Few Wield Caucus Power In Poorly Attended Meetings, Parties Begin Doling Out State’S Delegates

Chris Yake promised he’d get more involved in politics when he graduated from Gonzaga University last year. He came to his first precinct caucus Tuesday and in no time at all was elected a delegate to the Democratic County convention.

The election was unanimous. Yake was the only person from his South Hill precinct to attend the meeting.

“I called about 20 people,” said Yake, who was recently appointed a precinct committeeman by the party. “But nowadays, everyone is so busy.”

Stephen Joswick has been to plenty of caucuses. He even held one in his living room in 1980, which drew 26 people.

Tuesday, he was elected a delegate to the Spokane County Republican Party, just as swiftly as Yake - and for the same reason. No other Republicans from his precinct came to the caucus, which this year was held at Ferris High School.

Around Washington, political neophytes such as Yake and longtime activists like Joswick gathered in schools, libraries, community centers and living rooms to begin the process of picking delegates who will nominate their parties’ presidential candidates.

Preliminary caucus results suggest that Joswick and Yake supported candidates who didn’t win their parties’ caucuses.

Early delegate counts near midnight showed Texas Gov. George W. Bush with almost a 3-to-1 lead over Arizona Sen. John McCain, and Vice President Al Gore collecting more than twice as many delegates as former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley.

Washington state appears to have followed the national trend Tuesday, with Gore defeating Bradley, and Bush besting McCain.

Washington state’s complete caucus results won’t be known for several days. Even those are subject to change as candidates drop out and delegates go from the county to the state to the national convention.

Joswick said he will switch to Bush if McCain quits the race before the county convention on April 22. But for now, he thinks the Arizona senator is more open and approachable.

“He presents himself as appealing to the common guy,” Joswick said.

A few tables away in the same Ferris classroom, another GOP caucus was solidly for Bush.

“I like what he did in Texas,” said Virginia Warren, a veteran of many caucuses. “He cut taxes, cut back on welfare, and he’s pro-life.”

Rowena Sargent, a caucus novice, said she liked the governor’s stands on education.

Across town at Longfellow Elementary School, another group of Republicans debated their presidential favorites.

Deanna Schulte, a small-business owner, said integrity and electability were pivotal to her selection of Bush.

J.J. Moody said she supported Bush largely because of his stance on abortion and his pledge of “compassionate conservatism.”

“I think that, as a rule, Republicans have a problem with supporting life in the womb but forgetting about life afterwards,” said Moody, a stay-at-home mom. “With Bush, we have the best chance of protecting children before they’re born and after.”

But Nicholas Despopoulos, a 22-year-old history major at Gonzaga University, argued that McCain had a better chance of getting to the White House.

Democrats, too, debated the electability of Gore and Bradley.

At Longfellow School, Nancy Smith, a city employee, said she likes the way Bradley supports working people.

“He doesn’t carry all of the baggage Gore does,” Smith said. “We need new thinking in the Democratic Party.”

At Ferris High School, Betty and Bob Barcus described themselves as New Deal Democrats, who grew up in homes where Franklin Roosevelt was a saint and the Works Progress Administration saved their families. They both registered their support for Gore.

“We have a soft spot in our hearts for (Bradley), but it’s a losing cause,” Bob Barcus said.

Before and after they voiced support for presidential candidates, caucus-goers had a chance to debate state, local and national political issues and suggest changes to party platforms.

One Republican at Longfellow said the GOP platform needed a strong stand against gun control.

“They’re taking all our rights away,” Wiley Vorhies said.

Moody, whose daughter has Down syndrome, wanted to add support for special needs children to the education section.

Democrats at Ferris debated topics ranging from the environment to education to capital punishment.

The group at Longfellow added several issues to the party’s plank on human and civil rights, suggesting an extension of affirmative action to the poor and a review of mandatory sentencing laws.

“This is the first time I remember seeing same-sex marriages addressed in the platform,” said Terry Cox, caucus coordinator.