Dick Muri

10/15/2024

Political Musings and data you might want to guide on your election ballot. A long ballot!

Friends,
We have an important National election, but we are not a "swing"state so I will leave all musings about federal races to others.

First question people ask me is about the judge races. Here are my voting selections based on my independent research. And links to each candidate 's website I have selected for your further review.

With public safety being a priority in our state, these judge election contests are very important selections. Of course with public safety being our state electorates # 1 concern right now, we need to elect the trio of
1) - Dave Reichert for Governor (https://www.reichertforgovernor.com),
2) - Kelly Chambers for Pierce County Executive (https://www.kellychambers.org) and
3) - Loujanna (LJ) Rohrer for Pierce County Council (https://votelj.com)

Pierce County Superior Court Department 1: Vote Paul Robson over TaTeasha Davis (Tateasha is the Jay Inslee 2023 appointed incumbent)https://www.robsonforjudge.com

Pierce County Superior Court Department 4: Vote Rebecca Reeder over John Cummings (Prosecutors endorsed Rebecca Reeder over John Cunmings though he works for the Prosecutor's office)https://rebeccaforjudge.com

Pierce County Superior Court Department 9: Vote Scott Peters over Doris Walkins (Scott Peters has bipartisan endorsements)
https://www.scottforsuperiorcourt.com

Pierce County Superior Court Department 10: Vote Philip Thornton over Camille Schaeferhttps://www.philipforjudge.com

Pierce County Superior Court Department 15: Vote Brian Wasankari over Ingrid McLeodhttps://www.brian4judge.com

Supreme Court: Dave Larson over Sal Mungia.https://larsonforwa.org

This year's four ballot Initiatives are very important. All of them will save taxpayer dollars, but special interests who get those tax dollars are spending millions to defeat them. As usual in politics, "follow the money"! The same people who complain about gas prices, home prices, food prices, etc, will somehow be persuaded to vote against these initiatives. It doesn't make sense, but this is slick progressive politics. Also confusing ballot wording approved by our current Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Another reason among many to vote for Dave Reichert for governor.
Simply stated, the laws these initiatives would reverse are responsible for higher gas prices, a smoke & mirrors effort to get around the no income clause in the WA Constitution, a sham long-term care program, and a law meant to restrict natural gas for heating & cooking. Motto is VOTE YES !! PAY LESS!
So, here it is simplified:
YES I-2066 : It saves the option to use Natural Gas in your current home and future home builds.
YES I-2019 Repeals a capital gains tax of 7% passed by the legislature in the middle of the night. The “camel’s nose under the tent” towards a state income tax.
YES I-2117 Repeals the Climate Commitment Act. which significantly raises gas and utility prices while raising little revenue for the programs it supports while doing little to get rid of carbon emissions. Voting YES will repeal this TAX.
YES I-2124 Makes Long Term Care (LTC) Insurance YOUR choice and is no longer automatically deducted from your paycheck. This was the most ridiculous of the tax grabs...AS IF $36,500 lifetime total for each person would be enough LTC insurance to be helpful for anyone. (LTC is currently $6,500-10,000 PER MONTH)If you agree with VOTE YES!! PAY LESS!!, then please share or copy and paste.
Also three below are non partisan offices which are important:

1) - Pierce County Assessor Treasurer Kent Keel (Kent Keel is the easy choice)(https://kentkeel.com)

2) - Pierce County Sheriff Patti Jackson or Keith Swank. Both are great choices. I am voting for Patti Jackson because she has bipartisan endorsements and she has reached out to me about ten times since the filing period to discuss issues concerning the Town of Steilacoom. I have not heard from Keith Swank in many years! Having good communication skills is an important attribute for our next Pierce County sheriff.

3) - Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). I know both candidates well. Chirs Reykdal has been the incumbent for two terms, it is time for a new person in this position.So I voted for David Olson. https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_Superintendent_of_Public_Instruction_election,_2024
Though this is a Pierce County centered message, feel free to forward to others in our county and our state.

Stay safe - stay well,

Dick Muri

Mayor,
Town of Steilacoom
Past Commander, Puget Sound Chapter of the Military Order of The World Wars (MOWW)
Kiwanis Club of Steilacoom Membership and Program Liaison
City Captain National Drive Electric Steilacoom Festival

https://www.reichertforgovernor.com

Dave Reichert has the experience in the trenches to keep Washington safe, affordable, and free

10/15/2024

Washington State voters, there are four initiatives on the ballot and they are NOT a Democrat or Republican issue. They are common sense pushback and the groups against them, including Bob Ferguson, have worked hard to provide you pages and pages of confusing information in the Voters Pamphlet.

Simply stated, the laws these initiatives would reverse are responsible for higher gas prices, a smoke & mirros effort to get around the no income clause in the WA Constitution, a sham long-term care program, and a law meant to restrict natural gas for heating & cooking. It's a no-brainer.

