Washblog

Getting a little testy in Clark County

Republican Tom Mielke is getting desperate in his election bid for Clark County Commissioner. Typically when the GOP candidate is down in the polls, the mud begins to fly.

In Mielke's case, he slanders his opponent Steve Stuart by blaming him of slander, the ultimate GOP ploy....

Mielke ran an advertisement in The Columbian last weekend that stated, "You shouldn't have to lie to win!"

The 63-year-old Republican hopes to unseat Stuart, a 34-year-old Democrat, from the county commissioner spot he has held since his appointment in December.

"I warned you this might happen," Mielke said in the ad, referring to his earlier ads and mailers that asked people to contact him if they receive questionable information about him. The new ad accused his opponent of "vicious" push polling "and hit pieces distorting my vision and plans."

"They're smearing me by saying that I'm smearing him," Stuart replied, calling the ads "an obvious ploy to distract voters."

Tom Mielke would rather engage in the politics of personal destruction, than debate the issues or the record of his opponent.

Clark County GOP endorses tax increase for C-Tran

Doing an about face, the GOP in Clark County has recommended a tax increase in funding for C-Tran, the regional bus service.

"We took a cold, hard look at the facts," county GOP Chairman Brent Boger said Wednesday. "It's not true Republicans are programmed to reflexively oppose tax increases, and we proved a point here."

"This is not a foot in the door for light rail," Boger said. "If that was the case, there's no way the Republican Party would have endorsed it."

Voters rejected similar tax increases in the past. The anti-tax GOP fears development of light rail. So will John Carlson and Kirby Wilbur start up an initiative in Clark County to repeal the C-Tran tax if it passes in September?