Voter Independence Election Results Reveal That Some Neighborhoods Have A Mind Of Their Own On Civic Issues Put Before Them

North Spokane residents who voted last week at Riverview Terrace Retirement Apartments on Upriver Drive have a thing for pets.

Those who voted at Mary Queen Catholic Church in northeast Spokane were among the few anywhere in Washington state to support gambling on tribal land.

Voters who cast ballots at Woodridge Elementary in northwest Spokane and Holmes Elementary in West Central gave their nod to city-county consolidation, while those in Deer Park wanted no part of it.

Though voting trends on the North Side were not decidedly different than the rest of Spokane County, there were higher levels of support for some issues in certain neighborhoods.

The measure to increase the sales tax in Spokane County for juvenile justice needs split 50-50 countywide, with final results pending absentee ballots.

But the North Side comfortably approved the measure, with broad support in the West Central and Nevada-Lidgerwood neighborhoods.

Those two areas also have a high level of resident participation in community policing programs.

The statewide issue to ease gambling restrictions for Indian tribes was soundly defeated statewide and in Spokane County, where 63 percent of the voters disapproved.

But the 269 residents who cast ballots at Mary Queen Catholic Church, 3423 E. Carlisle, gave the measure 53 percent approval.

Persons in two other neighborhoods also gave the measure a few more yes than no votes. The initiative carried in precincts voting at Bemiss Elementary, 2323 E. Bridgeport; the Spokane Junior Academy, 1505 W. Cleveland; and First Assembly of God Church, 828 W. Indiana.

The ballot measure to spend city tax money on spaying and neutering of household pets drew wide support, gaining 55 percent support.

The measure carried with at least 2-to-1 support in the North Side precincts voting at Salem Lutheran Church, 1428 W. Broadway, and Riverview Terrace Retirement Apartments, 1801 E. Upriver Drive.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Neighborhoods on consolidation