Happy New Year

I wish the State of Washington and America, in general, a Happy New Year as we wind up the last few days of 2012!  A few words about my Council candidacy which officially started earlier this December: firstly, my main plank will be to keep Newcastle as Newcastle, and promising never to vote for merging Newcastle with another city as was practically proposed by Councilman Bill Erxleben at a September of '12 Council meeting.  Secondly, I am fairly sure that I will be the hardest campaigner of all the candidates this year, and my real campaign will start sometime in March (maybe in February if the weather cooperates), but I have already been getting signatures for my Council candidacy petition.  If you would like to sign my petition, please, send me an e-mail (address listed below). Thanks!

E-mail: Mark@partyofcommons.com

DONATIONS:  if you would like to take the poll to your right about making a pledge to Northern Pacific Report, remember to make your check out to "Mark Greene, N.P.R. Editor" and send to P.O. Box 612, Bellevue, WA 98009.

Copyright 2009 - 2012, Party of Commons TM

Oxymoron

Although, we take a lot of positions on "Commoner" that could be regarded as liberal (as well as conservative), we noticed that if anybody goes against the grain, as we often do, of one or more tenants of the liberal orthodoxy, then liberals can be very quick to assign a disreputable tag on someone or some idea, pretty much reflexively and without nuance.  Although, we are quite sure that they are quite aware of the anti-intellectualism involved with much of their intolerance to people who don't agree with them on everything, they will distort anyway, because they think it's good politics.  Not that conservatives don't do the same thing in regards to outliers from their philosophy, but it just seems like liberal intolerance and "know-nothingism" seems to be more noticeable, because liberals are suppose to be, well, liberal.  After all, the phrase "liberal intolerance" is kind of an oxymoron.

Originally published on Commoner under the title, "A Strictly Political Oxymoron," on Dec. 16th, 2012; revised on 12/29/12.

This Isn't Jimmy Stewart's "Mr. Smith"

At the Newcastle Library Grand Opening, I was just a couple of paces away from Newcastle's soon to be new congressman, Congressman Adam Smith, as I was about to shake his hand and say hello before a woman reached him just ahead of me and started a conversation. Smith, my likely future Congressional opponent in 2014, took off before I could make a greeting, but he probably didn't notice me.  Smith and I last met in 2004 at a different library, Federal Way's main library, where we were in a Congressional candidate forum with two other candidates (Paul Lord and Robert Losey).  As you can see a small sample, further below, Smith's votes over the years in Congress are not impressive, to say the least, and he's certainly no "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in the mold of Jimmy Stewart's famous character.  He is a "Blue Dog" Democrat, thus part and parcel of the Corporate Behemoth, and he marches in lock step with the Military Industrial Complex.  Even though he's the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, you would never find him questioning the generals or their strategy in these amorphous wars that our nation finds herself in.  My friends, the generals are suppose to follow the Congress and the Commander-In-Chief, not the other way around.

- by Mark Greene

[Revised on 12/23/12.]

"Blue Dog" Congressman Adam Smith voted for the following:

• 2001 "Patriot Act" and 2011 "Patriot Extension Act" ("Big Brother" as official policy)
• 2002 Iraq War resolution
• Gramm, Leach, Bliley Act (the law that dismantled the Glass-Steagall Act)
• Wall Street bail-outs
• Nuclear Energy Deal with India (Effectively, Congress and Smith undermining the Nuclear Anti-Proliferation Treaty, a treaty that India has never signed.)

[Updated on 6/1/15.]

