Gov. Chris Gregoire has appointed Republican Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, to the Washington Growth Management Hearings Board.

The job starts on July 1 and pays $92,500 per year. Pflug will serve a six-year term as the Central Puget Sound representative serving King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap counties.

Pflug withdrew her candidacy for the state Senate. Board members can't serve in the Legislature, according to the governor's office. And Pflug said she would not endorse the other Republican candidate who filed for the office, Brad Toft of Snoqualmie.

Mark Mullet, of Issaquah, is running for the 5th District Senate seat as a Democrat.

When asked if her withdrawal could give the seat to Democrats, Pflug said, "You know, it may."

Senate Republican Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, said he didn't have advanced warning it was going to happen. He didn't sound too happy about it.

Pflug was one of four Republicans who crossed party lines to support legislation legalizing gay marriage earlier this year. Pflug and the governor's office said that had nothing to do with her appointment.

The Growth Management Board was created in 1990 and rules on county and city growth-planning disputes. Pflug was elected to the state House in 1998 and moved to the state Senate in 2004.

Democrats currently hold a 27-22 split in the Senate and the GOP had been talking up its chances of taking control of the chamber.

Good Morning:

Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, now U.S. ambassador to China, must be breathing easier today. What looked like a serious snag in U.S.-China relations turned into a tale of seemingly successful diplomacy. Blind activist Cheng Guangcheng and his family arrived in the U.S. Sunday. He plans to attend law school on a fellowship at New York University.

An excerpt from a quick news conference.

Earlier, this incident had all the makings of an embarrassment for President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Locke.

You may remember, Mitt Romney, blasted the current administration over this story, calling the original episode in Chen's story "a day of shame."

Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, told CNN he is worried about Chen Guangchen's safety even in the U.S.

Today's question. Did Romney get ahead of himself or is diplomacy a longer process than the 24 hour news cycle? Please post answers in the comments section.

More items on the jump.

Like many candidate final filing days, Friday proved to be a giant she's-in-he's-out headache for candidates in the regular two-year 1st Congressional District race.

First Democrat Darcy Burner jumped into the special election to fill the last month of Jay Inslee's term. In doing so, she shattered an informal plan by the state Democratic Party to help candidates avoid the hassle and expense of running two different races before two somewhat different audiences. The newly drawn 1st District covers territory notably different from the old 1st.

Within hours, most better known candidates for the two-year term joined the special election free-for-all. Democrats Suzan DelBene, Laura Ruderman, Darshan Rauniyar were in, and, so, too, was Republican John Koster.

One candidate for the two-year term, Democratic state Sen. Steve Hobbs was, reluctantly, in for the one-month contest for about a minute before he decided against the idea.

He promptly issued a blistering press release chastising the others for trying to get around campaign finance laws, and, well, in some cases, carpet-bagging.

" I'm appalled that Suzan, Laura, Darcy, Darshan, and John are trying to manipulate and circumvent campaign finance laws. Just as bad, Suzan and Darcy don't even live in the district they're trying to represent now," said Hobbs. "This is exactly the kind of financial trickery and shifty politics that voters hate. Real middle class folks don't get to rely on financial sleight of hand like some people can."

Both contests are going to be highly competitive and expensive and, in the end, confusing for voters.

Sen. Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, the ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, sent out a surprise announcement Friday afternoon that he won't seek re-election.

Zarelli, who spent 17 years in the Legislature, played a lead role in the controversial, but successful GOP effort earlier this year to take control of the Senate budget with the help of three conservative Democrats.

"As the Bible tells us 'to every thing there is a season.' It's time for my season as a senator to end," Zarelli said in a statement. "I will move forward with no regrets, only a lot of fond memories, many strong friendships and the hope that I've left state government better than how I found it."

Zarelli in his statement said "the past few years in particular have been wearing, although they've also been rewarding. I will wind up 17 years in the Senate without having accomplished every single thing that was on my list, but at the same time, I'm not leaving just so I can sign up for something else."

You can read his full statement on the jump.

Corrected version

Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is planning a fundraising stop in the Seattle area on June 4.

According to a "save the date" email from organizers, Romney plans a $2,500-a-person evening reception. Donors who pay $10,000 a person can attend a VIP reception and photo opportunity.

No other details of the event were immediately available from the Romney campaign or state Republican Party. The email pitch listed the venue as "TBD."

Romney last visited the area in March, rallying supporters before the Republican precinct caucuses, which he won. Romney also visited the area in October, criticizing President Obama on trade policy in a speech at Microsoft.

Although Washington isn't considered a swing state in the presidential election, Romney has a number of wealthy backers centered in the Eastside business community.

