Regular readers of the Times may remember Ethel Adams. Danny Westneat wrote about her here, here, here, and here. Adams was seriously injured when she was hit by, as Westneat wrote, "a crazed man named Michael Testa, who was trying to run his girlfriend's truck off the road."

Farmers decided the policies covering Adams didn't apply to anything Testa did because he caused the five-car pileup on purpose. Essentially Farmers said it was not an accident, even for Adams, who was just passing by.

Now Ms. Adams is part of a political campaign. The trial lawyers backing Referendum 67 have a new TV ad running that features Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler talking about Adams and her battle with Farmers Insurance.

"She was an innocent driver severely injured by a road-rage incident. She was in a coma and disabled for life.

"But her insurance company still denied her claim.

"That's why we need R-67: to make it illegal to deny legitimate claims."

The Reject 67 campaign — funded by the insurance industry — says the ad is deceptive. The campaign spokeswoman, Dana Childers, put out a press release that makes Ethel Adams' case sound like an example of a responsive and good-hearted insurance company at work, not a cold, corporate Grinch.

Childers reminds voters that Ethel Adams received the full benefits of her insurance policy. Ambiguities in the law complicated delivery of her policy coverage, but once the facts were revealed, coverage was promptly provided.

Not exactly. It took several columns by Danny, TV coverage and a lot of talk radio outrage to get Farmers to reconsider. And even then it was likely a direct threat from Kreidler to pull the company's license to do business in Washington state that got Adams her money.

It is unclear whether the law at stake in R-67 would cover a case with the same circumstances as Adams'. Part of her claim had been rejected, but another was technically still open.

But there is no question that the case should not be held up as example of some eleemosynary act by Farmers.

Farmers itself took a similar approach when it gave in and paid Adams. Westneat wrote then about how the company claimed it had been "diligent in the actions it has taken to respond to this claim since the beginning." And it was clear that some Farmers' employees weren't proud of their company.

Eight local Farmers agents and administrators called or wrote me, all expressing disgust at the company's handling of the case. Some said they are typically proud of their work and were feeling demoralized.

I asked Danny what he thought about Childer's statementthe ad. He said it was a bit of revisionist history. And he shared with me some e-mail between him and Childers. Danny wrote first:

Wow. I have seen a lot of spin in my day, but that one just about takes the cake. ... Coverage was only "promptly provided" after Farmers had the hell beaten out of it in the newspaper and on radio and after Kreidler threatened to pull their license to do business in the state.

We could also go over all the e-mails I have from Farmers Insurance's own employees decrying the actions of their company in that case. If you want.

Childers responded, in part:

The technical glitch with the law is what brought on the language regarding Mr. Testa; nothing more, nothing less. And it's critical to remember shortly after the accident, Ms. Adams was assured of $2 million of coverage that was available to her. This situation was so unique and troubling for all concerned that the insurance industry and the Insurance Commissioner worked with the legislature to pass "Ethel's law" that changed the law to allow coverage in these kinds of situations.

And Westneat, showing some frustration and conceding the issue was bugging him:

It is absolutely not true that "shortly after the accident, Ms. Adams was assured of $2 million of coverage." She was hit in March, and in October, the company still hadn't paid her a penny and had only denied parts of the claim. It was also in October that a Farmers attorney said this, to me: "Liability insurance is only for accidents, and this wasn't an accident." Does that sound like a company that is assuring anyone of coverage? No, it is a company that is denying coverage.

And that makes the case a better model for the trial lawyers backing R-67 then the insurance industry hoping voters repeal the law next week.

City hall reporter Bob Young sends this report:

Tim Burgess has set a new record for City Council fundraising, according to Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission records.

Burgess, who is challenging incumbent David Della, has raised $279,810. The previous high of $273,885 was set by incumbent Richard Conlin in 2005, who broke former Councilwoman Heidi Wills' 2003 record of $256,617.

There is one important distinction between Burgess' and Conlin's record amounts. Conlin did not sink any of his own money into his re-election bid. Burgess has plowed $67,865 of his own money into his campaign so far, according to commission records.

Burgess' opponent, Della, has raised $242,307, including $10,000 of his own.

The previous best for a challenger was $251,458 raised by Tom Rasmussen in his 2003 campaign against incumbent Margaret Pageler. Rasmussen contributed $81,695 to his own effort that year.

Despite the record-breaking surge by Burgess, who once chaired the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, the total amount raised by council candidates this year may fall short of the last two elections.

Through Oct. 22 of this year, all council candidates (primary and general elections) had raised a total of $1.7 million. In 2005, the council candidates' cumulative total was $1.84 million, and in 2003 it was $1.93 million.

House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt just released this statement:

"I am very disappointed by the news reports of the conduct by Rep. Curtis last week in Spokane. After discussing this matter with House Republican leaders, he has submitted his resignation, which we feel is best for everyone involved. The troubling details continue to emerge, however, it has become clear that he can no longer effectively represent the constituents who elected him. We pray that Richard and his family have the strength and support they need to meet the personal challenges they face."

MORE: And here's a statement from Curtis just released by House Republicans:

Today I submitted my letter of resignation to Governor Gregoire effective immediately. While I believe we've done some good and helped a lot of people during the time I served in the Legislature, events that have recently come to light have hurt a lot of people. I sincerely apologize for any pain my actions may have caused.

