Cascadia Report – Page 45

In support of a “50-state strategy”

Democrats are an endangered species across most of Cascadia, with little party organization and mostly ineffective candidates outside metro areas. That’s why the new national “50-state strategy” of building Democratic operations even in mostly Republican areas is so important.

There are only 20 or so states where Democrats have a competitive organization, from the state level down to precincts. Most of the rest (Alaska, Idaho and Montana come to mind) have been written off by the national party. Building an organization in places where Democrats haven’t been able to compete means less money for toss-up races like Darcy Burner’s challenge to Rep. Dave Reichert (R – WA, 8th).

There’s plenty of criticism that the party hasn’t invested enough this year in order for Democrats to retake Congress. But the focus for Democrats needs to be on winning over the long-term and refocusing political debate around progressive values. There’s limited value if, for example, Burner wins and is swept out in 2008 or 2010. Far more important is building a wave of support values that would carry any Democrat to win in that district.

The 50-state strategy has already been paying off in Idaho, where new staffers are able to respond to Republican talking points. Now Democrats need to field good candidates to challenge incumbents like Doc Hastings (R – WA, 4th), who face only token opposition now.

October 1, 2006
Libertarian mounts serious Senate challenge

Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Guthrie plans to put his $1.2 million life savings into his campaign for the seat held by Democrat Maria Cantwell.

The money could end up taking a couple of percentage points away from Cantwell and Republican challenger Mike McGavick, who were likely to finish within a few points of each other. Guthrie’s campaign previously raised just $31,000, compared to $16.8 million by Cantwell and $7.7 million by McGavick.

Guthrie’s issues appeal to liberal and conservative voters. He wants U.S. troops out of Iraq, criticizes the Patriot Act, and supports same-sex marriage. He also wants to eliminate the federal deficit and strengthen election rules.

October 1, 2006
Picks from Sunday’s papers

1. It turns out Seattle’s booming downtown real estate market isn’t just about symphonies and fancy restaurants. The people in this story enjoy the change from their previous single-family homes but note that downtown needs more variety of restaurants, shops and people to be a real community. The way to get there, of course, is with even more units — which will eventually help lower prices — and attracting a broader range of residents with infrastructure such as parks and schools.

2. Victoria is considering options to redevelop much of its waterfront, which was transferred from national to local control a few years ago. Details of one of the first projects are due next month.

3. A veteran Portland city commissioner has to choose, the Oregonian says, “between being the heir to Tom McCall and Mark Hatfield or being there for his toddler son.”

4. The growth in container traffic is slowing at the Port of Tacoma as shipping lines shift to Southern California. The hiccup shows that Puget Sound ports need to become more efficient in order to compete with ports that have larger local markets.

October 1, 2006
Vancouver port gets expansion OK

The Vancouver Port Authority got approval for another expansion of its massive container-ship facility, bolstering Vancouver’s long-term lead over other Cascadia ports.

The expansion would add another berth to the Deltaport facility, located on a man-made peninsula about 25 miles south of central Vancouver. Cargo is shipped by rail directly from the dock to destinations around Canada and the U.S.

The health of the ports matters because of the jobs and investment they generate (Vancouver estimates it now accounts for 69,000 jobs). Here’s an earlier story I wrote about Vancouver’s competitiveness compared to other Cascadia ports.

September 30, 2006
State considers limiting campaign donations

A state commission is considering limitating political donations by companies, unions and trade groups in order to lessen their control over elections.

Current rules say groups can spend as much as they want on executive or court races but individuals are limited to $2,800. Special-interest groups, often with names that mask their geographical location or political ties, have spent $2.7 million on state races so far this year, mostly on the nasty primary races for state supreme court.

Initiative campaigns are another story. So far, an initiative to repeal state zoning rules, I-933, has attracted $2.3 million for and against. A national group called Americans for Limited Government donated $260,000 to support I-933, which would require governments to either pay property owners for hindering development on their land or exempt them from zoning rules.

