Morning Fizz
The Single Biggest Contribution Ever
1. City council member Mike O'Brien
, an opponent of the deep-bore tunnel, acknowledges that a city initiative against the deep-bore tunnel may be toothless. Although the initiative language has not been hammered out, its current iteration includes general language 1) directing the city attorney to ensure that the state doesn't violate a constitutional provision prohibiting the state from forcing a local government to raise taxes and 2) setting up a process for the council and mayor to review the cost of the tunnel project.
"From what I heard from [initiative supporter] Drew Paxton at last night's [anti-tunnel] forum [at Town Hall], there isn't a whole lot in the initiative that would prevent the state from moving forward on the tunnel, cost overruns or no," O'Brien says. On the other hand, he said, "There's a reasonable chance that this thing has a ways to go before it's a done deal."
2. The state's Public Disclosure Commission has crunched some numbers on the 2010 election.
2010 marks the first election in which over $1 million was spent in single state senate seat election. In the 6th District race (suburban Spokane) where Republican challenger Michael Baumgartner beat incumbent Democrat Sen. Chris Marr, the grand total spent was $1.1 million —$267,813 in independent spending and $909,268 by the candidates. (Given that there's still an investigation into undisclosed spending by the Tea Party front group, Americans for Prosperity Washington, which Democrats claim spent a half million dollars on a batch of contested races, that number could climb.)
Independent spending is certainly rising. That PDC stat crunch shows that independent spending jumped by nearly $1 million from the 2006 cycle to $2 million in 2010. On the house side it jumped by about $400,000 from 2008's $1.4 million to $1.8 million in 2010.
As for initiatives, I-1107, the soda, candy, and bottled water tax repeal, tied for the most money ever spent on an initiative campaign, $15.6 million "so far" the PDC notes. In 2005, $15.6 million was spent on I-330, a conservative health insurance reform measure that lost.
And 1107 set the record for the single biggest contribution ever to an initiative campaign: $4.2 million from the American Beverage Association supporting the repeal. (Their aggregate was $16.7 million.)
Before 2010 there had only been two contributions topping $1 million to an initiative campaign. This year alone there are two contributions topping $1 million: The $4.2 million from the ABA to the winning soda tax repeal and $1.2 million from Costco for liquor privatization, which lost.
A footnote from the PDC report: Washington state launched the initiative process in 1914 when seven initiatives made the ballot. This year there were six initiatives and one referendum which also happened in 200o.
3. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA, 2) came in second place at last night's standup comedy showdown at D.C. Improv where he competed in a gala $200 ticket fundraiser for a veteran care non-profit. The winner? Obama speech writer Jon Lovett. (Larsen came in third last year.)
Jon Lovett
4. If you attended the Stranger's anti-tunnel forum downstairs at Town Hall Wednesday night and are curious what the other side has to say, tune in Seattle Channel's City Inside/Out tonight at 7PM (cable channel 21). Tunnel proponents, city council member Tom Rasmussen and Washington State Department of Transportation viaduct project manager Ron Paananen, will be on the Seattle Channel tonight talking with host C.R. Douglas, who dropped out as moderator of Wednesday night's forum.
The channel will juxtapose in-studio footage of the two tunnel proponents with clips from McGinn's appearance Wednesday night.
5. Georgetown Community Council president Holly Krejci is temporarily joining the staff of Seattle City Council member Sally Bagshaw. Fellow Georgetown activist Kathy Nyland, Krejci's longtime partner, currently works for Bagshaw.
Asked whether working in such close quarters (Bagshaw has a total of three aides) with a spouse might be risky business , Krejci laughed. "We've done it before," she said. Krejci and Nyland used to own a boutique, George, in Georgetown.
6. Denying persistent rumors, Bellevue city council member Claudia Balducci says she is not running against King County Council member Jane Hague, a Republican. "I'm running for Bellevue City Council," she said yesterday, adding, "Please don't report that [rumor] until after 6 tonight, though, because I'm trying to extract a contribution from her."