"This has been damaging to my family, and I don't want to subject them to any additional pain that might result from carrying out this matter under the scrutiny that comes with holding public office."

MORE: House Republicans have already removed Curtis from the legislative website. No bio, no homepage and his name is gone from the list of members.

Apparently the news about Larry Craig didn't make it to La Center. That's where Republican Rep. Richard Curtis lives. There's really no other way to figure out why Curtis thought he could call the cops, tell them every little detail of his sexual encounter with a man he picked up at an "erotic boutique," and expect the matter would be kept quiet. Craig, of course, thought that pleading guilty in Minneapolis would keep his alleged airport bathroom cruising quiet.

But from the start of Curtis' trouble — when he awoke in Spokane's fanciest hotel after a night of sex with a man known in some circles as "Stallion" who said he had left with Curtis' wallet and explicit photos of the legislator — he was hoping to control the damage to his reputation and his marriage. Curtis didn't call the Spokane cops. Instead, he called a friend in the Washington State Patrol on the other side of the mountains because, a police report says, he worried "the local police would talk and it would get out to the press."

The State Patrol is not the Legislature's private police force and the trooper called his superiors who made sure the Spokane Police Department was contacted. And once Curtis made his call, it was impossible that his troubles would remain a private matter. It's all in the report written by a Spokane detective after he, another local cop and a State Patrol officer, showed up at the hotel to talk with Curtis.

Curtis stated he only wanted his wallet back and wanted to keep the incident as low key as possible. He did not want to pursue charges.

What's odd about this case — among many other things — is it is not clear if there was any wrongdoing on Curtis' part that would threaten his career. Certainly his activities will embarrass him and his family. And I don't think anyone can help but feel sorry for his wife and children who have to deal with the fallout of this. But Curtis is not being charged with any crime and could have been a victim himself. With Larry Craig, it was his guilty plea that Republican Senate leaders leaned on in calling for his immediate resignation.

That said, look for Curtis to soon announce he's quitting the Legislature. His personal life is obviously in turmoil and it is difficult to imagine he can manage to do the public's business under these circumstances.

For some reason Curtis told police a story with great detail about his night with Cody Castagna. He told them where they met, what they did, where they did it, and where in the hotel room police could find DNA evidence of his tryst. He volunteered to give a swab of his cheek so police could have a sample of his DNA. He didn't seem to hold anything back, though he waved investigators away from the bag with the nylon rope and toy stethoscope in it, saying it had nothing to do with the matter at hand. The detective wrote in his report:

I told Curtis that I wanted to collect evidence in this case so that it could be secured in case it was ever needed in the future. If he wished no further action taken, I would still have any critical evidence in case he changed his mind or the suspect continued to threaten Curtis in the future. I told Curtis that the toothpaste was already out of the tube. Curtis told me he was just trying to "put the cap back on the tube." I told Curtis that the suspect may victimize other people in the future and Curtis acknowledged that part of his job was to protect people in the State of Washington. Lt. McGovern told Curtis no matter what happened, we would have to document the case in report form regardless of whether or not the case was prosecuted. Curtis said he wished he would have just paid the additional money to the suspect because he didn't wish the case to be prosecuted. If the incident became public it could cost him his marriage and career.

Curtis hasn't said anything about the Spokane incident except to tell the editor of the Columbian that he is not gay, did not have sex with a man, and did nothing wrong. He has hired one of the state's most prominent defense attorneys, Seattle's John Wolfe. Wolfe is currently representing Ben Stevens, the Alaska politician and son of Sen. Ted Stevens, whose name has come up in that state's burgeoning political scandal.

As for Curtis' political career, Republican leaders aren't saying much. House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt is expected to release a statement later today. House Republicans aren't really ignoring the story. In the e-mailed compilation of news stories the caucus sends out each morning, there are nine about Curtis. The Columbian talked to a few local GOP officials who mostly expressed the sort of shock you'd expect, like this from Ryan Hart, vice chairman of the Clark County Republican Party.

"He's been a great representative, and at this time all I can say is we are stunned by the news," Hart said. "Our main concern right now is the Curtis family. It's important to set politics aside while this matter is sorted out."

Democrat Bill Sherman criticized acting County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, a Republican, in Sunday's Times for taking money from spouses of his employees. Sherman thinks that's a dodge around Satterberg's self-imposed ban on donations or even endorsements from employees.

Sherman has made the same pledge, and told Times reporter Stuart Eskenazi that his was a "commitment with meaning, not just words." But supporters of Satterberg from within the prosecutor's office sent Eskenazi copies of e-mails that Sherman sent them early in the campaign looking for money and endorsements.

"Please consider making a financial contribution to the campaign. ... Please join the growing list of people and organizations endorsing and supporting my campaign."

The e-mails were part of a mass mailing Sherman made to donors of his failed 2006 campaign for the state House. Sherman told Eskenazi he culled through the list of about 2,000 supporters before sending out the e-mails, hoping to exclude any recipient who works at the prosecutor's office. But at least a couple got through. Sherman said:

"There may have been some people in the office who received a mass e-mail, that may be true. But had any of them responded to it with a contribution or endorsement, I would have refused them."

Sherman is also refusing offers from co-workers to volunteer for his campaign, while Satterberg last week said he accepts behind-the-scenes "sweat equity" support from his staffers.

