Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in December 2010

Campaign fundraising begins anew …

December 5, 2010

Campaigns for the next run of election aren't quite yet underway, but you could about hold your breath until they are.

See this note from Sound Politics:

State Rep. Mike Hope (R, 44th) announced this week that he's running for Snohomish County Executive in 2011. His early announcement is probably in part because he only has until December 10th to raise money until after the legislative session ends (while candidates who aren't state legislators can raise money throughout the session).

This isn't meant as a snark at Hope, of course; but it is a bit of snark at a systemic structure that puts candidates in the position of fundraising for the next election before the paperwork on the last one is even done. Is there a better way?

Killing the Kardashian Kard

December 3, 2010

Northwest press release of the month (last month), no matter if it's technically a blog post rather than a release. It's from the Washington attorney general's office.

The lead: "This news may leave you wondering, what, exactly, is (or was) the Kardashian Kard? In short, it’s a debit card emblazoned with the images of three attractive, if slightly vacant, media darlings: Kim, Kloe and Kourtney. I’m guessing that the Kardashians, known for their plasticity, didn’t immediately grasp the irony of being depicted on pieces of plastic."

And gets even better from there ...

Identikits

December 2, 2010

An item of interest, found in running this this forthnight's worth of new Washington state administrative rules (one of the resources, ahem, reviewed in our weekly Digests):

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of individuals obtaining Washington state driver's licenses with no Social Security number coming from states that have historically had very stable immigration rates, strongly suggesting that Washington has become a state of opportunity in which individuals from other states come here to obtain a Washington driver's license and falsely use a Washington residence address and then return to their home states. The department has adopted an emergency rule to address this issue, and has consequently seen a rise in the number of applications for identicards. To address this, the department intends to adopt a rule to limit the circumstances under which it will mail original licenses and identicards to out-of-state addresses.

A step to the right …

December 1, 2010

The new leader of the Idaho Senate, Republican Brent Hill of Rexburg, has developed a generally broad respect among Idaho legislature-watchers. He seems, based on his statements and initiatives, to be relatively non-ideological and willing to work with unexpected allies. That's a broader picture than you might have expected from this year's round of leadership races, with the Senate top job open for choice.

The speculation here is that Hill's win, over Meridian Senator Russ Fulcher, has a lot to do with the internal personal dynamics of the Senate. Leadership races typically do; those factors play in more than rigidly-defined philosophical stances generally do.

Before leaving that latter motivation behind, though, do bear in mind the assistant majority leader contest, in which long-time incumbent Joe Stegner of Lewiston was ousted in what was framed as a clear challenge from the right, from Senator Chuck Winder of Eagle. Dig under the surface of that one, and you'd probably find matters of ideology playing a notably large role.