The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
Because some items are worth mentioning but don’t quite warrant 675 or so words, we offer random thoughts about the world around us, including this month’s election:
• Perhaps the most interesting race on the Clark County ballot was between Eileen Quiring and Eric Holt for county chair. Quiring apparently has won, with the final count showing 94,457 votes to Holt’s 93,450 (the election is scheduled to be certified Tuesday). Quiring, a Republican who is a sitting member of the county council, had a big edge in name recognition over Holt, a Democrat who has run for state Senate in the past but has never held elected office.
Among the interesting aspects of the count is that there were 8,075 undervotes, reflecting the number of people who turned in ballots but did not vote in that particular race. If everybody had stated a preference, Holt would have needed 56.3 percent of the remaining votes to tie the race. Another 336 votes went to write-in candidates.
• In case you missed it, there were four mass shootings resulting in at least one fatality between Sunday and Monday last week. And 12 innocent victims were killed Nov. 7 at a bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif. And 11 people were murdered Oct. 27 at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. And the list goes on and on.
In recent years, we can count mass shootings at schools, shopping malls, houses of worship, concerts, bars, etc. Mass shootings have infected every aspect of American life, and it seems that maybe we should talk about how to prevent them.
For those who prefer to blame mental health issues or video games for the shootings, a reminder: No other developed country suffers from this epidemic, and no other developed country has as many guns as the United States. There just might be a correlation.
• Last week’s column about the dark underside of efforts to split Washington in two generated a fair number of emails.
One reader responded: “It happens so often I guess I should not be shocked when a religious extremist cherry-picks the precepts of their (proclaimed) faith. But as a Christian (i.e. one who believes in and tries to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ), using the phrase ‘Freedom is in Jesus Christ’ in a justification for violence of any kind more than shocks me. I challenge Representative Shea or anyone to give an example of Jesus Christ advocating war.”
Amen.
• In races featuring a Republican against a Democrat in this month’s election, Clark County residents cast 544,383 votes for Republicans and 530,865 for Democrats. That works out to 50.6 percent for Republicans.
It’s hard to read much into that. Three county executives — two Republicans and one Democrat — were running unopposed, as were two Democratic legislators. Their vote totals were not counted in the above numbers. Neither was a contest for county council that featured two Republicans.
• In the races for Congress, Clark County leaned toward Democrat incumbent Maria Cantwell for Senate and Democratic challenger Carolyn Long for the U.S. House.
In the case of Long, that wasn’t enough to overcome Jaime Herrera Beutler’s advantages in the district’s other counties.
In the case of Cantwell, challenger Susan Hutchison fought her to a near standstill in 38 counties, garnering 49 percent of the tally. But Cantwell won King County by 460,935 votes, which is a pretty good strategy for a statewide election in Washington.
• Clark County residents were on the “winning” side of all four ballot measures. We rejected Initiative 1631 regarding a carbon tax and approved the other three measures.
On each of the measures, we were more likely to vote “no” than the statewide average, but still supported three of them. On gun-control Initiative 1639, 54 percent of local voters approved.
• And finally, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think Donald Trump was telling the truth when he claimed to surround himself with only the best people.
Fact-based reporting from the largest newsroom of professional journalists in Southwest Washington. Subscribe today for $99/year
Your tax-deductible donation to The Columbian’s Community Funded Journalism program will contribute to better local reporting on key issues, including homelessness, housing, transportation and the environment. Reporters will focus on narrative, investigative and data-driven storytelling.
Local journalism needs your help. It’s an essential part of a healthy community and a healthy democracy.
