Yakima Votes No on Strong Mayor Issue

Yakima city voters have rejected the strong mayor issue on the February the ballot - the county auditors office says voters gave a 52% percent thumbs down.

The issue was backed by the group Citizens for Safer Streets and Lower Taxes. The group claimed Yakima would see lower taxes and better crime fighting under an elected mayor. But opponents from the group Yakima Taxpayers for Accountable Government disagreed. They claimed an elected mayor would have too much power and wouldn’t have been able to lower taxes or fight crime any more then the current manager council form of government. Now city council members will continue searching for a new city manager to replace Dick Zais who’s set  to retire this summer.

The County Auditor stated that by the time all the votes are accounted for, probably close to a 52% turn out. She also believes that even after the new votes are counted, these results will probably stick.