Issaquah precinct defied trend to support income tax measure
December 5, 2010
NEW — 8 a.m. Dec. 5, 2010
The ballot measure to create a state income tax failed outside of left-leaning Seattle and Vashon Island — except for a precinct nestled along the southern end of Lake Sammamish.
Initiative 1098 received ironclad support — 80 percent — in the precinct.
The catch: King County records indicate the precinct has 11 registered voters; 10 participated in the Nov. 2 election.
King County Elections has released detailed data for the election. The information offers insight into how residents in Issaquah and the surrounding area cast ballots in high-profile contests.
Dino Rossi falls short in Senate bout
November 9, 2010
By Greg Farrar Dino Rossi, U.S. Senate candidate, kisses wife Terry as children (from left) Jake, Joseph, Juliauna and Jillian look on during a GOP celebration in Bellevue Nov. 2.
Republican Dino Rossi, a Sammamish resident and former Issaquah legislator, faltered in a hard-fought U.S. Senate race to the incumbent, Democrat Patty Murray.
“I ran for the Senate because I believe we need a basic course correction from where Washington, D.C., has been taking us and to make sure this country is as free, as strong and as prosperous in the future as it has been in the past to preserve the best of America for future generations,” Rossi said in a concession statement released Nov. 4. “That was a message that found a very receptive audience all across this state, though not quite receptive enough.”
Rossi campaigned as a fiscal conservative, and used the years he spent as a budget architect in Olympia as a touchstone in the U.S. Senate campaign.
Murray, bolstered by strong turnout in true-blue King County, built a slim lead on Election Day until more than 60,000 votes separated the candidates.
Rossi stumbled in the 2004 and 2008 races for the Governor’s Mansion to Democrat Chris Gregoire. He offered no hints about future political plans.
“The lesson I leave you with is one we learned as kids: We’re all in this together,” he said in the statement. “If Washington, D.C., doesn’t act to help the economy grow and solve this massive spending and debt, it’s going to hurt us all. It won’t distinguish by political party.”
Dino Rossi, former Issaquah legislator, concedes Senate race
November 4, 2010
NEW — 6:30 p.m. Nov. 4, 2010
Republican Dino Rossi, a Sammamish resident and former Issaquah legislator, has conceded a hard-fought U.S. Senate race to the incumbent, Democrat Patty Murray.
“This evening, I called Sen. Murray to offer my congratulations on her re-election to the U.S. Senate,” Rossi said in a statement released Thursday. “I ran for the Senate because I believe we need a basic course correction from where Washington, D.C., has been taking us and to make sure this country is as free, as strong and as prosperous in the future as it has been in the past to preserve the best of America for future generations. That was a message that found a very receptive audience all across this state, though not quite receptive enough.”
Dino Rossi trails in U.S. Senate race as count continues
November 3, 2010
Dino Rossi, U.S. Senate candidate, kisses wife Terry as children (from left) Jake, Joseph, Juliauna and Jillian look on during a GOP celebration in Bellevue Tuesday. By Greg Farrar
State Senate races remain too close to call
UPDATED — 5:55 p.m. Nov. 3, 2010
Republican Dino Rossi, a Sammamish resident and former Issaquah state senator, trailed incumbent U.S. Sen. Patty Murray by about 24,800 votes Wednesday afternoon, though the number could shift in the days ahead as mail ballots reach elections offices statewide.
King County voter turnout exceeds pre-election estimates
November 3, 2010
NEW — 5:55 p.m. Nov. 3, 2010
Ballots continue to arrive at King County Elections’ Tukwila headquarters, but the county has already beat pre-election turnout estimates.
The office predicted 68 percent turnout, but turnout — fueled by interest in a hot U.S. Senate race, plus statehouse races and a slew of ballot measures — has already surpassed 71 percent. The total includes about 57,000 ballots returned to ballot drop boxes on Election Day.
The elections headquarters has received most of the ballots postmarked by the Election Day deadline, totaling more than 762,000.
“It always makes us happy to see a high level of voter turnout,” Elections Director Sherril Huff said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “With over 145,000 ballots arriving in the mail today alone, this election tested our ability to deal with record volumes of mail and I’m very pleased to say that we successfully got the job done.”
