Washblog

A couple of days ago I asked down at Olyblog whether the port protests and following trial would result in some candidates for the port commission. I also want to ask the same question about the Port of Tacoma.

If using the port for military purposes is a bad idea, then why not run for port commission? In Thurston County, there are two seats open this year, so its possible for anti-military candidates to take over the commission. In Tacoma, two of the five positions are open this year.

IRV Washington blog reports:

At the last meeting of the Senate Government Operations Committee, SB 6000's prime sponsor Senator Swecker asked the Chair of the Committee for an executive session and a vote on the bill. Senator Fairley adjourned the Committee meeting without a vote. This is unfortunate since it appeared that Senator Swecker had the votes to pass the bill out of committee.

As a result of this SB 6000 is dead for this session of the legislature. We will have a chance to revive the bill in the 2008 session if we desire to do so.

SB 6000 was really a housekeeping bill. After IRV passed in Pierce County last year there was some concerns of different voting methods between levels of local government. That the county would be using IRV, but cities and local districts would be using the primary/general method. SB 6000 would have allowed cities and local districts to adopt IRV in Pierce County. It was already supported by the Pierce County Council.. Here is a post that talks about the hearing on SB 6000.

One of the few races during the Democratic reorganization was in Pierce County, and the challenger won there with Nathe Lawver pulling in 62 votes, former chair Jean Brooks with 28 and former 2nd LD chair Bill Harrington with 12. Apparently a lot of PCOs showed up for this one.

More on this race here. 

Update [2006-12-29 10:7:39 by emmettoconnell]: I plugged in chair Jean Brooks' and Bill Harrington's responses below, which now covers all the candidates.

Pierce County is a lever on which elections in Washington are won. Geographically rural, it also contains some of the most urban sections in Washington.

This is arguably where Democrats running in the 8th CD go to die. It is a Puget Sound county with a Democratic executive, but whose county council is made up of five Republicans and four Democrats.

Which all makes the race for chair of the Pierce County Democrats interesting. The current chair,  Jean Brooks is running for reelection is is being challenged by former 2nd LD chair Bill Harrington and Nathe Lawver, vice-chair of the state Democratic Progressive caucus. The Pierce County Democrats reorganization meeting in on January 13.

I've known Nathe since I worked with his wife at a newspaper down on the Harbor a few years ago, and we've emailed back and forth about his candidacy. Here are responses from Nathe and Jean so far:

Its the second largest county in the state and as far as the county council is concerned, its a swing county. It includes important parts of the ever important 8th Congressional District, so who ever wins the Pierce County Executive position in a couple of years will be important.

On a side note, it will be the most high profile race yet in Washington State, where Instant Runoff Voting will be used. Pierce County voters passed Amendment 3 last November, instituting IRV for all county wide races.

So far, here are the updates. County councilmember, Democratic Calvin Goings (who was a State Senator in his early 20s) has announced he's in the ring. He has set up a pretty top heavy stearing committee, which includes U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, Democratic state Sen. Rosa Franklin, labor leader Patty Rose and former Tacoma Mayor Harold Moss.

The Moderate Washingtonian has a pretty good update as well.

That's right, Pam Roach is pissed that she only got a "good" rating from the Municipal League, and is screeching that the volunteer board that does their rankings is "biased" against conservatives.  Apparently, part of her proof of this is that one of the members has not one, but three nose rings.  

Roach said she was offended that one of the young volunteers who evaluated her was wearing three nose rings.

"I couldn't find a person with one nose ring in Sumner," she said.

Those damn volunteers - always being biased against raging homophobes and wearing inappropriate body jewelry!

...and they call us elite!

So, let's have some fun.  If you live in Sumner, or know someone who does, and you've got a nose ring, send photos of your nose rings to switzer@switzerblog.com, and I'll post 'em here, and we'll email them to Pam, so she knows that she was represented by true Sumner peers.  

The first person who lives in Sumner and is willing to get their first nose ring just for this purpose will get their nose pierced for free (hey Washbloggers...this means I'll be hittin' y'all up for a couple bucks to help pay for it; I ain't rich). Postman, I dare ya to mention this offer!

Rose Ehart, Pierce County Conservation District Supervisor (on the right) with Debbie Srail, Chair 28th LD Democrats. Photo taken 1/07 and added 2/07.

Rose Ehart, Executive Director of The Bread Basket, an innovative food bank that delivers to the hungry, heard about the Pierce County Conservation District election only a couple of weeks before it was held.   Rose is a Democratic Precinct Committee Officer (PCO). She knows her neighbors.  She loves doorbelling.  And she's passionate about the natural environment and conservation issues.  So she put her political skills and community connections to work, signed up her own constituency - 220 of her neighbors - and campaigned a 20-year incumbent out of office, 122 to 62.

Yes, these Conservation District elections are a bit different than most.  If you want to vote in them, you have to request a ballot. According to Peter Callahan's May 11 article in the Tacoma News Tribune, only 798 of Pierce County's of 400,000 eligible voters had ballots.  Tom Salzar of the Washington Conservation District wrote to me that the Commission, "in partnership with the Washington Association of Conservation Districts, is in the process of revising our procedures for appointing conservation district supervisors.  We expect some of the framework from those changes will be rolled into an upcoming revision to election procedures, designed to make this information more accessible and usable by conservation districts and interested citizens."  Rose has plans too, for helping to open this process.  She talks about them in this interview.

Back in April, Rose's husband, who goes by Israelhand on Washblog, posted a short article about her win: First African-American Woman Elected to Conservation Board. When I learned that Rose, in addition to her environmental interest, was also a politically progressive Christian Evangelical with a background in social justice and human services, I asked her for an interview. I suspected that my understanding of progressive politics would be broadened by a conversation with her. I was right.