ballot initiatives

A new poll done by local tracker Stuart Elway shows Gov. Chris Gregoire with a large lead over Republican Dino Rossi. The survey, which took place July 27-31 with a relatively small sample of 405 registered voters, had Gregoire up by a count of 52 percent to 36 percent with 12 percent undecided.

The numbers are good news for the incumbent in part because they show her with more than 50 percent support from voters and a lead that withstands the 5 percent margin of error and according to the Seattle P-I's Joel Connelly, who first reported the results, Gregoire led nearly everywhere in the state.

The good news for Rossi is that this is only one poll, and many recent snapshots have shown a much smaller lead for the governor. But perhaps better still, the Elway poll has Rossi leading in both Kitsap and Pierce Counties, normally Democratic districts that Rossi narrowly won in 2004.

Initiative 1000, the ballot initiative that would allow terminally ill patients the choice to seek life-ending medication, officially qualified for the November ballot Thursday when Secretary of State Sam Reed's office determined they had turned in more than the required 224,800 valid signatures from voters across the state.

"People all over Washington support death with dignity, and we're building momentum daily. We're going to go all the way," said former governor Booth Gardner.

Gardner, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, has been the leading backer and a chief spokesman for the campaign so far.

Opponents of Initiative I-1029, which would require more training for home care workers in the state, have filed a lawsuit arguing that the wording on the ballot petitions, which incorrectly called it an initiative to the legislature instead of one for the people, should be taken as fact.

Secretary of State Same Reed, however, stands by the initiative's misstated intent. 

A proposed initiative to allow smoking in certain businesses, notably private clubs and cigar bars, has fallen painfully short of the 224,800 signatures required to gain a place on the November ballot. The Olympian has a story on the ill-fated Initiative 1016, which collected more than 213,000 signatures, just over 10,000 short of the necessary amount.

The other prominent ballot initiatives to hit the magic mark were I-1000, which would permit doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients, I-985, which would change some of the priorities of the Department of Transportation in accordance with an audit completed last year, and I-1029, which would require more training for home care workers.

Tim EymanTwo of the three initiatives that seem to be headed for this November's ballot could bring, in addition to the will of the people, nearly $300 million in deficit spending. Chris Mulick at the Tri-City Herald reports Sunday that preliminary estimates from the state department of revenue show that Tim Eyman and company's I-985 and the SEIU-backed I-1029 would combine for $313 million in extra spending between now and the end of the next two-year budget cycle. This comes in addition to a projected deficit of $2.7 billion.

I-985 would do the brunt of the damage. The proposed legislation to change Department of Transportation priorities to include faster accident clearing and broader access to HOV lanes in order to reduce congestion would take $290 million out of the state's general fund.

OLYMPIA -

Volunteers and staffers for the I-1000 Death with Dignity campaign gathered on the capitol steps today to turn in 320,000 signatures in support of their cause, nearly 100,000 more than the 224,800 needed to gain ballot access, more than half of which were gathered by volunteers. 170,000 of the signatures were collected for free compared to 150,000 by paid signature gatherers.

The supporters sat around 50 strong on the steps while opponents of the measure, who refer to it as assisted suicide, had a little over 30 gathered on the sidewalk below. Many of them were repeating prayers and singing songs in solidarity.

Former Gov. Booth Gardner speaks to I-1000 supporters: Politicker Photo

The Tacoma News-Tribune has the scoop on which ballot initiatives are likely to turn in the necessary 250,000 signatures to earn ballot access between now and the July 3 deadline courtesy of Secretary of State Sam Reed's communications director Dave Ammons, the former AP writer.

Ammons says that I-1000, the "death with dignity" initiative, will bring most of its signatures to the office Thursday, June 25 at 10 A.M. without fanfare, and will finish the job July 2. I-1029, requiring greater training for some health care jobs, will present signatures on the deadline of July 3 at 2 P.M. Tim Eyman will bring in the final signatures for I-985 the same day.

Rich Roesler at the S-R has a rundown of expenditures for Washington's ballot initiatives. Initiative 1000, which would legally grant physicians the power to prescribe lethal drugs to the terminally ill, leads the charge with more than $1.2 million raised and over a million spent. Their opponents, the Coalition Against Assisted Suicide, spent about $54,000 and have a little less than $40,000 on hand.

Tim Eyman's Initiative 985 has raised $511,170 and spent $454,287, both relatively small figures compared to the amount of press the initiative receives with Eyman's promotion talents. Also of note is Initiative 1029, which would expand training and background checks for certain health care workers and has brought in $350,000 and spent $267,159.

Tim Eyman, the driving force behind ballot initiative 985 which seeks to implement State Auditor Brian Sonntag's recommendations to reform the Department of Transportation to focus on reducing congestion, is headed to Olympia today to turn in the 225,000 signatures required for ballot access at 11 am.

This is the first initiative to reach that mark. Still no word on the signature status of the other major ballot initiative of the cycle, I-1000 or, death with dignity. The deadline for turning in signatures is July 3. 

UPDATE: No one showed up at Eyman's press conference, per Mulick.

Tim Eyman, the chief sponsor of the Initiative 985 that would require the implementation of certain traffic congestion reduction measures recommended by State Auditor Brian Sonntag, announced today that the campaign is on the cusp of the 225,000 signatures required to gain access to the ballot in November.