ELECTION

► From AP — McKenna’s county files raise campaign-ethics concerns — Hundreds of documents stored at the King County Archives suggest Rob McKenna’s office may have improperly mixed campaign and political documents while he served as a King County Council member. There are strong indications that McKenna himself was at least aware of how his county office mixed campaign and government documents.

► At SeattlePI.com — Gregoire appoints GOP Sen. Pflug to $92,500 state job — The governor named State Sen. Cheryl Pflug (R-Maple Valley) to a $92,500-a-year, six-year term on the Growth Management Hearings Board. Pflug immediately withdrew as a candidate in the 5th District Senate race now between Snoqualmie businessman Brad Toft (R) and Mark Mullet (D), an Issaquah City Councilman and businessman.

► In today’s Olympian — WEA endorses lawmakers, GOP’s Wyman — At the Washington Education Association’s weekend convention, Secretary of State candidate Kim Wyman became the first Republican statewide candidate to get the teacher’s union’s endorsement this year.

► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Brian Sullivan to stay in crowded congressional race— With 11 candidates running to fill a one-month congressional term, the county councilman thinks he has a good chance to win.

OPEN GOVERNMENT

► In today’s Washington Post — More shareholders call on companies to disclose political spending — One of the most polarizing fights over money in politics has been unfolding this spring at annual corporate meetings, where shareholders are mounting an intensifying effort to push companies to disclose the money they spend on lobbying and political campaigns.

► At Politico — Chamber of Commerce: We won’t disclose donors— The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is not backing down on its promise to engage in the most aggressive campaign operation in its 100 year history, despite a recent court decision that would require disclosure of secret donors behind issue ads.

► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Montana case opens door for true disclosure(editorial) — A Montana case has given the U.S. Supreme Court an opportunity to reconsider its decision in Citizens United, the odious 2010 ruling that opened the gates to unlimited, undisclosed campaign spending. Reversal is highly unlikely, but the justices could give the states some leeway in their regulation of corporate and individual giving.

LOCAL

► In today’s News Tribune — Maritime industries need trained workers, reasonable regulation (by Vigor CEO Frank Foti) — Vigor is willing to make a substantial financial contribution toward the design of a training program that produces workers with the real-life industrial skills that employers like us need. As we have done in our Portland shipyard, we would welcome the support and partnership of community colleges and trade schools, but we cannot wait for extensive studies and commissions while opportunities and jobs go wanting because of a lack of skilled workers.

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — Sen. Murray pushes importance of Hanford cleanup at committee — As the Senate Armed Services Committee is set to mark up the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is emphasizing the importance of environmental cleanup at Hanford and other defense sites.

NATIONAL

► At AFL-CIO Now — Bill Lucy steps down at CBTU — William Lucy, president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, is stepping down from the post he has held since he co-founded the CBTU in 1972. Says Luce: “It’s time for a new leader to step into these shoes and connect with young workers who need to see their generation out front in more leadership roles, trying new approaches to empower black trade unionists and achieve social justice at home and abroad.”

► In The Hill — Former NLRB member returns to AFL-CIO — Craig Becker will be the AFL-CIO’s general counsel, joining AFL-CIO General Counsel Lynn Rhinehart in leading the labor group’s legal office. Becker was recess-appointed to the NLRB in 2010 by President Obama and came under heavy fire from Republican lawmakers and business groups for his ties to labor.

► In today’s Washington Post — Obama faces pressure on Volcker rule — Nearly two years after the signing of a major law to boost oversight of Wall Street, two Democratic senators are calling on President Obama to speak out even more strongly in favor of a new federal rule that they say should have banned the trading that led to JPMorgan Chase’s $2 billion or more loss.

► In today’s NY Times — Union gets a new election at Target — A federal judge on Monday set aside an unsuccessful unionization election at the Target store in Valley Stream, N.Y., and ordered a new vote, finding that Target managers had intimidated workers and violated federal labor laws.

► In today’s NY Times — The Wal-Mart corruption case (editorial) — In this case, shareholders are right to demand answers and accountability from Wal-Mart’s executives and directors.

► In today’s NY Times — Public money finds back door to private schools — Spreading at a time of deep cutbacks in public schools, scholarship programs are operating in eight states and represent one of the fastest-growing components of the school choice movement. This school year alone, the programs redirected nearly $350 million that would have gone into public budgets to pay for private school scholarships.

THE COST OF WAR

► In today’s News Tribune — Two Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers die in combat— The two soldiers, Sgt. Michael Knapp (a married 30-year-old father of a 9-month-old girl in Overland Park, Kan.) and Sgt. Jabraun Knox (a 23-year-old with a wife and an infant at home in Auburn, Ind.) died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with indirect fire in Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province in Eastern Afghanistan.

► So far in 2012, 115 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan for a total of 1,979 since 2001.

► Also see the Washington Post’s Faces of the Fallen.

► Union delegates at the Washington State Labor Council’s 2011 Convention approved a resolution supporting “a significant drawdown of military personnel from Afghanistan this year, setting a firm end date for total withdrawal as soon as that can be accomplished, but in no event later than the 2014 timeline previously announced by President Obama.”

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 9 a.m. These links are functional at the date of posting, but sometimes expire.