News
Complaint
Pullman Porter Blues
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filed with the Senate this year. In that inci-
dent, the document says, Roach yelled at
Hoover during a meeting with the rest of the
caucus.
The complaint alleged that Roach has tar-
geted Hoover since 2003, and that during
that first year, she ``regularly yelled at him,
demanded that he swear loyalty to her, and
threatened to have him fired if he crossed
her.’’
Hoover had argued that the sanctions
were ``improperly removed’’ when she was
began debate on the budget.
The Senate has said that the sanctions
against Roach interacting with staff, as set
by the Senate Facilities and Operations
Committee, had not, in fact, been lifted.
Roach was out of the country on Friday
but emailed a statement saying that the
accusations against her were false.
``Political hate aimed at hurting me is
wrong and needs to be addressed,’’ she
wrote.
The settlement says that the Senate will
review its current policy
and look for areas to
improve it, including des-
ignating a senator from
each party for staff to con-
fidentially discuss work-
place problems with.
``While I hope it will
never be needed, this is a
change that I think would
go a long way towards
keeping an appropriate
balance in member and staff interaction,’’
Hoover wrote.
Under the settlement, Hoover will not
return to the Senate, but the Senate will pay
his attorney fees and restore his leave time
that he took while the case played out.
Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Olympia, who
chairs the Senate Facilities and Operations
Committee, said she was pleased an agree-
ment was reached.
``I think the settlement is in the interest of
the taxpayers and is equitable to all parties
involved,’’ she said.
allowed back into the caucus around the
time of a key budget vote in the Legislature
this year.
Democrats hold majorities in both the
House and the Senate, but earlier this year,
three Democrats stood with Republicans on
a GOP-crafted budget plan that passed the
Senate but stalled in the House. Roach also
voted with them. Documents show one let-
ter to Roach, dated Feb. 29, invited her back
into the caucus, and a second letter, saying
that ``caucus sanctions’’ were lifted, was
dated March 2, the same day the Senate
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
The Senate has said that the
sanctions against Roach
interacting with staff had not, in
fact, been lifted
Thomas Gray; who worked as a chair car porter and whose father started
working as a Pullman Porter in 1923, and his mother CA Domio joined
playwright Cheryl L. West at the Pullman Porter Blues Community Gala
Thursday, September 27th at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. The premier
night was a fundraiser for 8 local non-profits including the Black Child
Development Institute, Southeast Youth and Family Services, Black Heritage
Society of Washington State and Clean Greens Farm and Market.
Mascots
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are the Indians and about a quarter of the
district population are Native American or
Alaskan Native students.
``I think it’s maybe time to ask the ques-
tions,’’ Morgan said Friday.
He said he would probably make some
calls to tribal leaders as well as the school
board and other community leaders to see if
this is an issue the community wants to
tackle.
Reardan schools have a long tradition of
Native American students, as well as having
enthusiastic sports fans, Morgan said. He
doesn’t think the Indian mascot has been
seen as derogatory, but he added that the
issue deserved more research.
Washington’s resolution, which is similar to
resolution passed by the board in 1993, was
inspired by research by the American
Psychological Association citing the adverse
effects of Native American mascots on students
Other Washington communities have had
acrimonious battles over retiring a Native
American mascot, including some districts
close to Reardan. The Colville Indians
time the people turned 18 the information
would be old.
Drew counters that engaging young peo-
ple in the electoral process is vital and that
allowing adults to register on Election Day
would be a convenience that acknowl-
edges people’s hectic lives.
``Most voters, when they move to the
state, have that opportunity to register
when they get their driver’s license, but
not our kids,’’ Drew said.
Among the states that allow some form
of pre-registration for youth are Hawaii,
Maryland, Delaware and Florida.
Both Drew and Wyman are trying to
succeed Reed, who has been in office
since 2001.
Wyman, who last year won re-election to
her fourth term as Thurston County’s audi-
tor and previously served as the county’s
elections manager, says she has skills her
opponent lacks. ``I have 20 years of doing
the work of the secretary of state’s office at
the county level,’’ she said. ``My opponent
doesn’t have that.’’
Drew points to her four years in the state
Senate, working on good government legis-
lation, budget and election-related issues.
asked the Colville High School Indians to
find a new name in 1997, but they’re still
the Indians today.
Ten schools have changed their names in
the past decade, including Eatonville Mid-
dle School, which went from the Warriors to
the Eagles; Eisenhower Middle School in
Everett, which went from the Warriors to
the Patriots and Issaquah High School,
which changed from the Indians to the
Eagles.
About 10 tribal schools or those on Wash-
ington reservations also have Native Amer-
ican mascots, but the majority of schools in
the state with Indian mascots are part of
their community’s long-standing history.
Elections
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Drew, who represented Seattle’s eastern
suburbs in the Legislature, wants to change
the way Washington registers voters. Her
goal is to expand the number of people cast-
ing ballots by letting people register on
Election Day and allowing 16- and 17-year
olds to pre-register when they get their driv-
ers’ licenses.
Wyman says Drew’s plans won’t work.
``On the surface, they sound like good
ideas, but they would be a bad fit,’’ Wyman
said.
Election Day registration would take
finite resources away from counting ballots,
she said, and slow the posting of results in
Washington, a state notorious for the glacial
pace of its election count. Voters only have
to mail their ballot on Election Day; other
states with mail balloting require people’s
votes to be received by Election Day. And
Wyman says the time spent managing the
records of teenagers who pre-register would
be an unwise use of resources, and by the
related national issues is a bit of a moot
point in Washington state — voter identifi-
cation laws. Washington votes by mail —
it’s not like people can show ID to a mail-
box. So while courts have grappled with the
ideologically charged question of
what is an appropriate form of ID
to show at polling places in Penn-
sylvania and Texas, Drew and
Wyman agree that’s not really an
issue here.
Another thing both candidates
agree on is providing a statewide,
printed primary voters’ pamphlet.
They each list it as their top issue
on their campaign websites. Earli-
er this year, the state axed the printed pri-
mary pamphlet to save about $1 million, but
critics said it hurt people without access to
online voter information and made it easier
on incumbents with greater name recogni-
tion.
Wyman says the time spent
managing the records of
teenagers who pre-register
would be an unwise use of
resources
She also served on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s
policy staff for six years. ``My opponent,
she’s never dealt with the state budget. She
has no idea where the secretary of state fits
into the overall state budget. I’ve had years
of experience with that,’’ Drew said.
One of the most contentious election-
October 3, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 3