Comments on: Mailing your Pierce County ballot will cost an estimated 61 cents this year

By: favoredandblessed

favoredandblessed — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:06:42 +0000

You go Jan! You have done a great job so far…The posts listed above are just folks so unhappy with their own lives they have to throw dirt…take your ball people and go home! You GO JAN!!! You are my #1 and only choice. And NO I don’t work for her or the republicans!!! I have my own brain and use it.

By: the3rdpigshouse

the3rdpigshouse — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:53:49 +0000

Maybe if you whining and sniveling dullards went to the polling booths to cast your votes you could stop whining about the postage!!!

By: sharke

sharke — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:55:20 +0000

The name on the envelope struck me as well. From my viewpoint, I’m not sending my ballot to a person; rather, I’m sending it to the office with the charter to receive it. The name of the occupant of that office is irrelevant in this context. So why am I seeing Shabro’s name in 18 point font?

So… either this is illegal or unethical electioneering, or a normal state of affairs — or both. Honestly, I just can’t remember (if I *ever* noticed) if the county auditor’s name is always included on ballot envelopes. Someone help me out here…

By: wandertom

wandertom — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:37:53 +0000

I was outraged to see in TNT’s article today appointed Pierce County Auditor Jan Shabro’s manipulations. It was not enough for Shabro to stamp her name all over the ballot envelopes in 18 point font in an election where she is a candidate. Shabro also had to make voting as complicated and expensive as possible. Shabro designed the bulkiest possible mail ballots, and when put on the spot by TNT, she admitted your ballot will cost an estimated 61 cents to mail. There is a phase in politics for this–”voter suppression”. Google it.

The dirty little secret is that Jan Shabro is anything but non-partisan. She was appointed by the heavily (5-2) Republican Pierce County Council. She then hired, Deryl McCarty, former Chair of the Pierce County Republicans to be our Chief Deputy Auditor. McCarty just happens to be chair of a political PAC to elect Republicans, and as a county employee even donated to his boss’ campaign!

Shabro ran an a Republican in her last three elections. No wonder it took favors from the Republican dominated county council to actually get into public office. Who does she owe?

The county auditor is supposed to be a non-partisan position to ensure fair elections. Shabro has proved not to be trustworthy. We have an experienced and principled alternative for auditor. Vote for Julie Anderson for Pierce County Auditor…and make sure of proper postage!

By: David Wickert

David Wickert — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:46:00 +0000

A couple folks have asked me why we keep putting Shabro’s photo on the blog and why we put her name in bold.

First, we put every name in bold, not just Shabro’s. It helps people scan for names they might be interested in.

Second, we use photos of elected officials (and other people) on our blogs just like we use them in the newspaper. It’s a way of identifying people (a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say). It also makes the newspaper (and the blogs) more visually interesting. Political Buzz is a politics blog, so most of the photos tend to be of politicians. I write about Pierce County government and politics, so my posts include a lot of photos of people like Shabro, Dale Washam, Pat McCarthy, etc.

The complaint seems to be that publishing photos gives politicians unfair exposure – like Shabro is accused of doing by putting her name on the return envelope for absentee ballots. But I would say that having your photo in the newspaper (or on a blog) next to a story about how you’ll have to pay 61 cents to mail a ballot isn’t necessarily the kind of exposure politicians are looking for.

By: fatuous

fatuous — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:46:22 +0000

I’m just going to drop my ballot off at the drop off booth like I normally do, after voting to put an end to RCV, of course.

By: johnearl

johnearl — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:51:16 +0000

Using the Auditor’s logic, I wonder why she did not lay the entire cost of this election at the feet of her predecessor? It was her predecessor, after all, that abandoned her elected office to chase another county job and so created the need for the Auditor’s special election in the first place. If Pat McCarthy had finished the job she was elected to do, there would be no need for an Auditor special election this year.

But I suppose once you start blaming every election ill on RCV, it’s hard to stop.

By: beccib

beccib — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:31:17 +0000

Just another Stipek clone, and why do you have to print her picture every time you do a story about the auditor’s office??

By: smcelhiney

smcelhiney — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:13:29 +0000

While she was chopping election costs by reducing word counts that candidates could use for their statements… something that the voters actually might want to know… how much costs could she have saved by eliminating her full page of the voter’s pamphlet? How much cost in ink would have been saved by NOT using a big bold font on the return address for JAN SHABRO?

I thought I would be mailing my ballot to the Elections Office… not to her personally. Silly me…

Of course the other way to save money would have been to use a lighter paper for the ballots, but I’m guessing someone has that contract. Hey could have used smaller print… the newspapers do that. But I guess reducing the message of the candidates is makes more sense and reducing the likelyhood of your vote actually getting to the Elections Office makes more sense.

By: ldozy1234

ldozy1234 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:07:54 +0000

P.S. Jan:
Ya think you could have decreased the font advertising your name on the ballots and instead actually served the public by increasing the font regarding the cost of this mailing? Or would that been too self sacrificing?
Absolutely disgusted with this whole group!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!