Officially Running

Officially, I am running for the Newcastle City Council next year, Position No. 6, my first run for the council since 2007.  Going by the Public Disclosure Commission filings for the 2013 election, I believe I'm the first person to announce his candidacy, if not the only person thus far. This announcement will probably reach most of Newcastle through the January publication of the Newcastle News, but on the other hand they didn't say a word about my Lieutenant Governor run, in which I came in fifth of six places in this year's primary, a candidacy in which I received the endorsement of political activist and former strong candidate for Congress in the district that Newcastle is currently in (until Jan.), Darcy Burner.  I'm sure that the citizens of Newcastle will find out about this campaign before the August, 2013 primary through my own efforts and through the media, however.  I believe Newcastle should remain an independent city, therefore, I will never vote for merging with any other city, or even discuss the possibility of that any further than just saying no; therefore anti-annexation will be my number one platform issue.  I will stay with Position No. 6 throughout the election under all circumstances with the possible exception of an unlikely vacancy (meaning nobody runs) -- vacancy, not "open" seat -- in another position.  I will be going over my positions on other city issues on this blog and in the community as time goes by.

- by Mark Greene

[revised on 12/10/12]

Library Opens Amidst Much Applause and a Little Grumbling

A relatively large crowd of about a couple of hundred people gathered outside, in this town of 10,000 people, to attend the opening day festivities of the Newcastle Library, today, before filing into the brand new structure, complete with green energy elements.  Several dignitaries/politicians, such as Mayor Rich Crispo, "Blue Dog" Democratic Congressman Adam Smith (Smith officially becomes Newcastle's next congressman in January, taking over from Dave Reichert as the result of redistricting), County Executive Constantine's right-hand man, Fred Jarrett, State Representative Marcie Maxwell and others were there, including various King County Library officials.  The Girl Scouts and the Cub Scouts helped in conducting the Flag Salute and the Pledge of Allegiance, but one man in the throng was grumbling about all the showy patriotism and others were grumbling about too much speechmaking, which lasted for a little less than a half-an-hour before the library actually opened close to 10:00 A.M.  At least one critic, who witnessed the event from the other side of the street, said the whole endeavor was a waste of taxpayers' money as Newcastle didn't need a library.  Most people seemed to enjoy the showmanship and patriotism, however, and of course supported the library.  The library looked snazzy and good-looking, and coffee and cookies were being served to anybody who wanted to partake. The mayor checked out the first book, among hundreds checked out presumably, as classical musicians helped ring in a very busy first day.

Council Approves '13 Budget

City of Newcastle, WA -- Council Meeting of 12/4/12

With two council members absent from the December 4th Council Meeting (Mayor Rich Crispo and Councilman Steve Buri), and Deputy Mayor Lisa Jensen presiding, there was neither suspense nor surprise that the Ordinance Adopting the Final 2013 Budget passed with a fairly comfortable 4-1 margin, Councilman Bill Erxleben dissenting.  Erxleben said that the rules for the overall council processes were being ignored and there are mounting budget problems for the future, including his analysis that expenditures for roads in the 6 year financial forecast were understated by 2 million dollars.  Councilwoman Carol Simpson downplayed roads as a major problem, implying that the emphasis on streets and roads was overplayed, and saying that Newcastle's roads were not so bad.  Simpson also praised the Public Works Department for doing a great job, but then proceeded to nitpick about particular methods of job implementation by the city, generally, by recommending the use of more cost-effective means of transportation after a short critique of what she implied were wasteful methods. 

Simpson and the pro-annexation (for merging with Bellevue) councilman, Erxleben, dominated this rather mundane meeting, although, the new Community Development Director, Tim McHarg, made an introductory appearance, and Amy Maxim, the city's Assistant Planner, made a presentation about proposed revisions to the Capital Facilities Plan.  Finance Director Chris Olson made comments about the budget and finance concerns, generally, and seemingly agreed with those council members (Deputy Mayor Jensen, Simpson, and John Dulcich) that defeated an Erxleben motion that would have limited capital projects, as part of the 6 year financial forecast, to only those that have been applied for and permitted (Councilman Gordon Bisset was Erxleben's only ally regarding that matter).  Unfortunately, N.P.R. had to leave during Maxim's presentation and before the Council's consideration of a resolution approving Indigent Defense Standards, but may have further updates on this post, later this week, about what happened.

