The recent recession-busting three-for-one special was so popular, it makes its return today. Three topics in less than 700 words.
Offensive housing authority: When the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association was feeling the heat six years ago from allegations that it was financially mismanaged, its board decided the best defense was a good offense.
Rather than take a critical audit seriously, rather than find new executives and work on restoring the low-income housing agency’s financial health, the board decided to form a political action committee. That PAC would support favored candidates and – more ominously – oppose incumbents seen as enemies.
The PAC’s first act was to try – and fail – to defeat then-incumbent City Councilman Tom Stenger, who had once worked for the agency and was blamed for the joint Tacoma-Pierce County audit.
A few years later it hired Brian Ebersole, the former Tacoma mayor and former state House speaker, to help it lobby city, county and state politicians for tax dollars.
All this comes to mind as the nonprofit agency is again in trouble. The board that mostly rejected the earlier audit as “a political tool” finally fired 10-year executive director Felix Flannigan. The financial irregularities also identified in the audit may now put the agency under.
But this belated bout of self-awareness hasn’t stopped the agency from trying to use its political clout once again – this time having Ebersole approach the city about a $1.9 million loan.
Courthouse conflict: Opponents of a proposed charter amendment to lengthen term limits for the Pierce County Executive and for council members think the ballot title for the measure is unfair. They are asking a judge to intervene to make it more neutral.
But their argument includes an example of why high-level politicians need to be sensitive to appearances of conflicts of interest as well as actual conflicts of interest.
The ballot title – the words that appear on the official ballot – was written by deputy Pierce County prosecutors who work in the office’s civil division. In a little more than a week, those attorneys will have a new boss – almost certainly Mark Lindquist.
That’s the same Mark Lindquist who is co-chairman of a new political group that is supporting the term limits extension. He also was appointed by the County Council to write the voter’s pamphlet statement in favor of Prop. 1.
So Lindquist is taking a public position on an issue of great interest to the members of the County Council who will decide Sept. 1 whether to appoint him to replace retiring Prosecutor Gerry Horne.
Political consultant Alex Hays said he asked Lindquist to get involved. Hays is running the campaign pushing all three council-initiated charter amendments. He also helped form the Pierce County Better Government League.
“Before we knew the date of Horne’s resignation we talked about setting up this organization,” Hays said. “And it’s not just related to the amendments. It will remain.”
Still, it isn’t a stretch for opponents of Prop. 1 to suspect that those writing the ballot title might be influenced by their boss-to-be – whether they are or not. Lindquist has placed his office in an awkward position that was easily avoided. As prosecutor, he won’t be as free to play politics as he has been as a deputy.
Paint it black: When a candidate loses an endorsement – as happened last week when Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy withdrew her support of Tacoma mayor candidate Jim Merritt – there are consequences big and small.
Big is the issue itself, regardless of whether McCarthy was trying to punish Merritt for his continued opposition to Sound Transit’s plans to place tracks through the Dome District on an earthen berm rather than an elevated viaduct. McCarthy says that’s not why she withdrew; Merritt says it is.
Small is how it affects campaign materials already printed. Merritt’s volunteers spent several hours with black markers removing from a brochure a reference to McCarthy’s endorsement. It now reads, “I am endorsed by both XXXXXX and Republican Councilman Shawn Bunny.” (Bunney’s name is misspelled).
Merritt faces off against Tacoma Councilwoman Marilyn Strickland on Nov. 3.
Peter Callaghan: 253-597-8657
peter.callaghan@thenewstribune.com
blogs.thenewstribune.com/politics
