1 Deschutes County Analysis Deschutes County is a.docx

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Deschutes County Analysis
Deschutes County is a fast growing community, population
estimate of 165,954 as of
July 1, 2013 (“County QuickFacts,” n.p.), which is a 5.2%
increase from 2010 census data
collection. The community most strongly identifies by the
amount of families in the area and
their tourism based economy. According to census data, the
industries that employ the largest
amounts of people in the county are
Arts/Entertainment/Recreation, Educational/Health Care
services, and Retail Trade, which reflects the large amount of
tourism in this county, particularly
in Bend. Compared to the mentioned industries, there are few
people in the county employed by
the agriculture industry. There is a bimodal distribution for
ages, where a large amount of the
population spikes for people ages 17 and under, and people ages
30-54. This distribution

indicates that Deschutes County is a family town, rather than an
urban hub for single people. In
addition to age distributions, 57.6% of the population is
married, and 67.8% of the population
identifies their household type as a “Family Household.”
(“County QuickFacts,” n.p). This
community is rather culturally homogenous, with 94.8% of
residents in the county identifying as
Caucasian (“County QuickFacts,” n.p); although, the tourist
population allows the community to
be exposed to other cultures. Another factor contributing to the
growth of the community is the
OSU Cascades campus, which is gaining enrollment each term.
The addition of a four-year
university pairs well with the existing Central Oregon
Community College. The population in
this community is educated; the proportion of college educated
citizens in Deschutes County is
similar the entire state ("County QuickFacts,” n.p).
Several factors play into estimating the political culture of this
county. Demographic
data has shown to be significantly related party identification
and ideological identification

(Erikson, McIver, & Wright, p. 810). Due to some of the trends
in the demographic data, such as
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low poverty and major industries, the county is likely to be
more progressive. However,
communities with a large amount of families and older adults
tend to lean more toward
traditionally conservative values. In some ways, Deschutes
County is a microcosm of the state of
Oregon, having citizens categorized as traditionally liberal and
traditionally conservative, which
makes it hard to categorize Deschutes County. This is reflected
in the county’s voter
registration, which splits closely between republicans and
democrats, with a slightly higher
percentage registered as republican (“Registration by County,”
p. 1). A final consideration for
the political culture of this community is the region of the state
Deschutes County exists. The
county falls into the “Eastern Oregon” region of Oregon, a
portion of Oregon, which is

overwhelmingly rural and conservative. Ultimately, Deschutes
County can be categorized as
culturally conservative.
Analysis of Community
Deschutes County is especially unique because of its abundance
of outdoor adventure
options all year round. Deschutes County’s main economy is
based on tourism and recreational
equipment (“Deschutes County,” n.p; “County QuickFacts,”
n.p). This region in Oregon is not
dependent on farming and agriculture the way most of the
Eastern Oregon region is. Having
tourism drive the economy will affect the voting habits of this
region because key issues for
central Oregon are related to increasing tourism and supporting
local businesses. This socio-
demographic supports the proposed hypothesis because
Deschutes County has a lot of small
local business owners, and any measures being proposed that
could threaten these businesses
would likely not be approved by the county. This is reflected in
the county’s voting habits with
tax related measures (“Special Election Abstract,” p. 2).

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Another statistical characteristic of this community, which adds
complexity to the
population, is the amount of college education. According to
Census data, about 30.5% of
Deschutes County residents are college educated with a
Bachelor’s degree or Graduate degree.
This percentage is relatively similar to Oregon’s overall
percentage of citizens with post-
secondary education, 29.2 percent (“County QuickFacts,” n.p).
The amount of education reflects
the education available in the district, with Central Oregon
Community College and the OSU
Cascades campus, which is growing every year. Currently, the
OSU Cascades campus has a total
enrollment of 936 students, including undergraduate and
graduate students, which is a 16.9%
increase from the 2012 enrollment at the school (“Cascades
Campus Enrollment,” n.p.) Post-
secondary education is a factor related to higher voter
registration, and depending on the focus of

study, can shift politics either way. If the college educated
population in the county had gone to a
liberal arts college and studied a social science (e.g.
psychology, communications), they would
be more likely to vote in a progressive manner. On the other
hand, if more of the college
educated population studied in fields such as business or
something else related to finance, they
would be more likely to vote in a conservative manner. The
education statistic in this context
supports Deschutes County being a microcosm of the state of
Oregon because college education
would add complexity to their voters and could influence their
votes in a polarized manner.
The amount of families in Deschutes County also reflects the
community and its values.
Of those who describe their household as a “Family household,”
just over half of those families
are a married-couple family (55%), while only 12.8% of these
households are single-parent
families (“County QuickFacts,” n.p.). Having a family
community greatly influences voting
habits, because they are likely vote for measures which support
family values or increases

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opportunities for future generations. The voting habits based on
this socio-demographic further
support the hypothesis that this community is culturally
conservative.
Beyond statistical observations, the voter registration reflects
the community values. The
community is overwhelmingly registered as a Democrat or
Republican. Of this specific
population of registered Democrats and Republicans, about 54%
of the registered voters identify
as Republican and 46% are registered as a Democrat (“Voter
Registration by County,” p.1). This
is contrary to the statewide registration, with 44.3% of
registered voters affiliating as Republican
and 55.7% registered as a Democrat (“Voter Registration by
County,” p.1). The registration
numbers of the community reflect the voting trends in the
presidential elections in 2008 and
2012. During the 2008 presidential election, 49% of Deschutes
County voters voted for President

