Morning Fizz
Morning Fizz: Compromising with Themselves
Caffeinated news and gossip featuring financing, compromising, and fading.
1. Yesterday, on the heels of last week's 8-0 committee vote, the city council voted to put a measure that would impose a small property tax to pay for publicly financed city council campaigns on the November ballot.
Candidates would have to prove their viability by raising at least 600 individual contributions of $10 or more, for a minimum of $6,000; have a declared opponent who has raised at least $6,000 from any number of contributors; agree to participate in at least three public debates during their campaign; and accept a total fundraising limit of $140,000 in the primary and $245,000 overall.
2. As a budget agreement that was supposed to come "in a few hours," according to Gov. Jay Inslee yesterday ,stretched into midnight negotiations that continued this morning as well, Democratic house transportation leaders and Inslee did limp toward a transportation package—although in their haste to placate likely Republican opposition to transit, bike, and ped funding, the Democrats seem to be compromising with themselves.
In their haste to placate likely Republican opposition to transit, bike, and ped funding, the Democrats seem to be compromising with themselves.
The latest version, released yesterday, does include local funding options for transit and $300 million in transit project funding. But it also includes major reductions to the bike and pedestrian spending in the original house bill—down to just $7.6 million for projects in Seattle, from an initial $13.8 million.
3. After posting impressive fundraising numbers last week (nearly $7,000) (the mayoral candidates have to report their donations weekly now) former Seattle City Council member Peter Steinbrueck, who trails his opponents in cash overall but surprised everyone with a burst of contributions, fell back this time.
Harrell led the pack with an impressive $11,000 haul while Steinbrueck raised just $1,150.
Incumbent Mayor Mike McGinn raisied almost $5,000 with longshot candidate Charlie Staadecker nearly matching the mayor, raising $4,650 (including a $200 donation from Washington State Schools Superintendent Randy Dorn.)
Steinbrueck's numbers aren't as bad as state Sen. Ed Murray's (D-43, Capitol Hill), though, who is barred from raising money while the legislature is (still) in session.
And People for Ed Murray, the independent political committee that Murray supporters created to raise money for him, may as well have been under the session freeze as well; they raised just $50 last week, bringing the group's inconsequential total to $685.
Here were the totals as of June 1 (when expenditures were also accounted for): McGinn had raised the most overall, $227,000 with $126,000 cash on hand; Murray had raised $224,000 with $85,000 on hand; Harrell had raised $183,000 with $106,000 on hand; and Steinbrueck had raised $98,000 with $48,000 on hand.