Court records released today have more details on the alleged extortion attempt against Republican state Rep. Richard Curtis. The Columbian reports
that Curtis met Cody M. Castagna at the Hollywood Erotic Boutique past midnight Thursday and they later went together to Curtis' hotel room. Curtis has deined having sex with the man.

However, Detective Mark Burbridge of the Spokane Police Department, in a signed affidavit, concluded that Curtis and Castagna engaged in mutual sexual activities, after which Curtis fell asleep. Burbridge's affadavit is based on interviews with both men.

The affidavit alleges Castagna left the hotel room with Curtis' wallet. He later called the state lawmaker and offered to return it in exchange for money, Burbridge said in his affidavit.

"Cody Castagna also threatened to publicly expose Richard Curtis' gay lifestyle to his wife," the detective wrote. "Richard Curtis said he said he only had $200, which Cody Castagna demanded Richard Curtis give to him. Richard Curtis left an envelope at the front desk of the Davenport Towers Hotel containing the $200.

UPDATE: KXLY TV has lots more details.

State Representative Richard Curtis says he's not gay, but police reports and court records indicate the Republican lawmaker from southwestern Washington dressed up in women's lingerie and met a Medical Lake man in a local erotic video store which led to consensual sex at a downtown hotel and a threat to expose Curtis' activities publicly.

I wondered last week when it was that Dino Rossi officially became a candidate when it turned out that his new website, telldino.com, had been registered Sept. 8, six weeks before his announcement.

If the website was registered with Rossi's consent he would have had to file a declaration of candidacy with the Public Disclosure Commission a month earlier than he did. Rossi advisor J. Vander Stoep says telldino.com was his idea, that he suggested to campaign manager Afton Swift that the domain name be registered, and it was done without Rossi's knowledge.

He sent me an e-mail last night saying Rossi told him he would run again on Oct. 11. But long before that, Vander Stoep said he was thinking about the "what if" possibilities of a second campaign and a possible Rossi Administration.

I

knew from my experience that Dino is critical of the incumbent for always coming down on the side against public disclosure of records. I also learned during the transition in 2004 that the incumbent has been part of the team running the state agencies for a generation and that his election would be treated by many of those people as a hostile takeover. With that, I suggested to Afton Swift that a friend of Dino obtain the "telldino" web name in case he decided to run. The idea was to create a vehicle so that citizens can go over the heads of the agencies and tell the Governor directly about their concerns with state government. My thought was that Governor Rossi would use this idea. I didn't tell Dino that the site was obtained. There wasn't any reason to tell him prior to his deciding to run.

The fact is that he learned of the idea -- and the web name -- as he was preparing his kickoff speech. Dino said "we shouldn't wait -- we should create this website now to find out more about what is going on inside state government."

State Rep. Richard Curtis, a Republican from southwest Washington, is apparently a victim of an alleged extortion plot. The story is frustratingly vague at this point, but it involves another man and something that happened last week in Spokane while Republican state lawmakers were having a retreat in the city.

Curtis says he's not gay and has done nothing wrong. The reason he felt compelled to tell the editor of the Columbian that, is yesterday the Spokesman-Review reported that the alleged extortionist was a "reputed male prostitute." That paper said that fact was confirmed by police. But today police spokeswoman Jennifer DeRuwe is quoted as saying that's not the case.

DeRuwe said the initial complaint to police suggested prostitution may have been involved. But after further investigation throughout the weekend, she said Monday, without elaborating, "It does not appear that prostitution was involved."

A story in the Vancouver Columbian has DeRuwe sounding even more vague about what happened.

"Obviously there is some sort of relationship between the two of them," she said. "Obviously one of them is a suspect and one is the victim."

Curtis yesterday spoke with Columbian editor Lou Brancaccio.

"I committed no crime," Curtis said Monday afternoon. "I did not solicit sex. I was trying to help somebody out."

...

"I am not gay," he told Brancaccio. "I have not had sex with a guy."

The headline on that story:

Curtis denies wrongdoing, says he is not gay

Curtis is expected to release a statement today.

In Anchorage, oil man Bill Allen said in court today that part of his plea deal with the feds included helping them investigate Sen. Ted Stevens. The Anchorage Daily News political blog has that and more from the corruption trial of former state Rep. Vic Kohring.

Also, from the courtroom, former Daily News editorial page editor Michael Carey is providing commentary, including this from a column slated to run tomorrow:

As a legislator, Vic displayed minimal brain power and an unwillingness to learn. He mastered a few conservative slogans before he entered the Legislature and that was the extent of his knowledge. He was prepared to give the oil companies hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks because he self-righteously and piously believed oil industry good, government bad.

I have watched the Alaska Legislature for 40 years. Vic Kohring is the only lawmaker I have ever seen who learned nothing during his years of service. He was the same person the day he departed as the day he entered.

This could be the most compelling argument I've heard against the state of student testing in Washington state.

There's a niche to be filled in the governor's race: The straight talker. As of today, either Democrat Chris Gregoire or Republican challenger Dino Rossi could fill the spot. Neither seems ready, though.

In Rossi's long announcement speech last week there were plenty of specifics on issues that he says he'll focus on in his rematch against the governor. And in question time with reporters afterwards, he gave his thoughts on this year's crop of ballot measures.

But he wouldn't to tell reporters what he thought about the State Childrens Health Insurance Program, or S-CHIP, one of the most controversial political issues of recent weeks. The Stranger's Josh Feit asked the question and posted Rossi's answer on The Slog:

"I'm not in Congress. I didn't talk about health care in my speech. I gave you all lots of new stuff that you haven't had before. There's a lot to write about."