Obama, however during the 2012 election, there was a slight
decrease, with 45% of voters voting
for Obama (“General Election Results,” p. 1). As for the
Republican Party, in the 2008 election
49.2% of voters voted for McCain, compared to the 2012
election with 52% of voters voting for
Romney (“General Election Results,” p. 1). The support for the
republican candidate reflects the
community well, because the Republican Party is publically
supportive of conservative values.
During the special election in November 2007, there was a
particularly interesting
measure being pushed: Measure 50, otherwise known as the
Healthy Kids Plan. This measure
was a proposed tax increase for tobacco products, with the new
funds designed to be allocated to
the Healthy Kids Program, which would provide health care to
children and low-income adults.
The arguments in favor of the measure focus on the importance
of protecting Oregon’s children
and discouraging the use of tobacco by making it slightly more
expensive (“Voter Pamphlet,” p
64-75). The arguments in opposition to the measure create the
argument that having a specific

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purchase tax would open the door for Oregon legislatures to
create more unnecessary taxes for
Oregonians (“Voter Pamphlet,” p 76-85).
This topic is especially intriguing because of the cognitive
dissonance created for Oregon
voters. Historically, when sales taxes are proposed by the
Oregon legislature, it has been rejected
by voters (“Sales Tax,” n.p.); Oregonians are deeply opposed to
sales taxes of any sort. However,
health care is also a pressing issue in the United States and
children are a particular concern for
family communities such as Deschutes County. Parents would
be likely to vote in favor of this
measure, as well as health care workers. This is reflected in the
groups who supported measure
fifty, including the Oregon PTA, Oregon’s Nurses and Nurse
Practitioners, and Stand for
Children. Demographic groups opposed to this measure are
voters who fear that taxation allows
for more governmental control over its citizens and select small

business owners. The groups
associated with the opposition of the bill all have more
traditionally conservative values. Some
groups that were in opposition to measure fifty include
FreedomWorks, Market owners who sell
tobacco products, and the Taxpayer Association of Oregon.
Ultimately, the opposing side won, with the majority of voters
in Deschutes County and
the entire state of Oregon voting against this measure. This
turnout is slightly surprising, because
the argument to protect children seems compelling to a family
based community, however the
results reflect the larger issue of voters feeling persecuted for
their choices to smoke.
The 2012 election raised a particularly controversial measure in
three states, Measure 80
was proposed in Washington, Colorado, and Oregon. Measure
80 is better known as the measure
to legalize marijuana. Oregon was the only state of the three not
to pass this measure. If Measure
80 had passed, the commercial growing and sale of marijuana
would have been permitted, and
those using marijuana as a main source of income would have to
apply for a commercial license

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according to the regulations of the Oregon Cannabis
Commission (“Ballot Title,” n.p.). The new
revenue would have also been directed to the state general fund,
as well as drug education
(“Ballot title,” n.p.). This issue was being closely watched on a
national scale due to the content.
Through the media, the measure appeared to be a battle of
young hippies versus older traditional
generations. Typically, the traditionally progressive population
is likely vote in favor of a
controversial measure. Many of the arguments in favor liken
this measure to the regulations
Oregon has on alcohol. The arguments outline several points;
that minors would be prohibited
from legally consuming marijuana products, that driving under
the influence of marijuana would
remain illegal, and making law enforcement more effective by
pursuing major violent crimes.
Unlike the Healthy Kids Plan, many of the arguments in favor
of this argument are presented by

individuals rather than institutions. As for the opposing
argument, the associated political culture
is voters with conservative values. Those opposing passing
Measure 80 argue that the availability
of marijuana would encourage underage use of marijuana, those
selling marijuana would not be
able to be regulated due to marijuana still being illegal
according to federal law, and that passing
the measure would not necessarily generate revenue for the
state. In the end, the measure was not
passed in Deschutes County or in the state of Oregon. The
measure not passing in Deschutes
County further supports the hypothesis for their conservative
values. It does not come as a
surprise that the measure was rejected, Oregon has a reputation
for being progressive and
controversial, but drugs are a topic that tends to polarize
opinions.
The politicians chosen to represent the county further parallel
the community’s culturally
conservative values. The current senator for District 27 is Tim
Knopp, a republican family man
and small business owner. Knopp was also a Director of
Building Partners for Affordable

Housing (“Senator Tim Knopp,” n.p.). One of his biggest
triumphs in the legislature was helping
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to pass protecting the kicker, a measure that altered the
constitution and helped return money to
taxpayers. Several of his other notable themes of voting in the
legislature are related to taxes and
helping small businesses (“Senator Tim Knopp,” n.p). Knopp
represents the community well; his
public acts protect the economy, which supports his
constituents. As far as campaign funding,
the top three contributors for Knopp were Loren Parks ($25,000;
“Campaign Finance Activity,”
n.p.), Oregon Transformation PAC ($10,000; “Campaign
Finance Activity,” n.p.), and
Oregonians for Affordable Housing ($10,000; “Campaign
Finance Activity,” n.p). The total
spending for his 2012 campaign was $508,880.08 (“Account
Summary,” n.p.), whereas his total
contributions were $514,042.36 (“Account Summary,” n.p.). To
compare, his opponent,

