Some campaign ads in support of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi are making Democrats, government officials, law enforcement officers, and Native American tribes steaming mad. One of the ads, produced and paid for by the Republican Governor's Association (RGA), claims 1,300 sex offenders are on the loose thanks to Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire's administration. But Snohomish County prosecutor Mark Roe said that couldn't be further from the truth, or more poorly timed, since the governor recently signed into law a new DNA testing and electronic monitoring system for sex offenders. ...
Meanwhile, members of The Spokane Tribe say they're also miffed by a Rossi campaign ad which suggests their controversial tribal gaming compact with Gregoire was improper. The tribe posted a half-page ad in the Spokesman-Review saying the ads were full of "lies, half-truths, and words taken out of context." State Attorney General Rob McKenna defended the compacts in July, saying the negotiations and pacts were entirely legal.
But as Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly reports, Rossi's ads seem to be working where it counts. In Eastern Washington, where the Obama campaign is "flying high" and well-supported, Connelly says Gregoire's popularity remains "earthbound," partly because the Democrat's campaign has been slow to respond to Rossi's successful attack machine.
Say what? Joe Turner at the News Tribune reports The Family Policy Institute of Washington says it will hand out 500,000 voter guides to inform citizens about "where the candidates stand on issues like abortion on demand, gay marriage, the estate tax, off-shore drilling and embryonic stem cell research." Turner then poses an important question: What do the estate tax and off-shore drilling have to do with "values that honor families and promote life?" ...
Say yes? The editorial board at the News Tribune endorses Sound Transit's $17.9 billion light rail expansion proposal, Proposition 1, saying the "investment would pay off for generations to come." ...
Turning up the volume: Andrew Garber at The Seattle Times reports both gubernatorial candidates will be airing "wall-to-wall TV, and wall-to-wall radio" ads during the final weeks before Nov. 4.
Turning up the heat: The editorial board at The Wall Street Journal gets behind Rossi and the Building Industry Association of Washington, writing that liberal opponents shouldn't "continue to harass" the builders' group. ...
And finally, WashBlog reports that staffers for Commissioner of Public Lands Doug Sutherland threw out several Sierra Club volunteers from a Department of Natural Resources event at REI in Seattle yesterday. The Sierra Club volunteers say they were not being disruptive — merely passing out fliers recognizing the DNR's progress and identifying some solutions for the future. ...
