Possible Changes In South East King

Washington's 8th Congressional District, currently one of  two Districts in the state to be represented by only one party in it's history and the only state district to not never elect a Democrat may change both soon.  Although it's too close to call, Democrat Kim Schrier has a sizable lead over former state senator Dino Rossi.  
Rossi, who almost was elected governor in 2004, started out the campaign painting himself as the guy who achieved the American Dream.  He talked about working his way to get to college.  He wound up the campaign with scare tactics accusing Schrier of supporting taxes that would be issued on the state level., which don't involve US House.
Schrier, referred to Rossi as a "career politician" ,  she emphasized  her career as a pediatrician, outraged by Congress's attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act.  She also questioned Rossi's business dealings and refused a chance to repudiate those claims during their debate.
In what may have been the bluest election in Maple Valley history,  Democrat Bill Ramos hold a lead over former house member Republican  Chad Magendanz for position 1 of the 5th District House of Representatives, while Democrat Lisa Callen has the lead over freshman incumbent  Republican Paul Graves for position 2.  No Democrat has previously represented the 5th in Washington's House.  The 5th LD, includes Maple Valley, Black Diamond, Issaquah, and North Bend.

Jay Rodne Won't Run

 

 

 

 

 

Republican Jay Rodne, the 5th Legislative District's longest serving legislator, is not seeking reelection to Washington's House Of Representatives.  Rodne has served in that position since 2004. 

Dino Rossi May Run For Congress

Speculations seem to indicate that GOP Washington State Senator Dino Rossi may be gearing up for a run for congress.   Rossi would run in Washington's 8th district, the only Congressional District in the state that has been in Republican hands since it's inception. If elected, he would succeed retiring 5th district congressman Dave Reichert.
  Rossi is a veteran politician who served 2 terms in Washington's 5th legislative district until his nearly successful race for governor.  In 2004, Rossi was defeated by Attorney General Christine Gregoire in the closest Governor's race in US history.  Rossi would later make another unsuccessful attempt for governor against Gregoire.
Rossi would later run for US Senate against incumbent Patty Murray. 
Rossi was appointed to return to the state senate, succeeding Cheryl Pflug who resigned to take an appointment from Christine Gregoire.  Rossi left the position after Democrat Mark Mullet was elected to the Senate.
After the death of Senator Andy Hill in the 45th district, Rossi was appointed to again serve in the state senate on an interim basis.  Rossi is in Real Estate and has had other business interests in the Seattle area.

Appreciation From The 5th Dems

Last year, I decided to step away from full involvement in politics.  I spent several terms representing Washington's 5th legislative district on the state Democratic central committee.  My friends at the 5th LD presented me with a plaque in honor of my service.  Although I loved the work that I did, it was great to leave on my own terms.  I plan to go to the monthly meeting and help on various projects.

The 5th Brings Back The Mullet

Issaquah businessman Mark Mullet will continue to represent Washington's 5th Legislative district in the state senate.  Sources report that opponent Chad Magendanz has conceded in one of the closest races in the state.  Mullet becomes the first Democrat to be reelected in the relatively recently formed 5th.  In the 1990s, Kathleen Drew was elected to the senate but was defeated in her bid for a second term by Dino Rossi.
Magendanz, tried to portray Mullet as too liberal for the 5th, which by tradition has voted Republican.  Mullet emphasized his ability to compromise and to reach across the aisle.  Democrats has good showings in the two house of representative races, showing the 5th may be getting closer to being a swing district. 

GOP Resorts To Hit Piece In Attempts To Take Down Mullet

In a desperate attempt to defeat 5th district State Senator Mark Mullet, negative ads are turning up in area mailboxes.  Rather than touting opponent Chad Madendanz's record, area Republicans have found it necessary to send the above hit piece, showing that anyone hoping to get away from politics as usual will be disappointed.

