Independence Rules

Local Politics

2008-11-09T00:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I was a bit stunned by the results of all the races. It would appear that Clark County is becoming more and more a purple district. The races were extremely close. It seemed apparent that the national wave had a great impact on local races as well.

November 4th General Election Ballot Return Count

2008-10-25T01:30:00.000-07:00

Here are the numbers for today:

November 4, 2008
General Election

Total Ballots Mailed

214,559
Voted Ballots Rec'd Daily
Oct 17 482
Oct 20 1,715
Oct 21 12,172
Oct 22 6,944
Oct 23 13,889

Total Ballots Received 35,202

Here are the websites of some of our local candidates to help aid in the local research:
17th District
For Senator
Senator Don Benton
David Carrier
For Representative Position 1
Tim Probst
Joseph James
For Representative Position 2
Micheline Doan
Deb Wallace
18th District
For Senator
Joe Zarelli
Jon Haugen
For Representative
Jaime Herrera
VaNessa Duplessie
Ed Orcutt
Jonathan Fant

Sarah Palin on SNL

2008-10-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

This was kind of funny...

Here are the websites of some of our local candidates to help aid in the local research:
17th District
For Senator
Senator Don Benton
David Carrier
For Representative Position 1
Tim Probst
Joseph James
For Representative Position 2
Micheline Doan
Deb Wallace
18th District
For Senator
Joe Zarelli
Jon Haugen
For Representative
Jaime Herrera
VaNessa Duplessie
Ed Orcutt
Jonathan Fant

Clark County Vancouver Washington Ballot Returns for Nov 4 General Election

2008-10-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Here are the ballot return numbers for today:

November 4, 2008
General Election

Total Ballots Mailed

214,559

Voted Ballots Rec'd Daily
Oct 17 482
Oct 20 1,715
Oct 21 12,172
Oct 22 6,944
Oct 23 13,889

Data from http://www.clark.wa.gov/elections/documents/ballot%20returns/BallotReturns2008Nov.html

Here are the websites of some of our local candidates to help aid in the local research:
17th District
For Senator
Senator Don Benton
David Carrier
For Representative Position 1
Tim Probst
Joseph James
For Representative Position 2
Micheline Doan
Deb Wallace
18th District
For Senator
Joe Zarelli
Jon Haugen
For Representative
Jaime Herrera
VaNessa Duplessie
Ed Orcutt
Jonathan Fant

Clark County November 4th General Election Ballot Return Count

2008-10-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

Here are the ballot return numbers for today:

November 4, 2008
General Election

Total Ballots Mailed

212,482

Voted Ballots Rec'd Daily
Oct 17 482
Oct 20 1,715
Oct 21 12,169

Total Received 14,366

Data from http://www.clark.wa.gov/elections/documents/ballot%20returns/BallotReturns2008Nov.html

Here are the websites of some of our local candidates to help aid in the local research:
17th District
For Senator
Senator Don Benton
David Carrier
For Representative Position 1
Tim Probst
Joseph James
For Representative Position 2
Micheline Doan
Deb Wallace
18th District
For Senator
Joe Zarelli
Jon Haugen
For Representative
Jaime Herrera
VaNessa Duplessie
Ed Orcutt
Jonathan Fant

Negative Politicking On the Rise

2008-10-21T01:38:00.000-07:00

It looks like the Negative Politickers are continuing their campaign. I received another supposedly "negative" ad on Senator Don Benton today. I say supposedly because I don't see anything wrong with accepting money from most of the organizations listed on that particular mailer. I shop at most of the businesses listed. Many are here locally. It seemed like a positive piece until I saw that there was a picture of Benton's opponent on the other side. And how are companies like Les Schwab and Stimac Construction special interests?

So, my victim count by the negative politickers thickens. I think there have been 3 or 4 attacks on Benton. And I heard that another attack piece just came out on Mielke--I haven't seen this one yet though. These attacks seem to be coming from only the left field. Why have they stooped to negative politics instead of focusing on the issues?

I'm still waiting to see a hit piece on someone running on the Democrat ticket--It seems odd that the Republicans are taking the beating and not pushing back. But I like this. As I've said, I do not like negative politickers.

We can see evidence that negative politicking only turns people off--as in the presidential election. Also, people that I have talked with about politics are fed up with those who stoop to the level of attacks--both in the mail and through other means, like breaking signs or worse yet, destroying personal property simply because someone places a political sign in their yard.

