Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Press: RRepubs Pollute Local Elections

Partisanship is poisonous enough already, ripping America to pieces. Why would anybody want to pollute the political air even more? Yet a political group is organizing fundraisers and mustering the Grand Old Party faithful for local elections, even though those elections are supposed to be non-partisan. The stated goal of the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans is to put one of their proponents in every office - no exceptions.  Now, before anyone's tempted to lecture us on trickle-down economics or the value of charisma in high places, understand that we're not painting the RRs as any kind of enemy. Philosophically, there's a lot we agree with them on: namely, smaller government, lower taxes, more disciplined spending and distance from burgeoning unions in the public workplace. But it's not an accident that local city elections are non-partisan. That's the way citizens want them, and that's the way they should stay until a majority of citizens demands to see an R, a D, an I, an L or an XYZ after candidates' names on the ballot/Mike Patrick, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (Photo: Jeff Ward, president of Reagan Republicans)

Question: How do communities resist the siren call of groups like the Reagan Republicans who are trying to push their brand of no-holds-barred partisanship in nonpartisan local elections?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

Follow Dave online: