish Counties in Washington State.

Cascade Bicycle Club August 21, 2007 Primary Endorsements

King County Prosecutor - Bill Sherman
King County County Council Position No. 8 - Dow Constantine
Snohomish Co County Council - Brian Sullivan
Port of Seattle Commissioner 2 - Jack Block Jr. & Gael Tarleton
Port of SeattleCommissioner 4 - Alec Fisken
AuburnCity Council 7 - Lynn Norman
Burien City Council 4 - Stephen Lamphear
Duvall City Council 6 - Anne Laughlin
Edmonds Mayor - Gary Haakenson
Everett City Council 4 - Charlene Rawson
Federal Way City Council 7 - Hope Elder
Issaquah City Council 4 - Joshua Schaer
Mercer Island City Council 3 - Maureen Judge
Mukilteo City Council 6 - Pat Kessler
Newcastle City Council 4 - Sonny Putter
Sammamish City Council 4 - Nancy Whitten
Seattle City Council 1 - Jean Godden
Seattle City Council 3 - Bruce Harrell
Seattle City Council 9 - Sally Clark
Shoreline City Council 2 - Paul Grace
Shoreline City Council 4 - Doris McConnell
Shoreline City Council 6 - Terry Scott
Tukwila City Council 2 - De’Sean Quinn
Woodinville City Council 2 - Randy Ransom
Woodinville City Council 6 - Liz Aspen

Darcy Burner and the U.S. Constitution

Darcy Burner is a Democratic candidate for Congress in the 8th Congressional District in Washington State. She narrowly lost in 2006 to Republican incumbent Dave Reichert. She is already running hard to beat him in 2008.

She is continuing her challenge not by being timid but by speaking up for her principles. Witness this just released web ad posted on U-Tube where she talks about the recent vote by many Democrats in Congress to support Bush's expanded warrantless wiretapping in the name of fighting terrorism. She asks at what price do we give up the principles embedded in our country's Constitution.

Watch it and ask yourself - isn't this someone we need in Congress? Too many, including Democrats, are willing to cave in to fear at the expense of weakening protections in our Constitution. We need more elected officials willing to defend the Constitution.

To support Darcy Burner, you can go to her campaign website and make a contribution today.

Metropolitan Democratic Club Makes August 21, 2007 Primary Endorsements

The Metropolitan Democratic Club met at noon today in downtown Seattle to consider endorsements for candidates running in the August 21, 2007 Washington State Primary election. The endorsements below include some races that will only appear on the November ballot. The following is a list of candidates endorsed and the positions they are running for. Connections to website are included where available.

King County Prosecutor - Bill Sherman
King County Council Position 2 - Larry Gossett
King County Council Position 4 - Larry Phillips
King County Council Position 6 - Brad Larssen (write-in)
King County Council Position No. 8 - Dow Constantine
Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 2 - Gael Tarleton
Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 5 - Alec Fisken
City of Seattle Council Position No.1 - Jean Godden
City of Seattle Position No. 3 - no endorsement
City of Seattle Position No. 5 - Tom Rasmussen
City of Seattle Position No. 7 - David Della
City of Seattle Position No. 9 - Sally J Clark
Seattle School Board #1 - Sally Soriano
Seattle School Board #2 - no endorsement
Seattle School Board #3 - no endorsement
Seattle School Board #6 - Maria Ramirez
King County Prop. No. 1 - Regional and Rural Parks Levy - yes
King County Prop. No. 2 - Open Space, Regional Trails and Woodland Park Zoo Levy - yes

Cascade Chapter Sierra Club Releases August 21, 2007 Primary Endorsements

The Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club announced their first round of endorsements for the August 21, 2007 Washington State Primary election. Scott Otterson, Chair of the Political Committee of the Sierra Club, Cascade Chapter said that several more endorsements would be announced shortly. We will post additional endorsements as they are released. (updated August 15, 2007)

Snohomish County Council #2 Brian Sullivan
Snohomish County Council #3 Mike Cooper
Camas Mayor Paul Dennis
City Council #4 Charlene Rawson
Everett City Council #7 Jackie Minchew
Lynnwood City Council #5 Stephanie Wright
Mill Creek City Council #6 Ed McNichol
Vancouver City Council #4 Timothy D. Leavitt
Vancouver City Council #5 Larry Smith
Vancouver City Council #6 Dan Tonkovich
Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 1 Jack Block Jr. and Gael Tarleton (dual endorsement)
Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 5 Alec Fisken
King Couty Proposition No. 1 - Regional and Rural Parks Levy - yes
King County Proposition No. 2 - Open Space, Regional Trails and Woodland Park Zoo Levy - yes
Redmond Parks levy, Proposition No. 2 - yes

Washington State - August 21, 2007 Primary Endorsements

Deciding who to vote for isn't always easy. If you go to the website of the Washington Secretary of State you can access a map of Washington Counties. Clicking on the county you live in will give you access to the official County Auditors / Election website that usually contains a link to a sample ballot and the official county voters pamphlet.

Listed below are some links to organizations that have made endorsements for the August 21, 2007 Washington State primary election. Note that some organizations that are listed on candidate's literature may not turn up on this list because they did not post any endorsement information on their website. If you find additional endorsements that have website links feel free to add them to the comments section. Thanks.

