WWW . THESKANNER . COM
A UGUST 29, 2012
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 35
25
CENTS
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
PART Y!
Yakima
Council
Lawsuit
Latino Voters, ACLU
sue city over
elections system
PHOTO BY JOHN MORENO
By Shannon Dininny
The Associated Press
Former Republican Party Chair Michael Steele, at left, chats with Republican delegates at the Republican National
Convention in Tampa, Fla. this week. Be sure to check www.TheSkanner.com for daily updates on the Republican
event and the Democratic convention, which kicks off immediately afterwards.
Politics Heats Up in Tampa, Fla.
Catch The Skanner News’ live coverage of conventions
This year The Skanner News Group is
partnering with the Los Angeles Wave
and several other papers to bring readers
all the latest news on the Republican and
Democratic National Conventions.
The publications will be sending John
Moreno, managing editor of the Los
Angeles Wave, to both conventions.
“Usually when we cover something like
this I’m the front reporter and I’ve got a
photographer,” says Moreno. “Unfortu-
nately that’s not going to be the case so I
have to become the photographer, the
videographer, the print reporter and the
social media editor, etc. You just have to
own up.”
Moreno, a self-described political
junkie, has been doing journalism for
nine years. He worked as a copy editor
when he first began at the Wave and soon
moved on to entertainment coverage.
Eventually he migrated to the local polit-
ical beat and reported on City Hall.
Since being elevated to managing edi-
tor, he hasn’t gotten as many opportuni-
ties to be out in the field.
“When I get the chance to go out and
cover something like these elections I
jump at it,” says Moreno.
This year will mark his second time
covering national political conventions.
In 2008, he reported from the Democrat-
ic National Convention in Denver.
Moreno says the thing that stood out to
him the most from 2008 was all the
excitement surrounding President Barack
Obama’s candidacy. Specifically, he says
there were a number of celebrities, pro-
fessional athletes, actor, singers and other
people that you wouldn’t necessarily
expect at a political convention.
“That was great for a reporter because
you could just walk around the arena and
y o u
would run
See PARTY on page 2
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Mateo Arteaga
has closely watched the demographics
change in Yakima since he moved here in
1988. A longtime educator, Arteaga visits
kindergarten classes where smiling Hispan-
ic faces dominate the room.
Hispanics now make up more than a third
of Yakima’s population, as farm workers
travel to central Washington’s fruit bowl to
work in agriculture and those who have
come before them settle here to raise fami-
lies.
But Arteaga says those same faces grow
up to find they have no voice in the com-
munity and a lack of representation: Parks
and libraries aren’t built on the city’s east
side, which is predominantly Hispanic, and
educational opportunities are fewer.
Arteaga joined Rogelio Montes, a student
at Yakima Valley Community College, and
the American Civil Liberties Union in filing
suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court to
change the city’s system for City Council
elections in hopes of improving the odds for
minority-supported candidates.
``Our kids need a place to be playing and
to be a part of the community,’’ said Artea-
ga, a Central Washington University admin-
istrator who oversees an outreach program
for disadvantaged students. ``It’s about giv-
ing everybody an opportunity to have their
voices be heard and their votes count.’’
A city representative did not immediately
return a telephone call seeking comment
Wednesday.
The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965
invites court challenges to an election sys-
tem that prevents protected minorities from
meaningfully influencing election out-
comes.
The case marks the first of its kind in
Washington state, but the ACLU has suc-
cessfully challenged at-large voting systems
in other communities.
See COUNCIL on page 2
INDEX
News ........................2,4
Calendar ....................2
Opinion .......................3
Bids/Classifieds............3
Politicians Draw from Campaign Cash
By Mike Baker
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — With their
excess campaign cash, politicians in Wash-
ington state often return money to donors,
forward it to their political party, or donate
it to charity.
Some, however, decide to use the funds
for other things: alcohol, iPads or auto
repairs.
Records show that since the beginning of
2007, Republican Rep. Mike Armstrong of
Wenatchee has pulled $7,000 in campaign
cash to buy clothing. Democratic State
Auditor Brian Sonntag used the money to
buy more than $1,000 in Mariners tickets,
and Joe McDermott, a Democratic member
of the King County Council, used $5,600 to
pay for his tuition at Harvard.
The spending, which possibly tests the
boundaries of state law, is conducted with
little scrutiny through so-called surplus
accounts that rarely get public examination.
The Associated Press identified hundreds of
questionable expenses — from Democrats
and Republicans — during a computer
analysis of more than 500,000 spending
reports obtained under public disclosure
laws.
Surplus accounts are intended to allow
candidates a way to hold onto cash between
elections, and provide politicians options
for how to properly disperse money that’s
not needed.
Candidates
See MONEY on page 3