In fact, he did talk about health care in his speech. But he felt he had dished enough stuff already and wouldn't answer the question. What Rossi did say echoed his favorite response when asked about abortion in 2004:

"I'm not running for U.S. Supreme Court."

Of course you don't have to be on the Supreme Court to have an opinion about abortion and you don't have to be in Congress to have a position about S-CHIP. The state Legislature passed a bill expanding the program and it was signed by the governor, the job Rossi is, in fact, running for.

Knowing Rossi's position on S-CHIP would tell us something. Not only was it a chance to show a distinction between him and Gregoire, he would have to distinguish himself from some of his fellow Republicans. Does he stand with President Bush who thinks the bill was a step toward socialized medicine? Or is he more aligned with the likes of Congressman Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, who voted for the bill and to override Bush's veto, but talked of being "dismayed that both parties allowed an issue as important as children's health insurance to devolve into such a bitter, partisan battle." Either answer would have helped place Rossi on the political spectrum.

Don't misunderstand. I don't think candidates or politicians are required to answer questions. There's no First Amendment guarantee of that. And politicians should say "I don't know" more often. That's an answer, and sometimes the most honest. Rossi could have said he hadn't thought about it enough and would respond later. But instead he suggested the question was out of bounds, either because it should be asked only of Congressional candidates or because it was not an issue covered in his speech.

It was a missed opportunity to go beyond easy rhetoric.

It was also an opportunity because Gregoire sometimes has a hard time giving straight answers to easy questions. Thursday she was asked again if she was running for re-election.

"You know, if you can't tell how much I love this job;" but the sentence went unfinished.

"We can talk politics and we can talk campaigns after the Legislative session."

First off, the question shouldn't be asked any more. Of course she's running. And I don't understand why she doesn't say it, saying something like, "Of course I'm running. I love this job. I'm not going to be coy about this. I'm in. My family is ready to do this again. I have already raised $3 million from people who want me to stay another term and worry that my Republican opponent would undo the progress we've made. Of course I'm running. But I have to get busy with the 2008 Legislative session, and when that's over next spring I'll make a formal announcement and get back into campaign mode."

When she says we can talk politics and campaigns next spring, what she means is unless you have money to give her campaign now. She talks politics in fundraising solicitations and at her big-ticket fundraisers in both Washingtons.

She's created parallel worlds where the well-heeled talk politics with Candidate Gregoire while Governor Gregoire tells the masses she must stay above politics. Candidate Gregoire writes fundraising letters saying its shameful Republicans oppose health care. Governor Gregoire maintains children's health care is not a partisan issue.

When the cherry trees blossom around the Capitol next year she'll be ready to tell the rest of us why she wants a second term.

Until then, there's something we in the press corps can do to help. There's no need to ask the governor is she running for re-election. She is. She's filed the paperwork saying so with the Public Disclosure Commission. We don't need to be coy about this, either

The campaign is on.

On Sept. 8, a former Dino Rossi campaign staffer registered the Web site telldino.com, which the candidate made much of in his announcement speech Thursday.

Rossi campaign spokeswoman Jill Strait says the candidate did not ask Swanson to register the Web site that has become central to Rossi's campaign. She also said Swanson, who was on the Rossi payroll in 2004 and briefly in 2005, is not part of the campaign this time.

So what? Well, if that expense — and it doesn't matter how small — was done with Rossi's consent, then he would have had to register as a candidate more than a month ago. The law says someone becomes a candidate when he or she

(a) Receives contributions or makes expenditures or reserves space or facilities with intent to promote his or her candidacy for office;

(b) Announces publicly or files for office;

(c) Purchases commercial advertising space or broadcast time to promote his or her candidacy; or

(d) Gives his or her consent to another person to take on behalf of the individual any of the actions in (a) or (c) of this subsection

And once one of those things is triggered, a candidate has two weeks to file paperwork with the Public Disclosure Commission and start reporting expenses and contributions.

It may not even matter what Swanson did. The question could be moot because Rossi did file a 2008 declaration of candidacy, back in 2005 when he was raising money to challenge his defeat to Christine Gregoire. But if Rossi says that's what covers him on this technicality, then what about his claim that he was not a candidate while promoting his non-profit Forward Washington? He submitted his resignation to that post Sept. 11.

There are two words in particular that jumped out at me in Dino Rossi's announcement speech: "biggest businesses." Those words may signal a very different sort of campaign in the Republican's second try for the governor's mansion.

It's a hint at a sort of economic populism that Washington hasn't seen from Republican gubernatorial candidates. Instead, the GOP has sold itself as the party that would be best for businesses of all sizes and stripes; the party that would have made Boeing headquarters safe in Washington, let Microsoft thrive and give all big business the sort of stability it craves in government.

That's the path Rossi followed in 2004 when he first ran against Christine Gregoire.

Rossi is only dipping his (well-shod) toe into the waters of anti-corporate populism. Yet Thursday in Issaquah, Rossi described big business as part of the Gregoire Establishment.

"The big unions, the big trial lawyers and the biggest businesses — they like things just the way they are. Their money is pouring into her campaign.

"They are going to come after us hard.

"The crowd that has controlled state government for a generation does not intend to give up power without a fight."

