A couple of weeks before last week's election, Douglas County Commissioners advised voters in the county to reject the Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority's ballot issue to create a unified tax rate for the two counties.
Commissioners felt that with Chelan County having a much larger population, Chelan County voters would be able to control the tax rate in Douglas County. And although the ballot issue passed with about a 66 percent yes vote, it passed with no help from Douglas County voters, they said “no” – overwhelmingly. Something County Commissioner Marc Straub said was no surprise:
And he's right: Chelan County voters approved Proposition One with a 77 percent yes vote, while Douglas County voters rejected it with a 70 percent no vote.