The Politics Blog

News groups support BIAW in destroyed email suit

The state’s building industry and Northwest newspapers have met again in a common cause: open government and a lawsuit that might get a hearing by the state Supreme Court.

Then again, it might not.

Three news organizations and an environmental journalists’ group joined forces to submit a friend of court brief this week on behalf of the Building Industry Association of Washington. It asks the high court to take the case on review and presumably set the record straight.

At issue: a Thurston County judge’s ruling last year on destroyed government emails that could have great repercussions, according to the news groups’ brief.

In a nutshell, Bellevue-based lawyer Katherine George argues that Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch’s ruling in effect put the onus on citizens, instead of the government, to show without the power of legal discovery that nonexempt public records “existed on Pierce County’s computers before they were destroyed.’’

“Every day that the issues in this case remain unsettled is another day when governments may destroy e-mails of value to the public,” the brief warns.

The parties in the amicus brief include the Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, Washington State Association of Broadcasters and the Society of Environmental Journalists.

The brief cites news stories about divulged email that revealed a reality in conflict with what government presented as reality — including work by the Bellingham Herald that led to a criminal investigation of the Ferndale mayor, a Seattle Post-Intelligencer story about “racist, sexist and sexually explicit” emails between Port of Seattle police officers, and a recent Seattle Times piece on Oklahoma investors’ duplicity over buying the Seattle Sonics.

The whole destroyed email story arose over the BIAW’s efforts to confirm that a national group doing voter registration drives in Washington did so fraudulently in 2006. Subsequent charges and convictions confirmed BIAW was right about fraud.

The Olympian has covered the builders’ quest for email before — here, here, here, and http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/181679.html — as BIAW tried but failed to convince Judge Hirsch that Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy violated public records law by deleting emails the builders later wanted to read.

Pierce County countered by claiming BIAW was making frivolous claims by seeking records it later obtained copies of through other sources.

Hirsch rejected the county’s counterclaims.

The parties are still waiting to hear from the Supreme Court whether it will hear the case, according to Greg Overstreet, one of the lawyers who helped the BIAW in the Hirsch case.

UPDATED Super-delegate's view: Clinton must decide fate

David T. McDonald, a Washington super-delegate from Seattle, said he is holding off making up his mind in the presidential race until the mess is sorted out May 31 on whether or how to seat the delegations from Michigan and Florida.

McDonald serves on the Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws committee that meets May 31 for a hearing on what to do. He said he wants to provide impartiality.

“I think the appearance is going to be helped by some of us staying uncommitted … So I am not planning to make a decision or issue any statements until we are finished with the challenges,’’ he said.

But after Hillary Clinton's close win in Indiana and Barack Obama's large win in North Carolina put Obama even further ahead in the race for delegates, McDonald said: “She has a really uphill battle and she really needs Michigan and Florida to somehow be added to the mix.’’ McDonald added: “At the end of the day I think Hillary’s supporters have to decide for her and with her whether she should go forward with the campaign or come up with an exit strategy. It’s not for somebody else to tell them the race is over. Because the race is not over.” McDonald is one of seven of the state's 17 superdelegates who has not yet taken sides. Six favor Clinton, and four favor Obama. Undecideds include state party chairman Dwight Pelz, vice chair Eileen Macoll of Pullman, former U.S. House Speaker Tom Foley, party official Ed Cote of Vancouver, and U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen and Jim McDermott.

McDonald, who favored punishment for Michigan and Florida for jumping the gun with their primaries in January, said Obama has a role to play on figuring out how to seat the banished delegations. “If you assume for the moment that Obama is the nominee, and the press today was making that assumption, it seems to me it is his problem to come forward with a solution that works. If he is planning on being the leader of the party of the free world, he needs to be able to come up with a solution to problems like this,” McDonald said.

UPDATED: State Democratic Party chairman Dwight Pelz is also sticking firmly to neutrality. But he wants the party to have a nominee in June, well before the national convention on Aug. 25-28.