Rossi got plenty of big-business money in his first run, including from Boeing and Weyerhaeuser. Neither made a corporate donation to Gregoire in 2004. Now, though, Weyerhaeuser has already given $1,000 to Gregoire's re-election. Boeing hasn't yet, but employees of the company have given her more than $6,000.

If you're not going to get the big business money, why not run against it? That could appeal to blue collar Democrats and voters who have yet to feel the full effects of a strong state economy. That's in addition, obviously, to galvanizing the Republican base with a message that would sound different than the party's standard — and more often that not, losing — strategy of being businesses' best friend forever.

Already Rossi has put himself at odds with corporate Washington on one of this year's major issues. Rossi says he plans to vote against the roads and transit ballot measure that has gotten major funding from Boeing, Microsoft, Weyerhaeuser and large employers in the area.

I question, though, the resolve. Republicans have flirted with this before. But it doesn't stick. The most obvious incursion into separating Wall Street from Main Street businesses came in 1999 when then-state GOP Chairman Dale Foreman compared Boeing to Al Capone and his gangsters. Foreman said the company threatened to cut off funding the party if it backed Tim Eyman's Initiative 695.

Less than two weeks after Foreman stepped down, his replacement, Don Benton, was on his way to Boeing to make sure there weren't any hard feelings. He met with other business lobbyists, too, where he said in a post-populism luncheon:

"Lay out your fears. Lay out your concerns. What can the party do for you?"

And already this year, some of the businesses that might think Rossi's barb is aimed at them have given to the state Republican Party. How far can he go without risking what is still a lucrative vein for the party?

Rossi will have at least one strong advocate in his corner if he decides to triangulate off Gregoire and big business. Tom McCabe, executive vice president of the Building Industry Association of Washington, has long argued that the Boeings of the world are too comfortable having Democrats in charge. (McCabe is also one of Rossi's strongest supporters and an ardent opponent of all things Gregoire.) He wrote in a 2002 edition of his association's newsletter:

"Boeing has no allegiance to Republican principles of free enterprise, entrepreneurship and personal responsibility. Instead, the company's only motivation is to selfishly win special favors and tax breaks from the big government it helped create.

"If there's any fight Boeing ever fought on principle, what is it?"

Will we hear anything like that from Rossi? That would make for an interesting race.

Stefan Sharkansky is now on part five of his series, "The Uninspiring King County Prosecutor's Race." Today he has a long post detailing a complaint he filed with the prosecutor's office about — this won't surprise you — alleged unlawful ballot counting in King County. Sharkansky has all the details in his post. But this is the summary that has him less than inspired about Satterberg.

But Dan Satterberg wouldn't investigate. Not because there wasn't a case, but citing the conflict that an attorney on his staff was involved. So he wouldn't ask the Sheriff to interview any of the identified witnesses. Nor would he refer the matter to another prosecuting agency as would have been appropriate. He swept the complaint under the rug because it was inconvenient.

Dino Rossi is now making his entrance into the governor's race official. Earlier he talked to the AP and KOMO TV.

He said he has moved on from his razor-thin loss to Gov. Christine Gregoire, and is launching a different sort of campaign today.

"Running against an incumbent is very different than running for an open seat because now an incumbent has a record," Rossi said in an interview with KOMO News. "It's fair to compare and contrast what the incumbent's done with what you want to do."

Rossi said he's upbeat about his chance.

"In 2004, I was introducing myself to the public and probably 80 percent of the people thought `Dino Rossi' was some kind of wine," he said in the interview. "Now that Gregoire is an incumbent, I will compare and contrast what she has done and what I will do. She has left a trail of broken promises."

I asked Rossi's campaign staff Wednesday if it'd be possible to get a copy of the remarks this morning. His spokeswoman, Jill Strait, said they would not be releasing anything other than a video of his speech that would be posted on the campaign Web site later.

But apparently some reporters were given an advance look at the speech. (I'm not sure what I did to already be out of favor even before Rossi announces.) The AP story says:

In comments prepared for his kickoff announcement, he took direct aim at Gregoire and described himself as a new leader for a new era.

"The state government we set out to change four years ago is more expensive and less effective at solving our problems," Rossi said. "It's going to take new leadership in Olympia."

He said he'll speak out against what he sees as Gregoire's biggest failures, including tax and budget policy, transportation, foster care, education financing, and dealing with criminals. He said he'll offer effective leadership on all those issues.

"The governor for the government has had her turn. We can do better," he said.

"This isn't just another election. It isn't just about Christine Gregoire or Dino Rossi. It's about whether we have the courage to try something new."

I will be interested to see if he offers any details today on those issues he lists as Gregoire's failures. Election day is a long way off, but we haven't heard much specific from Rossi in a long time and I hope we'll be able to start filling in some gaps.

MORE: Strait says that reporters were given quotes from the speech in a press release. The text of the speech was handed out to those who attended the session, but it won't be e-mailed to others. I've never seen a campaign, or any other organization, making such a distinction.

The Public Disclosure Commission today will consider an agreement with two Valley Medical Center officials that would mean the largest out-of-court settlement in state history. As Sonia Krishnan reports this morning in the Times:

Rich Roodman, president and chief executive officer of the Renton hospital, and Barbara Mitchell, administrator of organizational development, have admitted to misspending nearly $500,000 in public money to pass a tax levy and annexation proposal. Under state law, public entities cannot use tax dollars to campaign.

