September 18, 2009
By Pat Muir
Yakima Herald-Republic
Democratic state House candidate John Gotts has conceded his race against state Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee, with a post on his personal blog.
Gotts, who had pulled out of the 15th District state House race prior to the primary only to return when he finished second, said a combination of factors persuaded him to leave the race again. In part, it was a matter of realistically assessing his chances as a relative unknown in a heavily Republican district.
“It would be nearly impossible to achieve victory in November against state Rep. David Taylor, and so for the second time in this race, I am removing myself from the election,” he wrote last week at johngotts.blogspot.com.
An internet entrepreneur most recently based in White Salmon, Gotts had said before the primary that he was moving to California to work on an internet startup. When he finished second in the Aug. 18 primary — ahead of fellow Democrat Donicio Marichalar of Grandview — he decided to return to Washington for the November general election. Gotts plans to stick with the California venture.
Jumping in and out of things is something of a pattern for Gotts, who made news in 2006 with a $3 million deal to buy the wiki.com domain name. The much ballyhooed deal later fell apart, as did plans Gotts had for upscale developments in Bingen, a small town near White Salmon.
In 2008 Gotts declared himself a candidate for the U.S. House, looking to unseat Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash. Three days later he dropped out of that race to challenge state Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, instead. He lost the race against Chandler, taking only 40 percent of the vote.
He was considered an underdog in this year’s race against Taylor too. Taylor, who spoke with Gotts last week about the concession, said the departure of Gotts from the race won’t affect his own plans.
by Pat Muir
Yakima Herald-Republic
YAKIMA, Wash. — Democratic state House candidate John Gotts has conceded his race against state Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee, with a post on his personal blog.
Gotts, who had pulled out of the 15th District state House race prior to the primary only to return when he finished second, now says a combination of factors persuaded him to leave the race again. In part, it was a matter of realistically assessing his chances as a relative unknown in a heavily Republican district.
“It would be nearly impossible to achieve victory in November against state Rep. David Taylor, and so for the second time in this race, I am removing myself from the election,” he wrote last week at johngotts.blogspot.com.
An Internet entrepreneur most recently based in White Salmon, Gotts had said before the primary that he was moving to California to work on an Internet startup. When he finished second in the Aug. 18 primary — ahead of fellow Democrat Donicio Marichalar of Grandview — he decided to return to Washington for the November general election. Now Gotts plans to stick with the California venture.
Jumping in and out of things is something of a pattern for Gotts, who made news in 2006 with a $3 million deal to buy the wiki.com domain name. The much ballyhooed deal later fell apart, as did plans Gotts had for upscale developments in Bingen, a small town adjacent to White Salmon.
In 2008 Gotts declared himself a candidate for the U.S. House, looking to unseat Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco. Three days later he dropped out of that race to challenge state Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, instead. He lost the race against Chandler, taking only 40 percent of the vote.
He was widely considered a heavy underdog in this year’s race against Taylor, too. Taylor, who spoke with Gotts last Thursday about the concession, said the departure of Gotts from the race won’t affect his own plans.
“We took our one breath on Friday,” he said. “We’re still out campaigning. We’re not going to slow down.”
The bulk of Gotts’ concession blog post is spent praising Taylor, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year when Dan Newhouse resigned after Gov. Chris Gregoire appointed him to run the state Department of Agriculture. Taylor is running in November to retain his seat and serve the remainder of Newhouse’s two-year term.
“I’ve talked to Representative Taylor, and I believe that for all of the reasons you voted for me, you should now cast your vote for the representative in November,” Gotts wrote. “He and I see eyeball-to-eyeball on bringing you jobs, stronger infrastructure, senior care, veterans care, libraries, schools, emergency services and the things that effect (sic) you every day. He and I both want you all to be the ultimate winners and that’s what we’re both focused on now.”
Gotts did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment for this story.
* Pat Muir can be reached at 509-577-7693 or pmuir@yakimaherald.com.
BY JEFFREY MIZE
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER
Columbian.com
Republican David Taylor is well on his way to holding on to his appointed legislative seat through 2010.
Taylor, an agricultural consultant and rancher from Moxee, in Yakima County, easily finished first in Tuesday’s primary for one of two representative seats in the 15th Legislative District.
He received 65.6 percent of the vote across the sprawling legislative district, which takes in a tiny slice of Clark County near Washougal.
About 4,800 registered voters live in the portion of Clark County that falls inside the 15th District.
Taylor likely will face Democrat John (Jobs) Gotts, who stands in second place with 18.8 percent of the vote based on Tuesday’s tallies.
Gotts had dropped out of the race, but his name still appeared on the ballot.
A third candidate, Democrat Donicio Marichalar, garnered 15.6 percent of Tuesday’s vote.