UPDATE:  N.P.R. made a mistake on this post, now corrected, regarding the name of the Assistant Planner for Newcastle, Amy Maxim, mistakenly getting her mixed up somehow with another Amy (Walen), who is a politician in Kirkland, Washington.  Sorry, Amy (also, an apology to Kirkland's Amy).

[revised on 12/15/12]
 

Council Rejects 1% Tax Increase

City of Newcastle, WA -- Council Meeting of 11/20/12

The Newcastle City Council rejected a 1% property tax increase, given as an option, by a vote of 6 - 1, Councilwoman Carol Simpson dissenting.  Before the vote approving a motion for a status quo levy without the 1% increase, Mayor Rich Crispo suggested that small (such as 1%) gradual increases in the levy would be better than a bigger increase somewhere down the road if it came to that, but voted to keep the taxes unchanged nonetheless. In defense of her position, Simpson said -- in so many words -- that the city should not be content to just rely on maintaining basic services, but should aspire to various improvements and projects that would help the city, also emphasizing that infrastucture is more than just streets and roads.

City Manager Rob Wyman announced that Newcastle received a $400,000 grant from the state's Transportation Improvement Program (T.I.P.)  Afterwards, the Council discussed how that money should be apportioned to Newcastle's particular transportation needs.  Pro-Annexation Councilman Bill Erxelben said that the $680K-or-so already applied to the preliminary budget for roads should be used for streets and roads other than Coal Creek Parkway, and that the $400K from T.I.P. should be used for Coal Creek Parkway.  The Council eventually agreed on a transportation motion from Councilman John Dulcich that passed 6- 1 with Simpson dissenting.  At this time, N.P.R. is not certain about the specifics of Dulcich's motion or whether it addressed the newly arrived T.I.P. funds, but it appeared to be some modificaion of Erxleben's plan, aforementioned.

Peacock-strutting Erxleben, ordinarily blunt, gruff, articulate, and outspoken, had some testy exchanges with the City Manager and the Mayor in the overall Council Meeting, but his transportation plan seemed to be the most easily understood, transparent and sensible.

Parks Commission Chairwoman Diane Lewis said that the Parks Commission attendance issue has improved since the commission membership level was recently reduced from 9 to 7, thereby making quorums easier to make.  She stressed that even though commissioners were serving voluntarily, they had a duty to meet the conditions of their job.

[revised on 11/25/12]

Why I Voted For Rocky Anderson

I voted for Rocky Anderson for President and Luis Rodriguez for Vice-President, of the United States of America.  Although the Anderson-Rodriguez ticket had little chance of succeeding as far as actually winning is concerned, it was a campaign based on earnest principles of human and civil rights, environmental protection, non-imperialism and respect for the Constitution.  I respect that, so I voted out of pure principle -- nothing else.

Barack Obama, despite showing courage as a politician, is a neo-liberal adventurer and a willing pawn for the corporate behemoth.  Despite the incredulous Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded, he has greatly escalated the number of weaponized drones being sent into various countries, and despite the stated aim of going after terrorists, these drones have also killed innocent civilians by the hundreds, if not thousands, in the Obama and Bush II years. This kind of inevitable indiscrimination is not only bad policy, but immoral as well.  Obama and his Attorney General, Eric Holder, have also passed on prosecuting torturers and Wall Street hooligans, and Obama has thrown the Bill of Rights under the bus with the proviso to the National Defense Authorization Act that allows for unconstitional arrests of American citizens or others without any due process required at all.  It's amazing that this "law" passed with so little uproar by Americans. 

As for Mitt Romney, his statement behind closed doors about 47% of the population said all you really needed to know about him.  If he would have been elected, he would have been a very divisive leader in a nation that needs to come together more than ever.

I could have voted for one of several other third party or independent candidates besides Rocky Anderson, but the Anderson-Rodriguez ticket impressed me as being very genuine and honest, not that most or all of the other third party or independent candidates weren't.  Sorry, you didn't win, Rocky, you should have.