democratic candidate Geri Hauser, had total expenses of
$146,344.33 (“Account Summary,”
n.p.), and had total contributions of $146,344.33 (“Account
Summary,” n.p.). Knopp’s
contributors reflect his background and his voting habits in the
legislature well; Knopp appears
to have deep roots in the community, which inevitably
contributed to his victory.
Representative Jason Conger is the other public face of this
community. Conger is also a
Republican, and before his political career, he practiced
business law (“Biography,” n.p.).
Conger also served on the board of a solar energy company, and
has history as a congressional
aide (“Biography,” n.p.). Conger’s notable acts in the
legislature are very intertwined with his
family values, Conger sponsored the legislative bill HB 3363,
which helped get abused children
better protection during hearings (“News and Information,”
n.p.). Another bill Conger voted on
and was active on was a bill to require sex offenders from other
states to register themselves in
Oregon if they were to move to the state. (“News and
Information,” n.p.). Conger embodies

many of the family values that are important in the Deschutes
community. During his 2012
campaign, Conger’s expenses totaled $404,447.54 (“Account
Summary,” n.p), and his total
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contributions were $394,438.80 (“Account Summary,” n.p). In
comparison, his 2012 opponent
Nathan Hovekamp, the democratic candidate, had total expenses
of $169,614.44 (“Account
Summary,” n.p), and total contributions of $162,387.71.
Conger’s top contributors were James
A. Bisenius, founder of Common Sense Investment Management
($25,000; ”Campaign Finance
Activity,” n.p.), the Oregon Transformation Project PAC
($10,000; ”Campaign Finance
Activity,” n.p.), and the Oregon Victory PAC ($10,000;
”Campaign Finance Activity,” n.p.). The
endorsement of Bisenius is controversial, because a year later
he was arrested in a prostitution-
related charge (“Founder,” n.p.). When asked about the arrest,
Conger publically noted that he

did not want to turn this incident into a public scandal that
reflected on his choices, but instead
wanted to use this as an opportunity to promote his concerns for
Bisenius’s family and a social
issue of women being pushed into prostitution (“Pondering
Senate Race,” n.p.).
Conclusion
Oregon continues to be a complex state with many oppositional
issues arising. Deschutes
County adds to the intrigue of Oregon, because this is a state
with traditional values, but is also
willing to use innovative new measures to further progress. The
socio-economic data, the voting
trends, and chosen officials reflect the county accurately: they
are looking to keep the
community moving forward the way they see fit, with small
businesses being allowed to flourish
and family at the center of each decision. Because of the
presented data, the hypothesis of
Deschutes County being a culturally conservative community is
supported. However, there is
possibility for shift in the community with the growing college
population at OSU Cascades.

Nevertheless, even without a shift; it is not a fault that the
community does not typically support
radical social measures, the community acts in the way that
aligns closely with their values.
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Bibliography
Carney, John. “Founder of $3 Billion Hedge Fund Busted in
Prostitution Sting.” CNBC.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101008527. (Accessed June 12, 2014).
Erikson, Robert S., McIver, John, & Wright, Gerald. "State
Political Culture and Public
Opinion." American Political Science Review. Vol. 81, No. 3,
(1987) , 797-813.
Gaston, Christian. “Sales Tax: Why it Tempts Oregon
Lawmakers—But Why This Time Might
Be Different.”
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/12/sales_tax

_why_it_tempts_oregon.
html. (Accessed June 12, 2014).
Mapes, Jeff. “Rep. Jason Conger, Pondering Senate Race,
Downplays Political Impact of Big
Donor’s Arrest.” The Oregonian.
http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2013/09/rep_jason_
conger_pondering_sen.h
tml. (Accessed June 12, 2014).
Oregon Blue Book, “Deschutes County,”
http://bluebook.state.or.us/local/counties/counties09.htm,
(Accessed June 11, 2014).
Oregon State Legislature, “Representative Jason Conger-
Biography.”
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/conger/Pages/biography.aspx
(Accessed June 11,
2014).
Oregon State Legislature, “Representative Jason Conger- News
and Information.”

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/conger/Pages/news.aspx
Oregon State Legislature, “Senator Tim Knopp- Biography.”
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/knopp/Pages/biography.aspx
(Accessed June 11,
2014).
Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division, “Voter
Registration by County: May 2014,”
http://www.oregonvotes.gov/doc/voterresources/registration/ma
y14.pdf, (Accessed June
10, 2014).
Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division, “November 6,
2007, Special Election Abstract of
Votes State Measure NO. 50,”
http://www.oregonvotes.gov/doc/history/nov62007/results.pdf,
2012,General Election Abstract of
Votes: United States President”

http://www.oregonvotes.gov/doc/history/nov62012/G12_Abstrac
t.pdf, (Accessed June 9,
2014).
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2008,General Election Abstract of
Votes: United States President”
http://www.oregonvotes.gov/doc/history/nov42008/results/pr.pd
f, (Accessed June 9,
2014).
Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division, “Voters’
Pamphlet: Oregon Special Election.”
http://www.oregonvotes.gov/doc/history/nov62007/nov07_vp.pd
f, (Accessed June 11,
2014).

Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division, “Voters’
Pamphlet: Oregon General Election.”
http://www.oregonvotes.gov/pages/history/archive/nov62012/gu
ide/english/votersguide.h
tml#Ballot Title (Accessed June 11, 2014).
Oregon Secretary of State, Orestar. “Statement of Organization
Search by Name.”
https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar, (Accessed June 11, 2014).
Oregon State University. “Cascades Campus Enrollment.”
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/aa/ir/sites/default/files/enroll-fall-
2013-cascades.pdf.
United States Census Bureau, State and County QuickFacts.
“Deschutes County, Oregon.”
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/41/41017.html,
(accessed June 5, 2014).

