Monthly Archives: October 2011

Final pre-election look-see at contributions

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The Sammamish Review beat me to it with this article looking at campaign contributions. This would have been my last look prior to the election.

As I’ve previously noted, the contributions make bunk of John Galvin’s silly claims that Ramiro Valderrama is back by the “old guard.” In fact, he is back mostly by the same people who support Kathy Richardson, not the traditional “old guard” who back Tom Vance. Vance has not demonstrated he can reach out across ideological or varied interests to garner support and reach consensus, the latter’s inability being a major failing as chairman of the planning commission.

Jim Wasnick and Jesse Bornfreund are largely self-funding their campaigns, demonstrating little broad support.

Taj Mahal community center DOA

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Sammamish citizens have spent a decade asking for a community center, with a split but generally majority opinion supporting inclusion of an aquatic component.

City council after city council deferred the decision and finally this year undertook a “process” that came up with a proposal that will cost at least $64 million. At 98,000 sf, the building is 2 1/2 times the size of City Hall and (depending on whose number you believe) seven times the cost. Sammamish’s Taj Mahal would be the largest community center in King County, according to some.

The “process” ignored the city’s own Parks Commission, which was perfectly capable of making recommendations.

It’s a ridiculous proposal. And it appears to be DOA.

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A final election wrap: Valderrama, Richardson, Vance are preferred

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The election ballots will be received in the mail shortly and Sammamish voters will be choosing three council members. Who do they choose?

I’ve written quite a bit about the election in the recent weeks. Now it’s down to crunch time.

This the most disappointing council election I have seen in this city since the first one in 1999. The whispering campaign from the Jim Wasnick camp against Ramiro Valderrama began before the primary votes were fully counted. Despite his denials, there is ample evidence that Wasnick himself was actively involved and the whispers weren’t limited to his supporters, who were more interested in smears than in issues.

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Voters Beware: last minute mud-slinging likely

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Sammamish voters beware: last minute mud-slinging is likely in the form of robo-calls and mailers for the city council election November 8.

By now most if not all of the voters will have received ballots in the mail from King County for the election. As I noted right after the August primary, the mud-slinging whispering campaign has already begun and it was centered on trying to take down Ramiro Valderrama. I’ve previously detailed the petty issues and the one, unfounded serious charge so I won’t go into them again here.

But I can tell you that mailers and robo calls are almost certain to take the unfounded serious charge and try last-minute efforts to further trash Valderrama.

The robo-calls are likely to be anonymous. The mailers may be, too, or labeled with a pseudo-political action committee (PAC) that in reality is tied to the people who have been behind the whispering campaign in the first place.

A legitimate PAC files with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission and has its name and top five contributors on the mailer, along with a detailed contributor listing filed with the PDC. A pseudo-PAC won’t likely have any of these or may have a “name” that doesn’t check out with a PDC filing.

So I urge voters to beware of hit-piece mailers and robo-calls–and to disregard their messages accordingly.

Also beware of pseudo-PACs that endorse when in reality these PACs are nothing more than “fronts” for the candidates and their supporters.

Also be on the lookout for anonymous fliers hand-delivered or mailed. These, too, should be rejected out-of-hand.

Vote No on 1125

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Initiative 1125 is masquerading as a tolling bill.  In reality, it would devastate funding for our major roads projects such as SR 520, the viaduct, the Columbia River Crossing and SR 167.  The Office of Financial Management estimates that the state would lose over $60m in federal matching monies if this initiative passes.

Twenty-five percent of the funding for 520 comes from tolls.  Because the Initiative provides that the politicians in Olympia will set the tolls rather than an independent commission of traffic experts, our State Treasurer’s independent analysis shows that the cost of interest on the bonds might increase by $18m per $100m of principal if they could be sold at all.  How many investors do you know would buy bonds whose payback is dependent on decisions by politicians?

Further, after the initial bonds are paid, the tolls would come off and we would be back competing for gas tax funds with other projects around the state.  Gas tax funds are currently stretched to the limit and many rural roads will turn into gravel roads due to the lack of funds.  Removal of the tolls will only accelerate the deterioration.

Secondly, there is a little clause slipped into the end of the initiative that would bar Sound Transit from putting light rail on the I-90.  Voters and the communities around I-90 support light rail but one Bellevue wealthy developer is opposed to this project.  He is the primary funder of this initiative.

There is an incredibly broad coalition supporting No On 1125.  Businesses, chambers of commerce across the state, newspapers, environmental, non-profit and neighborhood groups have come together to say No to 1125, including one of Bellevue’s key business groups.

A “No” vote on 1125 is the preferred vote.