VOTE YES !! PAY LESS!

So, here it is simplified:

YES I-2066 : Save the option to use Natural Gas in your current home and future builds.

YES I-2019 Repeals a capital gains tax of 7% passed by the legislature in the middle of the night. The “camel’s nose under the tent” towards a state income tax.

YES I-2117 Repeals the Climate Commitment Act. Raises gas and utility prices while raising little revenue for the programs it supports while doing little to get rid of carbon emissions. Voting YES will repeal this TAX.

YES I-2124 Makes Long Term Care Insurance YOUR choice and is no longer automatically deducted from your paycheck. This was the most ridiculous of the tax grabs...AS IF $36,500 lifetime total for each person would be enough LTC insurance to be helpful for anyone. (LTC is currently $6,500-10,000 PER MONTH)

If you agree with VOTE YES!! PAY LESS!!, then please share or copy and paste.

10/11/2024

Happy birthday to my wife and best friend Mary L. Muri for the past 45 years. Often guys say "tongue in cheek" they "married up". Well, my friend, child home neighbor and college roommate Wayne Turnberg who I have known for 58 years will vouch for that statement. Mary is an awesome wife, mother of 4 and grandmother of 12 and kind friend to many.

10/08/2024

My vote is for Maia Espinoza !

Grateful to have the support of the National Federation of Independent Business!

There’s a reason I continue to be endorsed by organizations championing small business: when it comes to the economy, affordability, and common-sense government, there really is only one choice in this race. 99.5% of Washington businesses qualify as small businesses, so it’s incredibly important to have someone watching their back in Olympia!

Thanks NFIB! I’m proud to have earned your endorsement

09/10/2024

A few days ago for early morning beverages in Lavagino - San Briccio, a short walk from Villa Sogara the 400 year old vineyard estate we are living for the week. It was Sunday so church bells were ringing throughout the region. Here we were joined by a local family celebrating after church.

1 Video

09/04/2024

One of our town's top annual events! Invite friends and family. Hope to see you there!

07/15/2024

Our Kiwanis Club of Steilacoom started our town's participation in the National Night Out program 2 years ago. The leadership of school board director Loujanna LJ Rohrer and town council member Elizabeth Grasher with funding from our club will hopefully make this 3rd year another success. Hope you plan on participating.

Please Join Us for Steilacoom’s National Night Out: August 6th, 2024 July 13, 2024 · Leave a Comment · Submitted by Liz Grasher and Loujanna “LJ” Rohrer. Please join us for Steilacoom’s National Night Out (NNO) Tuesday, August 6th, 2024 from 5:30-8pm. National Night Out is a night we stand...

07/06/2024

Here visiting our newest Grandnephew Brooks Gwinn. Four months old and a very healthy boy. “Mimi” Mary L. Muri ‘s maternal instincts are still very strong.

06/07/2024

D-Day plus 29,220. Special thanks for all the military personnel who were involved in that mission 80 years ago. This was the beginning of the end of the National Socialist German Workers Party who brought tyranny and destruction to Western Europe. “Freedom is not free”. Germany surrender to Allied forces 335 days later ending the European portion of World War II.

The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it is the largest seaborne invasion in history. The o...

05/02/2024

May 1st, 2024 and 2 things popped into my mind. As a member of the International indoor rowing (erging) online competition, I am officially now in the 70 year and older bracket! Your age bracket is determined by how old you are on May 1st of each year! Nice to be the youngest in my competition group!

Also 16 years ago I got my first ever text message on my brand new Apple iphone! A picture of my first grandchild Makenna Kelpman who was born in Waimea, Hawaii, May 1st 2008. Happy 16th Birthday Makenna, who today went and got her driver's license! She wasted no time in getting that done!
Picture from a year ago!

03/21/2024

Four days in Beijing, now on our way to Hubei, China. Then to Shiban-Guangzhou. I have given six speeches of welcome as of today. I am introduced as Richard Walter Muri, Mayor of Steilacoom City. Getting use to that name! 😎. Whenever addressed by mom as “Richard Walter” it was when I was in trouble for something! 😂

Using my formal name is best and the term “Steilacoom City”. No time to discuss the small political differences between a town and a city.

A China-U.S. Youth Exchange Program was held on Monday in Beijing, with attendees including China Media Group (CMG) President Shen Haixiong and Dick Muri, mayor of Steilacoom in Washington State.The event, dubbed "Friends coming from afar," was jointly

03/21/2024

Grandson making the news cover here in Beijing.

From indulging in Chinese cuisine and delving into the country's rich history and culture, to forging friendships and memories that may last a lifetime, a group of students from the United States are preparing to explore a whole new world as they set off for a journey to China.