1.  King County Council Member Dow Constantine, who announced last week that he's running for King County Executive, has hired hot shot fundraiser Tracy Newman. As Gov. Chris Gregoire's fundraiser, Newman raised over $12,000,000 for Gregoire's contest with Dino Rossi last year. 

2.  King County Council Member Larry Phillips has already raised over $97,000 for his bid to become King County Executive. Although, according to the most recent filings with the Public Disclosure Commission, he's already spent most of it. He only has $37,132 left on hand. Where'd it all go?  Well, records show $33,000 of it went to consultant Cathy Allen.

Phillips' fundraiser is longtime Mayor Greg Nickels' fundraiser, Colby Underwood—who got his start working for Newman.  

3. Consumer advocates in Olympia are chagrined that a consumer protection bill, sponsored by Rep. Brendan Williams (D-22, Olympia), has stalled. Williams' bill mandates that: auto dealers disclose defects; translate sale documents into the consumer's language if the verbal negotiations were done in that language; and make it easier for consumers to sue for misrepresentations. Meanwhile, a bill allowing auto dealers to raise a "document service fee"  from $50 to $150 is in gear this week.

4. And worth repeating: As we reported on Friday, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA, 3) slipped away from a conference in Doah, Qatar last week, and took a tour of Gaza.