Archive for October, 2007

This is a blog afterall. And I noticed that this 2-Way communication thing isn’t just hopping with questions. Frankly, I’ve noticed a certain shyness in Eastern Washington for comment threads. I’m not sure what it is but it seems I have to post up something controversial to get anyone to pipe in.

So just so some of you new visitors know, there is a comment thread and I absolutely welcome any questions you may have. Even crazy ones like “are you crazy?”. Trust me, I’ll reply.

Just click “Comments” and give it a try!

Um… wow…

And Matthews actually says something that makes me go “wow” too!

Darryl has the goods.

Tuesday Election days that is! I really miss going to a polling place, dropping my ballot in the box, and getting a sticker that says “I Voted”. Silly I know, but I’m a sucker for nostalgia. But not only that, I would have more time to campaign.

As of this afternoon’s report, nearly 3800 ballots have been returned to the Auditor. That is about half of what should be expected for voter turnout on the Richland City Council race. It’s really difficult to tell where the numbers will fall for me. But so far things look good judging from the support I’ve recieved along with TV, LTE’s, News print and Radio.

Fundraising has been surprisingly strong as well and I’m currently running just in the black. But with that said, just another $150 could get me another 5 days radio time which I think has been a great asset to the effort. If you have a few bucks to spare, 5, 10 or 20, please consider donating to the campaign. Just use the “Donate” button and contribute the campaign through Paypal or give me a call on 308-1895 if you don’t use Paypal. A last push might be all it will take.

I did find it interesting, yet anecdotal at best, to see at least 100 people opted to write in a candidate for the 4th position primary race. The 4th position race is between Kent Madsen and David Rose. I’m a bit biased towards Madsen… not only is he a smart guy, his mother taught me to play the piano. Does that show a propensity to write in a candidate? I don’t know.

Big thanks to those who are writing letters to the Tri-City Herald. Much appreciated… keep them coming!

Here are just a few:

Kristina French

Linda Fastabend

Frank
Schmittroth

Kendall Miller

Also, listen for my ad on KONA 610 AM radio!

Just so you know, we bloggers really aren’t sitting in our underwear at 2am ranting and raving at the political establishment. We are also on TV (fully clothed of course). And so it will be tonight, on KEPR, you can see a quick interview of me!

After the evening news, I think I’ll wander on down to O’Callahans at the Shilo, and visit with the folks at DL…. 7pm!

Update: Well, ya gotta admit that TV is tough. You could talk for several minutes and get 10 seconds on the air. That’s far short of the 15 minutes of fame I’m not really looking for (already had that). But I’ll take it. It’s tough enough to get a message out!

Here is the link. (KEPR - Blogger Running for City Council)

Evil do’ers decided to TP my house and rip my campaign sign out of the ground last night. This blatent attack on Democracy needs an answer. Now, I’m not really sure how experienced these vandals were…

It could be, since the TP was only over the very lowest branches, that these vandals were at least 75 years of age. The ineptitude of their attempt was obvious as it looks like they got tired. On the ground I found nearly full rolls of TP. Enough to probably cover an extra tree.

Now I realize it probably isn’t a good idea to taunt toilet paper weilding vandals. But just so they are aware, I’m going to make my first official campaign promise. If elected, I will propose that the Richland Municipal Code be modified. Toilet paper vandals, when caught, will be required to do a minimum 40 hrs. community service… cleaning up milfoil out of the Columbia River. Take that!!!

The motion sensing cameras have been turned on. You are all on notice!!! Er… do I sound paranoid?

Tonight I’ll be on 710 KIRO’s “The David Goldstein Show” at 9pm talking about the Richland City Council Race. Ya, ya ya… It’s Seattle radio. But being a blogger well… people just wanna know what’s going on down here!! To the best of my knowledge, I’m about the only blogger in the NW who’s ever run for office!

Anyway, just so you know, even though 710 KIRO’s signal doesn’t reach all the way from Seattle to the Tri-Cities, you can still listen live online. And if you have a question you can even call in.

To listen online, go to 710 KIRO and click the “Listen Live” button (requires registration). Call in to 1-877-710-KIRO.

Jim McCabe for Council Campaign

Contact: Jim McCabe
1636 Howell
Richland, Wa.
99354
509-308-1895

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAMPAIGN SIGN VANDALISM AT ALL TIME HIGH
Jim McCabe Campaign blames “Dee Wind”

Statement from: Jim McCabe

“I have met the enemy, and that enemy is Dee Wind. Dee Wind is purposely undermining mine, and other campaigns by knocking over campaign signs and ripping campaign materials from doors and other posted places. I’ve put up signs all across town and drive by 10 minutes later and that sign is on the ground.”

