political since help

A Look at Clark County

Clark County Washington is one of the oldest counties in the state of

Washington and was named after one of the famous explorers who found it, William

Clark. In terms of its size, Clark County is defined by 629 square miles near the

southern border of Washington on the Columbia River. Within the boundaries of

Clark County the average population density is 676.2 persons per square mile with

the higher density towards the southern limit of the county and the less dense in the

northern territory of the county. It has an estimated total population of 443,817,

making it the fifth most populis county in the entire state of Washington (William s.

Hanable). Within the county reside six cities; Yacolt, La Center, Ridgefield, Battle

Ground, Brush Prairie, Hazel Dell, Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver. With the

biggest, most populated city being Vancouver.

(Clark Chamber)

The county varies greatly between the north and south sides of it. The north

side of the county is a more rural and agricultural based, being the home to many

farms including a diary farm housing owned by the Tillamook Cheese Company.

This area of the county would be considered a family based region, due to the lack of

entertainment or “nightlife”. This is a pretty conservative style area, as are many

agricultural communities. This area houses many low to middle class families. The

southern expanse of the county differs greatly from the northern towns. The

southern area, including Vancouver and Camas, is much more of an urban

community. Being just across the river from the metropolis that is Portland, Oregon,

this region is very influenced by the liberal culture. The southern area is home to

more of the middle to upper class citizens as well as a majority of the 107,452

private non-farm jobs (U.S Census Bureau).

As a whole, the county lives with an average income of $58,764 per

household. With the average household accommodating roughly 3 occupants (U.S

Census Bureau). 32.4% of the population is under the age of 18, and only 12.6% are

over the age of 65(U.S Census Bureau). This means roughly 65% of the population is

of employment age. Being a family oriented community schooling is made very

accessible. Although the school districts are small, there are 9 school districts total

(Educational service district 112). These districts are spread among the entire

county, providing access to schooling for all areas.

Map of Clark County school districts

(Coldwell)

Early Clark County survived off the large industries of agriculture, lumber,

and fishing. This was made possible by the availability of ports along the Columbia

River. Although these industries still flourish in the county today, bigger industries

have come fourth to help boost the counties budget. Health care and social

assistance have become large-scale areas of revenue for the county. According to the

Employment Security Department these diligences alone provide over 18,100 jobs

to the county (Scott Bailey). Along with these already strong avenues of income, the

electronic industry proves to be a growing trend that will continue to produce a

strong impact on the state budget in the future (Scott Bailey). Major role players in

the electronic market have already set up camp in Clark County such as wafertech,

Hewlett Packard, SEH America, and Linear Semiconductors. These are industries

that serve on a much larger scale than just the county, bringing in profit from

outside sources. Where Clark County tends to struggle is the field of retail. Being so

close to the border of Oregon, Citizens of the county tend to refrain from making

large purchase inside the county. In an attempt to elude the sales tax of Washington,

most people make the short drive across the Columbia River to Oregon where they

are usually able to make their purchases tax-free. This takes a lot of money out of

local retail and puts it into other economies.

Clark County is considered a “problem child” by the rest of the state. This is

due to the voting habits of the county. The county is home to 246,856 registered

voters, however they continuously have the lowest voter turnout of any other

county in the state. During the last general election, Clark County casted an

appalling 90,907 votes (Stephanie Rice). That is only 36% of the voters registered in

the county. This has shown to be a struggle in past elections as well. Although the

numbers surrounding voters that are registered to a party are not found to be

released by the county, you can safely say that based on the voting trend in the

county, there is more than likely a stronger republican registry than democratic.

Clark County has a tendency to not vote in accordance with the majority. On

the hot button initiative of marijuana legalization, measure I-502. The measure

read:

“This measure removes state-law prohibitions against producing, processing,

and selling marijuana, subject to licensing and regulation by the liquor control

board; allow limited possession of marijuana by persons aged twenty-one and over;

and impose 25% excise taxes on wholesale and retail sales of marijuana, earmarking

revenue for purposes that include substance-abuse prevention, research, education,

and healthcare. Laws prohibiting driving under the influence would be amended to

include maximum thresholds for THC blood concentration.”

