The venerable state-master Robert (Jessie) Hussein Ivanovitch Santa Dela Vega Hill announced his candidacy today (Nov 3) for the following races: re-election in 2010 to his position as a 27th LD precinct committee officer; Tacoma City Council position #7 (currently held by Julie Anderson as of the drafting this post) in 2010 and 2011; and for Pierce County Sheriff in 2012.

Melonites may remember that Mr. Hill ran against Mr. Pastor in 2012 in a 3-way IRV race in which Hill finished second after outspending his opponent (somewhere around $36K).  Shortly after the election, Hill was arrested after insinuating that Pastor was in physical danger on a broadcast episode of Equal Time Radio.  In fact, Hill claimed that god was angry with Pastor and was about to strike him down.  Hill also ran against Anderson before in 2007.

Since losing his 2008 bid for Sheriff, Hill has undergone forced treatment at Western State Hospital, run (unsuccessfully) for chair of the Pierce County Democratic Party, made it onto the FBI’s “Who’s Who” terror watch list, been ejected from an airplane in New Jersey by a federal sky martial etc.  In short, Hill’s antics have become a staple of The Melon, inspiring modestly priced t-shirts and even an ongoing series called “Hill Watch.”

While Hill has yet to outline any sort of platform for his pending races, his strong finish in 2008 clearly seems to have inspired a second run for Sheriff.  His PCO race is merely intended to provide him with access to democratic resources and his 2010/2011 bid is clearly intend to keep his name on the ballot and in the minds of the voters in 2012.

Having lost key state senate races in the 28th and 2nd LD, as well as seats on the Pierce County Council – the Pierce County Democratic Party may be ready for new vision and new leadership to chair its political machine.  According to Nathe Lawver, acting chair of the Pierce County Democrats, at least one ambitious felon will be gunning for his throne this Saturday, 12/13, at the PCCC re-org meeting.

According to Lawver, the candidate will in fact be PCO Robert, not Jessie, Hill – though who’s to say if it might not be one of Hill’s countless other aliases.

Talking to Robert Hill via cell phone Thursday, he informed me that he intended to attend Saturday’s re-org meeting, where he planned to introduce several resolutions – including one to abolish the office of Precinct Committee Officer because “PCOs are stupid, nobody votes at the poles any more so why do they exist” but failed to mention anything regarding a run for party chair.  According to Electric Elliot, Hill told him he planned to take it easy after the sheriff’s race, though for all we know Elliot may have been talking to Jessie.

When asked if he was nervous about Hill’s chances to win county chair, Lawver said “I think his candidacy will do a lot to get out the vote.”

Last week Robert (“the Traveller”/Jessie) Hill called to inform me that he planned to speak before the Rules and Operations Committee of the Pierce County Council. The purpose of his impending visit would be to protest a list of proposed ordinances dealing with public access television and Comcast franchises, specifically including ordinances: 2008-96, 2008-97, 2008-98 and 2008-99. Mr. Hill described all of these proposed ordinances as “bullshit” to me over the phone.

Expecting an interesting tirade, I made my way to the Pierce County Council meeting, which was being held at 930 Tacoma Ave S. But before I could even make my way to the tenth floor, I found Mr. Hill standing alone in the lobby, his hands neatly folded below his belt buckle – a somehow amused yet suppressed expression on his face.

“Are you ready for this morning,” I asked.

“Oh, I’m just waiting for the marshal’s to escort me up,” Hill replied.

Before I could fully digest Hill’s response, three imposing officers appeared behind me. One, seeing my camera, politely but determinedly obscured my view and communicated to me that my presence as a journalist was not appreciated.

From a nearby bench, I watched as Hill was placed in handcuffs and his belongings – including his signature metal briefcase – were confiscated. Turning out his pockets, the surgically gloved officer discovered, what appeared to be, two dozen or so rainbow colored condoms and related paraphernalia, all of which were promptly swept into a garbage bag. Hill did not seem to protest his arrest and the officers seemed somewhat amused by him. I didn’t get an opportunity to ask but my initial impression was that these particular officers had dealt with Hill before.

As he was led into an elevator to be taken upstairs, I made my way to room 110, where municipal records of bench warrants are stored. I asked the man at the desk if there were any outstanding warrants for Hill but everything he pulled up was old news: forgery (May 2008), driving with a suspended license in the third degree (Sept. 2008), Hill’s rap-sheet was extensive and labyrinthine.

There was nothing mentioned however, related to the supposed “death threats” that KIRO News reported Hill had made against Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor last week.  (FYI, Congrats to KIRO for their amazing video montage.)

President Obama

It’s official, the Democrats have won in the greatest presidential landslide since 1992, proving once again that unless the country’s in a severe economic crisis, we don’t have a shot of winning this thing.  After eight solid years of mismanaged campaigns marked by inconsistent veiled messages, I was beginning to believe that pigs would need to grow wings to carry one of our boys (or Hillary/Pelosi) into the White House.  Instead, all it took was two wars, a broken economy, a hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast and a celebrity candidate.

The real question now is, will Barack Obama be content to go down in history as merely the first Black man to sit in the oval office; or will he choose to be remembered for something bigger?

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Jessie (Robert “The Traveller”) Hill has filed a formal ethics complaint against Sheriff Paul Pastor, less than two weeks before the final day of the election. The complaint alleges that Sheriff Pastor failed to disclose $15,000 worth of in-kind contributions, including a $10,000 billboard and a $5,000 promotional ad in the Tacoma News Tribune.  The complaint, visible here, goes on to accuse Cascade Regional Blood Services of playing an inappropriate role in Pastor’s campaign.

Mr. Hill released the following statement:

First, this blood bank takes free blood from people and sells it at profit to hospitals; then, using their

law firm Shillito & Giske, who also gave money to Pastor, they take this profit and conveniently plan a

publicity campaign that coincides with the election season, from the first week of June to the last week

of September…I recommend that all individuals in Pierce county boycott this organization,

for the next six months!  They should just go direct to the hospital they want to support.

The Melon will report on more information as it becomes available.

While the number of Pierce County residents who might qualify as “crazy” is potentially endless, only a select few are insane enough to be worthy of the distinction of a Pierce County Crazy. These individuals rise above terms like “unbalanced” or “eccentric” so that their every action ultimately encapsulate the very definition of what it is to be a true “maniac.”

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