"We now understand that we were wrong and made mistakes," Mitchell said Wednesday. "We're now trying to rectify them as best as we can."

I wrote about the public hospital's illegal campaigning in June.

Roodman is taking the big hit. He signed an agreement that calls for a $195,000 fine, with $75,.000 of that suspended if he uses non-public funds to pay the fine and avoids any other violations for four years. He also agrees to repay the hospital district $155,000 for the public money he improperly spent on the campaign.

Mitchell, under a separate agreement, would pay a $500 fine and repay $18,832 in improper campaign expenses. The agreement said her violation was unintentional.

The timing of the PDC meeting could boost the campaigns of two candidates for Public Hospital District No. 1. A five-member commission serves as the board of the medical center.

The illegal campaigning has been a centerpiece of the campaigns by Sue Bowman and Anthony Hemstad who are taking on long-time incumbents. Bowman is running against Gary Kohlwes. Kohlwes is the retired Renton School District superintendent and has been on the hospital commission since 1995.

Hemstad, who has chronicled the hospital's troubles on his campaign Web site,
is running against Commission President Carole Anderson, a real estate property manager. She has been on the commission since 1988.

There is also a new complaint against the hospital. Activist Chris Clifford recently alleged in a PDC complaint that the hospital misspent public money when it sent out a "special edition" brochure with photos of the incumbent board. He says that looks like campaigning on behalf of Kohlwes and Anderson.

One of the central disputes in the campaign over Referendum 67 is whether insurance rates would go up as a result of the Insurance Fair Conduct Act. Insurers, who want the law repealed and have poured millions into the Reject R-67 campaign, say rates are sure to go up. The campaign paid about $25,000 for a study that insurance premiums would go up $650 million a year if the law stays on the books.

Supporters of the law say that's nonsense. State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who is campaigning to save the law, says if insurance companies act in good faith there should be no rate increases. And the Approve 67 campaign spokeswoman, Sue Evans, consistently calls into question the integrity of the study done by Milliman Inc., a Seattle consulting firm with expertise in insurance and employee benefits. She told The Olympian recently during an on-line chat:

Milliman is bought and paid for by the insurance industry and is hardly an independent study.

So I was surprised then to see today that Milliman is in the news as playing a key role in Kreidler's efforts to draft a plan for universal health-care coverage. Peter Lewis writes at Crosscut today about Kreidler's so far low-profile effort to explore how to develop a plan that would provide both "catastrophic coverage and every-day medical care coverage." Milliman, Lewis writes, is working with Kreidler to figure out what the plan would cost.

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner also contracted with Milliman last year to help Kreidler respond to the governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care.

Can Milliman's work for the insurance industry be so easily dismissed if the firm has enough credibility to help Kreidler prepare his plan for universal health care? I've asked Evans that question and will post her answer when I get it. I also asked Todd Myers, a spokesman for the Reject campaign, what he thought.

"The trial lawyers and Commissioner Kreidler should just admit that Referendum 67 will significantly increase insurance costs. Commissioner Kreidler's own analyst of choice, Milliman Inc., says it will cost consumers $650 million more every year. Just as he tries to dismiss that fact, he turns around and hires Milliman for his next big project. When politicians want to have it both ways, it is pretty clear they aren't being honest."

Due to the conflicting research, there is no clear guidance for estimating the magnitude of the fiscal impact of potential increases in court costs, insurance premiums, or recovered claims.

My point is not to settle the question of whether rates would go up or how much they'd go up. After reading the Milliman study I can't say if $650 million seems right or not. But one of the few things the two sides in the R-67 fight can agree on is Milliman consultants are experts in this area.

And campaign rhetoric surrounding the Milliman report could come back to bite Kreidler. If he depends on the firm to do a cost analysis on universal health coverage, what's to stop opponents from claiming that the costs would actually be much higher and were artificially kept low for political purposes? Opponents could say, for example:

Milliman is bought and paid for by the insurance commissioner and is hardly an independent study.

MORE: Sue Evans responds:

"First of all David, read the study or at least scan it. It was bought and paid for by the insurance industry and has a disclaimer about its contents on the coverage page. It cannot be considered an "independent" study. If you sourced a news story like they sourced this study, you'd be out of a job, or at minimum, at Fox News.

"Reputable consumer groups in the nation who have studied insurance industry issues say Milliman is primarily used by the insurance industry."

She included this from The Olympian:

"Robert Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America, which lists the publishers of Consumer Reports among its primary supporters, says Milliman mainly works for insurers and is not a neutral source. He said most states allow much higher damages to be recovered than what Ref. 67 would allow.

And Doug Heller of the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights, based in Santa Monica, Calif., said Washington's insurance commissioner could help hold down premiums in the state by making sure that litigation costs are not passed on to consumers."

Democrat Bill Sherman's efforts to remind voters — over and over again — that Dan Satterberg is a Republican hasn't worked on Stefan Sharkansky. Either have Republican efforts to convince voters that electing Satterberg as county prosecutor is the most important race of the year.

Sharkansky has become increasingly critical of Satterberg in a series of posts he titles

THE UNINSPIRING KING COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S RACE

He is unhappy that Satterberg won't prosecute a P-I writer for voter registration fraud.

He said that Satterberg's decision to return $770 in contributions to Lori Sotelo was a "bizarre attempt to appear 'non-partisan.'"

