Since last week, NW Daily Marker has reported on early signs of an imminent announcement from business consultant and recent congressional candidate James Watkins about a run for Washington State Auditor, the seat left open this year by the retirement of Democratic State Auditor Brian Sonntag. On Tuesday, Watkins made his official declaration, joining State Sen. Craig Pridemore (D-Vancouver) and

Former Republican congressional candidate James Watkins appears to be gearing up to run for Washington State Auditor, based on changes noted Thursday evening on his  Facebook page and the establishment of a campaign website. Republicans have yet to field a candidate for state auditor and since Watkins’ withdrawal in January from the First District Congressional race he has been mentioned

Candidate for Washington State governor Congressman Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) will soon be getting a fundraising boost from none other than disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), also known as “Client No. 9” in a federal investigation of a high-class prostitution ring, multiple news sources in New York are reporting Friday. Spitzer’s uptown Manhattan gathering for Inslee is the

Seattle Port Commission President Bill Bryant is reportedly in the final stages of making a decision on running against U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), but his interest in the race has already ignited a small controversy among Eastern Washington Republicans after an email taking aim at Bryant was sent this weekend by a state legislator with ties to current U.S.

Washington State’s retailers are ready to help the state Legislature balance the budget and create jobs to heal some of the financial wounds of the recession. We’ve proposed an August back-to-school sales tax holiday weekend that a new study shows would boost state and local government revenues by $12.5 million and create 1,555 jobs while giving consumers a deserved financial

Last Thursday was the first ever national Digital Learning Day. More than 10,000 teachers and 2 million students participated in raising awareness of the importance of digital learning. Among them was a dedicated band of online students from across Washington state. The iLearn Project and the Washington Families for Online Learning Coalition partnered to host a demonstration of online students and

As it turns out we could have one of the richest mineral deposits ever discovered in Washington State, right in our backyard here in Southwest Washington. Mount Margaret is located in the Saint Helens Mining District of Skamania County, about 22 miles southwest of Randle. The Mount Margaret deposit holds the potential for tremendous economic opportunity for Southwest Washington and

The House Ways and Means Committee heard public testimony yesterday on HB 2607: Requiring a six-year budget outlook tied to existing revenues. Regularly publishing a multi-year budget outlook is one of the many recommendations in WPC’s Policy Guide for Washington State. One of the most recognizable measurements of the state’s fiscal health is the multi-year budget outlooks. These updates, however,

Congressman Dave Reichert (WA-08) will run for re-election to the U.S. House and forgo a bid for the U.S. Senate, sources inside the State Republican Party confirmed Thursday after hearing from Reichert. Reichert’s decision to seek a fifth term in Congress puts to bed persistent rumors of a possible U.S. Senate bid, and for now leaves State Sen. Michael Baumgartner

When this week began, three Republicans were in the race for the 1st Congressional District seat. Yesterday, the field narrowed to two, and a Friday evening announcement from another Republican means that Snohomish County Councilman John Koster is riding solo against a pack of Democratic hopefuls. Greg Anders was the first Republican to withdraw on Thursday. Today, James Watkins spent

As we conclude the 18th day of the 2012 REGULAR Session, the lack of legislative urgency to solve the state’s billion dollar plus deficit grows more troubling with each passing day. It’s been 92 days since the Governor called last December’s special session declaring “timely legislative action is needed to secure the State’s fiscal health and address the shortfall in

On Tuesday evening, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R, WA-5) issued a direct response to Pres. Barack Obama’s 2012 State of Union address, restating her commitment to working with the White House and others in Congress but questioning whether Obama’s proposals constituted little more than an effort to recycle ideas that have already produced a record of failure for his administration.

Acting on behalf of the state the Attorney General’s Office has once again argued the 1993 voter-approved requirement for a 2/3 vote to raise taxes is constitutional (policy has been subsequently re-approved by the voters and legislature on multiple occasions). Here are some pull quotes from the state’s motion for summary judgment in the most recent legal challenge: “Plaintiff non-profit

Last year several House Democrats joined the Washington Education Association (WEA) and the League of Education Voters to file a lawsuit to overturn the four-time voter approved 2/3 vote requirement for tax increases. Today Governor Gregoire filed a legal brief urging the Court to rule on this issue. From her brief (in-part) “Governor Christine Gregoire asks this Court to decide

Whatever else stepping down as governor will cost Christine Gregoire, she doesn’t figure to suffer financially. In fact, her state pension currently projects to be $3,000 a year more than she’s earning as Washington’s chief executive. According to documents obtained in a public disclosure request by the Freedom Foundation, Gregoire’s pension was calculated last July by the Washington State Department

(“Diminishing Ignorance Will Pave Way for Digital Learning Innovation” by Diana Moore was originally published on Getting Smart.) Washington state: the birthplace of Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, Dave Matthews, Rainn Wilson, and more. Lesser known is the fact that the Evergreen State is also home to more than 40 different digital learning programs. In fact, for more than 15 years online

When legislators return to Olympia — only several weeks after a failing to deal with all of the state’s $2 billion budget gap in a special session — will gay marriage be a distraction or just another bill on the calendar? The answer lies in the fact that Gregoire — like so many of her predecessors — is a two-term

In 2010, I wrote how the Puget Sound Regional Council’s (PSRC) Transportation 2040 plan estimated passenger rail would carry half of what Sound Transit officials promised voters in their 2008 ballot measure to expand light rail. That post is available here: PSRC says light rail will carry half of what Sound Transit told voters. I also made a formal request