Category Archives: State Legislature

Transparency (or the lack of it), the evolving Sammamish City Newsletter and taxpayer dollars

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The August Sammamish City Newsletter contained a front page article about the state of the City’s finances and the Six Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

This was followed on the next page by the Mayor’s Message, in this case from Tom Vance, who is in his second year as mayor.

The articles are clearly responses to public questions about the TIP funding and proposed City expenditures in the hundreds of millions of dollars over the next six years for a variety of projects, notably from Council Member Ramiro Valderrama. He’s repeatedly questioned the financial viability of the road projects and how these will be funded.

This column also questioned the TIP and its ending fund balance as adopted, showing a near-depletion by 2020.

The article is a clear response to Valderrama and to The Sammamish Comment. The Mayor’s Message is a clear puff piece, transparently touting policies and promotions as Vance heads into a reelection campaign that will get underway after Labor Day.

The City Newsletter has transformed from a means to inform citizens to a propaganda piece to refute questions raised by members of the City Council and the Public and, in the case of the Mayor, to defend his own practices from criticism.

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Sammamish City engages in underhanded tactic over Klahanie

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The City of Sammamish, which wants the proposed annexation of the Klahanie Potential Annexation Area by Issaquah, defeated in Tuesday’s vote (Feb. 11), engaged in an underhanded tactic aimed at only the Klahanie vote–a discriminatory effort that I wonder whether it would even survive a legal challenge.

The Sammamish Review article linked above gives the details, but in a nutshell, under state law, cities get a sales tax adjustment when they annex unincorporated areas. This helps the transition of the additional cost to a city of providing services to the area that was previously supported by county taxes. The City of Sammamish succeeded in getting a bill introduced in the State Senate to block this for Issaquah.

The Sammamish Review was right when it said this is sickening. It’s also hypocritical. The new City of Sammamish benefited from the sales tax revenue sharing after incorporation in 1999. The purported excuse that this bill from State Sen. Andy Hill is a state budget-saving measure doesn’t pass the laugh test. If this were a sincere budget effort, the bill should apply statewide and not just to Klahanie. The discriminatory effect is apparent for all to see.

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Election Night: Legislative Races of interest to Sammamish

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Here are Election Night results for the 41st and 45th Legislative Districts. The 41st covers the south half of Sammamish and the 45th the north half.

The 5th LD used to cover all but eight Sammamish precincts, but redistricting removed Sammamish from the 5th entirely. It continues to cover Klahanie, however, so I’m including these results.

All state races, including initiatives, can be found on the State website here.

All King County election results may be found here.

Each state and county website updates daily except weekends and Thanksgiving near the end of the business day.

5th LD

Senator

Democrat Mark Mullet is leading with 53.8%; I’m calling this a win for Mullet. This means the Republicans almost certainly won’t take over the State Senate.

House Position 2:

Chad Magendanz is winning with 54.8% of the vote. I’m calling this his win.
Jay Rodne was unopposed for Position 1.

41st LD

Senator

Steve Litzow is leading with 53.5% of the vote. I’m calling this for Litzow.

House Seat #1

Marcia Maxwell has won with 58% of the vote. Judy Clibborn is unopposed for Position 2.

45th LD-House Representatives

Position 1

Roger Goodman has won reelection with 56% of the vote.

Position 2

Larry Springer has won reelection with 57% of the vote.

Joel Hussey in 45th; Glenn Anderson for Lt. Gov advancement

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Sammamish voters north of SE 8th St. are in the new 45th Legislative District boundaries. Joel Hussey, a Republican, is running for State Representative and should be one of the two to move on to the general election. He’s running in the Top 2 primary against incumbent Richard Goodman (D) and another Democrat. The primary is August 7 and voters already have their mail-in ballots.

Among his endorsements: Sammamish City Councilmen John James, Ramiro Valderrama and John Curley; Kirkland City Councilman Toby Nixon, himself a former 45th District State Rep.; Sammamish’s Dino Rossi; and State Reps. Jay Rodne and Glenn Anderson (of the 5th LD, which until redistricting, represented most of Sammamish).

I’ve know Joel for probably 15 years or more. We’re both in commercial aviation and I can tell you that Joel is a man of high integrity, who understands the need to compromise to get the job done, and who is fiscally conservative–which this state needs right now. He is more socially conservative than I prefer but he is not so dogmatic as the extremists would like.

Glenn Anderson should, along with incumbent Brad Owen, be the two finalists for the General Election for Lt. Governor. Anderson is one of those truly vanishing species: a moderate Republican who is by standards of today’s Republican Party a liberal. Anderson, whom I actually worked against in the 2004 election, has grown for the past eight years and has some interesting ideas should he be elected to succeed Owen, who has been in the office 16 years.

Sammamish remains in 8th in Congressional remap; moves to 41st, 45th in State redistricting

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The political remap of Washington State, which occurs every 10 years, means major changes for Sammamish.

The City remains in the 8th Congressional District (Dave Reichert), which now extends across the mountains to Chelan and Kittitas counties (and making it a safe Republican district). The big change is in the Legislative Districts.

The City has been part of the 5th Legislative and 45th Legislative districts since before I’ve lived here (1996), primarily the 5th. Now, Sammamish will be in the 45th and 41st.

Here is a PDF of the map, which isn’t too precise. The darn thing doesn’t even show Lake Sammamish. Zoom in to 400% to make it readable.

This Google Earth overlay works better.

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