Splitting Washington state is absurd. Franklin advisory vote a waste of time | Editorial

Turning Eastern Washington into the country’s 51st state is an outrageous idea that will come to nothing even if an advisory vote on the issue makes the Franklin County ballot in November.

So why give it even a hint of credibility? Putting such a ridiculous measure on the ballot will only encourage more division in our community when what we need is more unity.

Franklin County commissioners should dismiss the proposal outright, and avoid the ridicule and contentious debate that is sure to accompany such a ludicrous ballot measure that isn’t even binding.

Proponents of the Liberty State movement have been trying to get the measure on county ballots across Eastern Washington as an advisory vote. Columbia County officials have agreed, while Spokane County officials gave the request a hard no.

Benton County, so far, has not made a public decision.

But Franklin County commissioners — in the spirit of giving people a chance to have their say — entertained the Liberty State request. However, they wisely said the cost to put it to voters must come from the organization and not the county.

Supporters of a state split will have to pay about $4,000 to get their proposal on the ballot, and it remains to be seen if they can come up with the money before the Aug. 4 deadline.

If they do, Franklin Commissioners had said earlier they are open to giving residents an opportunity to weigh in on the matter.

While that may seem harmless enough, the idea of splitting the state is clearly a partisan effort that has the potential to cause even more political division in the Tri-Cities.

The presidential election always gets people riled, and the coronavirus restrictions have caused even more resentment among citizens. Talk of splitting the state will only add to the contentiousness, and possibly encourage more people to ignore the united effort the Tri-Cities must make in getting our COVID-19 numbers down.

And for what? An improbable plan.

In order to create a new state, action would be required by the state Legislature as well as Congress — and that’s not going to happen.

Considering that every bill proposed in the Legislature to split the state over the past several years has gone nowhere is a solid indication the issue will continue to be ignored by our state legislators.

As well it should be.

We understand that conservatives in rural Eastern Washington are resentful that many state issues appear to be decided by liberals in Seattle.

But there are liberals who live in Eastern Washington and there are, believe it or not, conservatives who live on the west side. There are also millions of political moderates who live on both sides of the state who consider themselves more purple than Red or Blue.

Franklin County Democrat Party Chair Jeffery Robinson urged the commissioners not to place the measure on the ballot because it would further diminish the credibility of Franklin County in the eyes of the rest of the state. He’s got a good point.

Regardless of the ideological differences, residents of Eastern and Western Washington rely on each other.

State revenue generated by major Seattle players like Boeing and Microsoft help everyone. And the west side has the ports needed to get crops from Eastern Washington to markets around the world.

When it comes to taxes, it is generally acknowledged that rural Eastern Washington receives more tax revenue than it generates thanks to its attachment to the urban west side.

The effort to split Washington state along the Cascade Mountains is a waste of time and energy. It may give some citizens a feeling of empowerment to vote on the measure, but since advisory votes are not binding the issue ultimately will go nowhere.

It would be better to find ways to build up our state together instead of focusing on an impossible plan that tears us apart

This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 2:44 PM.