An ethics complaint filed against gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi by Democrat State Chair Dwight Pelz has been tossed out by the PDC.
The text of the finding is at www.pdc.wa.gov.
The Rossi campaign released a statement saying...
"I'm very happy that after a long investigation the recommendation from the PDC staff is that all charges be dropped. From the very beginning of the Forward Washington Foundation, we bent over backwards to make sure we were complying with all public disclosure requirements."This was obviously a desperate attempt by Christine Gregoire's agents to smear me, and it didn't work."
Rossi is currently out of state attending a governors conference.
Posted by DonWard at November 29, 2007 05:55 PM | Email ThisDamages will be calculated as the cost of the PDC fully burdened employees time and overhead.
Posted by: Pelz is a Pudtz on November 29, 2007 06:49 PMYou are way too kind:)
Posted by: Fed Up on November 29, 2007 07:07 PMMost Republicans ARE "friends of transportation". They are not, however, friends of wasteful and disproportional use of transportation funds on:
HOV lanes
Squirrel overpasses
Bicycle lanes and trails
Sound Transit Projects
Sales tax assessments on materials purchased for highway projects
"Prevailing" wages
Highway "art"
Knee-jerk shutdowns of ferry runs
Environmental impact studies ad nauseam
Use of paid private consultants ad absurdum
Republicans, and hopefully the few Democrats that came equipped with brains, are also disgusted with 9.5-cent gasoline tax increases that do nothing to address major highway problem areas (Viaduct, 520 Bridge, Hwy 2, etc.).
It's slightly humorous that you would select transportation in an attempt to stain Mr. Rossi's reputation, as this is a campaign issue Democrats would surely love to avoid, given the disasterous results of their "efforts".
Posted by: Saltherring on November 30, 2007 08:04 AMHe's going to remind them that this is about transportation - not about government programs to pay off cronies and consolidate their power base.
The stuff going on in France where the employee unions are trying to shut down the government by stopping the trains? Who doesn't believe that the same thing could happen here?
Why are all the mass transit plans so "Seattle focused" when the future of our economy seems to lie with Boeing and Microsoft, neither of which are in Seattle?
The recent ads and announcements on the new Honda and toyota hydrogen cars couldn't have come at a worse time for Dems either. They can whine all they want about the need to "take gas guzzling cars off the road" but the public is now getting a glimpse that our dependence of fossil fuels can end without having to give up our personal mobility. (Once again, hooray for the free market.)
Transportation is a winning issue for the GOP.
Posted by: Johnny on November 30, 2007 09:20 AMA campaign by any other name is still a campaign even if the books tell a different story. I find it hard to believe that this should be dismissed as a bogus claim.
A bribe by any other name is still a bribe even if the PDC reports don't draw a correlation between contributions and decisions. I find it hard to believe the voters of Washington would dismiss bribes as bogus during next years election.
Posted by: Smokie on November 30, 2007 02:55 PMIn France employee unions are trying to shut down the government by stopping the trains
That's true. But the French have much stronger unions than they do here. It's almost a tradition in some European countries for the Unions to go on strike at least once a year to pretend they actually still have power.
Who doesn't believe that the same thing could happen here?
I don't believe it will happen here, it would seem unprecedented and would certainly turn public opinion against them.
Why are all the mass transit plans so "Seattle focused"
Maybe because it's the states largest city population wise? Seattle has the highest density in the state with 6,717.0/mi vs Redmond (1,274.6/mi), Renton (2,939.7/mi), Everett (2,814.6/mi), or Tacoma (3,864.9/mi).
While the largest employers may be located outside Seattle proper a lot of people still commute to Seattle to work. Several Fortune 500 companies such as Nordstrom, Amazon.com, Washington Mutual, and Starbucks all have their national headquarters based in Seattle proper.
The recent ads and announcements on the new Honda and toyota hydrogen cars couldn't have come at a worse time for Dems either.
I'm going to take the I'll believe it when I see it approach. These cars still have to pass federal safety standards and make it to the market. Once there the free market has to add Hydrogen fueling to their gas stations. If the demand for the car is not there there is no need for them to spend money on costly conversions (especially since hydrogen is arguably more combustible than gasoline).
Also notice there are no SUV's or Trucks were mentioned in the plans by Honda and Toyota. Those vehicles are much heavier and use up much more oil/gas than the conventional car does. These vehicles are the auto-industry's cash-cow. I don't see why they can't put some money into these vehicles to make them better for the environment.
Once again, hooray for the free market
Maybe you missed President Bush's speech in which he stated that the Govt. is giving away 1.2 BILLION to fund Hydrogen research through partnerships with the private sector. Billion dollar giveaways hardly meet my definition of "Free Market", how about yours?
Do you really want a casino in your backyard not to mention all the negative effects it brings to the communities around them?
Good luck on getting the GOP Bible Thumpers on board with that.
"Think of the children" =P
Yes I could get the Bible Thumpers and the majority of TAXPAYERS on board with the idea because I would fund real property tax relief with the revenue. It's only a tax if you gamble so the Bible Thumpers will not care, Just like the non-smokers don't care about the cigarette tax.
We already have the third largest Gambling Regulatory Commisson in the country behind Nevada and New Jersey so we are already staffed (probably over staffed) for the inclusion of Non-Tribal gaming. We can limit the number of licenses and locations to match the number of Tribal Casinos with similar types of games, no new areas impacted and you give gamblers a choice to support the State with their gambling dollars. The State can then mitigate the impacts of traffic and crime that already exist due to the Tribal Casinos (And are not compensated for) with a portion of the revenue they receive from the Non-Tribal Casinos.
Posted by: Smokie on November 30, 2007 04:20 PM
NY City Transit Strike a couple years back during the Christmas rush, they jailed the Union Leaders after they refused a back to work order, Stranded tens of thousands of people and crippled businesses city wide.
But it could never happen HERE right?
Posted by: Smokie on November 30, 2007 04:44 PMHow many evangelical taxpayers on here would like to see gambling institution open up in their neighborhood? Raise your hands!
Did we mention you get a small break on your property taxes?
Care to speak up Michelle?
I don't see you rallying against the mayor's proposal for a strip club zone Smokie, free market rule right?
But it could never happen HERE right?
Not saying it couldn't, it just hasn't happened around here since the early 1930's.
I stand by my words:
"it would seem unprecedented and would certainly turn public opinion against them."
Michelle, apparently Cato needs some sort of help.
If you stand with the Mayor on just about anything it simply points to what you value. If the Mayor wants to erect a SODO BLOJO District, let him just as with the Tribal Casinos, I will not be attendance. If enough people do not visit the Mayors fantasy playground it will be crushed under the weight of it's own overhead, not unlike the Mayor and the city of Seattle itself.
IF you are going to stand by your words please include the entire sentence by including "I don't believe it will happen here". I believe that given ST's track record it is highly likely that they will have strikes within the first 10 years of operation.
Posted by: Smokie on November 30, 2007 08:36 PM