Can independents turn out the vote in the Northwest?: Today So Far

There is a small trend of independent candidates running for office in the Northwest.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 14, 2022.

At this point, does anybody take campaign ads seriously? Does the performative demonizing feel a little thick and extra sensational these days? And it's not even a presidential election year.

It doesn’t matter who the candidate is, love them or hate them, or be indifferent to them (if that’s even allowed anymore), they all have the same ingredients: fodder for your base, a dab of culture war, stir in a headline with a hint of fear, and then a sprinkle of truth (not too much) to help it go down. Top it off with a photo of your opposition that was taken midsentence (so they look a little off) and set it to an ominous soundtrack fit for a Michael Bay movie.

I'm not saying there aren't serious issues at play, or risks, or concerns on our upcoming ballots. But the current crop of campaign ads that I'm seeing bear the quality of late-night infomercials.

"Is your economy unhealthy? All Patty Murray wants to do is spend your tax dollars on Jack LaLanne Power Juicers, Ninja blenders, and George Foreman Grills (bom bom!). Say 'no' to kitchen ninjas, and say no to Murray."

"When Tiffany Smiley is not posing for photos with this person you don’t like, she’s says she will purchase every household Thigh Masters, Slap Chops, and a subscription to Miss Cleo’s Psychic Friends Network (bom bom!). Say 'no' to psychic con artists, and say no to Smiley."

Yes, I know those made-up examples are very stupid. In my defense, I’ve gone a bit delirious after being bombarded with so many of these ads. Don't even get me started on the PAC-backed commercials. By the time November rolls around, folks will either be so turned off by it all that they'll skip voting, or be just irate enough to fill out a ballot ... maybe that's the point.

By the way, scammers have taken notice of all of these inflamed tensions and hot button issues and are turning it into a big payday.

Perhaps the sensational tone woven throughout campaigns is, partially, why independents are getting a lot of attention this year. Northwest News Network's Tom Banse has been covering a trend (a small trend) of independent candidates across the Northwest this election season. This group of candidates is viewed as a sort of test to see if a "third way" is possible amid our strict two-party system.

Oregon state Senate candidate Rich Vial used to call himself a Republican, but he's more comfortable with the "nonpartisan" label these days. It's a similar story for Chris Vance, who Washingtonians might remember as the former Washington State Republican Party chair. Vance has cut ties with the state GOP, however, and is running for state Senate as an independent. Betsy Johnson is running for Oregon governor. Once a Democrat, she is opting to nix any party affiliation as she runs for the job.

Another corner of this non-partisan issue is the race for Washington's secretary of state. Democrat Steve Hobbs was appointed to the position after Republican Kim Wyman resigned from the SOS office in October 2021 to take a job with the Biden administration (she voiced concerns about the state of the GOP before that). Since Hobbs is appointed to fill the role, voters have to give final approval via a new election this November. Julie Anderson has emerged to challenge him. Anderson is not affiliated with any party. In fact, she is partially running on the idea that the Secretary of State's Office should not be partisan.

"I don't think it makes sense – and voters tell me it doesn't make sense – for the secretary of state to belong to a team," Anderson told Northwest News Network.

Anderson is currently Pierce County Auditor, a position that has been non-partisan since 2009.

Hobbs says that he doesn't care if the office is partisan or not; it won't influence how he performs in the role. What matters is the person, he argues, and how they work with others, regardless of party. Read more about the SOS race with Anderson and Hobbs here.

Yet another angle in all this is the Forward Party. It's not specific to Washington, but aims to be a national movement that is not left or right. It's founded by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, along with former Republicans (mainly the ones who don't like Trump). Banse reports that efforts to establish local chapters in Oregon and Washington are underway.

So far, the Forward Party has made endorsements for GOP and Democratic candidates in national races. In Washington state, it has endorsed Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez, a Democrat running against Joe Kent in the 3rd Congressional District. While Gluesenkamp Pérez has a "D" next to her name, her campaign ads are hyping that she is an "independent voice" who aims to "throw a wrench into the extreme partisanship back in Washington DC."

Read more from Banse's reporting about independents on the November ballot here.

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DID YOU KNOW?

I recently came across a few Washington city nicknames and saw that Cosmopolis is "City of the World."

Now that might draw snickers from folks given that the city has just under 2,000 living there, and given the actual definition of a cosmopolis is a city with people from many different places and cultures. The "world" cities of the Northwest, today, may be Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, BC, but people of the early pioneer days had high hopes for the Grays Harbor area. A city placed there could definitely be a cosmopolis. At the time, it sort of was.

As the city notes on its own website, Washington Gov. Isaac Stevens was making deals and treaties with various Northwest tribes in 1855. On the banks of the Chehalis River, in the spot where Cosmopolis now stands, Stevens held a conference of people from many different areas and cultures — the Chinooks, Chehalis, Quen-ai-ult, Quaitso, Satshop, Upper Chehalis, and Cowlitz. Modern perceptions often forget that the Northwest was home to many diverse tribes just a couple hundred years ago. It wasn't just a single group of "Indians." They each had their own alliances, enemies, treaties, trade deals, and so forth. So a meeting with many tribes, with hundreds of people, in 1855, was like an international gathering of its day.

The idea for Cosmopolis was established a couple years before this in 1852 when a land claim was filed. The city wasn't incorporated until 1891, however. It is the oldest city on Grays Harbor.

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