Dee Wind is a long time resident of the Tri-Cities. Although not specifically considered a political activist, Dee is well known among residents and has a long history with candidates in the Mid-Columbia. Historically, Dee Wind has been ripping campaign signs from the ground all across the region and this year isn’t proving any different. While Dee Wind’s vandalism usually consists of knocking over campaign signs, or simply bending them over to an unreadable position, this year she has occasionally turned them into deadly projectiles.

“The posts used to stick campaign signs into the ground, when used as a projectile can be extremely dangerous”, said McCabe. “This has just gotta stop!”

Dee Wind could not be reached for comment.

McCabe surveying some of the damage from Dee Wind

Jim McCabe is running for Richland City Council, Position 3 as a write-in candidate. The unexpected resignation from Richland Mayor Rob Welch spurred McCabe’s run for the seat.

In a statement McCabe says: “I want Richland Residents to have a choice of who their councilman will be. I’m stepping up so residents can have that opportunity.”

Although the Mayor has announced his resignation, he is still on the ballot and with the majority of the votes he will be elected to the council position despite declining to accept the term. The City of Richland Council could then choose his replacement.

“What I offer is really quite simple. Richland residents should be given a choice of who they elect to the council. Mayor Welch’s decision to resign puts the decision for his successor significantly out of the voters reach. That entire idea is repugnant to the core notion of representative government.”

Jim McCabe, 43, is a long time Richland resident, a parent, graduate from Columbia Basin College holding a secure position in a national corporation based in Richland. And more importantly, a citizen who’s demonstrated a clear interest in city government and its management. He’s abreast of issues facing the city and on a number of occasions has faced the council on issues related to his community and its development.

He grew up in Richland and appreciates all those qualities of the community that he believed were positive in his life and in some respects help shape it as well. He sees many of these qualities undergoing change …… change in emphasis, in priority and in relevance. Through his exposure to Hanford and its ever-present shadow on the community, he also realizes times are in fact changing and at a faster pace. And he sees this candidacy as an opportunity for service on the Council where he can bring his sense of the community and priorities to Council debate.

You find out more about his background and candidacy on his website at www.mccranium.org.

….or what do you stand for, or what sets you apart from the other candidates?

I didn’t get many of those questions door belling tonight. Overwhelmingly it was questions like, “why did we get a Walgreen’s across the street from a Rite-Aid?” Yeah, that’s a head scratcher… But my absolute favorite question is “why should I vote for you?” Once I replied “because I’m going to lower your taxes and personally shovel your snow!” I mean, why should we vote for anyone? And while I could, like so many candidates, make a campaign out of “I’m going to lower your taxes” it wouldn’t be very original, convincing or authentic.

I don’t think its that far off base to assume people have been trained to expect that out of a candidate. And judging from today I think they are a bit tired of it as well. I haven’t had a great deal of time to “message build” so I’m really left with my wit and the simple dedication to my neighbors. To ask me why I’m qualified is in many ways a silly question. The 82 year old woman down the street is qualified. She’s over 18 and has lived here for more than 2 years. Incidentally, that 82 year old woman told me as I walked down her steps “We got to take care of this place. It’s a great town.” I agree.

What I was very please with today was the many times I heard from people I’d never met say “Yes, Jim! I voted for you already”.

Favorite prank today was the TP job I did on a friends door with campaign materials. And getting caught! At least now he has my slimcards to hand out to his friends!

Answers to questions like ‘are we going to spend tax dollars on a dog park, how much money is the city going to apply to this project, address this problem intersection or hire this city manager’ are all issues with stories, interests and motivations behind them. And each of those need to be addressed with all the facts… but certainly not campaign rhetoric.

Do I got gripes? Sure. But I’m not going to solve the problems I see in Richland’s city government in a campaign, much less one this short.

It’s been a busy day and I’ve been out covering North Richland. Feet are tired but plenty of energy left. Just ran out of the small batch of slim cards I had but more are to follow.

Speaking of slim cards. If you feel like handing some out you can download the document right here! (zipped Word file)

Here are the signs you will be seeing around town starting this afternoon!

Ok, ok. Yet another e-mail asks me where you can donate to the campaign online. I must be getting really tired because you are right… I forgot! Terrible… terrible. Please look to the right sidebar and donate to the campaign.