- by Mark Greene

[revised on 11/18/12]

"Report" Sidetracked by Other Work

Northern Pacific Report may be less comprehensive about Newcastle government affairs than I would like it to be as a result of new work obligations that I have taken on, particularly during hours when it is least advantageous for this journalistic endeavor.  This is the only reason why I missed yesterday's Park Commission meeting and why I may miss further commission and council meetings, in general, in the near future.  As a result, N.P.R. may come to have less news and more opinion in it, at least until January of 2013, but at this date I am not certain how this blog will develop as a result of the new and changing circumstances.  I will keep readers informed, however.  None of this changes anything about my expected plans to run for the Newcastle City Council or other offices.  I plan to make an announcement on this blog about my council plans on December 10th. 

- by Mark Greene, Editor of Northern Pacific Report

[revised on 11/17/12]

One Hour

City of Newcastle, WA -- Council Meeting of 11/6/12
 
Northern Pacific Report covered the first hour of the Council Meeting, but left early to watch election results on TV.  The first hour basically concerned Reports and Comments from council members, city officials, and the public.  City Manager Rob Wyman announced that Tim McHarg will be the new Community Development Director of Newcastle.  McHarg, who has experience in city operations as a Planning Director in Bozeman, Montana, was selected over two other candidates.  Wyman also praised Newcastle Police Chief, Melinda Irvine, for a job well done in handling some cases recently. 

Mayor Rich Crispo is concerned about attendance by Park Commissioners, implying that attendance was shoddy and that the issue needed to be addressed.  Park and Planning Commissioners in Newcastle are all volunteers.

Councilman Steve Buri expects there to be a significant increase in auto traffic on Coal Creek Parkway because of traffic tolling on I-405.  Presently, it is estimated that somewhere in the neighborhood of 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles use Coal Creek on a regular business day, and this could be exacerbated in the future as Coal Creek is used as a bypass from I-405.  Buri brought up the issue of tolling Coal Creek, presumably as a source of city revenue.  Going by the Council's general discussion of this issue, which wasn't a whole lot in the first hour, any actual proposal about tolling, were it to come to that, would have significant hoops to jump through in getting the necessary approval from other state and local government entities.  Councilman Gordon Bisset implied that tolling would be very unpopular and that he opposes it.

There was also a discussion about transferring some public parks to private entities, but no reason was given for such a possibility in the first hour of the meeting.  Presumably this would be a cost-saving measure for the city, but what would be the downside?  This was another subject that was only briefly discussed as ordinarily would be the case for the Reports and Comments part of Council Meetings.  It was announced, however, that there would be a further evaluation of this issue by the Council.  Expected council candidate for 2013, Mark Greene, does not favor transferring any public park to private hands unless there is some extraordinary reason for it.

Regional Update:  the King County Executive, Dow Constantine: anti-commoner, anti-democracy, anti-poor and anti-homeless.

On Commoner:  "Constantine and the Seattle Authoritarians" 

General Popular Links:

Party of Commons

Mark Greene for Council (Exploratory Campaign)

"Commoner" Blog

Commons on Twitter

[revised on 11/10/12]

Greene's Announcement Postponed Until December

Update:  the expected announcement for council by Mark Greene, previously set to be announced on Nov. 12th, has been delayed again (see revised post, below).  Greene decided that probable local media coverage in January, a few weeks after the official announcement, would better be focused on the campaign then than in November and December.

Mark Greene has decided to postpone an expected decision to run for the Newcastle City Council, Pos. 6, until later on this year. 

The Public Disclosure Commission has reviewed Greene's disclosure papers recently and they're presently presumed to be in proper order.  Greene has decided to delay an official announcement until the 10th of December.

[revised on 11/6/12]

Newcastle Library to Open on December 8th

King County has announced that Newcastle's new county-operated library will open on December 8th, 2012 A.D., 9:30 A.M.  The public is invited to attend the Grand Opening.

