Redistricting splits Snoqualmie Valley between two congressional districts
December 30, 2011
Snoqualmie Valley is being split between two Congressional districts, based on a proposal from the commission tasked with redrawing Washington state’s political boundaries. The commission shifted boundaries to make room for a congressional district that has a majority of residents of minority ethnicities, and a new district centered in Olympia.
The plan cuts off neighbors to the northeast of North Bend and Snoqualmie, and moves them into the 1st Congressional District. Most of the residents in the upper Snoqualmie Valley remain in a more conservative 8th Congressional District, which now stretches across the Cascade Mountains.
Fall City and the rest of the lower Valley move into the 1st District, which remains the state’s one swing district.
Glenn Anderson is running for lieutenant governor, won’t seek re-election to Legislature
December 28, 2011
Rep. Glenn Anderson is running for Washington state’s lieutenant governor office in 2012. He said Wednesday that he will make a formal announcement in early January.
He also said that he will not run for re-election to a seventh consecutive term as a state representative. Since 2000, he has represented the 5th Legislative District, which includes Snoqualmie Valley.
At least four candidates will by vying for the seat — Anderson, the incumbent Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, former state Sen. Bill Finkbeiner and an independent candidate, Mark Greene. All have filed with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission.
Democratic state chairman to discuss proposal to scrap presidential primary
March 15, 2011
The leader of the state Democratic Party is scheduled to speak in Issaquah next week about a proposal to scrap the Evergreen State’s presidential primary in favor of the caucus system.
Washington State Democrats Chairman Dwight Pelz is due at the March 16 meeting of the 5th District Democrats, the local party organization.
Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, called for eliminating the 2012 presidential primary in order to save the cash-strapped state about $10 million. Voters mandated the primary in a 1989 ballot initiative, but Democrats rely more on party caucuses to allocate delegates.
Advocates see good odds for bill expanding federal wilderness area in Snoqualmie Valley
February 11, 2011
A bill to protect the Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers has been re-introduced into Congress after an identical bill was held up last year in the Senate.
The previous bill’s leading co-sponsors —Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and Republican Rep. Dave Reichert — are again leading bipartisan support for the legislation.
But the bill faces a Congress with more members skeptical of environmental protection. Nonetheless, the bill’s advocates are optimistic it will pass — eventually.
National Republican tide ebbs in Eastside races
November 9, 2010
NEW — 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9, 2010
The national GOP tsunami that swept Republicans into statehouses across the nation on Election Day was gentle surf in Washington.
Buffered by large majorities, Democrats kept control of both the state Senate and state House of Representatives. However, candidates from both parties stressed fiscal responsibility in their campaigns.
Republicans held onto the 5th Legislative District and picked up some seats in East King County, but fell short of the seven seats they needed to retake the state Senate.
Washington state Legislature faces tough task in balancing budget deficit after voters send anti-tax message
November 5, 2010
NEW — 6:15 p.m. Nov. 5, 2010
Washington State Legislators are reading one clear message in the results of the Nov. 2 election — no new taxes.
That won’t make the Legislature’s job writing a balanced budget for 2012-2013 any easier when it meets in Olympia in January. The state is expected to be short about $4.8 billion.
Raising taxes is a non-starter for many politicians after voters rejected new taxes and repealed an existing tax in several statewide tax initiatives. Voters also approved an initiative that makes it harder for the Legislature to raise new taxes.
Independent streak defines Eastside voters
October 27, 2010
NEW — 6:28 p.m. Oct. 27, 2010
State races could defy national political tide
The sprint — or slog — to Election Day has a familiar storyline: The angry electorate is poised to rebuke Democrats for a far-reaching agenda and choose a roster of penny-pinching Republicans to slash spending.
The reality is more nuanced — and more complicated.
“There’s always talk about the angry voter and how everybody’s really mad and they’ve got their torches and pitchforks out,” Seattle independent pollster Stuart Elway said. “We’re really not seeing that here, at least statewide.”
Eastside residents from Newcastle to North Bend exhibited different shades of the national mood — in the form of fired-up Republicans and dispirited Democrats — but experts said the local electorate could not be pigeonholed.
Reed Davis, chairman of the political science department at Seattle Pacific University and a former King County GOP chief, said although Democrats might be resigned to defeat on a national scale, the party has not faded in the Evergreen State.
Battleground for Legislature runs through Eastside
October 6, 2010
NEW — 11:51 a.m. Oct. 6, 2010
Republicans, re-energized after a decade of defeats and defections on the Eastside, hope to shift a handful of suburban districts back into the GOP column. Incumbent Democrats promise difficult fights to hold the territory.
Democrats hold sizeable majorities in Olympia. The party outnumbers Republicans 61-37 in the House of Representatives and 31-18 in the Senate. Gov. Chris Gregoire is also a Democrat.
“I think it’s probably a pretty safe bet that the Republicans will pick up some seats, but I don’t know how many,” Washington State University political science professor David Nice said. “My guess is that, no matter who ends up in majority status in either house of the Legislature that the majority is not going to be a very big one.”