Update: Via text message, Balducci confirmed yesterday: "I spoke to Jane Hague tonight, and she agreed to endorse my candidacy for Bellevue City Council."
County insiders predict that Hague will probably draw at least two opponents.
"From what I heard from [initiative supporter] Drew Paxton at last night's [anti-tunnel] forum [at Town Hall], there isn't a whole lot in the initiative that would prevent the state from moving forward on the tunnel, cost overruns or no," O'Brien says. On the other hand, he said, "There's a reasonable chance that this thing has a ways to go before it's a done deal."
2. The state's Public Disclosure Commission has crunched some numbers on the 2010 election.
2010 marks the first election in which over $1 million was spent in single state senate seat election. In the 6th District race (suburban Spokane) where Republican challenger Michael Baumgartner beat incumbent Democrat Sen. Chris Marr, the grand total spent was $1.1 million —$267,813 in independent spending and $909,268 by the candidates. (Given that there's still an investigation into undisclosed spending by the Tea Party front group, Americans for Prosperity Washington, which Democrats claim spent a half million dollars on a batch of contested races, that number could climb.)
Independent spending is certainly rising. That PDC stat crunch shows that independent spending jumped by nearly $1 million from the 2006 cycle to $2 million in 2010. On the house side it jumped by about $400,000 from 2008's $1.4 million to $1.8 million in 2010.
As for initiatives, I-1107, the soda, candy, and bottled water tax repeal, tied for the most money ever spent on an initiative campaign, $15.6 million "so far" the PDC notes. In 2005, $15.6 million was spent on I-330, a conservative health insurance reform measure that lost.
And 1107 set the record for the single biggest contribution ever to an initiative campaign: $4.2 million from the American Beverage Association supporting the repeal. (Their aggregate was $16.7 million.)
Before 2010 there had only been two contributions topping $1 million to an initiative campaign. This year alone there are two contributions topping $1 million: The $4.2 million from the ABA to the winning soda tax repeal and $1.2 million from Costco for liquor privatization, which lost.
A footnote from the PDC report: Washington state launched the initiative process in 1914 when seven initiatives made the ballot. This year there were six initiatives and one referendum which also happened in 200o.
3. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA, 2) came in second place at last night's standup comedy showdown at D.C. Improv where he competed in a gala $200 ticket fundraiser for a veteran care non-profit. The winner? Obama speech writer Jon Lovett. (Larsen came in third last year.)
Jon Lovett
4. If you attended the Stranger's anti-tunnel forum downstairs at Town Hall Wednesday night and are curious what the other side has to say, tune in Seattle Channel's City Inside/Out tonight at 7PM (cable channel 21). Tunnel proponents, city council member Tom Rasmussen and Washington State Department of Transportation viaduct project manager Ron Paananen, will be on the Seattle Channel tonight talking with host C.R. Douglas, who dropped out as moderator of Wednesday night's forum.
The channel will juxtapose in-studio footage of the two tunnel proponents with clips from McGinn's appearance Wednesday night.
5. Georgetown Community Council president Holly Krejci is temporarily joining the staff of Seattle City Council member Sally Bagshaw. Fellow Georgetown activist Kathy Nyland, Krejci's longtime partner, currently works for Bagshaw.
Asked whether working in such close quarters (Bagshaw has a total of three aides) with a spouse might be risky business , Krejci laughed. "We've done it before," she said. Krejci and Nyland used to own a boutique, George, in Georgetown.
6. Denying persistent rumors, Bellevue city council member Claudia Balducci says she is not running against King County Council member Jane Hague, a Republican. "I'm running for Bellevue City Council," she said yesterday, adding, "Please don't report that [rumor] until after 6 tonight, though, because I'm trying to extract a contribution from her."
Update: Via text message, Balducci confirmed yesterday: "I spoke to Jane Hague tonight, and she agreed to endorse my candidacy for Bellevue City Council."
County insiders predict that Hague will probably draw at least two opponents.
