TONIGHT: Live Election Coverage Starting at 7:00 PM

By Tom Forbes | 11/03/09

I'll be live blogging from Susan Fagan election headquarters in Pullman tonight starting at 7:00 PM.  I'll have up-to-the-minute election results from the state representative, Pullman City Council and statewide initiative races, reaction from local elected officials, and my take on the day's events here in Pullman as well as in King County, New York, Virginia, and New Jersey. If you'd like to join in on the fun, head to the... read more »

ONE-ON-ONE: Pierce County Auditor Jan Shabro

By Tom Forbes | 11/03/09

I had a chance to talk with Pierce County Auditor Jan Shabro last night and ask her about her reelection campaign this year. Shabro's opponent, Tacoma City Councilwoman and Deputy Mayor Julie Anderson, has accused Shabro of running the Auditor's office in a partisan fashion.  Shabro previously served as a Republican on the Pierce County Council and as a state representative.  Shabro vehemently denies this.  She says that she has... read more »

Tim Eyman: "The closest thing Washington has to a two-party system"

By Tom Forbes | 11/02/09

Business writer Bill Virgin had a must-read column in yesterday's Tacoma News-Tribune .  Virgin reinforced the argument that I have been making all along about Tim Eyman (my emphasis): The voters, seeing little check on the state’s appetite for tax revenue or its fervor for spending, have turned to the only balance at their disposal.  That would be Eyman. Ordinarily checks and balances are provided by opposing political... read more »

Pullman Election News Roundup

By Tom Forbes | 10/30/09

Nice story in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News by Sarah Mason on campaign finance in the Pullman City Council races: The four Pullman City Council candidates with opposed seats raised a combined $8,903.24 to date for their political campaigns this year. With four days until ballots are due, each candidate is required by law to open up their ledgers to the public. Candidate Dave Gibney, running for the Ward 3 seat, raised the most money with... read more »

Eastern Washington Voters Get Taste of Seattle-Style Sleazeball Tactics

By Tom Forbes | 10/28/09

Bill Grant (D-Walla Walla) served the Washington 16th Legislative District, which encompasses Walla Walla and Columbia counties, and Pasco and part of Kennewick in the Tri-Cities, for 22 years before passing away earlier this year from lung cancer.  As the token Democrat in Olympia from rural Eastern Washington, Grant was rewarded with the coveted position of House Majority Caucus Chairman.  After his death, Grant's... read more »

New Jeff Williams Radio Ads and Interview

By Tom Forbes | 10/27/09

In case you haven't heard them yet, here are Pullman City Council, Ward 1, candidate Jeff Williams' latest radio ads: "ATM" "Wasting Taxes" "Ann Heath" "Please Vote" Also available is an interview Jeff did with KRFP ("Radio Free Moscow.")  You can hear that here. FULL DISCLOSURE: I am Jeff Williams' campaign manager. read more »

Walmart Set to Start Grading at Bishop Boulevard Site in Pullman

By Tom Forbes | 10/26/09

A knowledgeable source at Pullman City Hall informs me that Planning Director Pete Dickinson is very close to issuing a grading permit to Walmart, and issuance of a building permit for the planned 155,000 square foot Supercenter on Bishop Boulevard will follow shortly thereafter. Walmart has apparently already distributed its construction plans for contractor bids, with the submittal deadline set for early November. The bid... read more »

T-Paw Says No to RINOs

By Tom Forbes | 10/26/09

In what has to be considered a major victory for conservative reformers in the Republican Party, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a leading contender for the 2012 GOP nomination for president, has joined former Alaska governor Sarah Palin in endorsing Doug Hoffman, the Constitution Party candidate, in the New York 23rd Congressional District special election: Pawlenty stated: We cannot send more politicians to Washington who wear the... read more »

Chuck Pezeshki Endorses Susan Fagan, Sort Of

By Tom Forbes | 10/26/09

The lack of the usual token Democratic sacrificial lamb in this year's 9th Legislative District statehouse race obviously has the Whitman County Democrats in a bit of a quandary.  Do they just not bother voting?  Or do they try to use their influence to elect a Republican candidate they prefer more for whatever reason? In flocculent leftist Chuck "Mr. Civil Discourse" Pezeshki's case, it is the latter apparently. ... read more »

Football Great Clint Didier Running for U.S. Senate in Washington

By Tom Forbes | 10/22/09

Shortly before Super Bowl XXII, Clint Didier had a dream that his team, the Washington Redskins would be down, but come back to win, and that he would catch a touchdown pass.  That dream came true. Later that year, Didier dreamed that he would no longer be with the the Redskins and watch from afar as they played in another Super Bowl. That dream also came true. Now, Clint dreams of going back to Washington, D.C., this time as a U.S.... read more »