Insurance executive Mike McGavick, who ran Slade Gorton’s successful U.S. Senate comeback bid years ago, on Wednesday announced his own campaign for the Senate.
For McGavick, it means running for Gorton’s old seat. He announced his challenge of freshman Democrat Maria Cantwell, who edged Gorton from office by a tiny margin in 2000.
McGavick, 47, who is retiring as chief executive officer of Safeco Insurance to return to politics, went on KIRO radio to announce his candidacy, and later elaborated in a statement.
For the past three months, he has been running an exploratory campaign, making little secret of his desire to run against Cantwell but testing the waters to see if he has enough grass-roots support and financial backing.
To date, he has raised more than $800,000.
Cantwell, who declined comment on McGavick’s announcement, has raised nearly $5 million this year, and has at least $3.8 million cash on hand.
Associated Press
Olympia: Ex-marshal faulted for office misuse
Investigators have found that former state Fire Marshal Samuel Pierre used his official car for personal business and had employees run personal errands for him, a newspaper reported. Citing investigation reports obtained through a public records request, the newspaper reported that Pierre had workers from his office drop off dry cleaning, make travel arrangements for a weekend with his wife and buy snacks for a Super Bowl party.
The auditor’s probe, spawned by a whistle-blower report, was completed Friday, the newspaper reported. Because of the resignation, no disciplinary action is planned, officials said. The whistle-blower remains unidentified.
Associated Press
Bremerton: Experts say defendant is insane
A man charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of a popular Port Orchard-area convenience store owner was legally insane at the time, two mental health experts reported. The findings were made by a doctor from Western State Hospital retained by the prosecution and a doctor from Pennsylvania hired by the defense to examine Wayne B. Hower, 44, of Port Orchard, defense lawyer David LaCross told the Kitsap Sun.
Hower is charged with killing Alan Russell Kono, 48, proprietor of PJ’s Market, at the store June 23. Hower, described as a regular customer and friend of Kono, has a history of mental problems and has pleaded innocent by reason of insanity. LaCross has filed a motion asking that Hower be acquitted without a trial and committed indefinitely to Western State, and a hearing is scheduled Nov. 14 in Kitsap County Superior Court. A decision on the motion is set for Dec. 5 and the trial is set for March.
Associated Press
Spokane: Standoff at VA hospital ends quietly
A patient armed with a rifle and two handguns walked into the Veterans Affairs Medical Center early Wednesday and said he wanted to be shot by police. The 36-year-old man was talked by staff into dropping his weapons before any shots were fired, said Alex Benninghoven, chief of police at the hospital.
He went to the hospital about 5 a.m. carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a 9mm handgun and a .45-caliber handgun with ammunition, Benninghoven said. Officer Johnson “located the individual and talked him into putting down his AR-15 and the two pistols,” Benninghoven said. It took about 15 or 20 minutes to negotiate the peaceful settlement, Benninghoven said. Johnson took the man into custody and turned him over to Spokane Police officers.
Associated Press
Woodland: Train foils an alleged shoplifter
Police got an assist from a train in arresting a man in a serial meat shoplifting case, officers said. Duane Edward Coulter, 41, of Longview was caught with $582 worth of unpaid groceries, mainly meat, from a Safeway store after he stopped his pickup truck for a passing train at a railroad crossing Saturday evening, officer Justin Taylor said. Police were alerted by a store manager, Taylor added.
Police said methamphetamine was found in the pickup, along with meat that reportedly was shoplifted from an Albertsons store in nearby Battle Ground the same evening. Coulter was being held in Cowlitz County Jail in Kelso for investigation of second-degree theft, burglary and meth possession with bail set at $25,000, a guard said.
Associated Press
Yakima: Washout closes Chinook Pass
A washout has closed Chinook Pass for at least two weeks. State Transportation Department spokesman Mike Westbay said a contractor was excavating a smaller washout at a scenic viewpoint Monday when the work caused a slide that took out the remaining section of road. Highway 410 is closed from the Morse Creek winter gate to the junction with Highway 123 near Mount Rainier. Westbay said it will take at least two weeks to build a wall, replace drainage, install a new guardrail and repave the highway.
Associated Press
Lynden: Canadian arrested with cocaine
A Canadian man was arrested trying to smuggle 184 pounds of cocaine from the U.S. into British Columbia, U.S. authorities said. Chadrick Derbyshire, 33, was arrested Sunday night after Customs and Border Protection officers found the cocaine stuffed into the side panels and rear doors of the 15-passenger van he was driving, agency spokesman Mike Milne said. Derbyshire made his initial appearance Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The cocaine was valued at an estimated $2 million.
Associated Press
Fort Lewis: Combat hospital off to Iraq
Fort Lewis’ 47th Combat Support Hospital is returning to the Middle East. The 450 to 500 men and women who work with the hospital mobilized on Monday and are expected to be in Iraq by the end of the month, base spokesman Joseph Piek said.
For 10 months in 2003, beginning with the invasion in March, the 47th served in Kuwait. This time, it will operate two hospitals in northern Iraq, one with 164 beds and the other with 84 beds. The 47th’s deployment brings to 2,500 the number of Fort Lewis-based troops from major units serving in Iraq.
Another 500 are in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, 35 Navy doctors, nurses, hospital corpsmen and support staff from Fleet Hospital Bremerton left Monday for training at Camp Pendleton in California before heading to Kuwait.
Associated Press
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