Tri-City Republicans already pounding the pavement for ‘foot soldiers’ in local elections
Candidate filing week wasn’t even over when Benton County Republicans sent out a mass call for “foot soldiers” and people to register as precinct committee officers.
“Now is not the time to sit and complain. Now is the time to join an army,” the party wrote in a May 18 Facebook post. “We have a plan, we have strategy, we just need more people to help out and execute!”
Filing registration, which was May 15-19, was still weeks away when Franklin County Republicans made early endorsements for three candidates who said they planned to run for seats on the Pasco City Council.
Tri-City Republicans are energized and charging out of the gates early for this year’s nonpartisan races on local city councils and school boards.
It’s the type of enthusiasm you might expect during a presidential cycle. But a number of local issues — a controversial school board recall and a shifting vote on retail cannabis among them — are stirring candidates to get their message out earlier.
Benton County Republicans expect to start making endorsements quickly after a meeting Thursday, May 25, with local candidates. They’re hoping those hand-selected candidates can run with the party’s backing in the Aug. 1 primary election.
Meanwhile, Tri-City Democrats say they will continue their tradition of not endorsing or financially backing in races where candidates do not declare party affiliation.
Instead, they’ll work to educate voters on who the non-endorsed candidates are.
“It’s very public that this is their playbook — that (Republicans) are targeting and winning nonpartisan seats — and this should be a concern to all Tri-City voters,” said Justin Raffa, former chairman of the Benton County Democrats.
He added that there’s “very little partisanship that goes into being a city councilor or school board member. We’re not debating the Dobbs decision or abortion or Second Amendment rights. Those aren’t the issues these positions deal with.”
This year’s election covers public offices for cities, school districts, port commissions, hospitals, fire and water districts. In Benton and Franklin counties, a total 142 candidates are running for 90 seats.
Local partisan politics
Local partisan politics used to be about getting quality candidates to run for county positions and filling statehouse seats in Olympia. But that focus has turned more local in recent years.
That’s a good way to build excitement and grassroots support if you ask David Milne, a Pasco City Council incumbent running for his second term and former member of the Franklin County Republican Party Central Committee.
“This year seems like it was a big push,” said Milne. He received an early endorsement from the Franklin GOP.
Endorsing candidates running in small nonpartisan races is something new for Franklin County, Milne said. And Chairman Stephen Bauman has taken a greater interest in the Pasco council and school board races.
Republican-backed candidates are challenging three seats on the city council and at least two seats on the school board.
In Benton County, 15 of the 18 local candidates endorsed by the Republicans in the 2021 November general election won seats.
But Raffa argues Democrats are remaining steadfast in their belief that nonpartisan races should stay independent of politics, and not be subjected to the political division seen in federal races.
“When they go low, we go high,” Raffa said, quoting former First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech from the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