Snailmail donations can be sent to:

Jim McCabe
1636 Howell
Richland, Wa.
99354

First of all, thanks to ALL of you who have expressed your interest and support for this brief campaign. The response so far has wildly exceeded my expectations. I knew it was a bit of a stretch as a write-in candidate, but it is looking more like what may have seemed to be fiction, could be reality.

The support I’ve received has been unexpected and encouraging. Tomorrow many Richland residents will see campaign signs… and me!! I will be on the campaign trail for my Friday-night-shopping-center-getting-my-name-out tour. And that won’t be all. Saturday night I will be doing a (non-local) radio show as well (I’ll post on that later), and I’m working on more as I write.

Public service is a choice and often a contentious one. Too many get involved after years of grooming themselves for candidacy with grand ideas long developed for a single purpose… to get you to vote for them. I don’t offer any of that.

What I offer is really quite simple. Richland residents should be given a choice of who they elect to the council. Mayor Welch’s decision to resign puts the decision for his successor significantly out of the voters reach. That entire idea is repugnant to the core notion of representative government.

We all want pretty much the same thing. Good city government and services, supported by good solid people who care about their community. There isn’t a campaign promise I could make more important than my promise to support Richland Residents with nothing less than that.

I’ll keep you posted as I move along over the next few days. It’s been a busy day and I think I need to rest… whew!!!!

Update: No more than a few seconds after I posted this did I get a note asking if I had registered my candidacy with the Benton County Auditor. The answer is yes. That means if you write in Jim McCabe (or James McCabe), you have officially voted for me! Thanks for the question!!

Yep… you read that right. Complete with PDC filings (coming soon). I am officially running for Richland City Council. Butterflies in my stomach and all. Needless to say I didn’t sleep well last night.

I’m not a reluctant candidate. I always figured I would run for something besides ‘Internet loudmouth’ someday. But I wasn’t exactly expecting to announce a run for anything today!

Mayor Rob Welch’s announcement yesterday doesn’t leave much time. With just under 3 weeks before the November 6th election, I have to get my name out there and make sure folks know how to spell it… because voters are going to have to write my name in.

If you want to know where I stand I can tell you:

I am a huge advocate for the City of Richland. I grew up here and this is my home. My son goes to school here (we have great schools) and frankly, we are all very lucky to live in such a great place with great city services, great parks and a beautiful river.

But we are also growing. And with growth comes far reaching decisions about development, city services and the environment. These decisions should be made with a great deal of care.

I’ll have more to say but I’m short on time. But if you are interested in helping out with a very brief campaign, send an e-mail to jim (at) mccranium.org!

Stay Tuned!

Many of us knew this ahead of time (including me), but Mayor Rob Welch Resigned today. There was a bit of rumor as to why that passed my ears but here is the official reason:

Mayor Welch says he is leaving office to focus on a non-profit organization called Adults Protecting the Innocence of Children or APIC. He started APIC with his wife, Sarah. Together, they hope to change child predator laws across the country, keeping child molestors in prison.

Ok… that’s kinda nice. But what is really interesting is this…

Right now, Welch’s name is already on the ballot for next year. However, he is running unopposed. This means, unless there is an unexpected write-in candidate, Welch will be re-elected as mayor. If this happens, Richland City Council will vote as a board and elect a new mayor.

Hmmm… Jimmy for City Council? What do you think?

Big shout out to my buddy Doc Hastings:

The 80k per year excuse doesn’t fly…

Bush claims the program is a middle-class entitlement. He is under the false impression that families will cancel perfectly good insurance from work to go on the public dole. The president has obfuscated facts to prove his point. He said a family earning nearly $83,000 could qualify. That’s true in New York, whose poverty cap was raised with permission of the Bush administration. And it’s understandable considering the high cost of living there. A New York Times poll published Sunday shows to be considered rich in New York, a family of four must make at least $200,000 to $500,000 a year or more. In Illinois, a family income of $60,000 certainly doesn’t guarantee the high life.

The “Canada” style healthcare excuse doesn’t fly… in fact, it gets a little further away from that fear every day.

Presuming that the program operates at current funding levels for the entire fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the Congressional Research Service projects that $5 billion would be insufficient for 21 states to continue their programs at currently anticipated levels for the full year.

The shortfall for those states would total $1.6 billion. The 21 states will have depleted their federal allotment at various stages in the year. The first group of nine states run out of their federal money as early as March. Those states are Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Neither did any of the other excuses. We all know Reichert and McMorris had to vote yes. For Reichert, was an election killer. For McMorris, it would have made her look more callous than Dick Cheney. But for you, it just makes you look like an asshole.

Let’s put a face on this…