How the Realtors threw a hard elbow in wine country
A tale of calculated political retribution over an arcane issue of real estate taxation
Beware the political wrath of the Realtors. An Eastern Washington Republican lawmaker learned that lesson the hard way when a calculated and aggressive independent campaign mounted by the political arm of the Washington Association of Realtors torpedoed his bid for a state Senate seat over an arcane issue of real estate taxation.
Rep. Bill Jenkin, R-Prosser, finished third in the primary in August behind Democrat Danielle Garbe Reser and fellow Republican Perry Dozier, a Waitsburg-area farmer and former Walla Walla County Commissioner, in a race for an open Senate seat in the 16th District, which stretches from Prosser to Walla Walla.
Here’s why this matters: A powerful interest group, operating within the law and the rules, improved the political and policy-making playing field to its advantage. How they did it:
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