Tag Archives: James Watkins

Bainbridge school levy measures passing; Rolfes and Inslee headed for re-election

The two Bainbridge school levy measures were passing by healthy margins on Tuesday night.

Early returns showed the technology levy passing with 54.65 percent of the vote, and the operations levy lid lift passing with 60.64 percent.

Bainbridge’s Jay Inslee appears headed for another term in Congress. He was besting his Republican challenger, James Watkins, with 56 percent of the vote.

Rep. Christine Rolfes was beating fellow islander James Olsen to retain her state House seat. She had 55 percent to Olsen’s 44.8 percent.

Longtime Bainbridge attorney was in a tight battle with Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders on Tuesday night. Wiggins had 49.15 percent, Sanders had 50.85 percent.

See more Kitsap Sun election coverage HERE.

Read my story about the school measures below.

Continue reading →

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Surprise! Kitsap Sun endorses Watkins over Inslee

Bet you didn’t see this coming: The Kitsap Sun didn’t endorse Jay Inslee.

In a surprise move, the Sun’s editorial board chose his Republican challenger, a candidate that most polls say doesn’t have a chance against Bainbridge’s six-term congressman.

Inslee has been the Sun’s favorite in years past, but business know-how and fiscal restraint – keynotes of the James Watkins campaign – swayed the editorial board this year.

“Watkins has four years of experience under two administrations in helping to cut spending at the FDIC, served as a director at Microsoft, managed successful small businesses, and has been a consultant working with small businesses across the nation. He’s a fiscal conservative, opposes deficit spending, and says a key to economic recovery is policies that will allow small businesses to grow in a supportive environment that’s stable in terms of taxes and regulatory measures,” the editorial board writes.

Plus, Inslee is no Norm Dicks or Patty Murray (both endorsed by the Sun) when it comes to bringing the federal bacon to Kitsap, according to the board.

To read the full endorsement, click HERE. Scroll down past the bits about Dicks and Murray to get to the Inslee vs. Watkins part at the bottom.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Inslee has a second Republican challenger

A second candidate is hoping get the Republican nomination to run against Jay Inslee this year.

Matthew Burke, a financial planner and Tea Party activist, is up against James Watkins for the party’s nomination. Watkins, a business development consultant, announced his candidacy late last year.

Burke, who is relatively new to politics, has worked for decades in banking and financial planning.

NW Digest recently profiled Burke:

Burke’s main message is a mix of Constitutional and conservative-libertarian thinking. In short, he believes 22 years in financial planning will make him an asset in “Congress to get this country’s disastrous fiscal house in order, and return the federal government to its proper, constitutional role.”

Burke also says he’s counting on energized voters, angry about corporate bailouts and other over-reaching Democratic policies, to give him their votes. To do that, Burke plans to expose Inslee’s voting record early and often, saying the incumbent favors “atrocious, tax-and-spend, always pro-big government solution[s].”

Continue reading →

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post