“I agree with Howard Dean who says if we go into the convention divided we go out of the convention divided,’’ Pelz said.

“I think it’s clear that Obama took a major step forward yesterday and Hillary has to make the case why she should be the nominee of the party,’’ Pelz added. “I think this has increased the pressure on Hillary but she feels strongly she has a lot to offer the party and the country.’’

Pelz had not heard whether others among Washington’s seven uncommitted super-delegates were getting ready to announce.

UPDATED WITH BIO: Independent Tudor wants to run for governor

SECOND UPDATE: Here is the biography for new gubernatorial candidate Christopher Tudor.

UPDATE: Tudor is chairman of the board of Travelodge, which is under the umbrella of Wyndham Hotel Group, his spokeswoman said in a follow-up e-mail. He represents U.S. franchisee interests.

FIRST POST: Independent candidate for governor Christopher Tudor is trying to collect 1,000 signatures to qualify for the Aug. 19 ballot.

I haven’t found much information available about the man yet. But he issued a press release through a newly hired aide, Jennifer Carroll, saying he plans a nominating convention Wednesday in Seattle. He also has a web site, www.tudor2008.com.

I'm not sure that such a convention is needed any longer for an independent candidate under the state’s new top-two runoff primary system. The new system does not recognize party nominees.

Tudor’s press release also says he is an entrepreneur and chairman of a hospitality brand owned by Wyndham Worldwide. But Carroll said she was just brought on and did not know the name of his company.

Click here to see the news release.

The signature-collecting event runs from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, at the South Lake Union Armory great hall, 860 Terry Ave. N., Seattle. There are details on Tudor’s web site.

Rules for 'top-two' primary ready for testing

All’s quiet so far after Secretary of State Sam Reed put out his new rules for putting the top-two primary into place Aug. 19.

Here’s a summary explanation.

The state’s major political parties haven’t announced any immediate legal maneuvers but the big new switch to having a runoff primary instead of a nominating primary remains in federal court. It’s just a matter of Republicans or Democrats filing new motions.

Republicans are just letting things ride for now. But Democrats are going ahead with nominating conventions — ostensibly to preserve their rights to challenge the voter-approved top-two system.

Last week, Thurston Democrats’ precinct committee officers nominated former legislator Sandra Romero for a county commission seat over Jon Halvorson, the former Lacey councilman. They also nominated Commissioner Cathy Wolfe, who has no Democratic opponent.

Next up for Democrats is a convention Saturday in Belfair, where the 35th Legislative District’s Democratic PCOs meet to nominate a legislative candidate, either Daryl Daugs and Fred Finn. Finn won the endorsement of retiring Rep. William Eickmeyer. The 35th also must nominate Rep. Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, who has Republican opposition but no Democratic opponent.

All of this, of course, is a result of Initiative 872, approved by voters in 2004 to create the Louisiana-style top-two runoff. Federal court rulings struck down its use until the U.S. Supreme Court upheld I-872, leaving the door open to further challenges but also letting Reed run the election.

An even more interesting nomination is expected at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, tentatively in the Shelton library. That’s when Mason County PCOs meet to decide whether to nominate Commissioner Tim Sheldon for another term or to go with the county party chairwoman, Roslynne Reed. Sheldon won in 2004 as an Independent but won his state Senate seat again in 2006 as a Democrat.

Other fights are brewing around the state. In the 36th district where Rep. Helen Sommers is stepping down after more than three decades in the state House, local Democrats are refusing to choose Reuven Carlyle and John Burbank, according to Bryan Bissell’s Politicker blog.

The blog says state Democratic chairman Dwight Pelz says he’ll choose Burbank, but Pelz has told Democrats he’ll submit his choice to the party’s state executive board for approval.

Whatever the Democrats do, their nominations mean nothing in Secretary Reed’s primary plan. Formal filing week for candidates is June 2-6, and newly adopted primary rules say a candidate can elect to say he or she prefers a particular party, or not at all.