Jimmy Carter offers another chapter on tumultuous presidency
October 19, 2010
Former president brings book tour to Costco
Jimmy Carter owes a lot to Richard Nixon.
Sure, the Watergate scandal set the stage for the Washington outsider persona Carter cultivated on the stump in 1976, but the former peanut farmer credits Nixon for something else: the reason he started a diary.
Former President Jimmy Carter signs copies of ‘Living Faith’ during a 1996 stop at the Issaquah Costco. File
Back in the early 1970s, Carter and future first lady Rosalynn attended a White House reception.
Carter, then the governor of Georgia, had not met a president before.
“Nixon reached out to my wife and he shook her hand and said, ‘Young lady, do you keep a diary?’ Rosalynn said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Well, you ought to keep a diary to let people know in future years what happened to you at the White House,” Carter recalled in a phone interview last week.
The idea lingered and Carter, then a little-known Southerner, put pen to paper. Nixon, of course, preferred to tape record.
Carter recounts the prescient scene in the opening pages of “White House Diary,” the annotated, edited and candid account of a tumultuous era.
The former president — in the midst of a national tour to promote the tome — is due in Issaquah next week to sign copies at Costco. (Carter last appeared at the local Costco on a 1996 book tour.)
“I think a lot of people are intrigued by my personal insights into the struggles and achievements and doubts and fears and accomplishments — and sometimes failures — of an incumbent president,” he said.
Carter, 86, outlined parallels between the political squabbles of a generation ago and the present day.
“Many issues carried over from my time — and I had a very difficult time dealing with them — and are now on the desk of President Obama,” he said.
The nettlesome struggle to foster peace in the Middle East, questions about energy policy, a hostile regime in Iran and a lethargic economy — for the record, Carter did not use the word “malaise” — continue to shape the debate in the other Washington.
Ballots head to voters as state predicts record turnout
October 11, 2010
NEW — 3 p.m. Oct. 11, 2010
King County voters should start to receive ballots and voters’ pamphlets in the mail this week.
In addition to the county voters’ guide, the Secretary of State’s Office has a mailed a guide to state and federal races.
Voting starts as soon as voters receive their ballots. The elections office has 11 ballot drop boxes, including a box at Issaquah City Hall. The county also plans to open accessible voting centers Wednesday for voters with disabilities.
Ballots must be postmarked or dropped off by 8 p.m. Nov. 2, Election Day. Track returned ballots here.
Arthritis advocates take case to congressman
September 28, 2010
Congressman Dave Reichert listened to Issaquah residents Peggy Timmins and 11-year-old Alicia Seidel talk about their support for the Arthritis Prevention Control and Cure Act at his office Sept. 17.
Reichert, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, said he was there to listen, but said it was unlikely Congress would pass the act this session because of the budget deficit. Read more
Dino Rossi strives to be comeback kid in Senate race
September 14, 2010
Former Issaquah legislator returns after dual losses
The story is classic Dino Rossi: a daunting policy issue framed as a kitchen table discussion.
Dino Rossi
Not long before the Sammamish resident and GOP standard-bearer decided to run for the U.S. Senate, son Jake had a question about the national debt.
“My 16-year-old asked me, ‘How much do I owe?’ Sixteen-year-olds shouldn’t be asking questions like that,” Dino Rossi recalled. “They should be asking, ‘Can I have the car keys? And get out the money while you’re giving me the car keys.’”
State House hopefuls headed for ’08 rematch in 5th District
August 24, 2010
The race to represent Issaquah and the 5th Legislative District is a 2008 rematch.
State Rep. Glenn Anderson and Democrat David Spring faced off in the last election. Spring fell short to the Republican incumbent by about 2,200 votes. They meet again in the November election.
Sammamish Democrat Dean Willard — the candidate endorsed by the local and state party — failed to advance beyond the Aug. 17 primary, despite raising more money than Anderson and Spring combined.
Fall City resident Anderson received 58 percent of the vote, compared to 25 percent for North Bend resident Spring. Willard received 17 percent.
The district includes Issaquah, North Bend, Snoqualmie and other Eastside communities.