Democrats Pack The House At Mount Si High School

It was a beautiful day, but Democratic delegate for Bernie Sanders and Hilary Clinton packed Mt Si High School in Snoqualmie for the 5th Legislative District Caucus.  The LD Caucus is the 2nd tier of the process of picking delegates to the Democratic National Convention in July.  Supporters of both Clinton and Sanders made passionate speeches, while a committee worked behind the scenes to credential the delegates.  The delegates then broke into the three Congressional districts that make up the 5th LD.  From each sub caucus, delegates for each presidential candidate picked delegate for the Congressional caucus and state convention, in proportion to the votes each candidate received in the precinct caucuses last month.  Simple enough?
Top picture is the 2 long lines to get into the caucus.  Middle picture is inside the caucus.  In the bottom picture,Democratic candidate for 5th district State House, Jason Ritchie addresses the delegates.  Ritchie is running against incumbent Jay Rodne.
Also speaking were 5th LD Senator Mark Mullet and 5th LD candidate for State House Darcy Burner.  Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson, who is also running for State House was also present.

Two Democrats Vie For 5th District House Position

For the first time in years, two democratic candidates will face each other in a bid to turn a legislative seat from the 5th Democratic.  The 5th Legislative District which includes the rural, but fast growing Southeast King County.  Chad Magendanz, who currently holds the seat, will challenge Democrat incumbent Mark Mullet for the Senate seat.
Darcy Burner of Ames Lake came with in a whisker hair of winning a seat in Congress.  She is passionate and makes no bones on her positions.  She emerged through a group known as NetRoots, a group of bloggers who expressed through technology, views that they felt where ignored by the mainstream media. 
Matt Larson is the current mayor of Snoqualmie, which has experienced unprecedented growth.  Larson talks about bringing consensus in the legislature.  He is endorsed by most of his fellow Eastside mayors and many party leaders.

J-Rod Comments Spark Outrage

In the early days of 5th LD Rep Jay Rodne's service, he was never much of a target.  Democrats would always focus efforts toward defeating then Rep Glenn Anderson and Senator Cheryl Pflug.  Rodne was considered a moderate Republican, who would straddle the middle on most issues.
That has changed and in a big way.  A few years ago, Rodne spoke out against marriage equality.  He has taken to walking up to the Democratic booth at festivals and debating issues, in it's self, not a bad thing to do. 
His latest foray has been statements criticizing the President and Governor Inslee on their stance on Syrian immigration.  After the Paris attacks, Rodne called Muslims barbarians and posted on facebook that Obama want to bring a million and a half Muslims into the country.  The Seattle Times called the statements false, using it's truth needle. 
The issue of bringing in Syrian refugees is indeed a sensitive issue, but before choosing sides, Rodne should get his facts straight and after that, articulate an opinion. 
Jay's district encompasses  North Bend, Issaquah, Carnation, and Maple Valley.

Senator Elect Mark Mullet

Issaquah City Councilman Mark Mullet has been a elected to the state senate, he becomes the first Democrat to represent Washington's 5th Legislative district in 20 years. Mullet, a former Bank Of America executive, is owner of  Zeke's Pizza and Ben And Jerry's Ice Cream franchises in the Issaquah Highlands.  He was written about in the Seattle Times a few years ago for being the first Washington resident to purchase a Tesla, an all electric car.

Seattle Times Endorses Mullet For Senate

Washington's 5th Legislative District, one of the last of the totally red districts in King County, could be electing a Democrat for the first time in almost 20 years.  Incumbent Cheryl Pflug, a Republican, has left the race and endorsed what would have been her Democratic Opponent Mark Mullet, an Issaquah city councilman.  Mullet was also endorsed by the usually right-leaning Seattle Times.
Mullet own's a Zeek's Pizza franchise, along with a Ben And Jerry's Ice Cream franchise in the Issaquah Highlands.

