STA, Crime Check: Wow!

Honor is due…

Last week I suggested that the STA and Crime Check sales tax campaigns were in trouble…ooops. Both passed by stunning margins which lays to rest any worries whether Spokane County residents support spending tax money for public transit or public safety. Congrats to supporters and the folks who ran the campaigns.

I’m sure the super-majority votes also brought smiles to the Spokane County Commissioners---at least for today. Winning is always nice so the Commissioners can take credit for their parts in the successful campaigns; this also means they can concentrate on whether to move forward with a vote on a $100 million dollar jail bond this November without regard of what else is on the ballot. A loss of one or both of yesterday’s measures would have caused some long discussions whether voters were ready for three major tax issues this fall---that is no longer a concern. Now the Commissioners just have to decide if there’s enough time to cobble together a credible campaign for what will be an expensive, if not contentious issue or whether to develop a yearlong public education effort to explain why we need a new jail and parking garage near downtown. Lots to think about.

One other aspect of yesterday’s vote also won’t be lost on at least two of the Commissioners. Opponents of Republicans Todd Mielke and Mark Richard predicted that their recent decision to buy 300 acres of open space in Airway Heights which includes Spokane Raceway Park had put both the STA and Crime Check campaigns in jeopardy. Voters clearly decided there was no tie between the issues---which also lays to rest SRP as a political problem this November. Democrats will now have to look for another reason to try to unseat the two men who have shown they are not afraid to look to the future and make tough decisions.