A Look at Clark County
Clark County Washington is one of the oldest counties in the
state of
Washington and was named after one of the famous explorers
who found it, William
Clark. In terms of its size, Clark County is defined by 629
square miles near the
southern border of Washington on the Columbia River. Within
the boundaries of
Clark County the average population density is 676.2 persons
per square mile with
the higher density towards the southern limit of the county and
the less dense in the
northern territory of the county. It has an estimated total
population of 443,817,
making it the fifth most populis county in the entire state of
Washington (William s.
Hanable). Within the county reside six cities; Yacolt, La Center,
Ridgefield, Battle
Ground, Brush Prairie, Hazel Dell, Camas, Washougal, and
Vancouver. With the
biggest, most populated city being Vancouver.

(Clark Chamber)
The county varies greatly between the north and south sides of
it. The north
side of the county is a more rural and agricultural based, being
the home to many
farms including a diary farm housing owned by the Tillamook
Cheese Company.
This area of the county would be considered a family based
region, due to the lack of
entertainment or “nightlife”. This is a pretty conservative style
area, as are many
agricultural communities. This area houses many low to middle
class families. The
southern expanse of the county differs greatly from the northern
towns. The
southern area, including Vancouver and Camas, is much more of
an urban
community. Being just across the river from the metropolis that

is Portland, Oregon,
this region is very influenced by the liberal culture. The
southern area is home to
more of the middle to upper class citizens as well as a majority
of the 107,452
private non-farm jobs (U.S Census Bureau).
As a whole, the county lives with an average income of
$58,764 per
household. With the average household accommodating roughly
3 occupants (U.S
Census Bureau). 32.4% of the population is under the age of 18,
and only 12.6% are
over the age of 65(U.S Census Bureau). This means roughly
65% of the population is
of employment age. Being a family oriented community
schooling is made very
accessible. Although the school districts are small, there are 9
school districts total
(Educational service district 112). These districts are spread
among the entire
county, providing access to schooling for all areas.

Map of Clark County school districts
(Coldwell)
Early Clark County survived off the large industries of
agriculture, lumber,
and fishing. This was made possible by the availability of ports
along the Columbia
River. Although these industries still flourish in the county
today, bigger industries
have come fourth to help boost the counties budget. Health care
and social
assistance have become large-scale areas of revenue for the
county. According to the
Employment Security Department these diligences alone
provide over 18,100 jobs
to the county (Scott Bailey). Along with these already strong
avenues of income, the
electronic industry proves to be a growing trend that will
continue to produce a

strong impact on the state budget in the future (Scott Bailey).
Major role players in
the electronic market have already set up camp in Clark County
such as wafertech,
Hewlett Packard, SEH America, and Linear Semiconductors.
These are industries
that serve on a much larger scale than just the county, bringing
in profit from
outside sources. Where Clark County tends to struggle is the
field of retail. Being so
close to the border of Oregon, Citizens of the county tend to
refrain from making
large purchase inside the county. In an attempt to elude the
sales tax of Washington,
most people make the short drive across the Columbia River to
Oregon where they
are usually able to make their purchases tax-free. This takes a
lot of money out of
local retail and puts it into other economies.
Clark County is considered a “problem child” by the rest of the
state. This is
due to the voting habits of the county. The county is home to
246,856 registered

voters, however they continuously have the lowest voter turnout
of any other
county in the state. During the last general election, Clark
County casted an
appalling 90,907 votes (Stephanie Rice). That is only 36% of
the voters registered in
the county. This has shown to be a struggle in past elections as
well. Although the
numbers surrounding voters that are registered to a party are not
found to be
released by the county, you can safely say that based on the
voting trend in the
county, there is more than likely a stronger republican registry
than democratic.
Clark County has a tendency to not vote in accordance with the
majority. On
the hot button initiative of marijuana legalization, measure I-
502. The measure
read:
“This measure removes state-law prohibitions against
producing, processing,

and selling marijuana, subject to licensing and regulation by the
liquor control
board; allow limited possession of marijuana by persons aged
twenty-one and over;
and impose 25% excise taxes on wholesale and retail sales of
marijuana, earmarking
revenue for purposes that include substance-abuse prevention,
research, education,
and healthcare. Laws prohibiting driving under the influence
would be amended to
include maximum thresholds for THC blood concentration.”
(Ballotopedia)
The state supported the measure and voted to legalize use of
marijuana.
Clark county was one the counties that did not vote in favor.
The county voted down
the measure with 50.32% against. This is in opposition with the
state total of 55.7%
voting for the implementation of the initiative into law
(Wa.Gov). This is however
consistent with the slightly conservative voting record of the
county. The counties

strong republican forte is shown by the recent buzz over the
county commissioner
voting to stop all growing, processing and selling of
recreational marijuana within
its jurisdiction (Koin6). This will override the passing of I-502
within the county
jurisdiction.
(Columbian)
The state senator is Ann Rivers. She is a republican who is
finishing the term
of Joe Zarelli, who resigned on May 31 after 17 years. Rivers
was working in the
Washington state house, where she was elected to in 2010,
previous to taking on the
remainder of Zarelli’s term (Ann Rivers). Our state
representatives are Brandon

Vick and Liz Pike who are both also republicans. Brandon Vick
has been a lifetime
resident of Clark county. Liz Pike is from Camas, Washington,
which resides in Clark
County. Her emphasis is on public transportation. Having our
county represented by
all republican incumbents shows the strength of the republican
side of our county.
In the 2008 general election 51.8% of those who voted, did so
in favor of
Obama. This is compared to the state total 57.7% in support of
Obama. Following
Obama’s first term in office, the Clark County’s support for
Obama fell to 48.59% in
2012 (Clark.WA.US), exaggerating the statewide fall in support
to 56.2% of votes
cast (Library of Congress). I do not believe that the vote for
Obama in 2008 election
refutes the conservative republican ideology of Clark County.
The Citizens of Clark
County are not the only republicans to be drawn to a democratic
vote by Obama. In