Last March, commissioners from Clark, Skamania, Klickitat and Yakima counties named Taylor to fill a vacancy after Gov. Chris Gregoire appointed Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Sunnyside Republican, to head the Washington Department of Agriculture.
The winner of the Taylor-Gotts matchup in November will serve the final year of Newhouse’s term.
State representatives earn $42,106 a year.
Voters in Eastern Washington on Tuesday advanced candidates bidding for three legislative seats to the November ballot.
By RACHEL LA CORTE
Associated Press Writer
The Seattle Times
OLYMPIA, Wash. —
Voters in Eastern Washington on Tuesday advanced candidates bidding for three legislative seats to the November ballot.
In a key contest in the 16th District, which includes the cities of Pasco and Walla Walla, incumbent Democratic Rep. Laura Grant won the Tuesday primary in that race with more than 46 percent of the vote in early returns. Also advanced to the Nov. 3 election was Republican Terry Nealey, a former Columbia County prosecutor, who captured nearly 38 percent.
Republican Kevin Young, a farmer and state Transportation Department employee, received just 10 percent of the vote, and prison guard David Roberts, running as a “Reagan Independent,” received 6 percent.
Under the state’s primary system, the two top finishers in each primary race face off in November general elections.
Grant, an elementary school teacher from Walla Walla, is trying to retain her seat as the Legislature’s only Eastern Washington Democrat from outside the Spokane area. Grant was appointed earlier this year after the death of her father, Bill Grant, who held the seat for more than 20 years.
In the 15th District, which includes Sunnyside and Goldendale, voters advanced Republican Rep. David Taylor of Moxee after early returns show him winning the primary election in that race with more than 65 percent of the vote in early returns.
Taylor was appointed to fill the seat of Dan Newhouse, who was appointed Gov. Chris Gregoire’s agriculture director earlier this year.
Still undecided was the second advancement in that race. Democrat John Gotts had nearly 19 percent of the vote even though he has abandoned his bid to work on business ventures in California. Democrat Donicio Marichalar, a consultant and former state social worker, had more than 16 percent of the vote under early returns.
Also undecided Tuesday night was the race in the 9th District, which includes Pullman and Cheney. The open contest for that race is for the unexpired term of the late Rep. Steve Hailey, R-Mesa, who died in December of colon cancer. Appointed replacement Rep. Don Cox, R-Colfax, had previously retired from the Legislature and is not running to keep the seat.
Four Republicans are in the running: Susan Fagan, a former aide to three U.S. senators from Idaho and public affairs director for a Pullman manufacturer; Pat Hailey, a farmer-rancher and school board member who is the widow of Steve Hailey; TV news reporter and school board member Darin Watkins; and farmer and former school board member Art Swannack. The lone Democrat in the race is business owner Glen Stockwell.
Early returns showed Fagan winning with nearly 29 percent of the vote, followed closely by Hailey, who had 25.6 percent. Close behind Hailey was Stockwell, with 25.2 percent. Swannack had 12 percent of the vote, and Watkins had just 8 percent.
Appointed Republican Rep. David Taylor will advance to the November ballot after early returns show him winning the primary election in the race for the state legislative seat in the 15th District.
By RACHEL LA CORTE
The Associated Press
The Seattle Times
OLYMPIA — Appointed state Rep. Laura Grant will get a chance to carry on her late father’s status as the only Democrat in the Legislature from rural Eastern Washington.
Grant, who was appointed earlier this year after the death of her father, Bill Grant, easily advanced to the November ballot on Tuesday in the race for the 16th District, which includes Pasco and Walla Walla, getting 46 percent of the vote in early returns.
Also advancing to the Nov. 3 election was Republican Terry Nealey with 38 percent.
The race was one of three open seats for the Legislature on Tuesday’s ballot.
In the 15th District, which includes Sunnyside and Goldendale, voters advanced Republican Rep. David Taylor of Moxee after early returns show him winning the primary election in that race with more than 65 percent of the vote in early returns.
Democrat John Gotts had nearly 19 percent of the vote and Democrat Donicio Marichalar had more than 16 percent in early returns.
Also undecided Tuesday night was the race in the 9th District, which includes Pullman and Cheney, to fill the unexpired term of the late Rep. Steve Hailey, R-Mesa, who died in December of colon cancer.
Early returns showed Republican Susan Fagan winning with nearly 29 percent of the vote, followed closely by Steve Hailey’s widow Pat Hailey, also a Republican, with 25.6 percent. Democrat Glen Stockwell had 25.2 percent.
Copyright © The Seattle Times Company
August 16, 2009
By CURT WOODWARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Seattle Post Intelligencer
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Republicans, stuck in the minority at the Legislature, are gearing up for a serious run at the only Democrat from rural Eastern Washington in one of three state House races on Tuesday’s primary ballot.
