Two neighborhoods, one great divide

HARLEY SOLTES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Matt Perkins, 14, hits a pine cone in a game of after-school stickball in the Ellen Precinct of Kennewick.

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If history prevails Tuesday, most voters in the Ellen Precinct in Kennewick will cast their votes for President Bush. And most voters in a precinct in Seattle's Judkins Park area will vote for Sen. John Kerry.

The two precincts are on opposite sides of the state — separated by a mountain range and more than 200 miles. But the political distance between the two communities is even greater.

In the Ellen Precinct, where ramblers with well-manicured lawns have been built over land once covered by sagebrush, 85 percent of the voters backed Bush in 2000. That was one of Bush's strongest showings in Washington; statewide he got 45 percent of the vote.

	HARLEY SOLTES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Jacob LaBarre walks home with a John Kerry sign to hang on his front porch in Seattle's Judkins Park area.

In Judkins Park, where newer townhouses mix with turn-of-the-century fixer-uppers, 89 percent of the votes were for Democrat Al Gore. Statewide he got 50 percent of the vote.

To better understand the great political divide, staff reporter Erik Lacitis and staff photographer Harley Soltes knocked on doors in both neighborhoods, where voters talked about their values and the forces that drive their staunch support for Bush or Kerry.

A tale of 2 precincts:
A bastion of Bush supporters | The heart of Kerry country

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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