The Politics Blog » Tim Sheldon

UPDATE – Senate GOP calls press conference to blame House, Democrats for all-but-certain special session

Brad Shannon — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:06:14 +0000

UPDATE: As several Senate Democrats pointed out on Thursday, Republicans’ political campaign committee is holding a fundraiser at Monday at a private residence in Olympia. The event, which is confirmed in an email obtained by reporters today, is at 9 a.m. in a home owned by lobbyists Steve and Kathleen Gano near the Capitol. Whether lawmakers are in session Monday or not, the fundraiser would not violate the state’s freeze on fundraising for officials during session.

On a day their budget negotiators had more talks with Gov. Jay Inslee and also House Democratic budget leaders, a half-dozen Republicans in the Senate Majority Coalition called …

UPDATE – Senate panel welcomes Inslee pitch on climate change

Brad Shannon — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:12:56 +0000

Post is updated throughout

Gov. Jay Inslee stepped up his campaign to do something on climate change, telling a legislative committee this morning that the impacts of global warming could cause $10 billion damage yearly to Washington’s economy and families by 2020.

“I believe we in Washington ought to be optimistic in our ability to whip climate change,’’ Inslee told the committee in testifying for his proposal to create a legislative task force to study climate change responses.

The Republican-led Senate Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee welcomed the Democratic governor, and chairman Doug Ericksen of Whatcom County, who said …

Democrats gather tonight for Lacey crab feed still feeling wins from 2012 elections

Brad Shannon — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 19:06:08 +0000

Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington’s three newest members of Congress are featured speakers tonight at the state Democratic Party’s yearly crab feed fund raiser in Lacey. The $50 per person event starts after 5 p.m. at the Saint Martin’s University Pavilion. It follows an all-day grassroots organizing forum that runs all day at the college campus.

For details on the event to here. The tone of the crab feed event should mostly be celebratory – in that party chairman Dwight Pelz’s forces held onto the Governor’s Office for an eighth straight election, longest current streak in the …

Report: State Democrats censure Sen. Tom, Sen. Sheldon

Brad Shannon — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 03:05:38 +0000

The Seattle P-I has an item about the state Democratic Party censuring two Democratic state senators that crossed over to join 23 Republicans and form the Majority Coalition Caucus, which controls the Senate chamber in 2013. The news outlet said the party’s resolution adopted at a weekend central committee meeting accuses the lawmakers of “gross disloyalty” and “perfidious behavior.”

Both conservative Democrats had crossed over previously with former Sen. Jim Kastama in 2012 when they helped minority Republicans hijack the budget from then-majority Democrats. Kastama is no longer in the Legislature.

The P-I story is here. It says that Tom …