One is an area of horse pastures, large wooded lots and newer homes with views. Another is a mix of older suburban homes, busy strip malls and a highway interchange. The third is bisected by a long, straight arterial street lined with older homes and newer apartments.
They are three distinct neighborhoods in different parts of Snohomish County, but they share an unusual similarity.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
– Jill Holden of Marysville, who supports Christine Gregoire
In each of these three voting precincts, the tally between gubernatorial candidates Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire nearly reflected the statewide total and came out a tie.
The first area, the Bostian precinct in the Maltby area, was 185 to 185.
The second, “Everett 42” at the junction of Evergreen Way and Highway 526, came out 200 to 199 in the original vote, in favor of Democrat Gregoire. But the machine recount that concluded Nov. 24 and narrowed Republican Rossi’s lead to 42 votes statewide resulted in a tie.
The third precinct, “Marysville 4,” bisected by Cedar Avenue between 80th Street NE and Grove streets, was tied at 99.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
– Gordy Schurman of south Snohomish County, who supports Dino Rossi
Ties don’t happen often, Snohomish County Auditor Bob Terwilliger said. “I think it’s fairly rare.”
But in a race separated by so few votes statewide it stands to reason, Terwilliger added.
With the vote easily within 1 percent, Gregoire announced on Friday that she would exercise her legal right to call for a hand recount of all the ballots cast statewide. The Democratic party put up $730,000 for the recount. If the outcome is changed by the hand count, the state will pick up the cost.
Predictably, the Gregoire voters interviewed in each of the precincts supported the hand recount while Rossi voters said Gregoire should concede the race.
In the Bostian precinct, on a wooded lane off Highway 9, about a third of the residents are retired, said Buzz McCrory, a Rossi voter who runs a U-cut Christmas tree farm.
In the suburban part of the area, “it’s kind of mixed” in terms of demographics, said Gordy Schurman, 68, another Rossi supporter. He’s retired from Boeing and knows a few other retired people on his street, but most are working.
Schurman voted for Rossi partly because he doesn’t like Gregoire.
“I think she’s a pretty bad administrator,” he said, referring to the three-term attorney general’s department having missed a deadline to file an appeal of an $18.5 million settlement against the state.
Wayne Stewart, 50, a computer programmer is a Gregoire voter.
“I’m more concerned about social justice issues, helping out people who are less fortunate, and Republicans seem to be more concerned about helping out big business,” Stewart said.
In the Everett 42 precinct, Pat Maher, 89, has lived in her home on Ninth Avenue S. since 1958.
“You better believe I voted, and didn’t vote for Rossi, either, I’ll tell you that,” she said. Rossi, a former state senator, has had no administrative political experience, she pointed out.
Rossi would be “hard on us seniors that have to live on a limited income,” Maher said. “I invested in Social Security, and they (Republicans) take it out and spend it on something else.”
Down the street, in an area of newer homes, resident Robert Bryson voted for Rossi.
“Gregoire’s a big crook,” he said, adding that the voting system is a mess. “We need to get our absentee ballots in” before the election. We need to get ‘em counted ahead of time.”
In Marysville, Dean Smith, a 39-year-old transmission technician, and his roommates live in one of the older houses. Red, white and blue bunting and bumper stickers reading “United We Stand” and “God Bless America” decorate the windows.
Smith said he, all his roommates and several of their neighbors voted for Rossi. One of his roommates is “very persuasive” with her Republican views, he added.
“I just kind of followed her lead,” Smith said.
Down the street, in a large, one-story apartment complex of several buildings, stay-at-home mom Jill Holden, 37, supported Gregoire.
“I believe in her. I don’t like Rossi. I believe in what she’s doing,” Holden said, though she acknowledged Gregoire’s “had her challenges.”
Regarding the recount, Smith said Gregoire should give up the fight.
“Yes, it’s close, but it’s like a basketball game, you can lose by one point there, too,” Smith said.
Holden disagreed.
“Machines mess up,” she said. “You do a hand recount; it’s going to be as accurate as it can get. Those 42 votes could be changed.”
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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