Democrats dominate Issaquah voters’ choices
January 1, 2013
Strong get-out-the vote operation boosts candidates
Democrats dominated Issaquah in the November election.
City voters chose Democrats for every federal and statewide office on the ballot — sometimes by a broad margin and others by a handful of votes.
Issaquah overwhelmingly supported Democrats in the races for president and vice president, U.S. senator and U.S. representative, and every statewide office. Only incumbent Republican Steve Litzow, a 41st Legislative District state senator representing about half of Issaquah, earned support from a majority of voters inside city limits.
How did Issaquah vote?
January 1, 2013
City-level results from the November election show Issaquah voters followed statewide trends on some issues, or occasionally chose another direction.
In local legislative contests, outside spending reshapes races
November 27, 2012
Issaquah Democrat Mark Mullet raised $315,166 in the race to represent Issaquah in the state Senate and garnered 36,630 votes throughout the 5th Legislative District.
The total raised amounts to about $8.60 per vote for the ubiquitous campaign mailers, yard signs and TV spots, and online advertising in Mullet’s successful race against Snoqualmie Republican Brad Toft.
Toft collected $306,599 and received 30,683 votes districtwide — or about $9.99 per vote.
How much did Issaquah legislative candidates raise?
November 27, 2012
The candidates to represent Issaquah in Olympia raised a combined $1.5 million to fund legislative campaigns.
Steve Litzow, Marcie Maxwell prevail in 41st Legislative District
November 13, 2012
Incumbents triumphed in the race to represent Issaquah and other 41st Legislative District communities.
Steve Litzow
Marcie Maxwell
Steve Litzow, a freshman Republican state senator from Mercer Island, outpaced Mercer Island Democrat Maureen Judge. Renton Democrat Marcie Maxwell, a state representative elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2010, cruised to commanding victory against Issaquah Republican Tim Eaves, a novice candidate.
Issaquah’s Cougar Mountain neighborhoods and North Issaquah fall inside the district, a suburban swath stretched from Mercer Island to Sammamish.
Litzow said the outcome reflected the district’s moderate character. Redistricting last year removed part of Renton and added part of Sammamish to the district.
Democrat Mark Mullet claims lead in state Senate bout
November 6, 2012
Mark Mullet embraces wife Sabath at Zeeks Pizza on election night moments after initial results give him a lead in the race against Brad Toft for the 5th Legislative District’s state Senate seat. By Greg Farrar
UPDATED — 9:25 p.m. Nov. 6, 2012
The unexpectedly ugly race to represent Issaquah in the state Senate neared a coda Tuesday as Democrat Mark Mullet claimed a lead in initial results.
Legislative candidates focus on education at forum
October 23, 2012
Candidates staked moderate positions and touted the importance of education as the contenders for offices to represent Issaquah in Olympia gathered for a candidate forum Oct. 18.
Education emerged as the signature theme in the races to represent local constituents in the state Senate and state House of Representatives. Candidates also tackled issues related to taxation, transportation, land use and — as lawmakers prepare for more budget cuts next year — government spending.
Local legislative candidates answer questions
October 16, 2012
Click on the image to read candidate responses from state House of Representatives and state Senate candidates in the 5th and 41st legislative districts.
5th Legislative District — state House of Representatives
Chad Magendanz
How can the state fulfill its “paramount duty” to fund education, despite budget limitations?
• Budget writers must follow the Supreme Court ruling to fund education as our “first and highest priority before any other state programs or operations.”
What specific steps can state government take to entice businesses to expand or relocate to Washington?
• Reduce burdensome regulations by aligning with federal standards, reform workers compensation and unemployment insurance programs to lower costs, and simplify the B&O tax structure.
What specific steps can state government take to increase revenue, despite the existing limitations?
• A revenue-neutral swap of state property tax for local school levies would bring $1 billion of education funding into a more regular and dependable tax structure.
What specific steps can state government take to shore up Washington’s higher education system?
• Return to a 50-50 deal with university students and restore funding levels to their historical average, rather than just 8 percent of the general fund.
41st Legislative District candidates tout successes to appeal to moderate voters
October 16, 2012
Maureen Judge
Steve Litzow
Redistricting shifted more Issaquah neighborhoods into the 41st Legislative District, alongside Mercer Island, Newcastle and parts of Bellevue and Sammamish.
The contest to represent the affluent, suburban district in the state Senate is between Mercer Island residents Maureen Judge, a Democrat, and Steve Litzow, a Republican freshman senator.
In 2010, Litzow defeated appointed incumbent Randy Gordon by 192 votes to represent the district in the Senate. The candidates battled to fill the unexpired term of former Sen. Fred Jarrett, a Republican-turned-Democrat and the current King County deputy executive.
“Fred Jarrett, who was an early endorser of mine and is very beloved and well-known in the 41st, has said to me, ‘Maureen, always remember that this is not a blue district, it’s not a red district. It’s a purple district,’” Judge said.
Meet congressional, legislative candidates at forum
October 9, 2012
Hear from the candidates for offices in Olympia and Washington, D.C., at a candidate forum cosponsored by The Issaquah Press, the American Association of University Women and the League of Women Voters.
The lineup for the Oct. 18 forum includes candidates for the state House of Representatives and state Senate, plus a candidate to represent Issaquah in Congress. The forum includes candidates in contested and uncontested races.
The event is not a debate. Candidates offer opening statements to the audience and then answer a series of questions from the moderator, Publisher Debbie Berto.