(Ballotopedia)

The state supported the measure and voted to legalize use of marijuana.

Clark county was one the counties that did not vote in favor. The county voted down

the measure with 50.32% against. This is in opposition with the state total of 55.7%

voting for the implementation of the initiative into law (Wa.Gov). This is however

consistent with the slightly conservative voting record of the county. The counties

strong republican forte is shown by the recent buzz over the county commissioner

voting to stop all growing, processing and selling of recreational marijuana within

its jurisdiction (Koin6). This will override the passing of I-502 within the county

jurisdiction.

(Columbian)

The state senator is Ann Rivers. She is a republican who is finishing the term

of Joe Zarelli, who resigned on May 31 after 17 years. Rivers was working in the

Washington state house, where she was elected to in 2010, previous to taking on the

remainder of Zarelli’s term (Ann Rivers). Our state representatives are Brandon

Vick and Liz Pike who are both also republicans. Brandon Vick has been a lifetime

resident of Clark county. Liz Pike is from Camas, Washington, which resides in Clark

County. Her emphasis is on public transportation. Having our county represented by

all republican incumbents shows the strength of the republican side of our county.

In the 2008 general election 51.8% of those who voted, did so in favor of

Obama. This is compared to the state total 57.7% in support of Obama. Following

Obama’s first term in office, the Clark County’s support for Obama fell to 48.59% in

2012 (Clark.WA.US), exaggerating the statewide fall in support to 56.2% of votes

cast (Library of Congress). I do not believe that the vote for Obama in 2008 election

refutes the conservative republican ideology of Clark County. The Citizens of Clark

County are not the only republicans to be drawn to a democratic vote by Obama. In

2008 Obama looked on paper as if he could have been a republican himself,

captivating 9% of the registered democratic voters nation wide (Hannah Brenton,

Hayleigh Colombo). After his first term in office, his republican voters were able to

see what they voted for, prompting many of them to change their votes for the 2012

general election. Although, not all “Obamacans” discontinued their support for the

democratic candidate, most did. Leading to a fall of 3.21% of the votes.

I have resided in Clark County for most of my life and being uninformed to

the politics of the region, I had to base most my understanding off of the usual

profile government of agricultural and rural areas. After delving into research of the

socio-demographics and voting habits of the area that I had thought to be so familiar

with, I have found that this county does fit in with the typical rural profile. Although

a portion of the county can be viewed as an urban community and is considered part

of the Oregon metro area, it is not enough to over power the conservative

republican system the county seems to be in political accordance with today.

Work Cited

-Educational Services District 112 “Clark County School District” Web3.eds112.org/schooldistricts/ClarkCounty -U.S Census Bureau, “clarkcounty.WA.quickfacts” Quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/53/53011.html -William s. Hanable. “Clark County- thumbnail History”. Historylink.org (feb 04,2004)

-Scott Bailey. “clark county profile”. Employment security dept (feb 2014) -Stephanie Rice. “another abysmal voter turnoutfor clark county” The Columbian (Nov 11, 2013) np -Clark County. “General Election Report” Co.Clark.Wa.Us/Elections/results/2008/electionresults.pdf -Ballotopedia. “clark county Washington ballot measure” ballotopedia.org/clark_county_washington_ballot_Measures -Washington state fiscal information. “2013-2015 omnibus budget” fiscal.wa.gov/budgeto.aspk -Chamber of commerce”clark county Washington” clarkchamber.com/aboutclark.php -Coldwell “school Districts” cbunited brokers.com/search-listings-by-school- districts_240.html -Wa.gov “november06,2012 general election results” vote.wa.gov/results/20121106/initiative_measure_no_502_concerns_marijuana_by county_html -Koin6 news staff “pot banned in clark county rural area” koin.com (May 27, 2014) -Stephanie Rice “the will of the voters” blogs.columbian.com ( march 5, 2014) -library of congress “the American presidency project” www.presidency.ucsb.edu -Hannah Brenton and Hayleigh Colombo “republicans who backed Obama say they may vote for him again” The Hill (October 28 2010) -house of Republicans “meet Ann” Houseofrepublicans.wa.gov