A Spokane County judge on Tuesday ruled that Spokane County was required to add language to an upcoming ballot measure to make it clear to voters that a large chunk of the proposed $1.7 billion tax increase could be spent on building new jail facilities.
On August 8, a coalition of organizations including Spokane Community Against Racism (SCAR), NAACP and the Peace and Action Justice League (PJALS) brought a suit against the county, arguing that the language of the ballot measure, which made no mention of a jail, was too ambiguous and concealed the fact that a large portion of the money raised from the proposed tax would be used to build a new jail.
“Measure number 1 is deceptive, misleading, and prejudicial,” Karen Lindholdt, attorney for the organizations, said at a hearing last Friday. Judge Tony Hazel was originally set to render judgment that day, but he delayed his ruling until this week to think it over, asking both parties to present new ballot language at Tuesday’s hearing.
The original language that was slated to go on the ballot doesn’t mention a new jail at all. It only said that the two-tenths of 1% sales and use tax increase would be used for “criminal justice, public safety, and behavioral health purposes.” On the county’s online voter guide, mention of a jail doesn’t come until the “Arguments for and against” page.
The county’s information page for the measure states that 60% of the tax revenue would go to the County and says the county would use its portion of the funding to build two new jail facilities, but doesn’t say exactly how much those new facilities would cost.
On Tuesday, both sides presented their new ballot language to the judge, but Hazel ultimately went with his own changes, saying the court’s job is to make sure that the ballot language complies with state law, which includes making sure ballots sufficiently inform voters and avoid prejudicing them one way or the other. The new ballot measure (changes in bold) will read:
“Two-tenths of one percent sales and use tax for criminal justice, public safety, correctional infrastructure, and behavioral health purposes
The board of Spokane County Commissioners adopted resolution No. 22-0824 concerning sales and use tax increase pursuant to RCW 82.14.450.
If approved, the county may impose an additional .2% county-wide sales and use tax commencing April 1, 2024, and terminating December 31, 2054, to be used by county, cities, and towns within Spokane County for criminal justice, public safety, behavioral health, and including building and improving jails or correctional facilities provided in resolution No. 22-0824.”
After asking for feedback from the attorneys, Lindholdt tried to get the judge to put the “correctional facilities” portions first in each respective list since the overarching use of the measure would be used for that purpose. Hazel denied that request, saying the change he drafted was sufficient enough to inform voters of the measure’s content.
The original arguments
The petitioners last week proposed adding seven words (in bold) to the original ballot measure, making it read: “the proceeds to be used by the County, Cities and Towns within Spokane County for building two new jail facilities, and other criminal justice, public safety, and behavioral health purposes, as provided in Resolution No. 22-0824.”
County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Timothy Nault argued on Friday that the change would be more misleading because some of the money raised from the tax could be used for other purposes, saying funds generated by the tax are “not dedicated to the jail yet.”
Nault said the county wants to close Geiger Corrections Center, build a new jail tower and build an additional detention center. He also argued that “criminal justice” and “public safety” were enough to convey to voters that the money could be used for a jail.
Lindholdt argued that the change is necessary so voters know what they’re voting for.
“The concept is: are the voters … knowing what they are going to get when they vote yes or no for a billion plus tax dollars to be spent on this measure?” Lindholdt asked on Friday.
Gauging jail popularity
This is a crucial juncture for the prospect of a new jail. Spokane County officials including Commissioners Al French and Josh Kerns, as well as former Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich have been building support for a new jail for more than a decade without making much headway amid stiff resistance from progressives.
In December 2020, the think tank Fuse Washington and Smart Justice Spokane polled Spokane County voters to test theoretical ballot language to gauge support for a new jail or, alternatively, diversionary spending like better mental health treatment and housing support.
The poll — like Spokane county itself — had a slight conservative skew, with 50% of respondents saying they voted for Donald Trump in 2020, compared to 45% who said they voted for Biden. Additionally, former Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich — long a supporter of a tax-payer funded jail — had a 23% net favorability rating among respondents.
Despite that conservative skew, though, 52% of respondents were either somewhat or strongly opposed to a new jail, with only 40% somewhat or strongly in favor. Conversely, 59% were in favor of language that would, “invest revenue from a 0.2% sales tax increase in solutions proven to reduce crime and the jail population, such as access to affordable housing, treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, programs for youth, and job training programs.”
Fuse and Smart Justice Spokane used the poll to argue that Spokane County, even with its conservative lean, was far more supportive of non-carceral solutions than to building a new jail. On an episode of RANGE from 2021, Fuse’s Jim Dawson said the organizations hoped the poll would convince those in favor of a jail that it was a losing issue, and dissuade them from putting it on the ballot at all.
Instead, County Commissioners Al French, Mary Kuney and Josh Kerns proposed ballot language that didn’t mention the jail at all.
They voted to put the measure on the ballot in one of the last commissioner meetings of 2022, when the commission was still 100% Republican, before the two new commissioners, both Democrats, were sworn in. Commissioners Amber Waldref and Chris Jordan have since tried and failed to delay the vote, saying public officials needed to do more community outreach and have more concrete plans before they put the measure before voters. With the three conservatives still making up 60% of the board, those efforts failed, and other attempts at delaying the vote by the corrections officer union and Spokane Councilmembers Zack Zappone and Lori Kinnear failed as well.
After today's ruling, though, voters will at least have a little more detail about what they're being asked to spend those tax dollars on.
