Early primary tally: Criminal-justice tax narrowly failing

Links to state and local primary election results

EVERETT — A sales-tax measure that Snohomish County officials promoted as a way to confront drug addiction and property crimes hung in the balance in early ballot returns from Tuesday’s primary election.

Election totals showed the Criminal Justice Sales and Use Tax failing narrowly, with just over 50 percent rejecting it and about 49 percent of the voters approving the measure. The difference, however, was only 823 votes. The county’s Elections Division plans to count more ballots and release updated primary totals at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary remained optimistic after Tuesday’s early counts.

“We’re certainly disappointed, but it’s too close to call,” he said. “We believe there are many more ballots to count. We’ll be paying close attention the next couple of days to see how this turns out.”

By Tuesday night, county election workers had tallied 70,969 ballots or roughly 16 percent of those issued. If Auditor Carolyn Weikel’s predictions for turnout prove accurate, that would represent about half of the ballots returned for this election.

The sales-tax proposition would add 2 cents to a $10 purchase starting Jan. 1. It was projected to bring in about $25 million per year. The county would collect 60 percent of that total, with 20 local cities divvying up the other 40 percent, based on population.

Voters in Marysville, the county’s second-largest city, were deciding a similar proposition in Tuesday’s primary. The city’s proposal to add one-tenth of 1 percent to the sales tax also was failing by a slim margin, with 54 percent of the voters opposed and 46 percent in favor. The sides, however, were separated by a mere 398 votes.

Consumers in Marysville now pay a sales tax of 9.1 percent, which adds 91 cents to a $10 purchase. The rate varies in other parts of Snohomish County, with Mill Creek’s 9.9 percent the highest in the state.

For Snohomish County government, law and public safety functions take up 75 cents of every dollar in the operating budget. Since 2007, 97 percent of all new spending has supported those areas. Other large Washington counties have seen a similar trend.

Trenary has said he needs the sales-tax revenue to build on efforts to address opioid addiction and property crimes. Two social workers are partnered up with deputies in the sheriff’s Office of Neighborhoods, where they attempt to steer addicts into treatment rather than repeatedly arresting them for low-level crimes.

Trenary says the new tax money would allow the county to hire four more social workers. He also planned to hire 35 new deputies over the next three years. The sheriff’s office has about 260 commissioned deputies now.

County Executive Dave Somers has warned of 3 percent cuts in next year’s budget if the sales tax measure doesn’t pass. Trimming that much would require layoffs, including within the sheriff’s office.

Somers was surprised at the early results, given the lack of formal opposition.

“It’s disappointing, but we’ll wait until the final votes are counted,” he said.

The Proposition 1 campaign, known as A Safer Snohomish County, benefited from more than a half-million dollars in donations. Most of the money came from the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians and the Snohomish County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

No formal opposition group formed, but the campaign’s Facebook page attracted comments from skeptical taxpayers who wanted more details on how the money would be spent and questioned the approach of fighting social issues by adding more police.

Superior Court

The primary also will winnow the Snohomish County Superior Court race to replace retiring Judge Thomas Wynne, who withdrew from the contest rather than mount a re-election campaign.

Based on Tuesday’s results, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Cindy Larsen and private attorney Rico Tessandore will advance to the Nov. 8 ballot.

PUD Commission

Voters also were narrowing the field of candidates for the Snohomish County Public Utility District. Two-term incumbent Tanya “Toni” Olson was well-placed to advance to the General Election. Gordon Sibley and Larry Wagner were battling it out for the second slot.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.