Don’t fight to silence voters
Published 12:01 am Sunday, June 26, 2011
It’s remarkable how carefully Monroe’s elected officials listened to legal advice last week, given how tone deaf they were when it came to hearing their own citizens.
As a result, they’ve managed to escalate a debate over a specific policy issue — automated traffic safety cameras — into one about government arrogance that can only serve to erode voters’ confidence in their representatives. That doesn’t serve anyone’s interests.
It didn’t have to be this way.
After meeting in closed session to discuss legal options Tuesday, the City Council voted unanimously to reject a voter initiative that, among other things, would force removal of red-light and school-zone cameras that recently became operational, and require voter approval of them in the future. This despite the fact that more than the required 1,009 valid signatures had been gathered to put the matter before voters.
Instead, the city will go to court, seeking to have the initiative declared invalid. The argument is expected to follow one that got a positive ruling recently in Chelan County Superior Court, that the Legislature vested the power to decide on automated traffic cameras in local councils, not to voters through the initiative process.
That legal question remains in doubt. Last year, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Michael Downes ruled against keeping a similar initiative in Mukilteo off the ballot. The state Supreme Court could decide the matter soon.
But the presence of a legal gray area is no reason to keep voters from expressing themselves on the traffic camera issue, a desire they’ve made clear. Courts in our state have a long history of dealing effectively with such issues after an election.
City officials might also argue that the initiative could impair a contract that’s already in place with Redflex Traffic Systems of Arizona, which installed and operates the cameras. But again, that’s an issue that can be resolved after voters have had their say, not a reason to keep them from having it.
Citizen reaction has been exactly what the City Council should have expected: exasperation, frustration, anger. And it has opened the city — whose budget problems during the recession have been among the most severe in the county — to compelling criticism that the installation of traffic cameras had less to do with enhancing safety than with boosting revenue.
Voters in Monroe aren’t stupid. Tim Eyman, the professional initiative purveyor who spearheaded this effort, hasn’t brainwashed them. His involvement, even his well-honed talent for getting under public officials’ skin, are also not reasons for council members to push back against the clearly expressed desire of their citizens to vote on an issue. Such passion ought to be applauded, not hauled into court.
It’s not too late for the council to reverse this ill-advised course. Lawyers representing the city shouldn’t be arguing to silence citizens. Let the voters have the say they deserve.