2008 Obama looked on paper as if he could have been a
republican himself,
captivating 9% of the registered democratic voters nation wide
(Hannah Brenton,
Hayleigh Colombo). After his first term in office, his republican
voters were able to
see what they voted for, prompting many of them to change
their votes for the 2012
general election. Although, not all “Obamacans” discontinued
their support for the
democratic candidate, most did. Leading to a fall of 3.21% of
the votes.
I have resided in Clark County for most of my life and being
uninformed to
the politics of the region, I had to base most my understanding
off of the usual
profile government of agricultural and rural areas. After delving
into research of the
socio-demographics and voting habits of the area that I had
thought to be so familiar
with, I have found that this county does fit in with the typical
rural profile. Although
a portion of the county can be viewed as an urban community
and is considered part

of the Oregon metro area, it is not enough to over power the
conservative
republican system the county seems to be in political
accordance with today.
Work Cited

-Educational Services District 112 “Clark County School
District”
Web3.eds112.org/schooldistricts/ClarkCounty
-U.S Census Bureau, “clarkcounty.WA.quickfacts”
Quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/53/53011.html
-William s. Hanable. “Clark County- thumbnail History”.
Historylink.org (feb
04,2004)
-Scott Bailey. “clark county profile”. Employment security dept
(feb 2014)
-Stephanie Rice. “another abysmal voter turnoutfor clark
county”
The Columbian (Nov 11, 2013) np
-Clark County. “General Election Report”
Co.Clark.Wa.Us/Elections/results/2008/electionresults.pdf
-Ballotopedia. “clark county Washington ballot measure”
ballotopedia.org/clark_county_washington_ballot_Measures
-Washington state fiscal information. “2013-2015 omnibus
budget”
fiscal.wa.gov/budgeto.aspk
-Chamber of commerce”clark county Washington”
clarkchamber.com/aboutclark.php

-Coldwell “school Districts” cbunited brokers.com/search-
listings-by-school-
districts_240.html
-Wa.gov “november06,2012 general election results”
vote.wa.gov/results/20121106/initiative_measure_no_502_conce
rns_marijuana_by
county_html
-Koin6 news staff “pot banned in clark county rural area”
koin.com (May 27, 2014)
-Stephanie Rice “the will of the voters” blogs.columbian.com (
march 5, 2014)
-library of congress “the American presidency project”
www.presidency.ucsb.edu
-Hannah Brenton and Hayleigh Colombo “republicans who
backed Obama say they
may vote for him again” The Hill (October 28 2010)
-house of Republicans “meet Ann” Houseofrepublicans.wa.gov
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/

I have lived in Yamhill or Polk county most of my life which
are very similar in many ways. Since I
currently live in Polk County, it will be the focus of this paper.
According to the US Census Bureau in
2011 Polk County had a population of 75,993 and covered 745
square miles. Traveling back roads in
Polk County will reveal many attractions from covered bridges,
parks, vineyards, wineries, WOU, the
Brunk House, Baskett Slough Wildlife Refuge (which has a
great hiking trail), Spirit Mountain Casino, and
beautiful landscapes. Polk County receives approximately 50
inches of rainfall a year which is important
to its agricultural and forest products production.
Approximately 28.1% of the population holds a
Bachelor’s degree or higher which is nearly the same as the
statewide average (quickfacts.census.gov).
These degrees are used in a vast array of jobs ranging from
dairy products, Christmas trees, wheat,
broilers, and tall fescue which are the top five commodities in

Polk County (qualityinfo.org).
There is more than one ideological label you could assign to
Polk County, but I believe the best one is,
“traditionally conservative.” According to Harry Beadle at
Redstate.com, “traditional conservatives
believe they stand on the shoulders of those who have gone
before us. They revere God, national
sovereignty, cultural, community, republicanism (with a small
“r”), and self-restrained capitalism. They
believe the family is the natural and basic social entity and must
be based in marriage between one man
and one woman and committed to bringing new life into the
world. They believe in strong free-market
economic policies, strong defense and strong social values.”
These are the beliefs the Republican Party
typically espouse; therefore, if you look at whom Polk County
Residents have voted for in Presidential
and Gubernatorial elections, it will illustrate a conservative
ideology.
President & Governor Elections - Yellow Highlight Shows
Winner
Year Dem - Polk Rep - Polk Dem - Oregon Rep - Oregon
President - 1996 Clinton - 10,942 Dole - 11,478 649,641
538,152

President - 2000 Gore - 11,921 Bush - 14,988 720,342 713,577
President - 2004 Kerry - 15,484 Bush - 19,508 943,163 866,831
President - 2008 Obama - 17,536 McCain - 17,714 1,037,291
738,475
President - 2012 Obama – 15,761 Romney – 17,377
910,586 717,409
Governor - 1998 Kitzhaber - 13,173 Sizemore - 6,583 717,061
334,001
Governor - 2002 Kulongoski - 10,956 Mannix - 13,128 618,004
581,785
Governor - 2006 Kulongoski - 12,620 Saxton - 12,643 699,786
589,748
Governor - 2010 Kitzhaber - 12,899 Dudley - 15,966 716,525
694,287
Registered - 2010 14,951 16,604 863,322 664,123
Data obtained from Oregon Secretary of State Elections
Division
The table clearly demonstrates a Republican lean in Polk
County. Statewide, Democrats comprise
nearly 57% of the registered voters compared to 43%