By returning the contribution instead of simply explaining the correctness of the decision not to prosecute Sotelo, Satterberg only raises doubts about his own impartiality and legitimizes the false partisan insinuation that Sotelo really should have been prosecuted.

(I don't think that's what Satterberg was trying to do. He explained his decision as an ethical choice, saying he did not want even the appearance that someone the office declined to prosecute would later repay the favor with a campaign contribution.)

Of course, Satterberg has tried in other ways to appear non-partisan. Sharkansky doesn't like that, either.

Satterberg is also endorsed by Mrs. Gregoire's consigliere Jenny Durkan, the lead Democrat lawyer in the election contest lawsuit. Every politician has multiple, sometimes competing, allegiances, and Democrat/Republican partisanship isn't necessarily the most important. Like Norm Maleng, Dan Satterberg's first loyalty is to the County Executive, whom he sees as his primary client. A bold and principled Prosecutor could establish him/herself as an independent force for accountable government. But that's not what we've had, or will have, if Satterberg is elected.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Satterberg reprint the Sharkansky posts as a direct mail piece to Democratic households. I could imagine a headline that says, "How come the Republicans' favorite blogger doesn't like Dan Satterberg?" The answer of course would be, "Because he thinks Dan isn't partisan enough."

Suspend, if you can, your personal feelings about Dino Rossi. Democrats and Republicans, if you can set aside the party talking points for a morning, let's play political consultant.

What would you tell Rossi to say Thursday when he announces his second campaign for governor? For example, I've been wondering how much time he'll spend in his announcement talking about 2004 and his drawn out battle against Gov. Christine Gregoire. Does it help to make this about a rematch and Rossi's attempt to claim — or reclaim as he'd say — what Republicans think is rightfully his?

(Try to avoid the nasty comments or the attacks dressed up as advice.)

Announcement speeches are not meant for specifics. But Thursday is a key day for Rossi in that for the first time since he lost his legal challenge in 2005 he will be talking as a candidate.

Since then he's sidestepped any question he didn't want to answer by saying he wasn't a candidate. Now he is, and Thursday is a chance to give a broad outline of what the campaign will be about. Is it about state finances and what he fears is a coming budget crisis? Is it about the favorite Republican theme that Democrats have held the office just too long and it's time for a change?

One thing I think would be a mistake. During his tour of the state, Rossi said at one stop that Gregoire had begun to copy his good ideas. What does that leave Rossi then for a campaign? "She's doing what I'd do, but I thought of it first"? That's hardly, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?"

I think John Carlson, who ran for governor for the GOP in 2000, fell into a similar trap. He continually talked about what a nice guy Gov. Gary Locke was, and even that they agreed on many issues. But Carlson said he'd show true leadership in Olympia. The leadership gap didn't do much as voters chose the nice governor for a second term.

One side note: In today's stories Jill Strait is quoted as Rossi's spokeswoman. Until recently she was the press secretary to Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers. I heard she left D.C., and wondered where she'd show up next.

Here's my story from this morning's paper, though is a bit hard to find our website.

UPDATE: Apparently I wasn't paying attention and the story was on the homepage. Apologies to all. I hadn't had coffee yet.

I am at Benaroya Hall for the state Democrats big function with Hillary Clinton. There is no working wifi in the building. I am at an undisclosed location. There is a big crowd here, but few protests outside despite the best efforts of the state Republican Party. Ron Paul, certainly officially a Republican, has a big presence in the blocks surrounding the concert hall, though.

So, I hear Dino Rossi is going to run for governor. Who's surprised? Well, I am. A little at least. I have to admit to thinking the chances were 50-50. Be sure his name will come up here tonight.

As for UFOs? This is from Newhosue News Service:

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich has claimed he saw a UFO, according to Shirley MacLaine in her new book, "Sage-Ing While Age-Ing."

Kucinich "had a close sighting over my home in Graham, Washington, when I lived there," wrote the actress, a close Kucinich friend. "Dennis found his encounter extremely moving. The smell of roses drew him out to my balcony where, when he looked up, he saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent, and observing him.

"It hovered, soundless, for 10 minutes or so, and sped away with a speed he couldn't comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind."

MORE: Clinton has a two-day schedule of fundraisers while in the area. She had one earlier today, will have an after-party fundraiser late tonight at the home of Stan and Alta Barer and tomorrow has an event with high-tech execs and a visit to Microsoft.

On my Treo - Democratic State Party Chairman Dwight Pelz warmed up the crowd with this bit of red meat.

''These Republicans in Washington, D.C., are truly evil and need to be replaced.''

State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser says today "is a defining day for Republicans in our state." He says party members need to protest tonight's visit by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to "to show how our principles and ideals differ from those of the Democrats."

In calling for the protests, Esser turns nostalgic for 1994 when a conservative crowd heckled Clinton, then First Lady and starting a campaign for health-care reform, appeared in downtown Seattle.

Instead of the thoroughly left-wing crowd that was expected, a vigorous group of conservative counter-protesters showed up to oppose Hillary Care, energizing a national movement that pulled the plug on Hillary's dreams of socialized medicine and ultimately acting as a catalyst for the '94 Republican revolution.

It is a huge stretch to claim that the protest against Clinton here was either what killed health-care reform or lit the fuse on the '94 GOP takeover. If anything the protests were an early sign of what was already happening across the country.

