Posted on 11/07/2001 10:59:08 AM PST by lilylangtree
Democrats, gunning to take control of the entire legislative branch, defeated an appointed Republican House member in the Seattle suburbs and held a steady lead for a second Snohomish County seat that would put them in the driver's seat in Olympia. Democrats, who have shared power with the Republicans in an unusual 49-49 tie for the past three years, ousted Rep. Joe Marine, R-Mukilteo, in the 21st District and were holding onto the 38th District seat with appointed Rep. Jean Berkey, D-Everett. Democrats already control the Senate and the governor's mansion, so a Tuesday night sweep would mean outright control of state government. With 69% of the precincts reporting, Democrat Brian Sullivan was outpolling Marine 55% to 42%. Both are veterans of Mukilteo city politics. Marine, 38, is a health insurance broker and Sullivan, 43, owns a pizza parlor and microbrewery. Michael Enquist, the Libertarian nominee, and Young Han, the Green Party candidate, trailed with less the 2% apiece. In the adjacent 38th District, Berkey, 62, a Democrat and longtime political activist, maintained a smaller lead over Republican Erv Hoglund, 63, a retired airline pilot who served in Vietnam. Berkey had 51% to Hoglund's 47%. Thomas Kinnenbrew, the Libertarian nominee, got the remaining votes. The House has labored under a 49-49 tie since the 1998 election. A special election in 1999 failed to break the tie and after candidates spent a record $11.9 million last fall, the House again ended up dead even. The two special elections were required this fall because of the death of a Democratic incumbent, Pat Scott, in the 38th District, and the surprise resignation of Republican Renee Radcliff in the 21st District. Both districts lean Democratic, although the 21st, in the suburbs north of Seattle, has elected a number of moderate Republicans in recent decades. Democratic candidates outpolled the GOP in the September primary in both states. To take over the House majority, Democrats had to retain Berkey and take Marine's seat away. The candidates spent a total of more than $800,000. The Marine-Sullivan contest alone was expected to set a new record for a single House race, probably $500,000 for a job that pays $32,801 a year. Both parties poured money, volunteers, campaign strategists and other resources into the Marine-Sullivan match. Special interest groups, such as labor unions and builders, also focused on the race. Because control of the House and, for the Democrats, the entire legislative branch, was at stake, Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, called it "the whole enchilada. You can say to a contributor 'You're not buying a legislative seat, you're buying a Legislature.'" Democrats said breaking the tie would end gridlock at the Capitol. The tie, and the Republicans' ability to stop the Democrats' agenda, scuttled plans for transportation taxes, environment and labor bills, and a proposed change in the primary election system, they said. Republicans, though, said the tie put the brakes on runaway spending and taxes, and gave conservative votes a voice in Olympia.
Another fine display of the masses being asses - they forget who it is that raises the taxes, handcuffs business, and lets the envirowackos call the shots. $hit!!!
That's exactly what happened in California two years ago. Since then the rotten socialists have rammed through numerous onerous bills paying off those groups who supported Red Davis, like every known gun control group, the enviro-nuts, business-haters, and numerous homosexual advocates. In the process, a $10 million state revenue surplus was turned into a $14 million deficit. Look for the same in Washington in the coming years.
The tie, and the Republicans' ability to stop the Democrats' agenda, scuttled plans for transportation taxes, environment and labor bills, and a proposed change in the primary election system, they said. Republicans, though, said the tie put the brakes on runaway spending and taxes, and gave conservative votes a voice in Olympia.
To everyone in WA:
Get ready for tax increases, and now I know why Boeing wanted to run the heck out of there.
HMMMMM....wonder what Microsoft will do eventually - all those people, all together, in Washington? Is Bill Gates finally going to get his political act together?
It's a black day indeed. But remember, I-747 passed (everywhere but KingCo), and Eyman said he's preparing another initiative. And anything that happens now... It's ALL the Rats' fault!
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