Republicans if you exclude the other parties.
Statewide, Oregon has voted for a Democrat 100% of the time
in the last 5 Presidential elections and
last 4 Gubernatorial elections. It has been just the opposite in
Polk County. Only 1 time since 1996 has
Polk County elected a Democrat. Nearly 53% of registered
voters are Republican compared to 47%
Democrat while excluding the other parties. This reflects the
traditional conservative point of view that
Republicans stand for. Also, if you refer to the Comparative
Voter Participation from Oregonvotes.org,
you will see with the exception of 2008, the Republican voter
turnout has been greater than Democratic
turnout in every election since 1966. Conservatives are more
politically active than liberals as this is
rooted in the tradition of, “Traditional Conservatives believe
they stand on the shoulders of those who
have gone before us” (Beadle, Harry). If you don’t get out and
vote, you are letting down all the people
who have worked hard before you to pass on their traditions.
President Obama in 2008, when excluding the other candidates,
garnered 58% of the vote whereas in
2012 he only received 56% of the vote. In Polk County, Obama
received 50% of the vote in 2008 and

only 47% in 2012. Both percentages are lower for President
Obama with a significant decline if voter
turnout. I could write a whole essay on why, but I will just list
a few: 7.9% national unemployment, 16
trillion in national debt, median middle class household incomes
have dropped $4,000 over the past four
years, an additional 15 million people on food stamps in the last
four years, the number of people on
disability has risen dramatically, numerous states suing the
federal government for multiple reasons,
health care costs have continued to rise dramatically over the
past four years, intrusive regulations in to
private business, gas prices have doubled in the past four years,
house prices have plummeted, I could
keep going but my paper would be too long. In short, the
economy is a disaster and GDP is worse now
than it was two years ago. It is the worst recovery coming out
of recession the country has ever seen.
Obama won due to the minority vote in this country and the fact
half of the country is on public
assistance of some kind. Another fact which is very sad is,

“Eighteen percent of Americans say they
would not vote for a well-qualified presidential candidate who
happens to be a Mormon” (Gallup, 2012).
Gallup is a well respected polling agency so this has to be close
to accurate.
There is also statistical data we can reference to further
illustrate Polk Counties traditional conservative
electorate. First, in terms of a percent, 91.1% of people in Polk
County are white compared to 88.6%
statewide (quickfacts.census.gov). According to the Joint Center
for Political and Economic Studies,
approximately 63% of African Americans identify themselves as
Democrat compared to only 10%
Republican. According to the National Asian American
Political Survey, 36% of Asian Americans identify
themselves as liberal compared to only 22% as conservative.
The Pew Research Center reports in the
2004 Political Landscape that while Democrats outnumbered
Republicans among Hispanics by more
than two to one in the 1990s, after 9/11 Democrats led by a
smaller margin—36% to 22%
(libraryindex.com). As you can see from the data, the more
“white” a county is the more Republican the
county is going to be. Since Polk County is 2.5% more white

than the state average, it is going to skew
the vote more Republican.
Second, traditional conservatives believe in the family and the
value of home ownership. Compared to
the state average, over 5% more people own a home in Polk
County and the family size is 5% larger
(quickfacts.census.gov). This represents traditional values and
the American dream. Two people, a man
and a woman, get married, buy a house, and start raising kids in
a rural, agricultural environment. It
doesn’t get any more traditionally conservative than that which
is exactly what Polk County represents.
Third, the median household income is $50,975 in Polk County
compared to $49,260 statewide with
only 12.9% of people living below the poverty level compared
to 14% statewide (quickfacts.census.gov).
Take a look at the chart below from the Pew Research Center.
This chart clearly illustrates higher
Income families are much more likely to be Republican
compared to poor families; thus, if the median

income is higher in Polk County than the state average, the
trend is going to be Republican which is what
the voting data shows. Therefore, when looking at the three
distinct statistical characteristics of: race,
home ownership, and income you can clearly see a traditional
conservative/Republican demographic.
This data also points to a more successful county in terms of
employment. Compared to its neighboring
Marion County, Polk Counties unemployment rate was 1.5%
less and nearly 1% less than the statewide
average in Sep. of 2011 (qualityinfo.org). Polk County also
boasts nearly a 3% better percent health
insurance coverage rate compared to the state average
(qualityinfo.org). In fact, Polk County ranks 3
rd
best out of Oregon’s 36 counties for health insurance coverage.
To summarize, Polk County has more
Republicans than Democrats compare to the state average and
votes Republican in Presidential and
Gubernatorial elections. Compared to the state, is has higher
income, less unemployment, and more

people with health insurance coverage which are three very
important benchmarks of success.
Another way to get a bird’s eye view of the traditional
conservative ideology of Polk County is to see
how they buck the voting trend of the rest of the state on ballot
measures. Two examples of this are
Ballot Measures 58 and 61 both from the 2008 election. Ballot
Measure 58 prohibited teaching public
school students in a language other than English for more than
two years. The statewide vote was
756,903 “Yes” to 977,696 “No” votes. In other words, the state
did not want to put any limits on how
long a student could be taught in another language. Polk
County said, “Yes” with 17,738 votes
compared to 16,753 “No” votes (oregonvotes.org).
Traditionalists believe in English as the primary
language. This is not to be mean, harsh, or unfeeling. It is to
make everyone’s life easier including the
immigrant as well as the tax payer. If I would to go live in
Japan, I would expect myself to learn Japanese
so I could communicate and be a productive member of society.
The same holds true of immigrants
coming to the U.S. If you want to assimilate, then you need to
learn English and that is what Polk