The visit could help the former Massachussetts governor narrow his political fundraising gap here.

Washington donors so far have contributed about $1.1 million to Romney's campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Obama already has pulled in about $3.4 million in the state, according to the FEC.

Post corrected to note Romney's last local appearance was in March, not October.

Stand for Children Washington, an education advocacy group that supported Gov. Chris Gregoire when she ran for governor in 2008, has endorsed Republican Gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna.

"As a lifelong Democrat, I'll admit that I struggled with this decision," Jennifer Vranek, a Stand PAC Board member and founder of the policy firm Education First, said in a statement sent out by the group.

"We're looking for a change agent, and after the interviews it was clear that Rob McKenna will prioritize education and get better results for our kids," Vranek said in the statement.

Stand for Children said that although it backed Gregoire in 2008, the group split its legislative endorsements in 2010 with 19 Democrats and 6 Republicans.

The Washington Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, earlier endorsed McKenna's Democratic challenger, Jay Inslee.

WASHINGTON -- The House on Friday voted to uphold indefinite detention of any terrorism suspects, once again defeating a motion of Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, to roll back the legally-disputed practice.

By a 182-238 vote, the House rejected an amendment offered by Smith and Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., to guarantee any terrorist suspects arrested on U.S. soil -- not just U.S. citizens -- the right to a charge and a trial.

The amendment, included in the 2013 defense act, also would have repealed a requirement that anyone arrested on suspicion of terrorism be taken into military, not civilian, custody.

All three of Smith's Democratic colleagues from Washington voted for his motion: Reps. Jim McDermott of Seattle, Rick Larsen of Lake Stevens and Norm Dicks of Bremerton.

The delegation's four House Republicans voted no: Reps. Dave Reichert of Auburn, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Camas, Doc Hastings of Pasco and Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane.

Smith was seeking to undo portions of last year's defense authorization act. That law gave American authorities explicit power to lock up terrorism suspects without ever bringing them to trial. That applies even to U.S. citizens arrested at home.

Smith's amendment would have allowed indefinite detention only for those captured overseas, including American citizens. He also sought to give authorities the flexibility to try suspects in state or federal courts, not in military commissions.

McDermott said he was disappointed the House failed to curb "unprecedented powers to the president" that undermine civil liberties.

The House passed the overall defense act by a 299-120 vote, with Smith and Dicks siding with the GOP majority. McDermott and Larsen voted no.

Larsen issued a statement pledging to help get Smith's language into the compromise defense bill with the Senate.

“Congress had an opportunity today to stand up for our constitutional rights and make it clear to all Americans that we stand by due process and our judicial system," he said. "We cannot let the threat of terrorists and criminals compromise our values."

Updated at 8:10 p.m. to correct Brian Sullivan's status on the Snohomish County Council

Flouting the wishes of the state Democratic Party, Democrat Darcy Burner will run in the special election to fill the final month of the seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee this year.

Burner had already announced she was running in the regular election for the redrawn 1st Congressional District -- a race that has drawn several rivals on the Democratic side.

But Burner is the first of the 1st Congressional District's Democratic candidates to file in the special election too. In a statement, Burner said she was running to protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts by a Republican "caucus of bullies" led by House Speaker John Boehner.

Burner's move was criticized by state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz, who had tried to negotiate a truce to keep the 1st District candidates out of the special election.

"I am very disappointed that Darcy Burner chose to put her own perceived self interest ahead of that of the public by breaking ranks and filing in both races. I understand that the others will have no choice but to do the same," Pelz said.

Burner's move will undoubtedly force her Democratic rivals to follow suit.

Indeed, Sandeep Kaushik, a consultant for former Microsoft executive Suzan DelBene, confirmed she will also file for the special election given Burner's action.

Former state lawmaker Laura Ruderman also announced her plan to file following Burner's announcement. (A spokeswoman said that -- contrary to assertions by Democratic leaders -- Ruderman had never agreed to stay out of the special election.)

Other Democrats in the 1st District race are state Sen. Steve Hobbs and businessman Darshan Rauniyar.

Officals with the state Democratic Party had sought to broker a deal whereby those candidates would all agree not to run in the special election.

Instead, party officials hoped to unite behind former Snohomish County Council member Brian Sullivan, who filed for the special election earlier this week.

The confusing dual election for the 1st District were created by Inslee's resignation to concentrate on his gubernatorial campaign.

Most attention has focused on the regular election to replace Inslee for a full two-year term in Congress. That election will be decided by voters in the redrawn 1st District, which runs from north of Seattle to the Canadian border.

But a special election will be held simultaneously to fill the final month of Inslee's term. That election will be decided by voters under the old 1st District boundaries.