Democratic Candidates For !st Congressional District To Debate

The five Democratic candidates vying to replace Jay Inslee in the newly redrawn 1st Congressional District will face each other this Wednesday June 27th in a debate sponsored by 5th, 45th and 48th LD Democrats.  Suzan Delbene, Darcy Burner, Darshan Rauniyar, Laura Ruderman, and Steve Hobbs will spar over the right to carry the Democratic banner into the hotly contested race.  Both Del Bene and Burner have run for Congress in the past, Burner taking on Dave Reichert in the 8th CD in 2006 and 2008 and Del Bene doing the same in 2010.  Ruderman is a fomer member of the State House Of Representatives, while Hobbs in currently in the State Senate. Rauniyar is a newcomer, positioning himself, of course, as the outsider. 
The debate will take place at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center at 16600 NE 80th in Redmond from 7:30 until 9pm.  There will be no admission charged but donations will be asked for to cover expenses.

Cheryl Pflug Leaving Senate

 Republican Senator Cheryl Pflug from Maple Valley, who has represented the 5th district in the state legislature for almost as long as I have resided here, is moth-balling her campaign signs and leaving her position to take a job on the State Growth Management Board.  Pflug began her legislative career in 1998, when she replaced Phil Dyer in the Washington House Of Representatives.  She may have lost support amongst many in her own party when she became one of only 4 Republican senators to support marriage equality.
Pflug was appointed to her new position by Democratic Governor Cristine Gregoire.  It could open up an opportunity for the 5th to get it's first Democratic Representative since  Senator Kathleen Drew was defeated in 1996.  Issaquah City Council Mark Mullet has launched a strong campaign in what was to be an attempt to defeat incumbent Pflug.  Snoqualmie businessman Brad Toft is the lone Republican running for the Senate in the 5th.

Mullet Kicks Off Senate Campaign

So either Issaquah Councilman Mark Mullet's campaign for State Senate in the Washington's  5th Legislative District is off to a great start or Issaquah Highlands residents wanted free pizza.  A packed house gathered at Issaquah's Blakely Hall to meet Mullet, who is challenging Republican Cheryl Pflug for the position.  Mullet says that he is a fiscal Conservative and a social Liberal making him a good fit for the 5th  As the owner of two local franchise's, Ben And Jerry's and Zeke's Pizza, he has a good understanding of what it takes to run a small business.
The 5th district has been represented solely by Republicans since Democratic Senator Katherine Drew was defeated in 1996 by Dino Rossi.  Rossi at the time became the rising star in his party.  No doubt, if Mullet can defeat Senator Pflug, he would be a candidate to watch in the Democratic Party.

Mullet Will Challenge Pflug For Senate Seat

In 2009, Mark Mullet was elected to the Issaquah City Council without opposition, now Mullet would like to represent the new drawn 5th Legislative District in the State Senate and will have to face a twice elected incumbant.
The Issaquah Press reports that Mullet, a Democrat, has announced that he will challenge two term Senator Cheryl Pflug.   Pflug is a Republican in what is widely considered a conservative leaning rural district.  It will not be the first time that Pflug a Maple Valley resident and an RN, has faced an elected official.  In 2004, Pflug defeated Sammamish Mayor Kathy Huckabay.  Sammamish will no longer be part of the 5th if the state's new redistricting plan is implemented. 
Mullet is the owner of a Zeek's Pizza Franchise in the Issaquah Highlands, he also owns a Ben And Jerry's. He is  a former manging director for the Bank Of America.  His Father, Steve, was formerly the mayor of Tukwila.

5th District's Glenn Anderson To Hang It Up

The Sammamish Review reports that Glenn Anderson will be leaving the Washington State Legislature where he represented the 5th in the House Of Representatives.   Anderson has represented the district since 2000.   He ranked 13th in seniority in seniority. Anderson's representation, although very unpopular with progressive leaning constituents, has rarely been challenged in the mostly conservative,   primarily rural district representing South Eastern King County.  He did face a tough race in 2008, a Democratic year across the nation, to then upstart David Spring.  A rematch between Anderson and Spring, 2 years later, proved to be a landslide victory for Anderson.