County stated with their vote.
Ballot Measure 61 created mandatory minimum prison sentences
for certain theft, identity theft,
forgery, drug, and burglary crimes. Oregon voted this down by
nearly 40,000 votes, but not Polk
County. It passed with a “Yes” vote of 55% to 45%
(oregonvotes.org). The conservative people of Polk
County stated clearly they want people to pay for their crime. If
you do the crime, then you need to pay
the time. Polk County residents knew this would be costly
proposition and most likely would hit them in
the pocket book. It did not matter to them because they put
their values ahead of their finances. That
is what traditional conservatives do and that is why Polk County
voted conservative since it is a
Republican stronghold.
That final piece of data we will analyze demonstrates Polk
County’s traditional conservative ideology in
who voters elect for their legislators. Brian Boquist
representing District 12 won his election handily and
so did Jim Thompson who represents District 23. According to

the Secretary of State Election Divisions,
both of these candidates far outraised and outspent their
opponents. See table below:
2012 Contributions Expenditures
Brian Boquist (Rep) - Won $148,342 $160,146
Annette Frank (Dem) - Lost $5,078 $4,896
Jim Thompson (Rep) - Won $88,485 $79,582
Ross Swartzendruber (Dem) - Lost $3,385 $3,149
Brian received money from many different types of
organizations, but the top donor was Loren
E. Parks who is a private citizen. Other substantial donors
were Lobbyist PAC’s such as the
Lynx Group, Friends of Ted Ferrioli, and
Postmaster/Windowline. Partisan PAC’s such as the
Oregon Republican Party also donated a large sum of money.
Much of the money from PAC’s
and other contributions were from the business community such
as Stimson Lumber, real estate
agencies, restaurants, etc. Almost all the money Annette Frank
received was from Partisan
PAC’s including the Senate Democratic Leadership Fund, Polk
County Democratic Central

Committee, and Yamhill County Democratic Committee. There
was only one business donation
and that was form Oregon Stationers. A few individual
donations were given including the
candidate who donated to herself.
The donations for the race between Thompson and
Swartzenruber look very much the same as
the Boquist vs. Frank race except Loren E. Parks did not make a
large donation. A lot of money
came from Thompson Public Affairs, Oregon Victory Political
Action Committee, and the
Promote Oregon Leadership PAC. Only one individual donation
of more than $5,000 was made
by and that was by Doug Riggs. Swartzenruber received money
from Future Pac House Builders
(probably knew someone), Oregon Secretary of State, the OEA,
Unions, and other Partisan
PACs. In general, all candidates receive money from partisan
PACs; however, small businesses
donated a lot more money to Republicans whereas government
agencies and unions donated to

the Democratic Party candidates. In both races, the Republican
raised much more money and
easily won the election. It is hard to know if the money raised
has much to do with the outcome
since correlation is not causation. It could be nobody believe
the Democrats had a chance of
winning in the first place so nobody would give them money.
People do not want to throw
money at something or someone that has no chance of winning;
therefore, generally donations
go with the winning side unless internal polling was very close
to begin with.
I opened my analysis with a quote of what Harry Beadle defined
as the traditional conservative
ideology being that of a people that are: church going, have
family values, believe in self-
restrained capitalism, traditional marriage, free-market
economics, strong defense and strong
social values. These are the beliefs the Republican Party
generally endorse and this is why Polk
Country consistently elects Republicans. Its traditional
conservative values have been handed
down from previous generations and the people of Polk Country
and trying to preserve this

tradition through the voting process. This is clearly illustrated
in the elections of the past several
decades.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beadle, Harry. “Traditional Conservative Beliefs.”
Redstate.com. 2011. 4 Apr. 2011.
http://www.redstate.com/harrybeadle/2011/04/18/traditional-
conservative-beliefs/
Oregon Blue Book. 2012.
http://bluebook.state.or.us/local/counties/counties.htm
(Accessed
November 6
th
2012).
Oregon Labor Market Information System. Worksorce
Qualityinfo.org. (2012).

http://www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/Regions?area=000003&page=
2 (Accessed November 6
th
,
2012).
Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division. 2012.
http://oregonvotes.org/pages/history/stats/index.html (Accessed
November 5
th
2012).
Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division. 2012.
https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/GotoSearchByName.do
(Accessed November 7
th
2012).
Pew Research Center. “Independents Take Center Stage in
Obama Era.” People-press.org. 2009.
5 May 2009. http://www.people-press.org/2009/05/21/section-1-
party-affiliation-and-
composition/
“Political Participation - Hispanic Political Participation.”
Libraryindex.com.
http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2936/Political-Participation-
HISPANIC-POLITICAL-

PARTICIPATION.html (Accessed November 5
th
, 2012)
U.S. Department of Commerce. United States Census Bureau.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/41000.html (Accessed
November 6th, 2012).
Gallup. “Bias Against a Mormon Presidential Candidate Same
as in 1967.” Gallup.com.
2012.http://www.gallup.com/poll/155273/Bias-Against-
Mormon-Presidential-Candidate-
1967.aspx
http://www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/Regions?area=000003&page=
2
http://oregonvotes.org/pages/history/stats/index.html
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/41000.html
1
GENERAL STANDARDS AND CRITERIA FOR PAPERS
-7 double-spaced pages, no longer than 8
pages.

