Levies on ballot in Adams County approved, look ahead to general election

The Aug. 6 primary election came and went quietly in Adams County, as four maintenance levies easily passed and the attention now turns toward the Nov. 5 general election.

According to the most recent update from the Adams County Auditor's Office, all four maintenance and operation levies were passing with at least 65% of the vote. Three of the levies are Adams County Park and Recreation Districts in Ritzville, Lind and Washtucna, while the fourth levy is for the Adams County Cemetery District in Washtucna.

The Adams County Park and Recreation District No. 2 and No. 3 levies for Washtucna and Lind go toward the maintenance and operation of the Lind Swimming Pool for 2020. Those levies are currently passing with 69.79% and 71.16% of the vote, respectively.

The Adams County Park and Recreation District No. 4 levy for Ritzville goes toward the maintenance and operation of the Ritzville Water Park for 2020. That levy is currently passing with 65.47% of the vote.

The Adams County Cemetery District No. 1 levy for Washtucna goes toward the maintenance and operation of the Adams County Cemetery for 2020. That levy is currently passing with 78.12% of the vote.

Of the 2,239 registered voters in the county who had a ballot delivered to them for this year's primary election, 955 ballots have currently been counted, a 42.65% voter turnout rate. As it currently stands, Adams County has the third highest voter turnout rate among Washington's 39 counties in the primary election, behind Island County (58.33%) and Columbia County (46.65%). During the same election cycle four years ago, the voter turnout rate in Adams County for the primary election was just 29.23%.

Looking ahead to November

With the primary election in the books, the focus now turns to the Nov. 5 general election, although contested elections appear to be in short supply this year.

The marquee contested race in eastern Adams County this year will be the Ritzville mayoral race. Incumbent Mayor Gary Cook will face challenger David Ahrens. Cook was first elected to the position in 2015, and had previously served on the Ritzville City Council since October 2004.

Ahrens and is the owner of Ritzville Lumber & Hardware and previously served as President of the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce. He moved to Ritzville in 2011 from Key Peninsula, a finger of land in the Puget Sound that is a part of Pierce County.

The Journal will have in-depth coverage of the Ritzville mayoral race in the coming months.

While there are no federal, statewide, legislative or county races this year, there will be several initiatives or referendums on the ballot for Washington voters to vote on.

Initiative 976

Initiative 976-spearheaded by Tim Eyman, an anti-tax activist who earlier this year was charged with theft for allegedly stealing an office chair from Office Depot-was an Initiative to the Legislature that collected enough valid signatures in 2018 and was certified to appear before the legislature.

The initiative would:

-Limit annual license fees for vehicles weighing under 10,000 pounds at $30;

-Base vehicle taxes on the Kelley Blue Book value rather than the manufacturer's suggested retail price;

-Repeal local Transportation Benefit District fees;

-Repeal the $150 fee on electric vehicles;

-Repeal authorization for certain regional transit authorities to impose motor vehicles excise taxes; and

-Limit certain taxes and fees related to transportation.

The legislature did not act on and approve the measure during the 2019 legislative session, meaning that it is automatically certified to appear on this year's general election ballot.

According to a fiscal impact statement prepared by the Washington Office of Financial Management, the approval of I-976 would result in a revenue loss to the state of $1.9 billion and a loss to local governments of $2.3 billion over the next six years following the measure's implementation.

I-976 is supported by Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan and the PAC of the Puget Sound chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association.

The initiative is opposed by the Washington Roundtable, an organization comprised of senior executives from companies around Washington-such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Avista, Darigold, Nintendo of America and Windermere-that supports education programs and economic development in the state. It is also opposed by the Association of Washington Businesses.

Referendum 88

Referendum 88 will also be on the ballot this year, as a veto referendum that would block Initiative 1000 from going into effect.

I-1000 was an Initiative to the Legislature that collected enough valid signatures and was certified to appear before the legislature during the 2019 legislative session. It was approved by both the state House and Senate along mostly party-line votes.

The initiative:

-Allows affirmative action without the use of quotas by the state of Washington, which means that characteristics such as race, sex, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status can be used as factors when considering someone for public education or public employment;

-Bans preferential treatment, which means that those characteristics could not be the sole or deciding factor when considering a person for education or employment opportunities; and

-Created the Governor's Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with the measure.

I-1000 was designed to overturn I-200, which was approved by voters in 1998 and banned affirmative action, discrimination and preferential treatment based on certain characteristics.

I-1000 is supported by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and former Washington governors Christine Gregoire (D), Gary Locke (D) and Dan Evans (R). It is also supported by the NAACP, the Washington State Labor Council and the Washington State Democratic Central Committee. I-1000 is opposed by Eyman and the other sponsors of I-200 of 1998. It is also opposed by Washington Asians for Equality.

On Referendum 88, which is aimed to block I-1000 from going into effect, an 'approve' vote supports allowing I-1000 to go into effect and allowing affirmative action in public employment and education. A 'reject' vote supports blocking I-1000 from going into effect and retaining current state law that prohibits preferential treatment in public employment and education.

Washington Government Continuation Legislation for Catastrophic Incidents Amendment

The WGCLCI Amendment is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that will also be appearing on the general election ballot.

The amendment would:

-Authorize the Washington State Legislature, during periods of catastrophic incidents that are considered emergencies, to pass bills that would allow the legislature to pass laws temporarily filling certain vacant public offices; and

-Allow the legislature to pass laws it determines are necessary to provide for "continuity of state and local government operations" even if those laws are at odds with the state constitution, if conformance with the constitution would be impracticable or cause undue delay.

Currently, the legislature can only pass bills that address the succession of powers and duties of public offices during periods of warfare against the United States that cause substantial damage and injury in the state. The amendment seeks to ensure governmental continuity in the case of damage resulting from natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

The companion bill to the amendment was approved overwhelmingly in the state House and Senate during the 2019 legislative session. Referred amendments to the Washington State Constitution must be passed with at least two-thirds of the vote in each chamber of the legislature, as well as approved by a simple majority of voters on the general election ballot.