September 29, 2006
Democrats will need wider margins to win

New polls show Senator Maria Cantwell heading toward reelection and Darcy Burner in a tie with the incumbent congressman. The polls, while encouraging to supporters of the two Democrats, aren’t enough.

Consider this week’s New York Times Magazine story about how Republicans are using a database of voting-age residents to turn out more sympathetic voters. The system worked in Ohio in 2004 and recently won elections in Rhode Island and California that polls had suggested would be closer.

The system has since been expanded nationwide with more comprehensive data, Republican Chairman Ken Mehlman said. Precinct canvassers use Google Earth to map their routes with ever-more precision. “In Ohio, in ’04, we got the tip of the iceberg,” Mehlman is quoted as saying. “What we did over the last two years is we got the entire iceberg.”

If the elections here are close, that turnout machine could determine the outcome.

September 28, 2006
Seattle health-care cuts echo BC’s

The Seattle area may close two of its 10 main public health centers to balance ballooning health-care costs and the burden of uninsured residents.

The potential cuts are reminiscent of recent restructuring of the healthcare system in British Columbia, which resulted in public hospital closures and curtailed services.

Seattle’s cuts threaten to erode the public safety net while shifting costs to the emergency rooms where patients may end up. It’s not clear the moves would do anything to rein in soaring costs overall or make the region healthier. Similarly, British Columbia’s attempts to manage rising costs helped undermine the public-health system and stimulate the growth of private health care. Was the trade-off worth it?

September 27, 2006
Washington company puts wrench in U.S.-Canada trade

The U.S. and Canada recently agreed to end their dispute over the trade of lumber. So it’s perfect timing for a Washington company to file a new lawsuit on the issue.

Merrill & Ring Forestry of Port Angeles filed a complaint under NAFTA over Canada’s refusal to let it export logs from the 8,000 acres on Vancouver Island that it has owned for a century. The suit claims damages of at least US$25 million at the hands of the Canadian government, which owns most of the country’s forests and heavily regulates privately owned land.

The larger battle over lumber has cost both countries financially and in job terms. For example, Weyerhaueser said it paid $366 million in duties to export lumber from its land in Canada to the U.S. between March 2002 and Dec. 2005. That total includes $21 million in legal and other related expenses, according a company report. The duties were a factor in the company’s 2005 decision to sell the British Columbia coastal lumber business, which was hard hit by the duties and has seen a steady dwindling of jobs as a result.

September 27, 2006
Border-tightening plan delayed

The U.S. delayed tough new passport rules that would have stifled Cascadia trade and tourism ahead of the 2010 Olympics.

Rules would have required Canadians to carry passports in order to cross the U.S. border beginning Jan. 1, 2008. On Tuesday, U.S. House and Senate negotiators decided to delay the requirement until June 2009. President Bush still needs to approve the delay, which is part of a $35 billion Homeland Security bill that includes fences and other steps along the Mexican border.

The delay is a victory for business groups and the Washington and British Columbia governments, which have been pushing for an alternative security system such as tamper-proof driver’s licenses.

September 26, 2006
Surface replacement for viaduct more likely

Replacing Seattle’s viaduct freeway with a package of surface roads and transit is looking more likely.

The City Council did the right thing last Friday by voting to replace the viaduct with a tunnel — and suggesting a package of surface improvements as a fall-back option. They had the option of putting the issue to a public vote, which would have been divisive and simply delayed any solution. Instead they correctly realized that if voters are unhappy they can vote them out of office. But will the people who write angry letters to newspapers remember the decision?

Regardless, the state holds most purse strings for the state-highway project, which could cost $4.8 billion. Gov. Gregoire said Monday that she hasn’t decided if supports a tunnel but doesn’t want gas taxes to pay for it. That leaves tolls as a financing mechanism. Unfortunately the state’s studies show that tolls won’t work because there are many other routes and unused road capacity around downtown.

It’s time to get serious about removing the viaduct before it collapses in the next earthquake. It’s time, more importantly, to start fixing the bottlenecks on I-5 and around downtown that make people think a tunnel or new viaduct is the only sensible option.

September 26, 2006