Morning Fizz
Working for Mayor Mike McGinn
1. Campaign contribution roundup: Yesterday was the deadline for city candidates to file their campaign finance reports for April. A couple of highlights from the latest batch:
The Washington State Labor Council, part of a business-labor coalition that's backing the deep-bore tunnel, contributed another $5,000 to Let's Move Forward, the campaign that's fighting an anti-tunnel referendum, bringing the WSLC's total to $7,500.
WinPower Strategies, a political consulting firm run by John Wyble, is working for Mayor Mike McGinn. In April, McGinn's 2013 campaign paid WinPower a retainer of $1,500---indicating that, for now at least, McGinn's planning to run for reelection.
Wyble did not work for McGinn's campaign in 2009. McGinn's main consultant from 2009, Bill Broadhead at the Mercury Group, doesn't show up on these early reports from McGinn yet.
2. Photo of the day: Wandering around city hall yesterday, Fizz walked in to council member Mike O'Brien's office and snapped some photographic proof that he has, indeed, abandoned his inner office for a tiny desk that used to belong to the intern.
O'Brien, as we've reported, decided that his big inner office isolated him too much from his staff and constituents, so he joined his three legislative assistants (and one intern) in the open front office, an area that's traditionally reserved for staffers. O'Brien's old office is now a conference room.
3. State Rep. Laurie Jinkins' (D-27, Tacoma) bill to fund K-3 class size reductions by getting rid of the controversial bank tax break on interest earned over $100,000 on first-time mortgage loans and by eliminating the non-resident sales tax exemption is in the queue to get voted out of the house ways and means committee today and sent to the floor for a vote.
The bill was the subject of a dramatic public hearing late last month, at which banks and Vancouver businesses (which like shoppers from Oregon, a state that has no sales tax) testified against the bill while education advocates testified in favor.
4. Speaking of drama in Olympia: The omnibus transportation funding bill we reported on yesterday that transportation committee chair Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-41, Mercer Island) had single-handedly amended, diminishing appropriations for transit and stormwater cleanup (and upsetting her green colleagues on the committee), has been amended back to restore the transit and stormwater funds.
Clibborn's scaled-back surprise version failed to win support from the full Democratic caucus yesterday .
5. Supporters of Seattle City Council member Nick Licata's citywide paid sick leave proposal are hosting a community forum tonight at 5 in the U District. The lefty group, Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce, has invited the mayor's office and the city council.
McGinn has not taken a position on the proposal, and told PubliCola yesterday that he did not plan to attend the forum.
Details here .
6. As usual, this week's ThinkTank is lighting up the comments thread. This week, the Tank is taking up the tunnel referendum. Is it legal? Two local lawyers duke it out.
The Washington State Labor Council, part of a business-labor coalition that's backing the deep-bore tunnel, contributed another $5,000 to Let's Move Forward, the campaign that's fighting an anti-tunnel referendum, bringing the WSLC's total to $7,500.
WinPower Strategies, a political consulting firm run by John Wyble, is working for Mayor Mike McGinn. In April, McGinn's 2013 campaign paid WinPower a retainer of $1,500---indicating that, for now at least, McGinn's planning to run for reelection.
Wyble did not work for McGinn's campaign in 2009. McGinn's main consultant from 2009, Bill Broadhead at the Mercury Group, doesn't show up on these early reports from McGinn yet.
2. Photo of the day: Wandering around city hall yesterday, Fizz walked in to council member Mike O'Brien's office and snapped some photographic proof that he has, indeed, abandoned his inner office for a tiny desk that used to belong to the intern.
O'Brien, as we've reported, decided that his big inner office isolated him too much from his staff and constituents, so he joined his three legislative assistants (and one intern) in the open front office, an area that's traditionally reserved for staffers. O'Brien's old office is now a conference room.
3. State Rep. Laurie Jinkins' (D-27, Tacoma) bill to fund K-3 class size reductions by getting rid of the controversial bank tax break on interest earned over $100,000 on first-time mortgage loans and by eliminating the non-resident sales tax exemption is in the queue to get voted out of the house ways and means committee today and sent to the floor for a vote.
The bill was the subject of a dramatic public hearing late last month, at which banks and Vancouver businesses (which like shoppers from Oregon, a state that has no sales tax) testified against the bill while education advocates testified in favor.
4. Speaking of drama in Olympia: The omnibus transportation funding bill we reported on yesterday that transportation committee chair Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-41, Mercer Island) had single-handedly amended, diminishing appropriations for transit and stormwater cleanup (and upsetting her green colleagues on the committee), has been amended back to restore the transit and stormwater funds.
Clibborn's scaled-back surprise version failed to win support from the full Democratic caucus yesterday .
5. Supporters of Seattle City Council member Nick Licata's citywide paid sick leave proposal are hosting a community forum tonight at 5 in the U District. The lefty group, Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce, has invited the mayor's office and the city council.
McGinn has not taken a position on the proposal, and told PubliCola yesterday that he did not plan to attend the forum.
Details here .
6. As usual, this week's ThinkTank is lighting up the comments thread. This week, the Tank is taking up the tunnel referendum. Is it legal? Two local lawyers duke it out.