As usual, here are the websites of some of our local candidates to help aid in the local research:
17th District
For Senator
Senator Don Benton
David Carrier

For Representative Position 1
Tim Probst
Joseph James

For Representative Position 2
Micheline Doan
Deb Wallace

18th District
For Senator
Joe Zarelli
Jon Haugen

For Representative
Jaime Herrera
VaNessa Duplessie

Ed Orcutt
Jonathan Fant

Clark County Ballot Results For November 4th General Election

2008-10-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

Clark County ballots: returned as of today for the November 4th General Election

November 4, 2008
General Election

Total Ballots Mailed

212,482

Voted Ballots Rec'd Daily
Oct 17 482
Oct 20 1,715
Data from http://www.clark.wa.gov/elections/documents/ballot%20returns/BallotReturns2008Nov.html

Here are the websites of some of our local candidates to help aid in the local research:
17th District
For Senator
David Carrier
Senator Don Benton

For Representative Position 1
Tim Probst
Joseph James

For Representative Position 2
Micheline Doan
Deb Wallace

18th District
For Senator
Joe Zarelli
Jon Haugen

For Representative
Jaime Herrera
VaNessa Duplessie

Ed Orcutt
Jonathan Fant

Building Industry Association of Clark County Endorsement

2008-10-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

The Building Industry Association of Clark County has endorsed:

Don Benton State Senator 17th LD
Deb Wallace State Representative 17th LD
Joseph James Candidate for State Representative 17th LD
Joe Zarelli State Senator 18th LD
Jaime Herrera Sate Representative 18th LD
Ed Orcutt State Representative 18th LD
Tom Langston Candidate for State Senate 49th LD
Mike Bomar Candidate for State Representative 49th LD

Candidates Don Benton and Joseph James are attacked

2008-10-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

I said in a previous blog that I was keeping a list of negative politickers and those who have been made the victims.

Thus far only the Republican candidates have been "hit". From what I can tell the attacks have either come from Seattle based special interests--judging by the postal code, or the Democrat party, or a flat out attack by an opponent.

Why is the negative politicking coming from the Demorcat Party?

Here are the websites of some of our local candidates to help aid in the local voter research:
17th District
For Senator
David Carrier
Senator Don Benton

For Representative Position 1
Tim Probst
Joseph James

For Representative Position 2
Micheline Doan
Deb Wallace

18th District
For Senator
Joe Zarelli
Jon Haugen

For Representative
Jaime Herrera
VaNessa Duplessie

Ed Orcutt
Jonathan Fant

Christian Coalition Guide Shows Views of Local Candidates

2008-10-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

I just got my ballot and am doing the research now on candidates that I haven't been following. One of the places that I like to check is the Christian Coalition Guide which can be found here: http://www.christiancoalition.us/1583/depot/2008%20WA%20CD3New.pdf

Here are the websites of some of our local candidates to help aid in the local research:
17th District
For Senator
David Carrier
Senator Don Benton

For Representative Position 1
Tim Probst
Joseph James

For Representative Position 2
Micheline Doan
Deb Wallace

18th District
For Senator
Joe Zarelli
Jon Haugen

For Representative
Jaime Herrera
VaNessa Duplessie

Ed Orcutt
Jonathan Fant

Tis the Season for Politicking

2008-10-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

It's definitely Politicking Season with canidates all marked for their October Suprises. It was made apparent today with the cold weather and the appearance of the first attack ad by a group hiding behind the label "Better Future for Washington". Oddly enough, this negative mail piece was mailed from Seattle (a.k.a. likely a special interest group).

The point being...the Negative Attacks have begun and we have to put up with them until the elections are over.

This particular piece attacked Senator Don Benton. I'm going to keep a list of victims of the hit pieces because I will probably end up voting for the candidates who do not take part in these partisan attacks. I've seen enough with the Wyden vs Smith tv commercials--and they don't even live in Vancouver.

Joseph James and Senator Don Benton Will Not Raise Taxes

2008-10-07T23:39:00.000-07:00

With taxes on the rise and a projected deficit of 3.2 billion I feel we need to make sure that our elected officials will not raise our taxes. Only Don Benton and Joseph James have signed their "no new tax pledge". So I know that they will at least not raise our taxes because we can hold them accountable.

On the other hand, their opponents David Carrier and Tim Probst have not yet signed this pledge. I think the voters of the 17th need to encourage all of our candidates to sign the "no new tax pledge"--if they will not, that will be evidence that we can not count on them to protect our bank accounts.

Candidates Views on Abortion

2008-10-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

I did some quick checks on our local candidates to see where they stood on life issues in regards to a woman's right to choose.

