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Ellen Dennis

Ellen Dennis

Current Position: statehouse reporter

Ellen Dennis came to The Spokesman-Review in June 2023. She is the legislative reporter in our Olympia Bureau covering Washington state legislature. Ellen previously worked as the public safety reporter for the Everett Herald.

Email
ellend@spokesman.com
Phone
(206) 486-5723

All Stories

News >  WA Government

Razor-thin race for Washington lands commissioner spurs first statewide ballot recount in decades

As of Tuesday evening, a margin of 51 votes separated two of the leading candidates in the closest primary race Washington state has seen in decades.Three candidates for state lands commissioner are fighting neck and neck for two spots on the November general election ballot. Two weeks after the Aug. 6 primary, the close results have triggered an automatic statewide hand recount.
News >  WA Government

At state convention, Washington Democrats narrowly reject proposal to block nuclear power

On the third and final day of the convention, delegates filed into a big event room at the Meydenbauer Center and spent roughly eight hours going through party business. In that time, the group voted on a handful of resolutions. The group narrowly rejected two resolutions stating that nuclear energy is “not the solution to climate change,” and that the state should not use funding for clean energy to support construction or expansion of small modular nuclear reactors.
News >  WA Government

Washington gubernatorial hopeful, other candidates left off speaking bill at this year’s state Democratic convention

Organizers of the three-day event at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue appeared to have designed the lineup of speakers in a way that would mask any divisions in party ranks. Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Mark Mullet, a state senator from Issaquah, wasn’t invited to speak at the event, so he chose to skip it all together. Also not invited to speak were state attorney general candidates Nick Brown, a former U.S. attorney, and state Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, along with state lands commissioner hopefuls Dave Upthegrove, a member of the King County Council, and state Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Lake Sutherland.
News >  WA Government

Washington’s statewide races are heating up. Here’s a look at the three contenders for attorney general.

The three leading candidates in the race for the next Attorney General of Washington have so far spent a combined $2.5 million on their campaigns, making it the second-most expensive race in the state behind that for governor. Whoever is elected will assume power over the state’s top legal office after November marks the first open election for the seat since 2012.
News >  WA Government

Washington Lands Commissioner: Wildfire season is here, so be careful

Wildfire season has officially begun in Washington, and state officials are urging people to avoid sparking a fire as they head out to recreate this Memorial Day weekend.“We know that every time we have a vacation holiday weekend, everybody loves getting outside,” state Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said in a news conference Friday. “Sometimes that leads to danger if they’re not being wildfire safe.”
News >  WA Government

Washington governor sends back plan for huge Tri-Cities wind farm, asks to add more turbines

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday sent a letter to a government energy council saying it cut too many turbines out of the proposed construction plan for one of the largest wind farms in the state. In its response, the governor’s office wrote that it wants the stretch of land that will be developed to achieve “full or near-full” energy generation capacity.