Feb. 19 was the official Washington State primary. However, the Washington State caucus, which was a week from the Saturday before last, overshadowed the primary. Yet in Walla Walla County several local levy issues were voted on and the Republican primary assigns some of its delegates to the Republican National Convention based on the primary.
Washington State sends 40 delegates to the convention, 18 of whom are assigned based on the caucus, 19 based on the primary and three who are special delegates for the party. The Democratic Party has ignored the results of the primary election and assigned all 80 of its delegates based on the caucuses. Barack Obama won the Walla Walla Democratic Caucus with 72 percent to Hillary Clinton’s 28.
The primary in Walla Walla County also contains two levies. One is a school levy replacement. This would increase property tax in order to provide for 14 percent of the Walla Walla School District’s budget. The levy goes towards maintaining the current level of funding in Walla Walla schools as well hiring 30 new teachers to help shrink class sizes within the district.
The levy would increase property tax between three and four dollars per $1,000 assessed property value for the next four years. All the money would specifically benefit Walla Walla Schools, not other areas in the state. If the replacement levy doesn’t pass, then the school budget will decrease by between eight and nine million dollars.
The other levy on the ballot was a regular renewal of emergency health services in the form of a 50-cent tax per $1,000 dollars of assessed value property tax. This levy would maintain the current level of emergency medical care for Walla Walla County by generating $1.7 million in revenue. The Walla Walla emergency medical service covers over 1,200 square miles and serves 63,000 people.
Walla Walla County contains over 30,000 registered voters. Most voters, 57 percent vote by absentee ballot. Walla Walla County shifted parties over the last two presidential elections. George Bush won a majority in 2004, but Al Gore won Walla Walla County by a large margin in 2000.
