Republican state Sen. Joseph Zarelli of Ridgefield, who announced two weeks ago he would not seek re-election, has decided to leave office Thursday and not serve out the final six months of his term.

Zarelli, the Senate GOP's lead budget writer for several years, issued this two-paragraph statement today:

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Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, will not be seeking re-election after accepting a new job today with the Washington Growth Management Hearings Board.

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Democratic Snohomish County Councilman Brian Sullivan said today he's not giving up on his dream to serve in Congress.

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UPDATE: Democrats Suzan DelBene and Laura Ruderman announced today they will run in both the special and regular elections in the 1st Congressional District.

Both women declared their intentions within minutes of Darcy Burner's announcement that she would vie in both contests.

The three women are among seven candidates who've been campaigning for months for a full two-year term in the congressional district.

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Carin Chase, chairwoman of the 32nd Legislative District Democrats and daughter of state Sen. Maralyn Chase, said today she wants to be the person elected to serve the final month of U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee's term.

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Republican John Koster said this afternoon he isn't making plans to run in the special election to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee.

“At this point, I am not inclined to get into the race,” said Koster, a Snohomish County Councilman.

Koster did not completely rule out vying in the contest that will be conducted in the existing boundaries of the 1st Congressional District.

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Democratic Snohomish County Councilman Brian Sullivan announced today he will pursue his dream to serve in Congress – even though it may be for less than a month.

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Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown of Spokane made a stunning announcement today that she will not seek re-election to the state Legislature this fall.

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Presidential and congressional candidates plus the political forces behind them raised nearly $1.9 billion last year, according to a report released today by the Federal Election Commission.

Political action committees, including the so-called Super PACs, accounted for almost a third of the amount collected, the report found.

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Republican Rob McKenna is taking most of today off from his job as the state's attorney general to campaign for the position he hopes to win this fall which is governor.

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The three-member Federal Communication Commission acted today to make it easier to find out how much candidates are spending on television ads in the biggest media markets, including Seattle.

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Four Snohomish County lawmakers – two Republicans and two Democrats – are among those who missed the most votes in this year's regular and special sessions.

Nine others are among the 61 legislators who didn't miss any of the hundreds of votes cast in the House of Representatives and Senate in 2012.

That's according to a report released today by Washingtonvotes.org, a free public service website which tracked the flow of 1,699 bills introduced in 2012.

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Gregory Lemke of Arlington has become the fourth Republican candidate vying to succeed state Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe.

Lemke, a court appointed child advocate, said in an announcement last week he wants to focus on protecting property rights, aiding those facing foreclosure and enacting a ‘bill of rights' for doctors and patients.

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Gov. Chris Gregoire is heading to Tacoma Community College this afternoon to sign this year's supplemental capital budget.

With her signature, the governor will enable roughly $1 billion in new state spending on an assortment of non-highway projects such as sewer systems and water pipelines. There is also a batch of money for construction and renovations at public schools and colleges.

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State Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, said today he is ending his campaign for the 1st Congressional District seat and will seek re-election to the Legislature instead.

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They needed an extra 30 days and seven-and-a-half hours but state lawmakers concluded their work for 2012 early Wednesday then headed home for rest, relaxation and, for some, a re-election campaign.

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As expected, Gov. Chris Gregoire called lawmakers back into special session this morning to pass a revised budget and reform bills aimed at stabilizing state finances in the years ahead.

She said Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate caucuses agreed they could finish up everything within 24 hours.

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The son of Washington Lt. Gov. Brad Owen was due in a Thurston County courtroom today to face charges of theft and forgery stemming from his allegedly improper receipt of nearly $20,000 in disability payments in 2009 and 2010.

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Gov. Chris Gregoire will meet with Democratic and Republican leaders of the Legislature at 12:30 p.m. today to present them with a "go-home" proposal she's drawn up.

Budget writers of each party's caucus in the House and Senate are expected to attend, too, according to a spokeswoman for the governor.

The meeting is scheduled to last an hour.

Today is the 29th day of a 30-day special session called to reach agreement on eliminating a $500 million hole in the state budget.

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Robert Pilgrim, a detective with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, has joined an increasingly crowded field competing to succeed Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe.

Pilgrim, an Arlington resident, is the third Republican and fourth candidate seeking the 39th Legislative District seat that Pearson is vacating in order to run for state Senate.

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The price for the special election to replace U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee is rising.

Secretary of State Sam Reed on Thursday asked House and Senate budget writers for another $995,000 to cover costs associated with educating voters and conducting the balloting in August and November.

He is seeking $225,000 to mail information to each of the 427,000 registered voters before the primary and general elections, according to letters sent to the budget writers. (see attached).

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Republican Robert Zimmerman, the mayor of Monroe since 2009, began campaigning this week to fill the seat of state Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, this fall.

Zimmerman is the second Monroe Republican to enter the race since Pearson said he will run to replace retiring state Sen. Val Stevens in the sprawling 39th Legislative District. The district includes parts of rural Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties.

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Elizabeth Scott of Monroe, a conservative Republican with political roots in the Tea Party movement, launched a campaign Tuesday to succeed state Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, in the 39th Legislative District.

Pearson is running this year to replace retiring state Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington.

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House Democratic leaders said this morning they intend to roll out a new budget proposal Wednesday morning and hold hearings on several reform bills in the afternoon.

In a press release, the leaders said the House and Senate have not reached a deal but need to begin considering budget-related legislation if there is to be any chance of approving a new budget before the special session ends Tuesday night.

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Dave Hayes, a sergeant in the Snohomish County Sheriff's Department and president of a statewide law enforcement organization, has launched a campaign to succeed state Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor.

Hayes, a Republican, is the first GOP candidate to enter the race since Bailey said last week she will pass on re-election in order to challenge Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island.

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Rob McKenna, the Republican Party's leading man in the contest to be Washington's next governor, is stealing the media limelight again.

Today, at 1:30 p.m., McKenna will perform a live political infomercial in which he pitches his 15-minute plan for balancing the state budget and keeping it balanced.

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A new state law may be required to ensure the winner of a special election to replace U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee is seated in the U.S. House of Representatives this year.

Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday evening she's exploring the need to pass a bill in the special session to resolve differences between state law and federal practices.

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Republican state Sen. Val Stevens of Arlington will not seek re-election and Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, said today he will run for the seat.

Stevens is in her 20th year in the Legislature. She won a House seat in 1992 and served two terms before getting elected to the Senate in 1996. She is in her fourth term.

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Gov. Chris Gregoire intends to spend several hours Thursday signing bills into law.

A schedule posted on her web site Wednesday shows she will start to act on bills at 1 p.m. and continue signing through the afternoon then return at 6 p.m. to sign some more.

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No one can say for sure what the nine Supreme Court justices will decide regarding the challenge to the federal health care law.

But Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna of Wshington sounded confident Wednesday that the high court will discard the mandate to buy insurance he considers unconstitutional and keep much of the rest of the law.

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