Chris Vance will be holding a press conference at 1pm, to be carried live on NWCN.
His statement is posted here
Take him out. He's slime. He's the worst kind of staus quo politician and abuser of public trust and funds. All one need to do is look at his stands on the CAO, Monrail, Viaduct and how he has consistently tried to paint this election failure as having gone instead been a success.
I unfortunately don't live in King County, so I can't vote for David Irons (well, I could, and King County would not know or care, but I've got integrity) so I'll be urging all my King County friends to vote for Irons, contributing to Irons campaign as I already have, etc.
Ron Sims must go. And Dean Logan with him.
Posted by: Jeff B. on June 7, 2005 01:32 PM
As far as working with the king county
Gop.In order to change things you have
to be able to indentify completely what
the problem is.It isnt just ron sims
and its not just the elections department.
The leadership of the king county Gop
has ran it into the ground.You cannot
run a successful organization if your
not all on the same page.They are sending
the wrong message to some people in this
county.Conservatives we can win without
you.
They are wrong and its been proven over
and over again.Like I said the convention
saturday will be new beginning.
Chris vance wont willing step down.
But mark my words before january it
will be all over but the shouting.
I have heard the WSRP is almost 800,000.00 in debt and they haven't received the final lawyer bill yet. They have 450,000 in oustanding pledges 4 months in arrears and say they'll collect, but after 120 days, I don't think the return will be good.
Karla Dyer X-Board member resign in protest at Wenatchee last Saturday citing lack of transparency of the board, the massive outstanding debt with the WSRP carrying no D & O insurance and the most damaging charges, spending money without board approval and willful destruction of financial records.
She also claimed the WSRP has violted their by-laws by not having their books audited annually. They are still trying to satisfy the audit board with 2002 financial statements that the auditor rejected.
Ed Mitchell, Vance's puppet numbers man appointed at the WSRP re-org looked like a deer in the headlights while Mrs. Dyer read her resignation. Vance shut down the meeting in record time, fastest adjournment I've ever witnessed, people who had wanted to address the board was cutoff before they knew what hit them.
Peter Arbano is quitting and getting out of dodge within 6 weeks. He said the WSRP is in bad shape during the budget committee meeting. Me thinks something is seriously afoul within the WSRP bowels.
Posted by: need to know on June 7, 2005 02:15 PMChris Vance Statement on Election Contest Ruling
June 7, 2005
When she was certified the winner in the Governor’s race, Christine Gregoire called 2004 a “model election.” We, on the other hand, maintained that due to thousands of illegally cast votes, and egregious errors made by King County elections officials, it was impossible to actually know who was truly elected governor. Yesterday, despite ruling against us, Judge Bridges confirmed the major elements of our case.
He confirmed that there were at least 1,678 illegal votes cast; thirteen times the margin of victory. Yet Judge Bridges ruled that the law required absolute proof as to how each of those votes were cast. Think about that for a moment. That would require first; contacting each felon, double voter, and person who voted in the name of a dead person; second, persuading them to admit to a crime by admitting that they voted; and third, trusting that they would tell the truth about for whom they voted when doing so would hurt the candidate they wanted to see elected! Clearly, this is an impossible standard. Worse still, this standard means that the higher the number of illegal votes, the harder it is to prove an election contest.
On the issue of misconduct, errors, and possible fraud in King County, Judge Bridges confirmed that irregularities occurred. He acknowledged that King County was overtaken with a “culture of inertia and selfishness.” It was our position that the failings of King County opened the door to possible fraud and made it impossible to know the true winner of the election, and that that fact alone was grounds to annul the election. Yet the Judge ruled that we had to prove that the irregularities and misconduct everyone acknowledges occurred caused the election of Christine Gregoire. Again, this is simply an impossible standard to reach.
We believed, and still believe, that the law, and past court decisions allow courts to annul an election when it is impossible to know who truly won. We respectfully disagree with Judge Bridges’ interpretation of the law, but if he is right then the Washington State Legislature needs to take action next year, because Washington currently has no meaningful election contest procedure for a statewide election.
One thing I think we can all agree on is the benefit this contest action will have in terms of cleaning up our elections system. No one knew seven months ago how flawed our election system was. No one imagined that illegal voting was so common and widespread. And certainly no one imagined that King County would certify an election without knowing how many ballots were issued or returned. It took this litigation to show us the truth, and I believe that county auditors across the state will respond and make the necessary improvements.
In King County, however, Ron Sims and Dean Logan may say they’ve gotten the message, but we’ve heard that before. What the people of King County need and deserve is a new county executive who will truly change the culture of the elections office, and all of King County government. We look forward to working with the King County Republican Party to make that happen this Fall.
This has been a remarkable seven month crusade. I want to thank our outstanding legal team, and all the staff and volunteers of this joint effort of the State Party and the Rossi Campaign. I particularly want to thank Dino and Terri Rossi for having the courage to see this through. Although we were not successful, I am proud we stood up and fought the good fight. We did the right thing, and this state will be better off for it.
This finally closes the book on the 2004 election. Republicans won some and lost some, but I believe that electing Rob McKenna Attorney General, and electing Dino Rossi Governor – twice – demonstrates the ability of Republicans to win in this supposed blue state. We know the way now. We will move forward from here unified, energized, and ready to win in 2005, 2006, and beyond.