In other news, Mark Greene has been considering whether or not to throw his hat in the ring for the Newcastle City Council in 2013, but there's no decision, yet.  A decision will be made by November 6th and will be posted on Northern Pacific Report on either the 5th or the 6th of November.  If Mark runs, he would definitely be the most fervent anti-annexation candidate of the entire field of council candidates and most likely would choose to run for Position No. 6. 

Unlike other candidates in past years who changed the Position number they ran for, presumably
because of political calculations, if Greene decides to run for council, he would not change the Position number for any reason whatsoever, regardless of whether there is an "open seat" or not.

Post-script:  The term "open-seat" in American political lexicon means that an incumbent is not one of the candidates for office, but of course the term is a misnomer since any office that is up for election is, in fact, open.

[revised on 11/3/12]

Mark Greene's Book on Elections: Elections: Reform & Administration

Party of Commons

Mark Greene for Secretary of State (write-in candidacy)

Commons on Twitter

"Commoner" Blog

New Commission Head

City of Newcastle, WA -- Planning Commission Meeting of 10/17/12

John Drescher was sworn in as the new Planning Commission chairman at the September 27th, 2012 Planning Commission meeting, taking over from Rob Lemmon (who is still on the Commission), as he transitioned into presiding over his first full meeting last Wednesday, October 17th.  The meeting, similar to the last one, focused on setting the 2015 Comprehensive Plan (see Sept. 28th post: Paraphrasing Lee: "I Make the Recommendations, the Council Gives Guidance").  Much of the meeting, if not entirely, was about process rather than the actual specifics regarding the Plan.  Associate Planner David Lee said that the Department of Commerce checklist included 82 regulatory items for the various cities and municipalities in Washington, and that 25 of those were statutory requirements, and of those 25, Newcastle has thus far fulfilled about half of them.  Rob Lemmon said that there were three main considerations, and that meeting the remaining statutory requirements should be the city's priority as relating to the Comprehensive Plan, and money considerations and Council direction were the next priorities.  It was not clear whether he meant the latter two focus points or considerations as being together as one (with presumably the third focus point not mentioned in his list) or as respective categories.

Apparently, wanting to counteract high-priced consultants with the spirit of local volunteerism or cut-rate salaries and stipends for the best interests of the city, Vice-Chairman Allen Dauterman said that the city should reach out to Newcastle's own residents for the expertise needed to achieve the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan.  Lemmon, who played, in a round about way, the David Letterman role at this meeting, chipped in that the University of Washington would also be a good resource to get some of that low-pay or no-pay energy.  Drescher took the conventional viewpoint in this discussion about personnel, stressing the need for expert consultants ($$$).

Attendance: all Planning Commissioners were at this meeting except Elizabeth Thompson.

Previous post: there was a corrective update in the previous post, "Chastening at City Hall."

[revised on 4/27/13]

Copyright 2009 - 2012, Party of Commons TM

Chastening at City Hall

UPDATED FURTHER BELOW ON 10/18/12

City of Newcastle, WA -- Council Meeting of 10/16/12

Alpha male, Councilmember Ben Erxleben, who always seems to dominate Newcastle City Council meetings, was chastened a bit by fellow Councilmember John Dulcich, who seemed perturbed by Erxleben's annexation talk of recent weeks (see previous post: Annexation of Newcastle: "Never").  Dulcich gave complimentary though desultory comments about Erxleben's accomplishments and efficiencies before making one exception, essentially saying that Erxleben didn't know how to read a budget, and asking, rhetorically, why Erxleben didn't resign his seat and move to Bellevue.  Erxleben, obviously upset by Dulcich's chiding, suggested that it was a personal attack on him and called on (Point of Order) Mayor Rich Crispo to rule out of order the comment by Dulcich, if not all "personal attacks" in general by one councilmember against another.  Crispo eventually responded by saying that members can say pretty much what they want during Council Comments, but there should be a modicum of respect for one another (it was unclear as to whether Crispo actually ruled on Erxleben's Point of Order one way or the order).

