Primary endorsements

for the Tacoma council

David Curry, Marilyn Strickland, Julie Anderson and Lauren Walker stand out among a crowd of candidates.

It’s turnover time again at the Tacoma City Council.

Four of the council’s nine seats are up for grabs; three have drawn more than two candidates, creating contests for the August primary. The candidates endorsed by The News Tribune’s editorial board appear in boldface below:

Tacoma Position 8, at large

This is, far and away, the liveliest and most interesting race

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Former Tacoma City Councilman Kevin Phelps is leaving his post as general manager of the Landmark Convention Center to seek “a life of significance.”

Phelps informed his staff today that he sold his interest in the former Masonic Temple (later the Temple Theater) to his business partner. While the Landmark is doing well, he said, he’s ready for a change after 16 years of running the business.

I asked Phelps why he decided on the move:

After 16 years, I think I have taken the company about as far as I can. The business is as healthy as it has ever been year. In fact, in 2006 the Landmark did more food & beverage sales (catering) than both the $120m Convention Center and the Tacoma Dome combined. And sales are up 10.6% thus far for 2007. But there is still more upside to the business and new management may be able to grow the company even further.

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Pierce County voters will face three voting-related charter amendments in November, the County Council decided today. Here’s a scorecard from council staffer Brad Chatfield:

2007-63s3 (Farrell) — Allowing all choices to be ranked, but if the software can’t accomodate it, that choices may be limited to three – and amended on the floor to include the implementation language from 2007-68s (PASSED 5-1, Gelman nay)

2007-64 (Farrell/Muri, at the request of executive and auditor) — Governing authorities of minor parties must approve who uses their party label (PASSED 6-0)

2007-65s (Muri) — Changes RCV implementation to 2010,

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We publish our endorsements in Tacoma City Council primary races. Preview will be published in editorial page blog at 11 p.m.

Emotions are running high and lawmakers are calling for a special sessioin following the murder of Zina Linnick, but that’s not the best atmosphere for producing effective sex-offender legislation. The governor is right: Take the time for a review of sex-offender sentencing and notifications, and consider recommendations, if any, in regular session.

UPDATE: The sex offender editorial is on hold. The Tacoma City Council endorsement editorial is running longer than expected, leaving room for only a

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I had a hard time figuring this one out, so I e-mailed resident sports guru Dale Phelps (listed in the masthead as deputy managing editor) for help. He forwarded this URL to explain it.

Word from the Roads & Transit campaign is that King County’s Eastside business groups are coalescing behind the massive transportation proposal on the November ballot.

That is significant because developer Kemper Freeman Jr., whose family practically built Bellevue, is a staunch ideological foe of Sound Transit in general and the Roads & Transit proposal in particular.

The Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and the Bellevue Downtown Association recently endorsed the ballot package. The measure has also picked up backing from the Washington Roundtable, a statewide business group representing large companies, and chambers of commerce in

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My friend Mike Madden is known to many here for his work with Tacoma-Pierce County Habitat for Humanity and as an avid cyclist.

Mike, a former Nalley’s executive who retired as Habitat director last year, is recovering at home after being badly injured in a cycling accident earlier this month.

Mike was training for the annual RAMROD (Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day) event when his bike hit a rock on the road and jolted out of control.

His helmet saved his life, but he suffered

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“His ears have gotten bigger and bigger”

. . . “tortoise mouth, beady eyes” . . .

Those are some comments about President Bush by two of the political cartoonists who draw him on a regular basis, Matt Davies and Steve Kelley. An article posted on the McClatchy Newspapers’ D.C. Web site talks with cartoonists about the challenges of drawing the president and other high-profile politicians.

Who are they looking forward to among the current crop of candidates? The Miami Herald’s Jim Morin

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