OPINION: Republicans making nonpartisan races political

This editorial was published in the Yakima Herald-Republic.

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Next month’s general election ballot is pretty typical for an off-year vote.

In Yakima County, it’s a measure here and there, and a scattering of city council, school board and fire commission races — grassroots, public-service offices. All nonpartisan.

They’re the kinds of races that generally draw candidates who aren’t professional politicians, but just regular folks who want to do their part for their communities.

And again, these are nonpartisan races.

That means party politics don’t apply to the officeholders’ responsibilities. School board members, for instance, aren’t supposed to be carrying out political initiatives — they’re supposed to be laser-focused on one thing: educating students. A fire commissioner’s guiding principle should be protecting district patrons’ safety and property, not advancing a social agenda.

It’s basic civics.

But apparently somebody needs to review all that down at the Yakima County Republicans office, which seems to have a coordinated strategy for seizing control of as many local boards as possible. The local Democratic Party, we should note, has offered no endorsements for this election.

Yakima’s Republicans, however — chaired by Yakima City Councilor and Yakima Foursquare Church Pastor Matt Brown — have taken it upon themselves to publicly endorse and financially support no less than 21 candidates who are all seeking nonpartisan positions. Brown even wrote a letter to the editor recently listing the local candidates he was recommending in the Nov. 7 election.

It’s not illegal, of course. It’s just a subtle wink. A way to quietly inject needless partisanship into a system that was designed to keep politics at bay. Because while an endorsement from a political party doesn’t convey competence, it conveys a lot about ideology.

The local party is apparently taking its cue from Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist of the Trump White House. Despite a pardon by the former president, Bannon’s fighting to stay out of prison in connection with federal and state charges of fraud, money-laundering and conspiracy, as well as contempt of Congress. Being the class act he is, he’s also called for the beheadings of several federal officials.

Yet in certain Republican circles, he’s still inexplicably regarded as something of a visionary because of what he calls his “precinct strategy.”

The strategy is simple: Infiltrate local boards and commissions — the lower-profile the better — with people who’ll push certain ideals and values. In races with few candidates and low voter turnout, the odds are good you’ll win a few seats.

Then it’s time for a little cultural chaos, because — surprise — the ideals and values these newly elected officials push are likely more about advancing extreme political views than doing their best to be responsible public servants. The new officeholders might have little interest in, let alone any knowledge of, the things they’re actually supposed to be overseeing.

They’re just zealots who’ve slipped in the back door while voters were napping. But now they’re in charge of what your kids can read at school or maybe whether a gay volunteer firefighter will be allowed to help save your home if it goes up in flames.

Given their under-the-table party affiliation, what do you suppose their priorities might be?

This might be an opportune moment to ask whether you’re planning to vote, because fewer than half of Yakima County’s registered voters turned in ballots in the November 2022 general election. Subsequent turnouts in the past year have been even more dismal. February’s primary drew fewer than 20% — lowest in the state.

So conceivably, a voting bloc the size of, say, City Councilor Brown’s Foursquare congregation could sway an election if enough people from the church turned out.

That doesn’t seem that far-fetched, either. Especially given that the Republican Party is trumpeting what it calls a return to “in-person voting” — five new ballot dropbox sites, four of which are at local churches: Yakima Christian Center, Simply Jesus Church, Breakthrough Church, Champions Centre and the Cross Church.

Maybe it’s all just harmless fun. The more civic engagement the better, right?

But before you discard your ballot, think for a moment. Why are these nonpartisan offices so important to one political party? What does that political party have to gain by seating its candidates on nonpartisan city councils, school boards or fire commissions?

It’s one of the most important questions at stake in this election.

TNS