The April 23 special election is over, and Enumclaw’s one measure failed to muster enough support.
It wasn’t a close call — the $19.5 million bond ask for a proposed community center needed to get more than 60% approval, but it didn’t even reach a simple majority of “yes” votes, failing at 48%.
Though the election is certified May 3, it appears there are few, if any, more ballots to count.
As of April 26, roughly 3,360 of Enumclaw’s 9,000 voters participated in this election — about 37%; this is practically the same voting rate as during an April 2012 special election, when city residents approved a proposition to join the King County Library System (it should be noted that there were roughly 2,600 less registered voters during this election).
The lower voter participation numbers was a likely result, given that this was a special election — between 3% and 5% more Enumclaw voters have shown up for more recent general elections, specifically for city council races.
“I expected a higher participation from locals given how impactful the community center would be,” said Tom Sauvageau, the head of the “yes” committee for the measure. “… Obviously, I’m disappointed. It was tough being involved with those that would directly benefit from the community center and knowing the personal stories of those impacted by not passing… And I can’t help but feel, the majority of the reasons for voting against this, in my honest opinion, were focused on the self and not on helping others.”
Bobby Martinez, who wrote recently penned a column arguing against the community center bond mainly due to the current economy and increased taxes, declined to comment on the measure’s failure.
Even beyond the challenge of getting the vote out in larger numbers, Enumclaw has generally been unfriendly to tax increases these last few elections; during the last August primary, the Plateau as a whole rejected King County’s Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services levy (only 47% approval), though the county as a whole approved it.
Additionally, 73% of Plateau voters rejected a levy to build crisis centers around King County in April 2023, though again, the county measure passed overall.
Finally, there’s the recent bond measures — the Enumclaw School District’s $253 million bond ask to build new schools, a performing arts center, and a new sports stadium had a rejection rate of 75%, the highest rejection rate in the district’s history.
ESD’s next bond measure for $103 million to just construct a new elementary school and early learning center fared better in November 2023, but not by much, with 64.5% of “no” votes.
In fact, the last bond to be passed by the district squeaked by with just 4 votes over 60% in 2015, and was only one of three bond measures to pass since 1988.
One exception to this pattern was the August 2022 Enumclaw Fire Department levy lid lift, which passed by a strong 62%.
Although the measure failed, Sauvageau said it was a success in that the measure got more support than many of these last levy and bond proposals.
Whether or not these tax rejections will impact further asks is unclear, though they could spell danger specifically for ESD levies.
The last levy measure the district put on a ballot was during the February 2022 special election — this was not a new levy, but a replacement levy, meaning there would be not additional taxes. This measure passed with just over 51% of support.
The levy is set to expire in 2026, so local feeling toward tax increases in two years may change.
A replacement Capital Levy for Instructional Technology Improvements is also set to expire around the same time; this measure passed with more than 56% of the vote in 2020.
SO WHAT’S NEXT?
Now that city voters have spoken, what direction Enumclaw’s elected officials and administration will head is unclear; Council member Anthony Wright has publicly said that this council won’t move forward with another community center bond if this measure failed, though future elected officials may have a different opinion.
However, the city appears to remain determined to address the local senior center, since its poor condition and lack of adequate space for the city’s growing senior population is what prompted the community center discussion in the first place.
Enumclaw Mayor Jan Molinaro and numerous council members have pointed out that modernizing the senior center would cost more money than the building is worth, so it’s possible another bond could be on its way to focus solely on older Plateau residents.
Sauvageau concurred.
“Now it’s time to get back to reality and realize we still have a senior center that is not adequate for our seniors. The city council is stuck with the difficult choice of what to do. Do we try to rebuild our senior center? If so, it will require going out for another bond,” Sauvageau said. “Or perhaps do we just let the senior center go until it can no longer function as a senior center any further and the city stop offering those services? That is definitely not an option I would chose, which is why I was so hopeful to pass this bond. The reality is we have some difficult work ahead of us, one that I hope finds a good solution.”