Candidates of Clark County that are Pro Life include:

Michael Delavar - Pro Life / Family Positions
LifePac Recommended - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Don Benton - Pro Life / Family Positions
LifePac Recommended - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Joseph James - Pro Life / Family Positions
LifePac Recommended - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Micheline Doan - Pro Life / Family Positions
LifePac Recommended - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Jaime Herrera - Pro Life / Family Positions
LifePac Recommended - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Tom Langston - Pro Life / Family Positions
LifePac Recommended - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Debra Peterson - Pro Life / Family Positions
LifePac Recommended - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Tom Mielke - Pro Life / Family Positions
LifePac Recommended - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Mark Boldt - Pro Life / Family Positions
LifePac Recommended - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)

Candidates of Clark County that are Not Pro Life (Pro Choice) or who have mixed opinions.
Brian Baird - Anti Life / Family Positions - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
David Carrier - Mixed Positions - - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Tim Probst - Anti Life / Family Positions - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Deb Wallace - Anti Life / Family Positions - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
VaNessa Duplessie - Anti Life / Family Positions - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Jim Jacks - Anti Life / Family Positions - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Pam Brokaw - Anti Life / Family Positions - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Jeanne Harris - Anti Life / Family Positions - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)
Craig Pridemore - Anti Life / Family Positions - (see http://lifepac.org/ss1/)

Not a good time for the I5 "Preferred Alternative"

2008-09-30T01:49:00.001-07:00

After seeing the market crash I have concluded two things:

Now is the time buy into the stock market while the prices are low.

And two, why are we still looking at the I5 bridge Preferred Alternative when we have a projected defecit of over 3 billion dollars. With the country possibly having to come up with a 700 billion dollar bail out how can we realistically continue to throw money into this so called "Preferred Alternative" project.

It is also a fact that some of the key people like Senator Patty Murray have already stated that the funding for this project is not secured yet and probably will not be.

A great blog that discusses some of these topics is clarkblog.org.

Rossi and Gregoire debate continues

2008-09-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

I was watching the Association of Washington Business Gubernatorial Debate which took place September 25, 2008 on TVW. The one thing that stood out the most to me is that each candidate took each others claims, or allegations, and then turned the allegations on the other saying it was not true. Interestingly, they both gave a good argument for thier point. I guess that is why it is up to us voters to figure out who is really telling the truth.

Here are the two candidates websites to help us all learn more about each candidate:
Christine Gregoire
Dino Rossi

My 2 Cents about the Government Bail Out

2008-09-26T00:29:00.000-07:00

Here is my 2 cents. I offer my plan.

My idea is to have the corporations who are going under due to the housing crisis fix their own problem by refinancing all of their exisiting loans to prices that more realistic--that people can actually afford to pay. I realize that the lenders would lose some of their potential investments, but at least they would be generating an income and not have to rely on the legislature for a bail out. Plus, it would provide a second chance for people to keep their homes.

This way the lenders win and the home owners win--and consequently so do the tax payers because we won't have to shoulder the burden of these lenders.

This was a funny skit

2008-09-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

This is funny :0)

Negative Campaigning Continues

2008-09-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

The Negativity continues:

I watched the Rossi vs Gregoire debate last night. Governor Gregoire continually used the term “Now if you look at my opponent”. Rossi also did this a bit—but with Gregoire it got to the point that I was stating to myself—she just said that…stop using that phrase.

I was also very surprised how Governor Gregoire in her last statements took a good portion of the allegations that the Rossi campaign had made against her and blatantly turned them into positives. Politics are definitely tricky business and the truth can be spun both negative and positive.

A clear fact that I keep thinking about though, is that before Gregoire took office we had a budget surplus. Now at the end of her term we now are facing nearly a 3 billion dollar deficit.

Sick of negative politicking and personal attacks

2008-09-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

The recent cvtv interview with Joe Zarelli and Jon Haugen has to be one of the toppers when it comes to negative politicking. Joe Zarelli took the high road and barely acknolodged his opponent focusing his responses to the moderator. While Haugen typically stated a personal attack before each of his answers.

Jon Haugen should show more respect for a state senator, plus he should be more Christian and stop casting stones. The last straw was when Mr. Haugen tried to paint Zarelli as less than Christian by throwing another personal attack at him.

I was very happy with how Senator Joe Zarelli took the high road and refused to engage in the negative politics that his opponent seems to have made the basis of his campaign.

All politicians out there, need to stop wasting our time with slander and negativity and focus on telling us how you will be voting and what you plan to do for us if we decide you should represent us at the capitol. Personal attacks and slander only make the average voter view the slinger of the mud as arrogant and unaware of the issues that really matter. If the candidate was aware of the issue than they would spend more time discussing the matter rather than wasting time slinging mud.

