Council bids farewell to Bob Ferguson, incoming state attorney general
January 16, 2013
NEW — 6 a.m. Jan. 16, 2013
King County Council colleagues bid farewell to outgoing Bob Ferguson on Monday, as the longtime councilman prepares to assume office as state attorney general.
Bob Ferguson
Ferguson is scheduled to take the oath of office Wednesday in Olympia. In November, he defeated a council colleague, Issaquah-area representative Reagan Dunn, to succeed outgoing state Attorney General Rob McKenna.
“It has been an honor to work with Bob Ferguson for the last nine years,” council Chairman Larry Gossett said in a statement. “All of the people of the state of Washington will now benefit from the energy and intelligence we have seen during his time on the council.”
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.
Holiday donors can avoid charity scams
December 11, 2012
Secretary of State Sam Reed and state Attorney General Rob McKenna urged consumers to beware of holiday charity scams, and unveiled a report to help residents donate wisely.
Throughout 2012, charities using commercial fundraisers in Washington received 46 percent of total donations raised by the fundraisers — lower than the 56 percent in the 2011 report and a major drop from the 77 percent in the 2010 report. Read the most recent report on the Office of the Secretary of State’s website at http://1.usa.gov/TgnGu0.
The report is updated on a weekly basis. Consumers can also run reports in real time and receive current registration information on commercial fundraisers.
Report offers tips for donors to avoid holiday charity scams
December 3, 2012
NEW — 10 a.m. Dec. 3, 2012
Secretary of State Sam Reed and state Attorney General Rob McKenna urged consumers to beware holiday charity scams Wednesday, and unveiled a report to help residents donate wisely.
Throughout 2012, charities using commercial fundraisers in Washington received 46 percent of total donations raised by the fundraisers — lower than the 56 percent in the 2011 report and a major drop from the 77 percent in the 2010 report.
But the percentage individual fundraisers retained varied. Some fundraisers kept less than 10 percent and sent the remaining funds to charity. Other fundraisers’ fees and expenses exceeded the amount raised.
The report, compiled by the Charities Program in Reed’s office and released Nov. 29, spotlights recent financial information for commercial fundraisers soliciting or collecting donations on behalf of charity clients.
Students choose Barack Obama, Jay Inslee in mock election
November 27, 2012
Students statewide and in the Issaquah School District chose the same candidates as grown-up voters — Barack Obama for president and Jay Inslee for governor.
The exercise included 38,848 students statewide, including classes at Cascade Ridge Elementary, Endeavour Elementary, Sunset Elementary, Pine Lake Middle and Issaquah High schools in the Issaquah School District.
The number of students participating statewide shattered the record for participation — about 18,000 students — set in 2008.
Liberty High School student experiences campaigns
November 27, 2012
Veronica Austin
Liberty High School
This election season, many seniors in high school were eligible to vote, but some went further to have their voices heard, even volunteering for candidates’ campaigns to encourage others to vote.
One such student is Liberty High School senior Kiera Stevens, who worked with the group Friends of Dave Reichert after hearing that it was in need of volunteers. The group helped coordinate 8th District Washington congressman Dave Reichert’s campaign.
“I wanted to intern because I am a Republican,” Stevens said. “The party is a minority in this state, so I wanted to support it.”
Dave Reichert wins another term in Congress
November 13, 2012
Dave Reichert
Redistricting ended almost a decade of close challenges for control in the 8th Congressional District, as voters re-elected Republican Dave Reichert by a comfortable margin after a campaign unlike other recent contests for the seat.
In a landslide, Reichert, a former King County sheriff and Auburn Republican, defeated Issaquah Democrat Karen Porterfield, a nonprofit professional and adjunct instructor at Seattle University.
Reichert held on amid vigorous challenges from Democrats in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, but redistricting last year reshaped the district. The state commission responsible for redrawing the political map snipped Eastside cities from the district and added Eastern Washington communities.
The result created a seat observers said is reliably Republican — and offered little suspense as Election Day came to a close. Reichert led by 18 points in the initial election night results and continued to hold a commanding lead.
Students choose Barack Obama, Jay Inslee in mock election
November 13, 2012
NEW — 8 a.m. Nov. 13, 2012
Students statewide and in the Issaquah School District chose the same candidates as grown-up voters — Barack Obama for president and Jay Inslee for governor.
The exercise included 38,848 students statewide, including classes at Cascade Ridge Elementary, Endeavour Elementary, Sunset Elementary, Pine Lake Middle and Issaquah High schools in the Issaquah School District. The number of students participating statewide shattered the record for participation — about 18,000 students — set in 2008.
Students cast ballots online from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, and then Secretary of State Sam Reed’s office posted the results online. The results in the statewide Student Mock Election reflected the outcome in the real election, albeit with different margins.
Dave Reichert outpaces Karen Porterfield to represent Issaquah in Congress
November 6, 2012
Karen Porterfield
Dave Reichert
UPDATED — 11:10 p.m. Nov. 6, 2012
Dave Reichert is poised to return to Washington, D.C., to represent Issaquah and the 8th Congressional District.
Reichert, a former King County sheriff and Auburn Republican, faced Issaquah Democrat Karen Porterfield, a nonprofit professional and adjunct instructor at Seattle University.
Reichert led, 59 percent to 41 percent, in the initial results released Tuesday night.
The district stretches from Auburn to Issaquah, and then across the Cascades to Ellensburg and Wenatchee.
“We toured cities from Eatonville to Chelan, and I heard the same thing, ‘We’ve got to get the economy moving again,’” Reichert said at the GOP election night celebration in Bellevue. “I’m in a good position to do that in the Ways & Means Committee.”
