King County to include 520,000 ballots in initial tally
November 6, 2012
NEW — 5:30 p.m. Nov. 6, 2012
King County Elections officials said the initial tally released at about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday should include at least 520,000 ballots.
In the all-mail election, voters can return ballots to designated drop boxes by 8 p.m. The elections office opened a drop box at Issaquah City Hall, 130 E. Sunset Way.
Otherwise, ballots must receive a Nov. 6 postmark.
The initial release from King County Elections is the only update for Tuesday.
The elections office plans to release the next round of results by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, and then on subsequent weekdays until the election is certified Nov. 27. Voters can resolve ballot signature issues until Nov. 26.
The Issaquah Press’ general election endorsements
October 30, 2012
See the editorial board’s recommendations for congressional and legislative candidates, and statewide ballot measures, in the Nov. 6 general election.
Shooting spree ends with suspect’s death
October 30, 2012
Deputies launched a manhunt in East King County on Oct. 27, after a man shot a woman in the May Valley area after shooting another man in Renton.
Police later found the suspect, 48-year-old Renton resident John L. McKay, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators said McKay stormed into his estranged wife’s Renton home at about 2:30 p.m. Investigators said he shot Tina McKay’s boyfriend, and pistol-whipped her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend.
John McKay then drove to the home of his former mother-in-law, Linda Ryan, in the 13400 block of 209th Avenue Southeast in unincorporated King County south of Issaquah. (The house is about a block south of Southeast May Valley Road and about five miles southeast of downtown Issaquah.)
Woman shot near Issaquah; suspect connected to Renton shooting
October 27, 2012
UPDATED — 9:15 p.m. Oct. 27, 2012
Police said a woman was shot just outside Issaquah city limits on Saturday afternoon and transported to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries.
The man suspected in the shooting and another shooting in Renton, John L. McKay, was discovered dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound later Saturday in the Skyway area.
King County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the 13400 block of 209th Avenue Southeast near Issaquah, just outside the southwest city limits off of Southeast May Valley Road, after the woman was shot.
Police said the incident could be connected to a shooting later in the day near Renton.
Investigators said the woman’s former son-in-law was the shooter.
Change in geography alters landscape for congressional race
October 23, 2012
Karen Porterfield
Dave Reichert
The showdown in the 8th Congressional District is far different from the most recent contests for the seat.
Incumbent Republican Dave Reichert held on amid spirited challenges from Democrats in 2006, 2008 and 2010. Redistricting last year reshaped the landscape for the district, and the 2012 race is not attracting the same kind of attention — or money — as the earlier battles.
Reichert’s opponent is Issaquah Democrat Karen Porterfield, a nonprofit professional and adjunct instructor at Seattle University.
Porterfield grew up in Seattle, in a family active in Democratic politics, and settled in Issaquah more than a decade ago. She said the expertise she gained in affordable housing development and in leadership roles at nonprofit organizations means she could offer a unique perspective in Congress.
Congressional candidate answers questions at forum
October 23, 2012
Karen Porterfield
Issaquah Democrat Karen Porterfield, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, addressed forum attendees Oct. 18 about the federal health care overhaul, ending the war in Afghanistan and balancing the needs of 8th Congressional District constituents on both sides of the Cascades.
“It’s a big district, but the No. 1 issue that people are looking for is opportunity — education, jobs, a way to get ahead,” she said.
Porterfield is running to unseat the incumbent, Auburn Republican Dave Reichert, in the sprawling district. Redistricting reshaped the district to stretch from Auburn in South King County to Wenatchee in Chelan County.
Reichert, a former King County sheriff and a congressman since 2005, did not attend the forum.
Cyberbullying crackdown is priority for sheriff’s office
October 23, 2012
King County Sheriff’s Office investigators could soon crack down on cyberbullying, after the King County Council approved a motion introduced by Issaquah-area Councilman Reagan Dunn.
Reagan Dunn
Cyberbullying is the use of information and technology to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behavior. The crime exploded in recent years due to the prevalence of social media services, and gained national attention last year after classmates targeted a then-12-year-old Issaquah girl online.
Dunn said cyberbullying is increasingly a concern for law enforcement agencies.
“In recent months, all across the country, we have seen tragedies unfold as a result of cyberbullying,” he said in a statement. “This motion will allow the sheriff’s office to study this issue thoroughly and ensure King County has a plan to deal with any of these troubling bullying trends.”
(Dunn represents rural areas south of Issaquah and Newcastle on the council.)
Top elections official predicts strong voter participation
October 17, 2012
NEW — 11:45 a.m. Oct. 17, 2012
The top elections official in Washington, Secretary of State Sam Reed, predicted strong voter participation in the Nov. 6 election, as counties started mailing ballots to voters Wednesday.
Statewide, county-level elections administrators sent more than 3.85 million ballots to registered voters. King County Elections is due to mail 1.16 million ballots.
Reed said intense interest in the contests for president and governor — plus ballot measures and other statewide races — should lead to strong voter participation.
“The presidential/gubernatorial election year always has the best turnout, and this year really has something for everyone,” he said in a statement. “We have a presidential race that is essentially tied at the national level and an open governor’s race that is very close and hotly contested.”
Next King County sheriff faces tough decisions to reform agency
October 16, 2012
The contest to lead the King County Sheriff’s Office could hinge on a series of audits into how the agency operates.
The sheriff oversees a budget of about $150 million and about 1,000 employees, and leads the largest local police organization in the state after the Seattle Police Department.
John Urquhart
Steve Strachan
The contentious race pits Sheriff Steve Strachan, a former Kent police chief, against John Urquhart, a former sheriff’s office sergeant and spokesman.
King County Council members appointed Strachan as sheriff in April, not long after former Sheriff Sue Rahr resigned to lead the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, or state police academy.
Though the election is to fill the Rahr’s unexpired term through 2013, the next sheriff faces a landmark effort to reform the agency in response to audits critical of policies put into place under Strachan’s predecessors.
Strachan, a SeaTac resident, served as a police chief and state legislator in Minnesota before accepting the Kent post in 2006. In the Minnesota Legislature, he helped pass legislation to reduce the blood-alcohol limit to 0.08 percent. Rahr tapped Strachan as the chief deputy, or No. 2 spot, at the sheriff’s office in early 2011.
King County Sheriff’s Office to hire 14 deputies
October 13, 2012
King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert (center) joins Councilman Joe McDermott (from left), King County Executive Dow Constantine and Sheriff Steve Strachan for the hiring announcement Friday. Contributed
NEW — 6 a.m. Oct. 13, 2012
King County Sheriff Steve Strachan announced a plan Friday to hire 14 deputies in the months ahead by using dollars from the existing King County Sheriff’s Office budget.