The three House positions, each of them east of the Cascades, were vacated before the previous occupant’s term expired – two by deaths, and one by a promotion.
Local officials appointed temporary replacements, who must run for the remaining portion of their predecessor’s term if they want to keep the job. The primary will narrow the field to the top two vote-getters, who will then compete in the November general election.
The leading contest is in the 16th District, which includes the cities of Pasco and Walla Walla. Incumbent Rep. Laura Grant, D-Walla Walla, is trying to retain her seat as the Legislature’s only Eastern Washington Democrat from outside the Spokane area.
Grant, an elementary school teacher, was appointed earlier this year after the death of her father, Bill Grant, who held the post for more than 20 years.
She faces two Republican challengers: Terry Nealey, a former Columbia County prosecutor, and Kevin Young, a farmer and state Transportation Department employee.
A fourth candidate, prison guard David Roberts, is running as a “Reagan Independent” under Washington’s choose-your-own party-preference system.
Grant and Nealey are by far the leading fundraisers in the campaign. Legislative Democrats, who have majorities in both the Senate and House, have donated heavily to Grant’s campaign. Among Nealey’s notable donors are businesses and farmers.
Grant echoes her father’s campaign pitch: Rural voters need someone on the inside with the dominant Democratic majority, to ensure their interests aren’t just relegated to outsider status.
“One of my opponents says, ‘Well, I’m good at reaching across the aisle,’” Grant said. “I think that’s very nice. But the important thing is you have someone across that aisle who is able to get that legislation through the process.”
Nealey, who claimed 46 percent of the vote against the late Bill Grant in the 2008 general election, contends that Democrats have done a poor job of managing the state’s finances through the current recession.
“This is a Republican district with Eastern Washington values,” Nealey said. “I’ve been here a long time, I’m conservative, and I have a much greater background and experience than she does.”
While political parties certainly want every legislative seat they can get, there’s likely another motivation behind Democrats trying to hold Grant’s seat, independent pollster Stuart Elway said.
“I think the idea of having a Democrat in a non-Spokane district is symbolically important,” he said. “You don’t want to cede that entire real estate to the Republicans if you’re a Democrat.”
The neighboring 9th District, which includes Pullman and Cheney, features an open contest for the unexpired term of the late Rep. Steve Hailey, R-Mesa. Appointed replacement Rep. Don Cox, R-Colfax, had previously retired from the Legislature and is not running to keep the seat.
Four Republicans and one Democrat are vying for the final two spots on the general election ballot.
The top fundraisers are both Republicans: Susan Fagan, a former aide to three U.S. senators from Idaho and public affairs director for a Pullman manufacturer, and Pat Hailey, a farmer-rancher and school board member who is the widow of Steve Hailey.
Following them in the money race are former TV news reporter and school board member Darin Watkins, and farmer and former school board member Art Swannack. The lone Democrat, business owner Glen Stockwell, has reported no money raised.
The 15th District, which includes Sunnyside and Goldendale, is effectively a one-on-one matchup ahead of the November general election.
Appointed Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee, is running to complete the term of Dan Newhouse, who was appointed Gov. Chris Gregoire’s agriculture director. His opponent is Democrat Donicio Marichalar, a consultant and former state social worker.
Taylor has reported about $33,000 in campaign money, while Marichalar has reported no contributions. A third candidate, John Gotts, registered for the contest as a Democrat but has abandoned his bid to work on business ventures in California.
August 11, 2009
By LEAH BETH WARD
Yakima Herald-Republic
YAKIMA, Wash. — Donicio Marichalar, a Democratic candidate in the 15th Legislative District, was fired last year as a state social worker for failing to properly investigate allegations of child abuse, lack of productivity and for missing too much work, according to state officials.
Marichalar, 41, of Grandview, worked in Yakima in the regional office of the Department of Social and Health Services, where he supervised employees who investigate complaints of abuse and neglect of children in state care, such as foster homes and day-care centers.
His job classification was “social worker 4,” the highest level in social work, in the Division of License Resources/Child Protective Services within the Children’s Administration of DSHS.
“Your lack of production and performance failures diminish the overall effectiveness of meeting the mission of the Children’s Administration,” administrator Pleas Green wrote in the August 2008 letter dismissing Marich-alar.
In a telephone interview Tuesday, Marichalar confirmed that he was dismissed but declined to elaborate. He said he has filed a complaint contesting the action with the state Human Rights Commission.
“I really don’t want to state anything right now,” he told the Yakima Herald-Republic.
Marichalar is running for the state House seat held by Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee. His name is on the Aug. 18 primary ballot, along with Democrat John Gotts of White Swan and Taylor. Gotts ended his candidacy in June, when he decided to move to California.