If the Westlake protests are now part of Republican lore, it's worth refreshing our memories about that day. The protesters were recruited and encouraged by talk show hosts on KVI. There was a lot of shouting and crosstalk between Clinton supporters and opponents. And it got ugly. As Joel Connelly has reported:

Signs called the first lady a "witch." As Clinton's limousine exited the Westin garage, passenger Sen. Patty Murray recoiled at hearing the bellowed shout: "Kill the bitch!"

Esser sent out his call for protests in an e-mail to supporters this morning that said:

URGENT: Hillary Clinton In Seattle Today - Let's Send Her A Message

But he's also looking for money. And he's taking a page from the liberal netroots.

When President Bush visited Seattle a month ago, Democrats raised over $100,000 in online contributions. Their most liberal elements called it a "show of strength" and we as Republicans need to take the left wing very, very seriously. The Democrats are thoroughly committed to an agenda of larger government and higher taxes, and will not give up their iron grip on state government voluntarily.

...

Today, grassroots Republicans can send a message right back to Hillary Clinton and Christine Gregoire by contributing here (link) to help us spread the word about Hillary's dismal record and the danger she poses to our state.

King County interim prosecutor Dan Satterberg, a Republican running for election, says he will return $770 in political contributions from party activist Lori Sotelo. In 2005, Sotelo challenged registrations of more than 1,900 voters. She had to retract many of those after voters showed they were properly registered, a move that some Democrats said should have led to perjury charges against Sotelo.

The late Norm Maleng decided against charging Sotelo, a decision Satterberg agrees with. He said voter registration challenges should not be a "winner-takes-all, loser-goes-to-jail event."

But Satterberg just told me that he didn't know until we talked this morning that Sotelo had donated to his campaign. He says he'll return the money.

"Lori contributes to a lot of campaigns. I did not ask her for anything. ... She didn't do anything wrong by sending me a check. But I want to keep this above reproach."

Sotelo gave Satterberg $700 on Oct. 12 and $70 on July 19, according to records filed with the Public Disclosure Commission. Satterberg said he would not accept campaign donations from anyone that the prosecutor's office reviewed for possible charges.

"I do not want even a hint that someone we declined to charge would later send a contribution as some sort of quid pro quo later on."

Gov. Christine Gregoire is flying east this weekend on a campaign-funded trip that culminates in a D.C. fundraiser Monday night. She will first fly to Philadelphia for the fall policy conference of the Democratic Governor's Association. (If you look at the conference schedule there doesn't look to be a lot of policy talk scheduled. Go Bears!)

Gregoire Communications Director Holly Armstrong said the trip will be paid for with campaign funds, not taxpayer money. She referred other questions to campaign officials who I have not yet been able to connect with.

Gregoire's finance team is casting a wide net for D.C. donors. They've even invited a Republican locked in a debate with the governor over children's health care. Every member of Washington's Congressional delegation, including Republicans, were invited to not only attend, but to be "special guests" at the fundraiser and get their names on the invitations.

Todd Young, chief of staff to Congressman Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, forwarded me this e-mail that came earlier this month.

From: Thomas Giordano
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 7:29 PM
To: 'Tom Giordano'
Subject: Governor Gregoire of Washington in DC

To The Washington State Congressional and Senate Delegation:

My name is Tom Giordano, I work with Stephanie Berger on Governor Gregoire's national finance team. We are writing to inform you that Governor Gregoire will be in Washington, DC on the evening of October 22nd for a fundraising event.

We would love to have each of the members of the WA delegation to sign on as honorary "special guests" for the event's invitation and would love any and all of your bosses and staff to attend the event.

Please let me know if we can list the Representative / Senator on the invitation for our event.

Thank you all — Have a great evening.

Best,

Tom

The e-mail came the same day Gregoire wrote a letter to Hastings lobbying him to support an override of President Bush's veto of a children's health-care bill. Gregoire said in the letter that she realized that Hastings was under "partisan pressures" to support the president." A fundraising letter she sent to supporters the month before said it was "shameful" that Republicans oppose health care for children. Hastings responded to Gregoire's lobbying with a letter back that said "partisan attacks and using SCHIP for fundraising appeals won't help the poorest children in our state and nation."

Young told me the timing of the two messages was the "ironies of ironies."

"The exact same day they're putting out a two-page letter to the news media on S-CHIP they're inviting us to help raise money for her re-election. The one thing they have in common is its all politics. This issue to her has been about politics and re-election."

D.C. lobbyists were also cold-called, via e-mail, to participate in the fundraiser. They got this e-mail:

From: Thomas Giordano Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 10:30 AM To: Subject: Governor Gregoire Event in DC

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Tom Giordano and I work on Governor Christine Gregoire's national finance team. I wanted to contact you to see if you were interested in being involved in the Governor's re-election campaign and participating in a fundraiser we are planning for the Governor in Washington, DC on October 22nd.

As you know, Governor Gregoire is the top targeted incumbent Governor this cycle. You may be aware of Governor Gregoire's strong leadership in the settlement of the tobacco litigation as Attorney General of Washington and in 2004, the Governor won by only 129 votes and we are preparing for the GOP to be aggressive and unforgiving. Right now, we are looking at a likely 2004 rematch against an opponent who feels incredibly slighted by the Superior Court's ruling putting Governor Gregoire in office -- so we know the GOP will not hold any punches to win the seat. To prepare for this we are working to raise a significant financial base to keep one of our best and brightest in office.

We would love to have you and your firm involved in this event. I look forward to hearing from you.