When the builders put Vance in control of the party, everyone should have recognized what had just happened. The builders do not represent conservatives, although they regularly incite conservative issues to fire up the party. Under their leadership, the party has become a bigger corporate welfare machine than the Dems social welfare machine ever imagined.
With billions in unfunded road and other infrastructure costs at our doorstep, Vance and his pals have sold us down the river. Vote for Irons Jr. and Republicans will get more of the same.
Posted by: Mike on June 7, 2005 02:44 PMRead into that what you may.
Posted by: Dogbert on June 7, 2005 02:51 PMVote for a candidate that doesn't have a chance and you'll get Simms. We all need to get behind one candidate and live with the fact that, although not ideal - Irons is a whole 180° better than Simms.
Think of Simms as a tumor. You can excise it but you still need to radiate and chemo the Logans, etc. that are eating away other parts of the body.
Posted by: Jeffro on June 7, 2005 02:59 PMAs far as Vance's statement goes...I thought it was quite good. It echoes the sentiments of many of us and is a fair reasoned representation of what happened.
We can throw all kinds of arrows at each other Monday Morning QB'ing this Election Contest. To what end??? I mean who would have thought the R's could have won by running around cherry-picking depositions from felons willing to admit they voted for Gregoire??? Who'dathunkit???
I can assure you that if the R's had done this successfully, we would NOT have seen this outcome.
Hell, we could have saved a ton of money going to each felon and offering "expense money" for them to sign "I VOTED FOR GREGOIRE" depositions and "expense money" to Rossi felon-voters to take the 5th!! Bridges decision in that regard is absurd.
Now, the focus must be on improving the KINGCO Election "culture" and working to pass some much needed reforms.
Posted by: dude on June 7, 2005 03:01 PM I can assure you I am not in love with
myself.Just my wife.Having said that I'm
not ready to say what I will wear.
At the appropriate time everyone will
know.
Chris has been a disaster. He will continue to be a disaster, as will the rest of the state organization until we get away from King County running the state party.
Let's remember, kids, that King County can't even control King County. How do we expect them to control the state?
Posted by: Who.... Me? on June 7, 2005 03:49 PMAs Howard Dean would say Yehhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaa
Posted by: GS on June 7, 2005 04:20 PMThere are few elected people that have shifted more liability to the taxpayers than Vance through his advocacy for developer subsidies and near absense of mitigation or impact fees. And if Irons beats Sims, the builders hold on King County will be only that much stronger. Sims has been a strong friend of the builders, but if the builders shift their support to Irons, that should send up red flags for everyone. Because for people that don't get it, party loyalty in King County is second to only one thing, and that's giving the growth industry the keys to the unincorporated areas. Consider a massive government that doesn't govern the urban areas which are controlled by the cities? What do they have to win favor from big money, but approving massive projects and supporting their developer backers with favorable land use decisions. If you think the Elections department is bad, if only people knew what was going on in DOT and DDES. But then you need a press with the courage to investigate and report it. This election debacle, though, should highlight for everyone how worthless our local press is. They're all in cahoots!
If you don't think the builders love Vance, look at any Vance PDC record from his council or SPI runs. Here's a guy who worked so hard for the developers that even his own district was on to him and he was going to lose his council reelection, so he opted to bail out. Now he's running the state party and in control of who the party supports financially. If you wonder why there are so few good Republican candidates (Rossi a huge exception), go no further than Vance and the overriding party requirement to support corporate subsidies and all the party's friends in the growth industries.
Until conservatises take the party back and call welfare what it is when given to business, there is virtually no difference between the parties. They both want our money to give to someone. It's either to social engineer or to build the infrastructure we're lacking so the growth industry can maintain its gravy train.
Posted by: Mike on June 7, 2005 04:28 PMYeah, it's probably smarter to save the money you would have spent fighting the illegality and nonsense going on in our State's election system, and use it to sue us taxpayers over the primaries instead. Thanks, we, the constituents of this state appreciate it, just as we appreciated the R's help to the donkey party in raising the taxes, losing the election contest, allowing King County to steal the election for Gregoire, forcing us into a Montana primary, and so many other wonderful things. Oh, and the continued support for the epitome of Republicanism, Sam Reed, is heartening.
Oh, and when I get the chance to go an publically humiliate myself by announcing a private medical condition, subject myself to scrutiny for being a potential meth manufacturer, and submit to photo checks, information being collected (and no restrictions on the use of that information for marketing, public release, or plain ole ID theft) so that my medical condition, treatable by a legal, over the counter medication happens, I'll be sure to think of you and the R's, and how you've managed to make my life better.
Posted by: Patches Pal on June 7, 2005 04:33 PMVote Early, Vote Often, Don't forget the Dead Relatives and the Unborn Children.
Straight from a County Exec worker bee as a quote from a County Exec.
Posted by: swatter on June 7, 2005 04:35 PMI get how this King County elections system works now! Where can I download New voter registration applications! Yeee Hawwwww
Posted by: GS on June 7, 2005 05:08 PMwould you rather have Ron Sims or Chris Vance?
My vote is for Sims.
And Mike, drop me an email addy if you would.
Posted by: Jim on June 8, 2005 02:18 PM