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Wednesday, July 23, 2014 | 75 cents
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31st District Senate race brings on the heat By Dennis Box Editor
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Weather The forecast for today, Wednesday, calls for showers likely and a high near 68. A 50 percent chance of rain continues through the evening. Thursday and Friday look to be mostly sunny with highs in the mid to high 70s. Saturday and Sunday will be sunny with high in the low to mid 80s.
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The Independence Day fireworks were little more than sparklers compared to the fiery battle brewing in the 31st District Senate race between Republicans Pam Roach and Cathy Dahlquist. Roach is seeking her seventh term in the state Senate and Dahlquist is a two-term member of the state House of Representatives, first elected in 2010. Reps. Chris Hurst and Dahlquist, Roach’s seat mates in the 31st, are working together to unseat the longtime senator. Both supported Roach in 2010. The primary is Aug. 5. Ballots have been mailed throughout the district and must be postmarked by election day. Lynda Messner is also on the ballot, identified as a Democrat, but there has been controversy whether she truly is a Democrat or was placed in the field to help Roach. Hurst and Dahlquist have stated she is a “fake” Democrat. Roach said she had not met Messner prior to a recent encounter at The Seattle Times and thought she was “a nice lady.” Both sides have accused the other
of attempting to keep some people off the ballot and get others on – a tactic known as ballot configuring. Hurst is being challenged for his seat by Republican Phil Fortunato.
Expenses
The campaign between Roach and Dahlquist was hostile from the starting gate, but the tone changed dramatically July 10 when Chad Minnick, a Dahlquist consultant, released Roach’s expense documents, which he received following a public records request. Hurst sent the documents with a press release to numerous media outlets, alleging Roach is using state taxpayer money to fund her campaign. Minnick is a political consultant who worked with Roach in 2010. Roach said, “His job is to tear me down.” Minnick was contacted concerning the records and he replied in an email, “As you can see from the email chain below that I was the one who requested the information. That is standard practice in any campaign... made (sic) simple information requests to get more information on your opponent. I forwarded the
473-2505 cell phone for her campaign. The expense report does not designate which cell phone is being reimbursed. In an email between Minnick and Senate counsel Keith Buchholz said the senate reimburses for the 2424 number.
Interview
During a nearly three-hour interview Friday, Roach said the post office box in question is for personal use. “The post office box is my box,” she said. “It is not the state’s box.” The senator said she receives personal, legislative and campaign mail, including checks, at P.O. Box 682. “It isn’t a state mail box but I’m charging them a little rent because they put mail in there,” Roach said. “I am allowing the state to send mail to me. Sometimes the state gets to pay me rent because I’m letting their mail go there. That’s how
See roach, Page 5
Relay in Bonney Lake By Sarah Wehmann Staff Writer
The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life started Friday night at Bonney Lake High School and ran until Saturday afternoon. This year 31 teams participated in the overnight event. A total of 231 registered participants helped support the fight against cancer and among those were 41 cancer survivors. At the press deadline, more than $42,000 has been raised for Bonney Lake’s relay. Bonney Lake’s Event Chairperson Christy Minzey said money can still be raised and turned in until August 31. “A special thanks goes out to all the committee, our sponsors, participants, the community, the city and the Sumner school district!,” Minzey wrote in an email. “With the help of everyone involved this event was a huge success.”
Greg Robbins walked the track at Bonney Lake High School Friday evening during the 2014 Relay for Life. Photo by Dennis Box
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information to Chris Hurst and he found what he believes is a pattern of illegal activity in Sen. Roach’s reimbursements.” One of the most incendiary allegations coming from Hurst’s press release stated Roach received expense payments from the Senate for her campaign post office box, P.O. Box 682, both for the rental and daily mileage from her home to the mail box. The post office address is listed on all her campaign ads published by The Courier-Herald from the 2010 campaign to her current 2014 campaign. The expense reports also list payments for a cell phone, 253-797-2424, that Hurst alleges is used for her campaign. A campaign ad from 2010 for the C4L lobbying barbecue appears to be the only instance of Roach using the 253-797-2424 number. Minnick said she called him during the 2010 campaign on the 2424 number. In the ads published by The Courier-Herald from 2010 to the present, Roach used her home number in all. According to Roach she used 206-
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