1. Sen. Maria Cantwell has a fundraising letter out to her contributors right now that asks 14 questions, including: “Do you feel Democrats have kept the promises they made in the 2008 election?”; “Do you support or oppose additional federal regulations on Wall Street and our financial system?”; “How concerned are you about the federal government’s budget deficits?”; and “How would you rate Democratic office holders at communicating the party’s message?”
Okay.
But there’s also a question asking people to rank issues in importance on a scale of 1 to 10 and one issue is: “Wars in Afghanistan/Iran.”
Iran? That’s quite a Freudian Slip. Does Cantwell’s office know something the rest of us don’t?
FWIW: Sen. Cantwell was just one of 22 senators who voted against the Kyl-Lieberman amendment in September 2007 supporting military action against Iran.
2. The Bellevue City Council could vote tonight to switch its preferred light-rail alignment to one that avoids the South Bellevue park-and-ride, losing thousands of riders a day. The council is voting on its preferred alignment in segments; tonight’s segment, the “B” portion of the line, is the southernmost portion.
The council’s likely new preferred alignment makes up the southern portion of the so-called “Vision Line,” being promoted by freshman council member Kevin Wallace.
The meeting starts tonight at 6 pm at Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave. NE, Room 1E-113, with public comment scheduled for 8 pm.
3. The House passed a long list of Senate bills in Olympia yesterday including Sen. Rosa Franklin’s (D-29, Tacoma) bill that protects people from getting busted when they seek medical help for someone who ODs. It also exempts the person who ODs from getting into trouble.
The House also passed a senate bill which puts campaign contribution limits ($800 per election) on all city council campaigns—which means Eastside developer Kemper Freeman can’t bankroll Bellevue city council candidates anymore (see the results at item #2) where there are no campaign contribution limits.
The Seattle City Council limit last year was $700.
4. Washington State congressman Rep. Jim McDermott testified late last week against Temporary Assistance to Needy Families policies that he said punish women for being poor and force them into lives of working poverty.
At a briefing held by the Women’s Economic Justice network, a coalition of advocacy groups for low-income women in Washington, McDermott said, “People are very worried about Haiti right now. But you can see many of the same things here.”
President Obama has said he will extend TANF, a Clinton-era welfare reform policy that put time limits on assistance and tied welfare to a person’s ability to find work, for one year.