If the candidate wants to name a party, there are 16 letters available to spell out or abbreviate the name — whether a real name or a made up one, like “tax-cutter” or “no war liberal.”

CORRECTED: Fixes spelling of Reuven Carlyle's name.

New endorsements: Gregoire, Judge Hunt, Rep. Williams

No surprise here. The Washington State Labor Council said today it is endorsing Gov. Chris Gregoire for governor. Also reporting endorsements:

Rick Bender, president of the labor council, said this about the endorsement of Gregoire by 350 delegates at the weekend labor convention on behalf of 400,000 members:

Gregoire said this:

Other endorsements: Rep. Williams said the Washington State Troopers Association endorsed his re-election to a third term in the House. He has no announced opponent.

Judge J. Robin Hunt issued a list of endorsements that includes seven of the state Supreme Court’s nine justices. Challenging Hunt is Olympia lawyer Tim Ford, who works as an open-records advocate for the Attorney General’s Office.

Hunt’s list list of endorsers includes Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and Justices Tom Chambers, Mary Fairhurst, Charles Johnson, Barbara Madsen, Susan Owens and Debra Stephens, as well as former justices Bobbe Bridge, Faith Ireland, Charles Z. Smith, and Bob Utter, 16 appeals court justices, ex-Gov. Gary Locke, Mason District Court Judge Victoria Meadows, Thurston District Court Judge C.L. “Kip” Stilz, and Thurston Prosecutor Ed Holm.

Schools chief Bergeson ready to defend seat, WASL

State schools chief Terry Bergeson faces a cadre of anti-WASL challengers in her re-election bid this year, but she sure isn’t backing down.

And she said today she expects to win over new challenger Randy Dorn, the fellow reformer of the early 1990s who chaired the House Education Committee, Richland schools Superintendent Rich Semler and others.

Dorn said she had lost her bearings on reform, but Bergeson didn’t get back to us yesterday in time to reply for our blog post or news story to comment. So we’ll quote here from her message, in which she sounded pretty motivated.

The challengers want to get rid of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning as a high-stakes test required for graduation. Bergeson is a defender of the test and alternatives for students to pass it.

The third-term schools chief and former president of the state teachers’ union aimed some of her criticism at the “punitive” nature of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and pledged to work for changes.

FOLLOW-UP 2: Rep. Simpson gives up chairmanship

It might look more symbolic than real, but Rep. Geoff Simpson has agreed to step aside as chairman of the House Local Government Committee while courts sort out a domestic violence allegation against him.

Simpson chaired the House Local Government Committee, but he’ll step down after meeting with House speaker and fellow Democrat Frank Chopp. But there don’t appear to be any meetings of the committee scheduled at least until September, and Simpson will remain a lawmaker and continue to receive his monthly pay, House Democratic Caucus spokesman James Paribello said today.

Here is some background on the incident that led to Simpson’s arrest Sunday in Covington.

Chopp issued this statement today:

Simpson released this statement:

It was not clear whose idea it was to step down as committee chairman.

Randy Dorn enters SPI race today, criticizing the WASL

It's official: Former state legislator Randy Dorn of Eatonville is running for state schools chief.

Dorn says it’s time for a change in leaders and contends that 12-year Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson has “gone off track” in pursing the goals of the 1993 school reforms.

His announcement expands the field of top candidates to include Bergeson and Richland schools superintendent Richard Semler, who is already endorsed by the 81,000-member Washington Education Association.

A focus of Dorn’s criticism is the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, or WASL, which could keep some high school seniors from graduating this year. His announcement said this:

Bergeson has worked to retain the WASL and to develop achievement and teaching standards, but the state teachers’ union she once led has turned its back on her. The Washington Education Association’s political action committee decided two weeks ago to back Semler, also a WASL critic.

