LD46

Arguably the most important function of legislative district-level elections is how, on the whole, they determine the makeup of the state legislature.

State Democrats have insurmountable leads in both the House and the Senate, but the question remains, will they extend their lead or will the Republicans make incremental moves back toward the center?

PolitickerWA.com put together a list of state legislative seats that have a chance at switching parties today. See them after the jump.

A bi-partisan group of former legislators and candidates wrote a letter to the King County Prosecuting Attorney Friday calling for a further investigation into the King County ethics breach by Scott White (D-Seattle).

White was recently found in violation of the King County ethics code for doing campaign work on county computers while he was an employee at the Department of Transportation. White claims that it was a mistake stemming from a synched telephone, but an independent technology expert hired by the county debunked White's claims. 

Former state Reps. Toby Nixon (R-Kirkland) and Mike Todd (D-Auburn), as well as former 46th District Republican candidate Keith Ljunghammar used the letter to display their commitment to open government and protecting the public trust. 

SEATTLE -- The 46th Legislative District state Representative, position 1 candidates, Seattle Democrats Gerry Pollet and Scott White, met in a candidate forum in Seattle’s Maple Leaf neighborhood Wednesday night.

It was a relatively short forum, with each of the candidates given three minutes to make an opening statement, followed by time for three questions from the audience.

The forum was also light on fireworks, despite the 46th race turning out to be one of the state’s most heated, dating back to a highly contested endorsement meeting and a lawsuit filed by Pollet in order to make White’s resignation letter hold up despite being received two minutes late.

SEATTLE -- Scott White gave the following response to PolitickerWA.com Wednesday night about having been found in violation of King County ethics rules by a county ombudsman.

White was found to have made twelve campaign-related entries in his county calendar and to have modified eleven campaign-related documents on his county computer, as well as to have used a county fax machine to send a letter that, if successful, would have removed his name from the ballot.

See the full statement below.

The Building Industry Association of Washington, whose political moves have made headlines this season, mainly in their support of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi, is also making waves in local races.

It is going on most recently in the 26th Legislative District, where former Port Orchard mayor Kim Abel (D-Port Orchard) is accusing her opponent, Kitsap County Councilmember Jan Angel (R-Port Orchard), of taking money from the group, and has called on her to return it due to the fact that the BIAW is currently under investigation for violating state campaign finance laws.

There was a similar scuffle two weeks ago between 46th District Democrats when Gerry Pollet (D-Seattle) and a number of environmental activists called on opponent Scott White (D-Seattle) to return contributions from the Affordable Housing Council, the PAC for the King and Snohomish Counties Master Builders Association.

Scott White: campaign photoThe Seattle Times issued its endorsements in the highly contested 36th and 46th Legislative Districts Wednesday afternoon, urging its readers to vote for Democratic candidates Reuven Carlye and Scott White, respectively. White and Carlyle also both received the endorsement of The Stranger's editorial control board on the same day.

The Times' endorsement said White "offers the right constellation of skills, contacts and personal work style to go to Olympia and dig right in."

As for Carlyle, they cited his business background as one of his key assets, "He has the entrepreneur's spirit and an appreciation of the private sector as the principal source of jobs."

Seattle Democrat Gerry Pollet, who is running in the well-documented race against Scott White to succeed state treasurer candidate Rep. Jim McIntire (D-Seattle), announced a handful of endorsements in an e-mail this morning.

Pollet, who has also been touting his refusal to accept the financial support of corporations and PACs lately, has the backing of Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata and former Councilmember Peter Steinbreuck, who had both endorsed White prior to Pollet's entry and now give a dual endorsement, as well as the King County Democrats, who issued a dual endorsement, and the Cascade Bicycle Club.

The Municipal League of King County released its ratings of candidates in King County legislative and judicial races Tuesday. The Municipal League is a nonpartisan volunteer group dedicated to keeping government open and effective.

Ratings ranged from "Not Qualified" to "Outstanding" with "Adequate", "Good", and "Very Good" between them. Most candidates received at least a "Good" rating, with just under ten percent of all 85 candidates reviewed achieving the level of "Outstanding".

SEATTLE -

Petitioners on behalf of Gerry Pollet who sought to remove Scott White from the ballot in the 46th Legislative District had their day in court, just five days after filing their grievance on June 20. Counsel from both sides gave oral arguments in front of Judge John P. Erlick this morning at the King County Courthouse, with Erlick finally deciding in White's favor.

For a full backstory on White's potential withdrawal from the race, see this article.

Topics of debate ranged widely throughout the nearly two hour hearing, touching on topics from fax machine time stamps to the credibility of witnesses, procedures of election officials and even the relevance of fax machines in the modern age.

Supporters of Gerry Pollet in the 46th Legislative District filed a lawsuit Friday afternoon to have Scott White removed from the ballot for state representative, position 1 in the 46th LD. The petition claims that County Elections Division Director Sherril Huff acted incorrectly when she reinstated his candidacy after it was apparently withdrawn on Thursday, June 12.

White faxed his paperwork from a King County Executive fax machine at 1329 hours on Thursday, June 12 according to the time stamp on the fax. The county says it received the fax at 4:35 PM, 5 minutes after the deadline for withdrawal.

Pollet's supporters imply in a press release that White's treatment had to do with political ties.