Crowded primary field gives race notoriety

In a mostly quiet year for local elections, the race for the 14th District House Position 1 seat stands out for the sheer number of candidates.

Five Republicans and a lone Democrat are vying for the seat that became vacant when Rep. Mary Skinner unexpectedly announced she wouldn't seek an eighth term.

The campaign for the 14th District, which covers all of upper Yakima County including the cities of Yakima, Union Gap, Selah and Naches, has highlighted broad issues, such as criminal justice, education and health-care reform, as well as more specific questions, such as how the state should pay for its new family leave law, which will provide parents of newborn and newly adopted children $250 per week for up to five weeks.

Under the state's new top-two primary system, the two candidates with the most votes in the Aug. 19 primary advance to the Nov. 4 general election regardless of party.

That differs from the past when one candidate from each party would be assured of a place on the ballot. So, while the lone Democrat Vickie Ybarra is expected to benefit from a crowded field of Republicans splitting the vote, she is not guaranteed a spot in the general election as a lone Democrat would have been in the past.

No Democrat has been elected to the District 14 seat since Jerry Ellis in 1982. Ybarra, however, has more than doubled the fundraising of most of her GOP opponents and said she sees that as a sign of the party's increasing strength locally.

County Democratic Party Chairman Paul George agreed, saying his party statewide sees this seat as an opportunity. With no incumbent, party members feel like they can add to an already solid majority in the state House in Olympia, he said.

"There's a lot of enthusiasm in our ranks generated by the presidential election -- the contest between Barack and Hillary -- that's going to carry over," George said. "She should benefit from that."

Others are more skeptical, pointing to years of easy wins by Republicans in a generally conservative area.

Ybarra, president of the Yakima school board and director of planning and development for the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, has raised about $27,000, according to the most recent figures late last week from the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Following her are the Republicans:

* Norm Johnson, a Yakima city councilman and retired school administrator, who has raised about $20,500.

* Bob McLaughlin, a retired Yakima and Union Gap school administrator, with nearly $13,000, although about $5,000 of that is in the form of donations and loans he's given the campaign himself.

* Scott Hess, an employee of the National Federation of Independent Business, with $5,000, including $3,500 of his own money

* Al Schweppe, a Yakima attorney, with about $4,500.

* Aubrey Reeves, a former Union Gap mayor and owner of Aubrey's RV in that city, with $1,200.

* A sixth Republican, attorney J.J. Sandlin, has dropped out of the race, although his name will still be included on the ballot.

Yakima County Republican Party Chairman Jim Keightley downplayed Ybarra's fundraising success, saying that the number of Republican candidates means the local Republican donor's dollar is being split. He still considers Yakima County safe Republican territory and said that after the primary, if there's just one Republican left standing, that candidate will see support line up behind him.

"We fully understand the importance of keeping the seats that we have for the Republican Party across the state," Keightley said.

The Republican Party will not endorse a candidate until after the primary.

* Pat Muir can be reached at 577-7693, or pmuir@yakimaherald.com.

n High turnout predicted

Yakima County election officials predict voter participation for the Aug. 19 primary election will be 48 percent -- a rate far above average for a primary.

Turnout was 33 percent in 2006, the last even-year primary, and 37 percent in 2004, the last presidential year primary.

The expected surge will be driven by hotly contested races for a Yakima County commission seat and 14th District state House seat. But the biggest reason is a switch to the top-two system, said county elections official Kathy Fisher.

Approved by voters in 2004 but hung up in litigation until a U.S. Supreme Court decision in March, the top-two primary allows voters to pick any candidate regardless of party.

A voter can vote for a Republican in one race and a Democrat in another, with the top two vote-getters in each race advancing to the November general election regardless of party.

"The voters no longer have to select a party and stay with that party," Fisher said. "People didn't like that."

Ballots will be mailed to voters starting Wednesday.

A total of 93,785 ballots will be mailed to Yakima County voters, who have until Aug. 19 to return the mail-in ballots.

n Upcoming primary election coverage

In the coming days, the Yakima Herald-Republic will provide coverage of other local primary election races, including Yakima County commissioner, Yakima County Superior Court and the 4th Congressional District. Coverage resumes in Tuesday's edition.