Northwest environmental activists have branched out from their natural urban habitat and invaded the bright shiny suburbs of the Pacific Northwest, looking to wake up the green vote that slept through the 1994 election. Washington state has become a national battleground since 1994, when it threw out five Democratic House members – including Speaker Tom […]
Politics
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Arizona: Harvesting a bumper crop of bombast
Recent Arizona history has provided us with plenty of grimly entertaining political characters: Used-car salesman Evan Mecham’s first act on being elected governor in 1987 was refusing to sign into law Martin Luther King Day. Less than two years later, he was impeached by the state Senate. Current Gov. Fife Symington isn’t in danger of […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Nevada: Who hates nuclear waste most?
Nevada’s two congressional districts seem a lot like Mutt and Jeff: Covering two-tenths of 1 percent of the state’s land mass but containing half its population, the 1st Congressional District encompasses Las Vegas. The other 99.8 percent of the state is the 2nd Congressional District. In a tight race for the Las Vegas seat are […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Brown air could lead to greener state politics
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. Even though Republican Gov. Fife Symington is facing a trial next March for bank fraud, Arizona Republicans say they don’t anticipate a backlash in the upcoming elections. Of the six U.S. House seats now held by Republicans, only the 6th District seat is competitive. Republicans […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Moderates may gain in most conservative state
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. The Idaho Legislature – considered the most conservative assembly in the West – probably won’t change too dramatically this election. Democrats are hoping to double their seats, but even if they do, they’ll still hold barely a third of the Senate and less than half […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
A green state could return to its roots
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. With the possibility of winning another U.S. Senate seat and four out of five House seats, no other state in the West holds greater promise for Democrats than Oregon. Democrats won an early victory in the state last January, when Ron Wyden defeated Republican Gordon […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Greens prune their message to win the West’s voters
The glow from his laptop computer turns the young man’s face pale green. On the screen is a labyrinthine database: street names, women’s ages, voting records. The bearded activist says that this technology could change the outcome of many of the West’s elections. “First we took the member lists for the environmental groups in the […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Indian gamblers target green lawmakers
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. It’s not sagebrush rebels who have environmentalists and their candidates on the run in New Mexico this election – it’s Native American gambling interests. Angered by the state Legislature’s refusal to sign gaming compacts, some tribes have thrown considerable resources into campaigns to defeat key […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Colorado’s status quo holds firm
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. Other than the showdown between Strickland and Allard, most of Colorado’s congressional races are all but over, according to most analysts. The 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Pat Schroeder will likely remain in the hands of a liberal Democrat and a woman […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Public-lands issues loom large in November
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. A hot election issue this year in Wyoming is the fate of the state’s 3.6 million-acre school trust lands, which generate money for the public school system. The Legislature approved the sale of some 35,000 acres in 1995, despite well-attended protests. Primary results show little […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Colorado: Environment wielded like a hammer in tight Senate race
To hear the candidates tell it, the U.S. Senate race in Colorado is between two guys named “Strickland-the-Lobbyist” and “Allard-Gingrich.” “Allard-Gingrich” votes with the Republican congressional leadership 92 percent of the time, generally to dehydrate rivers, clear-cut forests and sell public lands to private developers. “Strickland-the-Lobbyist” talks pretty green, but has been paid quite well […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
The body politic may edge to the left
WASHINGTON, D.C. – If only they had as much imagination as gamblers, politicians here could be singing the lament of Harry the Horse and Nicely Nicely in “Guys and Dolls”: “Where’s the action? Where’s the game? Gotta have the game or we’ll die from shame.” There’s supposed to be a game going on here. The […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Utah: A liberal wilderness lover may prevail
Until Enid Greene Waldholtz’s nationally televised five-hour cry-a-thon about her no-good husband Joe, Utah’s 2nd Congressional District race didn’t look to be the battleground it’s become. But when Republican Waldholtz dropped out of her re-election race because of the soap opera-like disintegration of her marriage, it opened the door for one of Utah’s most colorful […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
A “down time” for Utah environmentalists
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. With the possible exception of Democrat Ross Anderson, Utah won’t field many surprises this November. The state’s lone Democrat, Rep. Bill Orton, is expected to hold on to his seat in the 3rd Congressional District, even though Democrats fare poorly in Utah. Polls show Orton’s […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
A conservative legislature may move to the middle
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. When the Montana Legislature last met in 1995 (they meet every other year), the Republican majority weakened many environmental laws, including water quality regulations that protected the state’s clear streams and rivers. “They (the Republican legislature) angered every demographic group for one reason or another,” […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
Montana: A scrappy Republican tries to cut down a green Democrat
Rick Hill was so far behind in the polls last winter that his two Republican primary opponents said Hill wasn’t even a contender for Montana’s one seat in the House of Representatives. So Hill tried something. He went negative. He attacked his Republican opponents, who both complained he was being nasty and unfair when he […]
Posted inOctober 14, 1996: Greens prune their message to win the West's voters
California: A 28-year-old talks the talk to green voters
Compared to the passionate fight to save redwoods from logging in the privately owned Headwaters grove, the campaign for California’s 1st Congressional District is a skirmish. But it has attracted national environmental groups aiming to strengthen protections for wildlife, water and woods. Their target is Republican Frank Riggs. The district ranges from the well-heeled wineries […]
Posted inSeptember 30, 1996: Can this man break the right's grip on Idaho?
Can this man break the right’s grip on Idaho?
NAMPA, Idaho – Wearing a pressed plaid shirt and glossy cowboy boots, Walt Minnick is doing his best to fit in with the crowd at the Snake River Stampede, an annual rodeo here, 15 miles down Interstate 84 from Boise. It’s not working. “Walt Minnick, I’m running for the Senate,” the neatly groomed 54-year-old says […]
Posted inSeptember 30, 1996: Can this man break the right's grip on Idaho?
Craig: Betting on Idaho’s enduring conservatism
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. For Sen. Larry Craig, who has been in politics since 1974, the recipe for success is simple: Be a Republican. After all, Idaho has boasted the most conservative state legislature in the country four years running. “He’s not popular like (Wyoming Sen.) Alan Simpson was. […]
Posted inSeptember 30, 1996: Can this man break the right's grip on Idaho?
Compare the candidates
Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. Walter Minnick Gun Control: The Brady Bill is a good idea, along with immediate checks for criminal records of gun buyers. “I own seven guns, so I’m not against guns.” Term Limits: Elected officials should be limited to 12 years of elective and appointive office. […]