Liberal bloggers are delirious with joy about Buildergate, the series of allegations announced yesterday accusing Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi of directly and illegally soliciting funds from the Master Builder's Association in May 2007 to fund the Building Industry Association of Washington's "war chest." Both David Goldstein at Horse's Ass and Aaron Ostrom at FUSE call the memo a "smoking gun" and a game-changer for the hotly contested gubernatorial race.
But that's not exactly the case. As conservative Sound Politics pundit Eric Earling points out, the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) "affirmed last November that Rossi was not a candidate for Governor in the 2008 race until October 2007," which was after Rossi's supposed soliciting. Rossi, of course, insists he did nothing wrong. But even if the PDC rules that the allegations are true, I'm not yet convinced it would amount to a knock-out punch for Gregoire, who, as some liberal pundits admit, isn't running the greatest campaign.
I may end up eating those words. But despite all the hysteria of the moment, I still think Buildergate will end up being as un-damning as Gregoire's overblown tribal gaming scandal.
Gregoire and Rossi will square off in their third debate this evening, which will air at 7 p.m. on KCTS, Channel 9.
For the love of money: The News Tribune reports Washington state's minimum wage will rise to $8.55 an hour starting Jan. 1, 2009, thanks to a 10-year-old voter-approved initiative. ...
For the love of free money: The Seattle P-I reports Gregoire has now raised more than $10 million for her re-election campaign, while Rossi has received just over $9 million. ...
For the hate of Seattle: The editorial board at the News Tribune reminds Washingtonians that every "extra billion in state money spent [improving the Alaska Way Viaduct], to enhance the Seattle waterfront or whatever, is a billion that won't get spent for transportation projects elsewhere." ...
For the hate of WASL: The editorial board at the P-I says voters should re-elect state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson, as her opponent, Randy Dorn, "is not the anti-testing candidate some critics of Bergeson and the Washington Assessment of Student Learning would like." Meanwhile, state auditor Brian Sonntag says the state's largest school districts could save $54 million over the next five years by being more thrifty with bus routes, administrative staffing, and surplus school buildings. ...
Hot fuzz: The Seattle Times is running its pre-packaged profile today of U.S. Rep. Dave Rechert, R-Auburn. It's worth taking a look if you're interested in the Republican congressman's record as a King County sheriff. ...
Hot pen: And finally, Times reporter Keith Ervin's lede paragraph about King County's Accountable Business Transformation plan is brutally honest. He writes: King County Executive Ron Sims' plan to replace the county's aged accounting and payroll computer systems will, if successful, take more than a decade longer than originally planned and cost three times as much." Ouch.
