*By Laurel Christiansen, CLW Founding Member & Contributing Writer
Very few voters vote. Snohomish County Councilman Sam Low (one of the best people we have in office in Snohomish County, along with Nate Nehring) told me the projected voter turnout for the 2021 primary is only about 25% (the General Election in November may only be 35%) because it is an off-year election. Next year when we have national House, Senate and State Senate and House races it will be much higher. That means we need to urge everyone we know to vote in this Primary. Most of us are busy people and don’t always realize the Primary is even here as we lay our ballot in a pile on the counter, especially since the local races make it hard to know who to vote for. Make sure you vote. The people we elect are shaping our nation and it isn’t in a good direction! Good candidates need our help.
Donors measure a candidate’s ability to win by how well they do in the Primary; if they do well they go on to the General Election in a positive position and donors are more willing to give because of their good performance.
Take a look at who donates to the candidates. It’s easy to find the candidates donors at the Public Disclosure Commission website. Candidates are required to report donors, donations, expenditures, etc. When I looked early in the week, one Democrat candidate in my Council District had only 3 of her top 45 donors living in the district; a majority of her donors are from Seattle. That means liberal Seattle is selecting who represents us in Snohomish County. The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission website has the information. Check it out, learn how to look up the candidate reporting on donors, expenditure, etc. It’s very enlightening. The PDC website is: www.pdc.wa.gov Click on “Browse” and put in a candidates name.
How You Can Help
There are great ways to help candidates.
Vote early. Candidates and the political parties monitor who has turned in their ballots. In the General Election they do this a lot. Then they target those who have not voted. When you turn your ballot in early you save the candidates you vote for money and time.
Urge everyone to vote. For your family, friends and contacts that live in Snohomish County send them my Election pick’s for the election. It is so hard to make informed decisions on who to vote for in off-year, local elections (when there are no national or state-wide elections).
Put a sign in your yard. Signs seen by drivers carry clout when they are in a “real” person’s yard. Call or email a candidate (their numbers are listed in the voter’s guide) and ask for one, go pick it up if need be. I live at the end of our street but have a sign for my Councilman Sam Low; and I gave two to my neighbors who live where there is traffic. Sam put up some of his signs on busy corners near us; if one goes down, we stop and put it back up. If signs go missing, we get new ones from Sam.
Call a candidate you support and ask how you can help. Sign waving is fun. That’s how I first met the Conservative Ladies of America after a stranger in Winco Foods asked me if I had heard of the conservative ladies waving signs in our area.
About my recommendations—I’ve volunteered, worked, and managed campaigns for almost 20 years. I started making a recommendations list some years ago as my friends and family were asking who to vote for. Here’s my process: First I list the candidates I know and support from personal friendships and interactions, then I go to current and formerly elected people I trust who know the candidates; then people I know who work and volunteer politically, finally I look at who the County Republican Party is recommending. The list won’t be perfect. In a few cases, it is the lesser of two candidates I don’t agree with, if at all. But, I’ve decided that my vote for the lesser one causes less damage to our efforts in the future. In a couple cases I can’t seem to find any light in the darkness or not enough information from anyone and I give no recommendation.
My recommendations: Laurel’s Picks – Snohomish County – Conservative Ladies of America
Please email any questions you have about voting in Washington to vote@conservativeladiesofwa.com