Both Marichalar and Taylor will advance to the General Election.
Marichalar was the subject of a 2008 investigation by the state Auditor’s Office into a whistleblower’s allegations that he failed to properly investigate or report at least five allegations of child abuse and neglect at two day-care centers.
In one incident, the auditor found that Marichalar didn’t act on a report that workers at a day-care center had been advised to sedate crying babies.
The Herald-Republic published a story summarizing the audit findings in March 2008. At the time, neither DSHS nor the state auditor identified the supervisor who was the subject of the whistleblower’s complaints, citing personnel rules. Both agencies confirmed recently that Marichalar was the unnamed supervisor in the audit.
As a result of the audit, he was transferred to a nonsupervisory job with DSHS in Yakima before he was fired.
Marichalar said the claims in the whistleblower audit are false. He also said he filed his own whistleblower complaints against DSHS management, but he declined to elaborate.
Ken Nichols, DSHS child welfare director for Yakima, said an internal agency investigation found them to be accurate.
At the request of the Herald-Republic, the agency released a copy of its termination letter to Marichalar on Tuesday.
“There was merit to the whistleblower’s complaint,” Nichols said Tuesday in a telephone interview.
He said Marichalar’s dismissal was the result of the audit, his failure to complete “investigative assessments” — reports on potential problems in foster care and day care — and unauthorized and excessive absences over a five-month period.
He was supposed to complete three investigative assessments per week. Instead, he completed eight in a six-month period in 2008, according to DSHS’s termination letter.
The letter states that he took leave from work without required approval 16 percent of the time between Feb. 25, 2008, and June 25, 2008. In May of that year, he was absent 46 percent of the time, according to the letter.
He also visited Web sites unrelated to work, according to DSHS, including “myspace, match.love.aol, (sic) hallmarkstore.com.”
Marichalar had worked for the state agency since 1998.
YakimaHerald.com
July 29th, 2009
by David Lester
Central Washington lawmakers are stepping further into the fray over a well-drilling ban in upper Kittitas County.
While blasting the state Department of Ecology for its actions and motives, the legislators say they intend to do something.
Just what that something is specifically they aren’t saying so as not to further complicate talks between county commissioners and Ecology officials.
Some hopeful signs appeared today. Commissioners and the agency said each is hopeful the issue can be resolved.
Ecology imposed a ban July 16 on all new water withdrawals from exempt wells after failing to reach agreement with the county on a plan to manage future new wells. That 120-day moratorium has effectively brought construction to a halt in upper Kittitas County.
Click to continue reading “Perturbed lawmakers plan action over well-drilling brouhaha”
www.Columbian.com
Wednesday, July 29
BY KATHIE DURBIN
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER
Rep. David Taylor wasted no time making his mark after his appointment to the Legislature in late March. Commissioners from Clark, Skamania, Klickitat and Yakima counties named Taylor to fill a vacancy after Gov. Chris Gregoire appointed Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, to head the Washington Department of Agriculture.
Plunged into the final weeks of the 2009 budget debate, Taylor sponsored a bill requiring a 72-hour budget review period before legislative hearings or votes on appropriation and revenue bills.
The bill went nowhere, but Taylor made his point. Now he faces one active candidate, former social services administrator Donicio Marichalar, in his campaign for election to a two-year term.
If Marichalar wins at least 1 percent of the vote cast in the Aug. 18 top two primary, the two will face each other again in the Nov. 3 general election.
The 15th District, redrawn after the 2000 Census, includes a small corner of southeast Clark County, all of Skamania and Klickitat counties in the Columbia River Gorge, and the south half of Yakima County. The heavily agricultural Yakima area has had a lock on the district for 25 years.
Click to continue reading “Taylor faces challenge as he looks to hold on to 15th District seat”
July 21, 2009
by Pat Muir
Yakima Herald-Republic
YAKIMA, Wash. — If he’s elected to another year in the state House, Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee, wants to branch out.
“In addition to the issues I’ve continuously worked on for 15 years now — property rights, local control, less taxes, water rights — I’m really starting to take a look at K-12 education and issues that affect our students,” he said.
The rookie legislator, whose experience with those other issues came as a county planner and a land-use consultant, said he’s met with school officials in the 15th District and plans to meet with more.
Emphasis on the state’s graduation-requirement exam, the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, has standardized curricula and kept school districts from innovating, he said.
Taylor isn’t advocating doing away with statewide standards entirely, but he would like to see schools provide more options for non-college-track students. He’s also interested in the notion of tiered graduation requirements that would be different for college-bound students than for students pursuing vocational and technical degrees.
Click to continue reading “Taylor hopes to get more involved in education”