Dorn said his criticisms go beyond the WASL and include the ongoing study of how to pay for education, 12 years after Bergeson took office. He said getting funding for schools will be one of his two top priorities that include changing the WASL.

He said his legislative experience gives him something none of the other candidates has.

His announcement also says he is a former elementary and middle school teacher, elementary principal, and high school principal. He owns a consulting company and is executive director of Public School Employees of Washington; his wife is a school librarian in Eatonville.

FOLLOW-UP: Prosecutor says Rep. Simpson interfered with 9-1-1 call

As promised, here are the charging documents and police reports in the unfolding domestic-violence case against Democratic Rep. Geoff Simpson of Covington.

Simpson is charged with fourth-degree misdemeanor assault and with interfering with a report of domestic violence.

Thanks to Curt Woodward of The Associated Press for passing them along. In a nutshell, it looks like Simpson’s former wife went back to the home for belongings when a dispute arose over taxes. She accused the 45-year-old lawmaker and firefighter of grabbing her arm, and he denied it — saying he reached around her from behind to grab paperwork from her before she could rip it up.

The responding police officer wrote that he could see “minor reddening” on Kathlene Therese Simpson’s arm. She also accused Simpson, who is listed as weighing 265 pounds compared to her 150 pounds, of grabbing a phone from her hand as she tried to call 9-1-1 and dragging her out of the house, according to the police report.

A witness appears to side with the wife’s story of Simpson pulling her out of the house by the arm.

The police report is here and the Covington city prosecutor’s charging document is here.

To see the statement issued by Simpson on Wednesday, gohere.

House chief clerk Barbara Baker issued this statement late Wednesday afternoon:

Stay tuned.

UPDATED: Arrested state Rep. Simpson gives this statement

Here’s the full statement issued today by Democratic state Rep. Geoff Simpson, who was arrested Sunday on suspicion of domestic violence by King County police after a 9-1-1 call in Covington, where Simpson lives:

House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, hasn’t commented on the situation and won’t until after talking to Simpson, a spokeswoman in the House Democratic Caucus said. The House chief clerk hasn't commented yet, either.

The Associated Press reported this today about Simpson’s arrest:

Whether Simpson is found guilty or not, he becomes the latest lawmaker to run aground in some way. Former Rep. Richard Curtis, R-LaCenter, resigned last fall under the pressure of Republican House leaders after a lurid story about his sexual adventures with men in a Spokane adult-film store and a fancy hotel became news.

Rep. Jim Dunn, R-Vancouver, was admonished and stripped of committee assignments by the House Democratic and Republican leaders for sexually offensive comments he made to a legislative staffer in a bar after legislative business Oct. 16 in the Tri-Cities. Dunn later claimed his free speech rights were violated.

UPDATED: House Chief Clerk Barbara Baker issued this statement late this afternoon:

We'll try to post court-related documents in the morning.

Endorsements: SEIU for Gregoire; WEA for Semler for SPI

Gov. Chris Gregoire received the endorsement of the 103,000-member Service Employees International Union’s five Northwest locals today.

And Richland schools Superintendent Richard Semler, candidate for superintendent of public instruction against incumbent Terry Bergeson, won the endorsement of the nearly 81,000-member Washington Education Association’s political action committee, WEA-PAC. The union represents public-school teachers and others.

Neither endorsement was a surprise, and the SEIU move wa announced earlier this week. SEIU’s blessing of the governor does bring the Democrat a potential cadre of supporters to draw on for door-to-door campaigning as she tries to fend off Republican Dino Rossi.

The endorsement was given at a Tacoma Montessori school where SEIU Local 925 has workers. Also blessing Gregoire were SEIU workers in nursing, home care, and security officers.

SEIU said this:

Semler’s endorsement wasn’t surprising either given the WEA’s growing disaffection with schools chief Terry Bergeson over the WASL testing and other issues. Semler was given the endorsement on April 18 but did not announce it until today.

