<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

In our view: Fall Frenzies Emerge

In the aftermath of Tuesday's primary, plenty of bragging points can be found

The Columbian
Published: August 19, 2010, 12:00am

Tuesday’s primary in Clark County resembled one of those low-cost, family buffet restaurants: few surprises, and something on the menu to whet just about everyone’s appetite.

At both the state (U.S. Senate) and local (3rd Congressional District) levels, Democrats can boast of having candidates receiving the highest percentages of votes, but Republicans can present a strong counter-argument: About 54 percent of voters statewide said (in effect) that they don’t want to return incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Patty Murray to Washington, D.C. This led columnist Joel Connelly of http://www.seattlepi.com to conclude that our state is “in for its closest U.S. Senate race since 2000,” as Murray takes on popular Republican Dino Rossi (34 percent statewide Tuesday).

As for the 3rd Congressional District’s open race, not only did the lone Democrat (Denny Heck of Olympia) garner less than a third of the votes districtwide, but according to http://www.politico.com, Republican candidates received 10,000-plus more votes than Democrats. So Heck has his work cut out for him against Republican former legislator Jaime Herrera of Camas.

Which takes us to the most impressive individual effort of the primary. Herrera caught heavy flak from many GOP guns in what (despite the top two primary format) essentially became a Republican Party primary. But she fought hard to earn endorsements from the strongest Republican groups and campaigned ferociously to convincingly eliminate fellow Republicans David Castillo and David Hedrick (doubling the vote count of each) and two other hopefuls. This had to be especially aggravating for Castillo, the first to announce his candidacy back before Democrat Brian Baird announced he was retiring.

Expect residency to become an issue in the Herrera-Heck fall showdown. Herrera lives in Camas, previously in Ridgefield, and is a Prairie High graduate. Heck grew up in Lake Shore, graduated from Columbia River High and served Clark County in the Legislature. But he lives now in Olympia and, when pressed during a meeting with The Columbian’s editorial board, said he had no plans to move to Clark County if elected. The majority of constituents in the 3rd District live in Clark County. Baird was elected when he didn’t live here but he moved here. Some would consider ours a parochial viewpoint, and to some extent it is. We believe it’s important to live where the majority of your constituents live.

Other observations about Tuesday’s primary:

Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey said 13,000 votes were turned into ballot drop-off sites Tuesday. “That’s a very high number, perhaps even a record,” he said. Kimsey also said the turnout could exceed the predicted 38 percent, and “the top two primary continues to work extremely well, and the voters seem to be very comfortable with it.”

Should one- and two-candidate races appear on both the primary and election ballots, as is the case now? We say no, and the Washington State Association of County Auditors agrees. Among the group’s legislative efforts, Kimsey said, will be to put one- and two-candidate races exclusively on the general election ballot fall, when voter turnout is higher.

While Tuesday’s action intensified voters’ excitement for the Nov. 2 general election, it also stoked great anxiety for local library supporters, who are used to this. As of Wednesday, the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District’s request for a levy lid increase remained undecided. In 2005, the FVRL’s bond issue garnered 59.3 percent, short of the supermajority, and a 2006 bond issue succeeded with 62 percent support. This year’s levy lid requires only a majority approval, but achieving that threshold remains in doubt.

Loading...