Democratic Organizations:

King County Democrats
Pierce County Democratic Party
Snohomish County Democrats
Thurston County Democrats
Whatcom County Democrats
1st District Democrats
21st District Democrats
3rd District Democrats
34th District Democrats
36th District Democrats
37th District Democrats
41st District Democrats
43rd District Democrats
44th District Democrats
45th District Democrats
46th District Democrats
47th District Democrats

Labor Organizations:

Aerospace Machinists Local 751
Amalgamated Transit Union - Local 587
M.L.King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Other organizations:

Cascade Bicycle Club
Cascade Chapter Sierra Club
The Municipal League of King County
NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
Progressive Majority
Seattle King County Assoc of Realtors
Washington Conservation Voters
Washington State Women's Political Caucus

See also:

Seattle Works Primary Election Candidate Guide

added August 9, 2007

SEAMAC - Primary ratings and endorsements
the Stranger Election Control Board Cheat Sheet
added August 15, 2007
Tacoma News Tribune Aug.12, 2007 endorsements
HeraldNet.com endorsements
SEIU District 1199NW

Time for House Democrats to Enact Voting Reform!

Time is running out for voting reform by Congress says the New York Times in an editorial. What is going on? Why are Nancy Pelosi and the House of Representatives still not moving forward on correcting these problems?

From Democracy Now 11/26/2006

"In Florida, election officials in Sarasota County have begun a review of touch-screen voting machines used in the recent election. They are testing the machines in order to determine why more than 18,000 ballots in the county registered no votes in the highly contested Congressional race between Republican Vern Buchanan and Democrat Christine Jennings. The undercount was almost 15 % of ballots cast - far higher than in neighboring areas. Buchanan, with 369 votes more than Jennings, was certified the winner last week"

Time/CNN July 31, 2007

(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.)—Florida's optical scan voting machines are still flawed, despite efforts to fix them, and they could allow poll workers to tamper with the election results, according to a government-ordered study obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press ...
The lab found, for example, that someone with only brief access to a machine could replace a memory card with one preprogramed to read one candidate's votes as counting for another, essentially switching the candidates and showing the loser winning in that precinct. "The attack can be carried out with a reasonably low probability of detection assuming that audits with paper ballots are infrequent," the report said.

Machinist.Salon.com 7/31/2007

A team of hackers commissioned by California Secretary of State Deborah Bowen managed to hack into electronic voting machines made by three of the four largest suppliers in the industry, Diebold, Hart InterCivic, and Sequoia Voting Systems. After thoroughly testing each of these systems, the team -- led by Matthew Bishop, a computer science professor at the University of California, Davis -- found "several scenarios in which ... weaknesses could be exploited to affect the correct recording, reporting, and tallying of votes."

As noted in the New York Times editorial:

Electronic voting machines in their current form simply cannot be trusted ....The most important protection against electronic voting fraud is the voter-verified paper trail, a paper record that the voter can check to make sure that it properly reflects his or her choices. There should then be mandatory audits of a significant number of these paper records to ensure that the results tallied on the voting machines match the votes recorded on paper. Mr. Holt’s bill would require that every voting machine produce a paper record of every vote cast in a federal election, and it would mandate random audits. It would also prohibit the use of wireless and Internet technology, which are especially vulnerable to hackers."

Unfortunately as noted in the The New York Times on July 20, 2007, the House is proposing a compromise on the original Holt Bill.

"House Democratic officials say they are now working on compromise legislation that could allow hundreds of counties in 20 states to simply add tiny, cash-register-style printers to their touch-screen machines for the 2008 and 2010 elections, while waiting for manufacturers to develop better technology by 2012....the proposed compromise is a blow to some computer scientists and other activists, who would like to get rid of the touch-screen machines used by nearly 40 percent of American voters. They had hoped that a tighter deadline would force states and localities to quickly shift from touch-screens to optical-scan systems, in which ballots are marked by the voters themselves rather than being generated by computers"

Compromise and weaking of the Holt bill is not what is needed now. Voting integrity is critical to help ensure voter confidence and trust in the accuracy and validity of our elections. It is a sad commentary on the state of American democracy that we can't even guarantee the accuracy of our electoral process seven years after the fiasco election of 2000 that found the Republican majority of the US Supreme Court selecting George Bush as President.

Democrats in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate have no excuse. They run the show now and are bungling a critical issue of electoral integrity and voter confidence in the US election process. I urge readers to contact their US Representative and US Senators and urge they act now to reform the electoral voting process in time for the 2008 elections.Urgethem not to weaken and water down the Holt Bill.

You can send an e-mail to your Representative here:

Electronic Freedom Frontier - "Tell Congress to Support e-voting Reform!"

Moveon.org political action- "Ban Paperless Voting"

Conspicuously absent from the list of 211 sponsors of Rep. Holt's HB 811 is Congressman Brian Baird. Washington State's other 5 Democratic Congressmen - Dicks, Larsen, Inslee, McDermott and Smith are sponsors of the bill. Baird's nonsponsorship of the bill put him in camp with the other non-sponsors in this state - the Republican delegation of Reichert, McMorris-Rodgers and Hastings. Voters in Baird's District of SW Washington need to ask him to become a sponsor of the bill.