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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 2016)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | August 19, 2016 | PAGE 3 Washington’s top-two primary delivers strange results AFL-CIO in Washington wants to take back the Legislature in the November election. Washington’s “top two” primary once again delivered strange re- sults as ballots were counted fol- lowing the Aug. 2 vote: In the race for state treasurer, voters will find no Democrat on the bal- lot in November, even though Democratic candidates got a 51.4 percent majority of the votes in the primary. In most states, primary elec- tions determine who the Demo- cratic and Republican parties will place on the November general election ballot, but un- der a ballot measure passed by Washington voters in 2004, all candidates from all parties com- pete against each other in the primary, and then the top two vote-getters for each elective of- fice square off in the November general election — even if both are Democrats or Republicans. [Oregon voters rejected similar proposals in 2008 and 2014.] In this year’s treasurer’s race, De- mocrats split votes among three candidates, and Republicans among two; that’s why voters will have only Republicans to choose from in November — Benton County treasurer Duane Davidson and real estate invest- ment exec Michael Waite. It’s the first time that has happened in a statewide race in Washing- ton, where voters lean strongly Democratic in presidential elec- tions. The state treasurer’s office has been held by Democrats for 60 years. Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) — the state AFL-CIO — had endorsed state Sen. Marko Liias, who got the most votes of the three Democ- rats running for the post. But the treasurer’s race wasn’t a top priority for labor. The real battle this year is to see whether Democrats can pick up two seats to control the state Senate — while holding on to or expanding their 50-to-48 major- ity in the state House. For sev- eral years, the 26-to-23 Repub- lican majority in the Senate has blocked pro-labor laws and budget plans supported by the House and Gov. Jay Inslee. Democrats’ best hope of Sen- ate gains are in Legislative Dis- trict (LD) 41, Mercer Island, and LD 17, Vancouver. In LD 41, la- bor-endorsed Democrat Lisa Wellman outpolled incumbent Republican state Sen. Steve Lit- zow by about 300 votes; they’ll face each other again in Novem- ber. BATTLE FOR THE LEGISLATURE East Vancouver - LD 17, State Senate In LD 17, former Democratic state rep Tim Probst came within a few dozen votes of cur- rent Republican state Rep. Lynda Wilson in the race to succeed outgoing East Vancou- ver Republican senator Don Benton. Probst is the director of Workforce Development Initia- tives at Washington State Em- ployment Security Department and has a strong relationship with local unions. He lost to Benton by just 78 votes in 2012. Wilson, meanwhile, is a noted union foe who has pledged not to take contributions from unions. She’s married to Tracy Wilson, who sits on the board of directors of the anti-union Free- dom Foundation, which sends paid canvassers out to union members’ homes to try to get them to quit their union. Probst and Wilson will face off again in November. East Vancouver - LD 17, State Representative, Position 1 In the East Vancouver House seat Wilson vacated to run for state Senate, Freedom Founda- tion staffer Vicki Craft, a Re- publican, was the first place fin- isher, but labor-endorsed Sam Kim, a Navy veteran and Clark County IT worker, placed sec- ond in the six-way race. All told, the Democratic candidates to- taled 52 percent, so Kim has a decent chance of winning the seat in November. Longview - LD 19, State Representative, Position 1 J.D. Rosetti, a union-backed in- cumbent Democratic state rep, won’t be on the November bal- lot. In a five-way primary, he was several dozen votes short of second-place finisher Teresa Purcell, a Democrat. She’ll face Republican Jim Walsh for the Longview-area seat. Vancouver - LD 49, State Senate Labor-backed incumbent De- mocrat Annette Cleveland got 57 percent of the vote in a four- way race, and will face Repub- lican Lewis Gerhardt (32 per- cent) in November. Vancouver - LD 49, State Representative, Position 1 Labor-backed Democratic in- cumbent Sharon Wylie coasted to victory with 74 percent of the vote. She’ll face fellow Democ- rat Kaitlyn Beck in November. No Republican filed for the of- fice. Vancouver - LD 49, State Representative, Position 2 WSLC-endorsed incumbent Monica Stonier took first place in a four-way race with 37 per- cent. She’ll face fellow Democ- rat Alishia Topper in November. OTHER PRIMARY RESULTS Governor Labor-backed incumbent De- mocrat Jay Inslee will face Re- publican businessman (and Seattle port commissioner) Bill Bryant. In the Aug. 2 matchup, Inslee polled 49 percent to Bryant’s 38 percent. Lieutenant Governor The candidate who had the most labor support won the most votes: Bellevue state Sen. Cyrus Habib, current Demo- cratic Whip. He will face Re- publican talk show host Marty McClendon in November. In a field of 11 candidates, Habib got 22 percent, and McClendon got 19 percent. Congressional District 3 Incumbent Republican Con- gresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler will face Democratic state Rep. Jim Moeller in the November general election. Moeller led a pack of five chal- lengers, getting 26 percent of the vote, with Herrera Beutler pulling in about 54 percent. Clark County Incumbent County Commis- sioner David Madore is out. The controversial Republican took third place in the primary, with 24 percent support. Demo- crat Tanisha Harris came in first with 45 percent and will face Republican John Blom, who got 30 percent. Madore won’t be missed by local unions; he was a staunch oppo- nent of the Columbia River Crossing, and pushed unsuc- cessfully for an anti-union “right-to-work” ordinance.