The meeting was relatively short, with the main business being the Preliminary 2013 Budget and Public Hearings.  No one from the audience at the sparsely attended meeting (about eight-or-so people overall, including this writer and the Newcastle News reporter) decided to speak on the budget.  Finance Director Chris Olson gave a 25-minute-or-so presentation, with various charts, about the official budget proposal.  It appeared to be, basically, a status quo budget, and was presented as being balanced. City Manager, Rob Wyman, who along with Olson and the Council plays a major role in shaping the budget, said that basic city services and functions could be provided for under this budget, but there was little room for error within the budgetary guidelines and that the budget would be tight barring no revenue increases.  Wyman also announced that three candidates would be considered for the new Community Development Director at an October 24th informal session at Sweet Decadence, a pastry shop which is in the same building as City Hall.

[revised on 10/19/12]

Update (10/18/12):  It appears that before this post was updated today, that the matter about a Point of Order was in error, as Erxleben apparently made a Point of Order and it was to be ruled on by the presider of the meeting, which in this case was Mayor Crispo.

Copyright 2009 - 2012, Party of Commons TM

Annexation of Newcastle: "Never"

It's hard to believe that someone who was just elected to the Newcastle City Council last year, reportedly voted in favor of "discussion" about making Newcastle a part of Bellevue, but that's what the Newcastle News reported that Gordon Bissett did.  It would be interesting to know if Bisset would have been elected in '11 if he had made "discussion" of annexation a part of his election platform then.  I doubt it. Councilman Bill Erxleben, who started this whole kerfuffle about the annexation of Newcastle at the September 4th council meeting (which I unfortunately missed), also voted for "discussion" about annexation, of course.  The majority, the other five councilmembers, to their credit, voted against it, although some of them, according to the News report, seemed a little wobbly about keeping Newcastle as it own city.  At least, Erxleben made sure that this issue will be front and center in next year's council elections for 3 council seats in which Erxleben, himself, is up for re-election in one of them.  I'm not sure what historical analogy this would be comparable to or somewhat comparable to if there were any real moves by the council on this issue; perhaps, Hawaii becoming a territory of the United States in the late 19th century, but I don't believe there was a plebiscite by the natives of Hawaii for approval of annexation as would probably occur in this case if this issue was escalated, although I'm not sure at this time whether the Washington Constitution demands plebiscites for annexation.  I will answer that question in a future essay on Northern Pacific Report, but I also welcome comments on this blog about pertinent information or your opinions about local and national matters.

I am against annexation to any city, and my opposition to annexation is not the least bit uncertain.  As far as I'm concerned, Newcastle should always remain Newcastle, period.  I read Erxleben's explanatory letter about annexation in the News (in the same October 4th - 5th issue that the report about it came out), however, believe it or not, everything about life is not about money, and as far as I'm concerned, money doesn't take precedence over certain principles.  Moreover, just like practically any city in the nation these days, Newcastle has financial problems, and we will manage to get through them one way or the other.  Ever since I ran for the council in '07, I have proposed expanding businesses in Newcastle by proposing that the city become a center of clean, renewable and green energy production, which would in turn expand the retail market and the overall tax base, thereby greatly enhancing Newcastle's revenue outlook.  Even if this plan doesn't happen, there are other ways to keep the city financially afloat without surrendering to the money god.  Bellevue is a great city, and the residents there have been of critical importance in making sure that my petitions succeed, but that doesn't mean that Newcastle should be annexed to them.  I will never support annexation under any circumstances whatsoever.

- by Mark Greene

[revised on 10/14/12]

Mark Greene's Book on Elections: Elections: Reform & Administration

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Copyright 2009 - 2012, Party of Commons TM

Lowering Salaries: The Council Was Right

The Newcastle City Council did the right thing in this era of the Great Recession (or depression) and tight local budgets by lowering their "own" salaries, even though it may be a little on the cynical side if none or only some of the ones who voted for the decrease run for re-election, because then the decrease may not effect them at all. 

