In sheer numbers, the most competitive contests on Tuesday’s ballot in Snohomish County are for a one-year, unpaid job on a panel that could accomplish nothing.
Or, as the 61 men and women vying for seats on the Charter Review Commission hope, the political order in the state’s third most populous county could be reset for years to come.
The commission is empowered to draft changes to the county’s Home Rule Charter which is effectively its constitution.
That means it can consider redesigning the design and operation of county government in ways no one else can — not the County Council, the county executive or even state lawmakers.
They could — and just might — suggest getting rid of offices, establishing new ones, ending term limits, making the county executive’s office nonpartisan and expanding the size of the County Council.
Any agreed-upon revisions would be put before voters in November 2016 for ratification or rejection.
Such opportunity only comes around once a decade, making this a critically important decision for voters with some pretty high stakes for the Democratic and Republican parties.
Because commission recommendations carry the potential for altering the balance of political power, party leaders set about months ago asking, encouraging and outright recruiting people to run for the purportedly nonpartisan 15-member commission.
The result is a ballot littered with notable names from each party’s ranks, including current and former elected officials, longtime civic activists and perennial candidates searching for their first electoral victory.
For example, you’ve got Democrats like state Sen. Marko Liias and Mukilteo Mayor Jennifer Gregerson running. And there are Republicans like John Koster, a former county councilman now weighing a 2016 run for the state House, and Jeff Sax, another former council member.
Three people served on the last commission — Wendy Valentine, Kristin Kelly and Mike Cooper, a former county councilman and state lawmaker who served as chairman.
Whoever is elected can expect debate on a handful of hot-button issues beginning with the matter of partisan labels for elected offices.
Back in the 1990s, voters agreed to erase them for the county sheriff, auditor, assessor, treasurer and clerk.
Now, several hopefuls aligned with the GOP want to do the same for the offices of County Council and county executive. They calculate it will bring a long-term boost for the Republican Party which this year has no candidate in the run-off for the executive’s job or either of the two open council seats on the ballot.
Not surprisingly, Democratic leaders oppose such a change and are counting on putting Democrats in enough commission seats to repel such a proposal.
Another idea — enlarging the County Council to seven members from the current five — seems certain to be on the agenda. Supporters see it as a way to give greater voice to rural areas and reduce the level of conflict between the council and executive.
In addition, some candidates want to consider an end to term limits for elected officials, allow the County Council to overturn a county executive’s veto with a simple majority vote and establish the job of county ombudsman in the charter.
Those are the more ambitious ideas floating around now.
Whether any get accomplished next year may hinge on the decisions of voters next week.
Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com and on Twitter at @dospueblos
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