Washington voters will get to weigh-in on issues of traffic congestion, end-of-life choices, and long-term care workers on the November 4th ballot. These initiatives will be considered by the Whatcom Democrats for Endorsement/Opposition/No Recommendation at our September 10 Membership meeting, 7 pm, at the Garden Street Family Center, 1st Floor Conference Room, Holly at Garden, Bellingham. All members of the Whatcom Democrats may vote on these positions.

Initiative 985 — Regarding HOV lanes and other transportation issues: YES NO

Initiative 1000 — Physician-assisted Suicide for Terminally Ill: YES NO

Initiative 1029 — Certification of Long-term Care Workers: YES NO

Ballot counts of early returns in the August 19th Primary Election show Governor Chris Gregoire (D) with strong support among Whatcom County voters. The Governor was holding steady at 51.5% to challenger Dino Rossi’s (R) 43% as of counting the day after the election. Current tally here. Whatcom County voters also gave Commissioner of Public Lands challenger Peter Goldmark (D) a slight edge over incumbent Doug Sutherland (R). Most other incumbents garnered comfortable leads in this preliminary match up. Primary voting will be looked at closely by candidates in formulating strategy for the General Election.

In one of the few open and competitive seats, the 40th Legislative District Senate race, the Republican candidate, Steve Van Luven came out ahead, with five Democrats splitting the Democratic vote. The Whatcom Democrats did not endorse in this race, preferring instead to give all the Democratic candidates exposure to the Democratic voters, and deferring to the Primary Election voters to make the choice. In preliminary counts, Kevin Ranker, San Juan County Councilman, holds a comfortable position in second place, and is expected to earn the second of two slots on the General Election ballot.

Ballots mailed on the last day will continue to arrive at the auditor’s office for about one week. The political parties have volunteer Election Observers that observe the entire ballot handling and counting process, to insure accurate results. Read the Democratic Party observers’ reports here.

Your ballot has been sent to you by mail. Don’t forget to vote! With the great summer weather and pleasant distractions of vacations and days at the beach, it’s easy to forget that the Washington State Primary Election is now in August.

With the primary election now a “top-two” contest, Democratic candidate go head-to-head with Republican rivals on the primary ballot. It’s important that Democratic candidates make a good showing in the Primary, even if making it to the top-two and the general election is not really in doubt.

Find a list of the candidates endorsed by the Whatcom Democrats here.