Sherril Huff, the sitting Director of Elections, is on a pace to collect a million dollars in salary, soon (if she hasn't already exceeded that), for a few year's work.  Huff and the overpaid King County Council could learn something from the Newcastle City Council, like exploring the word sacrifice, even if "sacrifice" has cynical quotation marks around it.  At least it's a start.  When I ran for Director of Elections last year, I proposed that the elected director's salary be reduced by 50%, but of course the reliably corrupt Mainstream Media did not report that or anything else about the Director's election of '11.  As a man of the people, if I had been elected, I was prepared to make this sacrifice, because I realize that public officials should be equal amongst the people in all matters, generally speaking, including in regards to general compensation for work done. Luxurious Congressional salaries in D.C. (around 180K annually) should also be reduced significantly.

- by Mark Greene

[revised on 10/12/12]

Copyright 2009 - 2012, Party of Commons TM

Erxleben Versus Bisset

City of Newcastle, WA -- Council Meeting of 10/2/12

By a vote of 6 - 1, with Bill Erxleben dissenting, the Newcastle City Council voted to hire a police detective for the city, with some councilmembers noting Newcastle's burglary problem as a reason.  Erxleben, the council's foremost budget hawk (at least in terms of speechmaking), said he opposed the motion by Gordon Bisset for a detective, because it was premature prior to the preliminary 2013 budget, not on its merits.  In support of the motion, John Dulcich said, basically, that security concerns were too important and that the budget could be worked out or adapted to provide for a detective.

Later on in the meeting, the council was in a tizzy for 15 minutes-or-so over a motion by Erxleben to essentially upgrade proposals regarding the 116th Street pedestrian improvements in the overall economic plans of the city.  The motion, which failed on a 4 - 3 vote, caused verbal brickbats between Erxleben and Bisset, who accused Erxleben of budgetary inconsistency as general disarray reigned throughout this segment of the council meeting until the city manager, Rob Wyman, and Mayor Rich Crispo brought about order by chiding members and closing out the motion proceedings.  Erxleben supported Bisset's election to the council in 2011, and wrote a letter on his behalf in the Newcastle News prior to the general election, essentially, requesting citizens of Newcastle to vote for Bisset.  Bisset had been on the council several years ago before taking office, again, in January of '12.  There seemed to be general agreement that Erxleben's motion was not that crucial in deciding how all of this would play out; apparently, because of the preliminary nature of the budget and more decisive votes to come.

Votes regarding Councilmember Erxleben's Motion about 116th St.:

Yes (Approving Motion): Erxleben, Crispo and Dulcich.

No (Disapproving Motion): Buri, Simpson, Bisset and Jensen.

[revised on 10/4/12]

Mark Greene's Book on Elections:  Elections: Reform & Administration

Party of Commons

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King County Bulletin No. 2 can be found in the comments.

Copyright 2009 - 2012, Party of Commons TM

Paraphrasing Lee: "I Make the Recommendations, the Council Gives Guidance."

City of Newcastle, WA -- Planning Commission Meeting of 9/27/12

Newcastle Associate Planner, David Lee, gave a studious 20-minute-or-so presentation about the Comprehensive Plan, which was named, officially, the City of Newcastle Comprehensive Plan Update,  and seeks, in accordance with state law, to set the city's policies regarding physical and economic development, thereby providing a focus point and educational guide for the Council, town residents and other stakeholders.   Comprehensive plans, made every eight years by various towns and municipalities in Washington, are coordinated with the Growth Management Act, a state law.  At one point, a commissioner asked Lee about the manner of guidance, if any, that the Commission would get from the Council about how to proceed.  Lee responded, basically, that he makes recommendations to the Council, but it's up to the Council to communicate with the Commission about guidance.  A clear delineation of his responsibilities and the council's.  Further updates on Northern Pacific Report will be given later on about the specifics of the Comprehensive Plan as the initial proceedings set the groundwork for how it should develop.