Semler said this:

Rich Wood, spokesman for WEA, said Semler has ideas for changing the high-stakes testing regimen with WASL, but he spoke of a deeper problem for Bergeson, who is a former WEA leader. He said “there’s a growing sense of frustration and lack of faith in the current superintendent of public instruction” around WASL but also around advocacy for teachers’ compensation and funding for education.

Romero noses out Halvorson for Democrats' nomination

Sandra Romero outpolled Jon Halvorson by a 77 to 63 margin to win Thurston County Democrats’ nomination for county commission tonight.

It was a nomination fight neither District 2 candidate wanted, and both put the best smiling face on the vote beforehand.

Beyond the immediate bragging rights accorded to Romero, it’s not clear the nomination means anything to the candidates. But it could mean something to the state Democratic Party, which ordered up the nomination process ostensibly to preserve any legal rights to challenge the top-two primary system in court.

This whole, strange nomination battle got under way after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to let Initiative 872 stand, in effect putting the top-two primary in place as the voters’ preferred alternative to the popular blanket primary the court had struck down in 2004.

Yet state Democratic chairman Dwight Pelz left me a bit confused earlier today by saying the state party has no plan to challenge the new “top-two” primary system in court. He refused to elaborate.

I think he was trying to say there is no plan to initiate new legal action, but elements of the case are still in federal District Court. I have to think that the party would use results of this fall’s election cycle as evidence of harm to the party – if indeed the top-two harms the party – and would then move to invalidate the primary after using it once.

Halvorson, a former state worker and longtime Lacey City Council member, talked about his last decade spent volunteering in the community as well as his years of service to the party. He called himself a decision maker, said he’d overseen 155 employees and budgets of up to $140 million when he was in state government.

He also said his experience included flipping hamburgers at the Democrats’ Lakefair hamburger booth for 17 years with such dexterity he could flip them with both hands at the same time.

Romero, the former six-term House member, talked about problems with transportation and growth and pledged to work on those issues. She clearly hit a home run and received the warmer applause for her comments. (Maybe there's something about those Demo-burgers that folks are too polite to talk about.)

The vote by precinct committee officers wasn’t actually 77 individuals for Romero to 63 for Halvorson. It was a score based upon PCO votes that were weighted.

That weighting formula took into account the relative number of Democratic voters in each precinct, Thurston County Democratic chairman John Cusick said.

Check the morning paper for my story on the nomination and primary issues.

Chuck Collins announces run against Rep. McCune in 2nd

Power company consultant Chuck Collins of Yelm has jumped into the 2nd Legislative District race, announcing today he is running as a Democrat against Republican Rep. Jim McCune.

Another Democrat, Raymond Harper of Eatonville, also has registered with the Public Disclosure Commission to raise money in a bid for the same seat. We haven’t seen an announcement yet from Harper.

Collins issued a press release that described him as a small businessman and quoted him as saying, in part:

“I want to put my energy, experience, and enthusiasm to work for the people of the 2nd District … We have serious issues that aren’t being addressed and it’s time for new leadership and fresh ideas in Olympia. I’ve never been afraid of hard work and I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and tackle the difficult issues facing our district and state.” Collins says he’ll focus on “the three E’s – education, the economy, and the environment” if elected to the Legislature. Collins pledged to work on the “three Es – education, the economy and the environment” if he wins. He said he also supports “tough academic standards,” funding and accountability for schools.

McCune is a conservative who complained at the recent Thurston County GOP convention that spending and land-use control actions are out of control in Olympia. He also complained that Democratic majorities in the Legislature have voted to extend civil rights protections to gays and lesbians and created a domestic partnership registry for same-sex couples.

Democrats' hard choice: nominate Romero or Halvorson tonight

Rank and file Democrats don’t really want to do it, but Democratic precinct committee officers have to make up their mind tonight in the Thurston County commissioner race between Jon Halvorson and Sandra Romero.

