The Political Flip-Flop
A local editor denounces a political candidate for switching party affiliations after losing a primary race.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
There seems to be no end to a candidate’s running under Washington’s direct primary law. If he is eliminated from the race for one office he bobs up for another. If turned down by one party he flops to another and campaigns serenely on for the same office. Examples are not lacking. Guy H. Heberling, of Prosser, was a candidate at the primary election for county engineer on the republican ticket. He was decisively beaten by T. J. Wright of Kennewick. Now he is a candidate for the same office on the democratic ticket, his name having been written in by a few democrats, on whose ticket there was no candidate for county engineer. We have never advocated strict adherence to party lines in county politics but we can hardly endorse such a radical flop as that taken by Mr. Heberling. The man who comes before the people in September as a republican and as such solicits the support of his party, and then comes again before the people in November as a democrat and solicits the democratic support, is not, on general principles, qualified to fill any office or deserving of support in either party.
“The man who comes before the people in September as a republican... and then comes again before the people in November as a democrat... is not, on general principles, qualified to fill any office.”
The frustration with party-hopping and cynical ballot maneuvers remains a fixture in American local politics. While modern candidates might use different mechanisms to change party affiliation, the editor's demand for consistency and 'sound' principle reflects a timeless skepticism toward opportunistic governing.
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