Commissioners in attendance:  Rob Lemmon (Chairman), John Drescher (Vice-Chairman), Tom Magers, Jon Simpson, Elizabeth Thompson, Allen Dauterman, and Karin Blakley.

[revised on 9/29/12]

Copyright 2009 - 2012, Party of Commons TM

Donations Sought For This Blog

Northern Pacific Report hopes to report on council meetings, and possibly some interesting court hearings and trials, around the Puget Sound Area on a regular basis.  This blog will focus on Newcastle, particularly, but may also go to places like Mercer Island, Bellevue, Seattle and Federal Way on an occasional basis.  To help me with this work, particularly for time spent and travel expenses, I'm asking for any kind of donations to extend this journalistic work.  I expect to report on Newcastle on a regular basis, including some commission meetings as well as almost all council meetings.  In order to get the word out about Northern Pacific Report, I'll be passing out fliers and posting on social media sites, but readers' word-of-mouth or social media communications would also be appreciated. Thanks!

Previous post: "Town Council Decreases Own Salaries"

- Mark Greene, chairman of the Party of Commons

[revised on 9/21/12]

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Town Council Decreases Own Salaries

City of Newcastle, WA -- Council Meeting of 9/18/12

In a token but decisive effort to shore up this small city's budget, the Newcastle City Council voted 4 to 3 to decrease regular council member salaries to $500 per month, and decrease the mayor's salary to $600 per month.  A $200-or-so decrease.  This action was taken on Tues., Sept. 18th, despite the improved, if not overly rosy, budget forecast by Finance Director, Chris Olson.  Olson had said earlier in the meeting that the city's revenues were expected to increase more than previously expected because of increases in sources such as retail sales taxes and development revenue, and that a budget surplus would ensue.  Councilmember Bill Erxleben did not seem particularly impressed with the forecast as he noted that needed repairs to streets and roads in Newcastle would conceivably take up a large part of future budgets, and implied that nobody should be jumping for joy over Newcastle's financial future.  Councilmember John Dulcich and Mayor Rich Crispo, in his dual role as mayor and councilmember, took a more conciliatory tone regarding the budget, as the mayor, in particular, downplayed Erxleben's concern that streets and roads would be as troublesome and burdensome for the city as Erxleben portended.  Erxleben said that it was the city's responsibility to have a first-rate infrastructure system, putting particular emphasis on streets and roads.  Councilmember Carol Simpson said that the city must not neglect security concerns besides infrastructure concerns, implying that the size of the city's police force was not keeping pace with Newcastle's population growth.

Regarding the salary decrease ordinance, Councilmember Simpson and Deputy Mayor Lisa Jensen both were concerned about who would be the Newcastle councilmembers of the future if the salaries were so low that it would tend to dissuade some members of the public from running for office; Jensen, in particular, stressed the importance of having a diverse council.  Councilmember Dulcich suggested that any council member who voted for the ordinance should return some or all of their salary to the city, now, as any such solicitous feeling could be immediately effected.  He said the whole exercise about salaries was a "feel-good" proposition, and that it couldn't take effect anyway, by law, until new council terms took effect.  Erxleben, at first, said that he would vote against the ordinance because it didn't decrease salaries low enough for his taste, but later changed his mind, apparently because his vote looked decisive, which it indeed was.

The council, by a vote of 6 - 1, Gordon Bisset dissenting, also approved a "temporary" public works project regarding storm water management to be directed by Public Works Director, Mark Rigos, at a cost of about fifty thousand dollars.

Votes regarding decreasing salaries were as follows:

Yes: Crispo, Bisset, Erxleben and Buri

No: Simpson, Dulcich and Jensen

[revised on 9/19/12]

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