REALTOR® Advocate
April 15, 2008

Washington REALTORS® Endorse Dino Rossi for Governor
The Washington REALTORS®, have endorsed Dino Rossi for governor. The announcement was made following interviews of both Rossi and Gov. Christine Gregoire by a 17-member Statewide Candidate Interview Team. "Washington state is fortunate to have two highly-qualified candidates for Governor," said Jan Ellingson, the 2008 president of the Washington Realtors. "It was a tough decision, but, in the end, we felt Dino's background in real estate and his leadership on budget issues while in the state legislature makes him the best candidate to address the issues facing our industry and our state."

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Washington Realtors Make Other Statewide Endorsements
Washington announced endorsements in five other statewide races:

Brad Owen, Lieutenant Governor
Rob McKenna, Attorney General
Sam Reed, Secretary of State
Brian Sonntag, Auditor
Doug Sutherland, Commissioner of Public Lands
Michael Kreidler, Insurance Commissioner
Terry Bergeson, Superintendent of Public Instruction

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GA Forum: Regulations add $200,000 to Home Prices?
Dr. Theo Eicher, Director of the University of Washington Economic Policy Research Center recently released a study concluding the average home price in Seattle has been driven up $200,000 as a result of land use regulations. Dr. Eicher will present his study to REALTORS® at this year's Spring Business Conference on Wed., April 16. Dr. Eicher's presentation will be followed by a panel discussion by Michael Luis, manager of the Housing Partnership; Mike McCormick, FAICP, a planning consultant who helped write the GMA; and, Sam Pace, Housing Specialist Chair of the Washington REALTORS® Legislative Steering Committee.

For More on the Event

REALTORS® in the News:

Area's housing isn't doom and gloom, experts say (Everett Herald)

Misguided land-use regulations push middle class out of King County (Seattle Times, opinion)

Little Known Washington County Logs 18 Percent Increase In Home Values (AHN Media)

REALTORS® Defend Reasonable Critical Areas Regulations
Snohomish County, with support from REALTORS® (interveners in the case), was successful in defending its critical areas regulations before the Growth Management Hearings Board. Key issues included the county's buffer reduction allowances, buffer sizes and the definition of high impact development. The county prevailed on all issues. The update of these regulations took almost 4 years and countless hours of active involvement of Snohomish County-Camano REALTORS® who helped write comment letters, talked to Planning Commissioners and Council members, testified at hearings and contributed to the legal fund for this case.

REALTORS® Ready for Four Housing Issues Briefings
Candidates for state legislative office, incumbent legislators and other state officials not facing re-election are invited to attend any of four Housing Issues Briefings being presented during May by the Seattle-King County Association of REALTORS® (SKCAR). The two-hour briefings will be held at four locations around King County during the week of May 5. The sessions, being conducted for the 14th year, are designed to give candidates an overview of local and regional housing-related issues, along with insight on the REALTOR® endorsement and funding process.

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REALTORS® PAC: Major Investors Know What's at Stake
Winners in this fall's election will be in a position to decide on whether taxes are increased on your commission or increased on homes; the candidates we elect will determine the health of our economy and the climate in which we do business. Because RPAC Major Investors know what is at stake, they invest $1000, $2500 or $5000 to help RPAC elect the candidates that share REALTOR® values and protect your business. Invest Now in RPAC.

Thank You to RPAC Major Investors!

The REALTOR® Advocate is written and produced by Washington Realtors® Government Affairs. Please send comments to Barb Lally at Barb.Lally@warealtor.org. If you are receiving a duplicate copy please send notification to the newsletter return e-mail address.