s must be typed and have 1 inch left-side margins. Do
not abuse font and page margin
technology. Generally the font should be 10-12 point, similar
to regular typeface.
purpose. Writing must be grammatical,
concise, and developed thematically. You are expected to
properly reference your sources.
Key criteria for evaluation include:
- addresses all parts of assignment
- uses specific and accurate details, examples,
facts, and statistics
- proper grammar, punctuation, spelling,
documentation
- effectively connects with the audience, smooth and
concise style.
References in text:
Any quote, specific statistic, or distinctive point made by a
particular author should always be
referenced in the text. For these papers, keep the in-text
references simple. Immediately after a
sentence or table that has a specific fact, quote, or distinctive
point, note the author’s name or an

abbreviated version of the title in parentheses along with the
page number where the information was
found.
Examples: (Clucas, p. 6) or (“2010 Electoral Results”, n.p.).
Use n.p. if there is no page number.
Bibliography: Attach a bibliography listing your research
sources.
Alphabetize entries and double space between entries, single
space within them citation
Examples:
Vol. 12, No. 2 (Autumn 2010),
pp. 10-15.
Cite them in this format:
-line versions of journals, newspapers, or other regular
publications, treat it like a regular
publication. If you use full text back issues of the Oregonian,
from an index, simply refer to
the article like you would if you had the hard copy;
name. Volume #, Edition#, (Date),
page #s.

Example:
1998), p. A1. (Often you can only
get the start page and sometimes no page at all. In that case,
put “n.p.” in the text: (Smith, n.p.)
2
Paper: Community Political Profile
Introduce me to your community, introduce me to the people,
introduce me to the politics, and teach
me about the political culture of your community.
Specific Task:
Introduction.
1) Research and define the meaning of two types of political
cultures “conservative” and
“progressive”. Specify the typical socio-demographics (age,
race, income, rural or urban,

type of employment industry, etc); political values (examples:
specific positions a variety of
issues such as taxes, social issues, education, etc.); and political
party affiliation of each
definition.
2) Make observations about the county/city in which you live
(or are from) is it. For example
is it: rural vs. urban; agriculture vs. business; family vs. single;
large school districts vs.
small; college town; older people vs. younger; wealth; all
republican candidates lawn signs
vs democratic; no GMO vs yes on GMO) and identify the
political culture of your
community according to the ideological labels identified in
class: “progressive”,
“conservative”, or “moderate” (characteristics of both cultures).
Then identify your
community.
Determine what your community is, whether your initial
observations are accurate or not.
1. Analyze the socio-demographics characteristics of your
county.

1) Identify three distinct statistical characteristics of your
county and compare them to your
observations;
2) Explain how the actual socio-demographics contribution
support or do not support your
hypothesis about your community’s political characteristic.
For examples you could look at its major areas of industry; its
education levels; and/or demographic
characteristics, such as age, race, or income or
economy/industry.
What does older population likely to vote for or against;
younger population; families with school age
children; large business sector; large public employee sector;
urban community with college.
In this section you will use information from:
Bureau website will provide a
variety of information and data about each county in Oregon.
The following address
provides access to a diversity of state on states and counties so
you can compare your
county with the state figures:
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/.

rs and the Oregonian archives: You may find
some articles that
specifically look at some problems or strengths of your county
or your town.
website:
http://www.oregonlive.com/ and use the search function to
access archived articles;
for local newspaper
articles; and
county library. To access a
database via a county library website, you will need a library
card for that county.
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/
http://www.oregonlive.com/
3
2. Identify and summarize the following specific political
statistics of your county and
compare them with state-wide numbers:
1) Party registration (Democrat; Republican; non-affiliated;

Independent) in your county.
2) Percentage voting for winning Governor John Kitzhaber in
the 2010 election; Compare to
the voting percentage for Governor Kitzhaber the 2014 election;
Is it higher, lower, or about
the same?
identification? Why?
-
demographics
support or not support
your hypothesis. Is it what you expected? Why or why not?
3) How many people in your county voted in 2012 and in 2014?
Which election had more
people returning their ballots? Why?
you may or may not have
voted; think about the socio-economic factors of voting and
based on your research
on the socio-economic factors in your county, does your county
fit into one the
more likely voters’ category or least likely category?
3. Analyze how your county voted on two ballot measures from
2006-2012 and one from

2014. Select three ballot measures, explain each issue and what
type of voter is likely to
support it (i.e. conservative, progressive). Compare the number
of “yes” and “no” votes in your
county, did it pass in your county? Did your county vote
differently or the same as the state
overall?
a. What does the outcome say about your county?
b. Did your county turnout support or not support your political
culture hypothesis? Why
or why not?
c. Where you surprised by the support or rejection of a
measures? Why?
In this section you will use information from:
ction website: oregonvotes.org
(http://oregonvotes.org/pages/publications/index.html), and then
results by county to determine
how your county voted
(http://oregonvotes.org/pages/history/archive/index.html)
4. Identify the state representative and state senator who
represent you.
1) Identify your STATE representative and STATE senator

(http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/)
a. Identify their party; legislative history; professional
background;
b. Do the issues they support and party affiliation reflect the
definition that you identified
for your political culture of your county?
5. Conclusion
Did your original hypothesis about the political culture of your
county prove to be accurate or
inaccurate? Why? What does the socio-economic data, political
statistics; and state elected
official say about your community?
http://oregonvotes.org/pages/publications/index.html

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