The county party is holding its monthly meeting at the County Courthouse, and the agenda includes a vote by PCOs from the county’s District 2, which is the eastern third of the county. It’s hard to say if they’ll choose to “nominate” Romero, the former state legislator and ex-Olympia councilwoman, or Halvorson, the party workhorse and former Lacey councilman.

Those in District 1 will presumably nominate Commissioner Cathy Wolfe for another term.

Both Halvorson and Romero told me at the Democrats' county convention on April 19 that it was too close to call. Halvorson thought he was ahead by three PCOs, and Romero said she thought she was ahead. That is, Romero thought she was ahead until one PCO learned she favored Hillary Clinton for president over Barack Obama, and the PCO switched to Halvorson, she said.

Both candidates are shrugging about the nomination process, though.

Under rules proffered by Secretary of State Sam Reed, candidates who formally file for office during filing week, June 2-6, will identify themselves by party affiliation by saying they prefer a party. So regardless of what PCOs decide, Romero and Halvorson will mark themselves as preferring the Democratic Party — and the ballot will not list which of them is the formal party “nominee.”

Halvorson and Romero both say they’ll abide by the results and do the best they can. And later, if both survive the primary to meet in the general election, both can seek the formal endorsement of the local party. If I understand this right, both could be endorsed.

Don’t feel bad if none of this makes sense. It all goes back to the state Democratic Party’s objection to the “top-two” primary system.

The state Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties all challenged Initiative 872 in court, believing that voters’ decision to go with a top-two would violate their rights to decide who their nominee would be on the November ballot. Voters went with the top-two because it in some ways most resembled the popular “blanket” primary that allowed ticket-splitting in primaries but was struck down by federal courts for interfering with a political party’s ability to decide who could help choose its nominees.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court let that primary become the law — while allowing for future challenges of the runoff primary system if political parties can show voters are confused or parties are damaged.

And that’s what this crazy nomination process is all about: preserving party standing to sue if they don’t like the results after the Aug. 19 primary.

Under the top-two, the two biggest vote getters move on to the November general election ballot regardless of party affiliation. This means two Democrats in some Democratic strongholds like Seattle, and two Republicans in some rural and Eastern Washington areas.

It’s quite possible that in some communities, a Democrat disfavored by the Democratic Party will get the nod. One example that springs to mind is that of Tim Sheldon, the sometimes-Independent commissioner in Mason County, who is running for re-election as a Democrat but faces a challenge from local Democratic Party chairwoman Roslynne Reed.

The Mason Democrats haven’t nominated yet but it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t go with Reed. And so if Sheldon and Republican Deborah Reis are top vote getters, it’s possible that the Democrats’ nominee won’t be on the ballot. And they might then use that as part of an election challenge.

So the result of the story is that Democrats who want to challenge the top-two now must make a choice like few they’ve ever had to make publicly before in primary elections. Typically the party stays neutral before the primary.

If you think you know who’ll win, Romero or Halvorson, and why, let me know. I’d like help understanding the background that gives one or the other the edge.

Farewell to David Ammons

In a few short hours, it’ll all be over for longtime Associated Press reporter David Ammons. I’ll miss him as a reporter. He’s been a good guy.

A couple of blogs reported on his departure today, including The Times’ David Postman describing this as the end of an era, and Tri-City Herald’s Chris Mulick with a testimonial. See the posts here and here.

In my short time around the statehouse I found Ammons to be accessible, kind and helpful. I don’t think I’ll ever fathom how he kept at it at the Capitol for 37 years, late nights included.

I remember watching House lawmakers battle over a budget until dawn broke the next morning one year and Ammons was there — bleary and disgusted. Another time when Senate Democrats stood to close off the Republicans’ debate on a budget bill, Ammons stood up, too.

That’s about as partisan as he ever seemed to get — which is to say, he didn’t take sides unless it was against stupidity. Even his departure to work as spokesman for Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed doesn’t look very politically tinged.

But maybe someone should pray for the man. After all, he is going over to the dark side of government.

Good luck, David.