MAPPING THE ELECTION
Voters are a discerning bunch. Despite what some pundits would have you believe, they don’t vote as a predictable bloc. Although there are some basic trends in local elections – city of Spokane voters as a whole are more liberal while those in the rest of the county are generally more conservative – they can shift support depending on the candidate or the issue.
Read MoreWoodward wins the outskirts
Nadine Woodward won the mayor’s race with a strong showing in Spokane’s North Side and by running up big margins in key northwest precincts along Indian Trail and the heavy voting precincts near the Manito Country Club and in Latah Valley.
As the map of precinct winning margins from the final vote count shows, Woodward also won decisively in Hillyard and edged Ben Stuckart on the West Plains.
Those margins were more than enough to overcome the significant vote totals Stuckart ran up on the South Hill, downtown, Browne’s Addition, Kendall Yards and the Logan Neighborhood.
South Hill voters critical for Beggs’ victory
Council President-elect Breean Beggs owes his come-from-behind victory to a strong vote on Spokane’s South Hill, and doing slightly better than Ben Stuckart on the West Plains and parts of north Spokane.
On election night, Cindy Wendle was ahead in total votes, and each candidates had strong pockets of support with slim margins of victory in many city precincts.
As the maps show, between election night and the final vote count, Beggs piled up more big margins on the South Hill, from Manito to Comstock parks, while Wendle’s large margins were along Indian Trail in northwest Spokane and the very southern precincts near the Manito Country Club and in Latah Valley.
Wendle flipped more of Beggs’ precincts in the final count, but they tended to be some of the lighter voting areas of northeast Spokane, or areas where she picked up just a few votes as they tipped slightly from his column to hers. He also gained strength in downtown, the near North Side and the Logan Neighborhood.
Valley council candidates had different paths to victory
Spokane Valley voters are a discerning lot, not a solid bloc, this year’s general election indicates.
As the maps of the three Valley city council positions show, some areas of the city supported both a candidate with a conservative reputation by re-electing Arne Woodard, as well as one with a more moderate or liberal reputation, Tim Hattenburg.
In the third race, incumbent Brandi Peetz, who was a few votes behind on election night, surged ahead in later ballot counts. Note that Woodward ran strong in almost all precincts east of Pine, while Hattenburg and Peetz flipped some of those precincts and cut into the margins in others.
Peetz won some of the same southern precincts where Hattenburg had strong margins. Woodard and Hattenburg both carried the northwest precincts around Millwood, although Peetz split them with challenger Michelle Rasmussen.
Spokane City Council District 3
Concentrated Support
Spokane City Councilwoman Karen Stratton was re-elected with a strong showing among voters in West Central, Kendall Yards and most precincts between Francis Avenue and the Spokane River.
Challenger Andy Rathbun had his strongest showings in the most northern precincts of Spokane’s Northwest Council District. But he split several of the heavier voting precincts along Indian Trail Road with Stratton, and the two candidates tied in two precincts.
Rathbun didn’t do as well in the district as Nadine Woodward and Cindy Wendle, who were also challenging sitting council members, and Stratton kept her lead throughout the vote counting.
Uncast Votes
Close races may turn on votes not cast
In close elections like some city of Spokane races, the results may be determined by the votes that weren’t cast.
As the map shows, thousands of voters who didn’t mark a ballot and send it in.
While North Spokane voters traditionally have low registration and low turnout, the map shows that areas throughout the city had hundreds of voters who didn’t cast a ballot. Even in areas that provided large voter margins to the candidates, some residents weren’t as motivated to vote as their neighbors were.
Referendum 88 results
A ballot measure on affirmative action
A ballot measure on affirmative action programs wasn’t popular in most of Spokane County, and split voters in the city of Spokane.
As the maps show, voters in suburban and rural areas voted by large margins to reject affirmative action programs through Referendum 88. Spokane Valley voters also voted strongly to reject the law that would have allowed such programs as a factor in employment.
Spokane city voters, however, were significantly split on Referendum 88. Most voters between Indiana Avenue and 37th Avenue voted to approve the changes, in some areas by overwhelming margins. In the northwest and far south precincts, however, most voters opted to reject it. Spokane County, like most of the state, voted to reject the initiative, although a statewide urban/rural split made it one of closest decisions on a ballot measure in recent years.
I-976 Results
County, city split on I-976
Restricting license tab fees to $30 had strong support in Spokane County as a whole, but not in the city of Spokane.
As the maps show, Initiative 976 passed handily in suburban areas and in most Spokane Valley precincts.
In the city of Spokane, however, it failed in most precincts south of Interstate 90, in some cases by large margins, while passing in north Spokane. The initiative passed statewide, carrying 33 of 39 counties.
West Valley School District’s Proposition 1
West Valley School District levy had strong support
West Valley School District’s Proposition 1 enjoyed strong support among voters in the Nov. 5 election.
As the map shows, it passed in the central part of the district from Wellesley Avenue into the city of Spokane Valley – in some cases with substantial margins. It barely lost in the far north and south districts, by small margins that were easily overcome by the totals in other precincts.
In the final ballot count, it passed by nearly 57% and a margin of more than 800 votes.
Mead School District
Strong opposition in outlying precincts swamped Mead levy
Heavy opposition in outlying areas of the Mead School District overwhelmed the levy proposal on the Nov. 5 ballot.
As the map shows, the proposal had some support in precincts in or near the city of Spokane and those that border on Division or the Newport Highway. But those winning margins were swamped by much strong margins for opponents in the surrounding suburban and rural precincts.
In the final vote count, more than 55% of vote, or margin of more than 2,000 ballots, were marked against the supplemental enrichment and operations levy that would have raised about $14 million from property taxes.