Here is a list of candidates that I feel will do a great job representing us with respect, integrity, and be financially wise with out tax dollars (note: this list will continue to grow as I research more candidates in the area):

Senator Joe Zarelli
Senator Don Benton
Micheline Doan
Joseph James
Debbie Peterson
Tom Langston

Barrack's Speech--not impressed

2008-08-29T00:48:00.000-07:00

I listened to Obama's speech earlier today, I wasn't very impressed because it seems that he is now pandering rather than sticking to his initial issues. How are we supposed to know where he really stands when he is now changing his policies.

For example, his early messages were more about how we have a horrible destructive country, but now he is claiming that we have the greatest Country on Earth. Which one is it?

What if Hillary got the nomination?

2008-08-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

I wonder if there is a chance that Hillary could actually steal the Democratic nomination. After all, didn't she win the popular vote.

It would be an interesting November election if Hillary can somehow claim the nomination. Maybe Barrack will be her running mate (lol).

Time for a cute video break

2008-08-24T23:20:00.001-07:00

Snuggly Sloth

Isn't he cute!

The Columbian has reported that Jim Dunn finally tosses in the towel, throws support to candidate Joseph James of the 17th district

2008-08-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

Kathy Durbin, a reporter for the Columbian reported the statement from Jim Dunn as follows:

“Joseph has run an excellent race and will work hard for the citizens of the 17th District in our state legislature,” Dunn said in a statement. “Therefore, I am asking my friends and supporters to please
vote for and give support to Joseph James in the upcoming November election.”
James would “continue to fight the ‘spend and tax’ mentality that is prevalent in Olympia and to block legislation that is not in the best interest of our residents,” he wrote.

If you would like to learn more about candidate Joseph James, check out his website here http://www.josephjamescampaign.com

Top 2 Primary is Great

2008-08-18T00:03:00.000-07:00

I really like this top 2 primary because it will allow the voters to choose who they want to be represented by despite their political pary affiliation.

The Columbian had a great article about it today.
There are two races that stand out to me as high profile races. The first one is the County Commissioner's race and the race between Joseph James and Jim Dunn.

Joseph James was endorsed by the precinct committee officers 16 to 1. I thought that was very interesting for him to beat out an incumbent. I am having a hard time with the county commissioners race though, because there is so many great candidates to choose from.

Me and my friends are having a great time analyzing these races.

Martin Butler left out by the League of Women's Voters

2008-08-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

Over the last several years I have heard that the League of Women's Voter has been biased towards the left and as an independent voter this makes me mad, not providing a neutral ground for their debates and events. The case that I am referring to is that of candidate Martin Butler who was given the cold shoulder and not told of the event until it was too late.

Many Republican and Independent candidates are even reluctant sometimes to show up to their events because they know the questions are loaded. But the worst part about this post is that the League of Women's Voters President, Molly Coston can't even verify that she sent Mr. Butler an invite to the August 5th Candidate Night.

According to today's Columbian political post Butler was given the cold shoulder by this organization who could have easily found his contact information in the Voters Guide or with the Secretary of State. And why did the League of Women's Voter call Marc Boldt but not Martin Butler?

I'm going to be leery when watching any of their forums in the future--especially now that their agenda is exposed and we know that they are not trying to provide a neutral forum.

The Columbian today offered great insight to the politics of The League Of Women's Voters. The story is below:

"Friday August 15, 2008

Butler gets cold shoulder from League of Women Voters

Say what you will about long-shot third-party candidates -- you don't expect them to get shut out of the process by the goody-two-shoes League of Women Voters.

But that's what seems to have happened to Martyn Butler, a pro-casino independent challenging Republican Marc Boldt in east county. The local League barely lifted a finger to invite him to an Aug. 5 candidates' forum.

As a result, Butler missed it -- so throughout the election, CVTV has been rebroadcasting an event in which Butler appears to have not bothered to show up.

Butler's hopping mad. "Hell, where's my time?" he said. "I got no e-mail. I got no mail. I got nothing."

League president Molly Coston said they couldn't find Butler's phone number because he hadn't included it on his initial filing for election. So they sent a snail-mail invitation, she said.

Butler says he never got it. Coston notes that the League can't actually prove they put it in the mail.

Hmm. So why didn't the League bother to check the state Public Disclosure Commission Web site, which has had Butler's phone number on file since March? Or the local voters' guide, posted on the county auditor's Web site July 2, which also had his number?

In fact, Boldt told me he didn't know about the forum himself until the afternoon of Aug. 4. How'd he know? The League gave him a phone call."