County GOP attempts to play politics with city vote falls flat – Examiner Enterprise
In an unanticipated maneuver, the Washington County Republican Party (WCGOP) broke from tradition to intervene in Bartlesville’s special election, urging voters to oppose all four General Obligation Bonds on the eve of the vote.
Despite the party’s assertions and apparent shift in strategy, city voters overwhelmingly approved all four bonds, with a substantial average of 71% in favor.
The WCGOP’s surprising stance veered from its historical approach to city municipal votes and nonpartisan ballot measures, where it traditionally abstained from direct endorsements or oppositions.
The pivot comes in the wake of a takeover by a self-proclaimed “grassroots” movement within the party, which has notably influenced and changed the county GOP’s actions and messaging.
Misleading details about bonds
The WCGOP’s opposition, citing the Oklahoma GOP (OKGOP) party platform, appears mired in misinformation.
The party utilized the OKGOP’s stance on taxation — specifically, “We oppose the use of sales tax and use tax revenue bonds” — as a rationale to urge Republican voters to reject the bonds.
However, this argument lacks foundation given that General Obligation (GO) bonds are neither sales tax nor use tax bonds.
Contrarily, GO bonds are backed by the issuer’s creditworthiness and are financed through the city’s general budget, utilizing levied property taxes as per Oklahoma State Law.
Illustratively, a sales tax or use tax bond might impose a special tax on particular products within city limits or establish a toll road, using the revenue generated to pay off the bond and fund construction projects.
Economic implications
In an additional dimension of their argument, the WCGOP pointed to the party platform’s support for “eliminating taxation on income and property.”
However, a deeper dive into Bartlesville’s financials reveals complex economic implications.
To maintain the city’s budget obligations without the current ad valorem tax (property tax revenue), the city would need a sales tax increase from the existing 3.4% to over 4%, based on the 5-year average income.
Alternatively, the city would need to remove approximately $4 million from its annual budget or employ a hybrid approach of increased sales tax and budget cuts to supplant property tax revenue.
Local voters ignore party guidance
Republicans in Bartlesville have expressed confusion and concern over their WCGOP campaign against the bonds. A Republican voter noted that numerous WCGOP leaders reside outside the city limits of Bartlesville.
The mismatch between party guidance and citizen action highlights a striking divergence, illuminating potential discrepancies between the WCGOP’s new trajectory and the prevailing sentiments of local voters.
This incident also raises noteworthy questions among the citizens of Bartlesville about the influence of the local political entity and the impact of grassroots movements within the GOP.
Many prominent Republicans have already put their support behind the newly formed Republican and Other Conservatives of Washington County group which held a kick-off event in September.
Source: News
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