Stories for Nov. 8, 2007

Meet Kevin Martin, a very influential guy you've never heard of

Thu, Nov 8, 6 p.m.

By O. Casey Corr

He walks the path of a long line of chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission – an institution itself that is really powerful and virtually unknown.

Let's hear it for election 'malaise'

Thu, Nov 8, 4:51 p.m.

By Knute Berger

Not everyone is glum about the outcome of Tuesday's election, but you would hardly know that from some of the analysis. John Arthur Wilson is right, I believe, that there is no sign of a large populist uprising out there, but I wouldn't, as he says, say the election reflected "disillusionment." You know, it is possible that a "no" vote on a bad ballot measure, like Prop. 1, is a positive thing.

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How to fund transportation without raising taxes

Thu, Nov 8, 1 p.m.

By Knute Berger

David Brewster makes a good catch on the "private entities" reference in Gov. Christine Gregoire's comments on life after Prop 1. In talking with both House Speaker Frank Chopp and King County Executive Ron Sims, they have both assured that they are opposed to privatization of road projects – and Chopp was the hero of anti-privatizers on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge project. But many regional transportation wonks aren't convinced Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are a bad idea.

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Rematch update: Gov. Chris Gregoire (46.8%) and Dino Rossi (42.4%)

Thu, Nov 8, 11:20 a.m.

By Peter Lewis

A year before the Washington gubernatorial rematch, Gov. Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi are again running neck and neck, according to poll released today. The recent telephone survey of 601 randomly selected registered voters asked who they would vote for if the election were held today. The results: Democrat Gregoire 46.8 percent, Republican Rossi 42.4 percent, and Libertarian Ruth Bennett 2.2 percent. The remainder were divided between "someone else" at 1.2 percent and "don't know/undecided" at 7.3 percent.

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Next round of Prop 1 politics: Rossi v. Gregoire

Thu, Nov 8, 8:25 a.m.

By David Brewster

The battle over Proposition 1 now moves to the governor's race, where Gov. Gregoire has a new problem on her hands, the issue of her effectiveness in solving big issues. Strike one, the Viaduct. Strike two, the Sonics. Strike three, the roads and transit measure. Whether she can slip the blame, and whether challenger Dino Rossi can convince voters he has solutions and the ability to enact them, will be key in the 2008 governor's race. With that in mind, take a look at the way the two opponents tried to frame the issues, right after Proposition 1 sank to the bottom of Lake Washington.

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What does one name streetcars when the line is called SLUT?

Thu, Nov 8, 5 a.m.

By Greg Palmer

The dirty mind boggles. Seattle has such a long and proud tradition. We offer some suggestions and desire yours.

Not anger, disillusionment: deciphering the voters

Thu, Nov 8, 5 a.m.

By John Arthur Wilson

Polls indicate a surge of resignation about government following the Hurricane Katrina non-performance. That, more than populist rage, seemed to be driving the recent election. To fix it, better to start outperforming expectations.