Under a new Democratic majority, the Snohomish County Council is quickly moving toward all-mail elections and closing polling places.
In a 3-2 vote on Tuesday, the council introduced legislation for the switch, with Democrats prevailing over Republicans for the first time on the issue.
A final vote is expected this morning, and will likely show the same partisan split.
| Council will meet today
A switch to all-mail elections will be considered by the Snohomish County Council during its 9 a.m. meeting today in the eighth-floor chambers at 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. |
The decision was made possible after the council majority went to the Democrats in November, marking a shift in power over county policy and spending.
“It’s going to be a good year,” predicted Democrat Kirke Sievers, who was chosen as the new County Council chairman.
Sievers and fellow Democrats Dave Gossett and Dave Somers voted for all-mail elections, outnumbering Republican Councilmen Gary Nelson and John Koster, who favored leaving polling places open.
The five-member council has been controlled by Republicans for the past four years. In two separate votes in 2005, Republicans endorsed the current election system of polling places and absentee ballots, most recently in December.
Keeping the polls open would require about $860,000 to buy special voting machine paper audit devices required by the state, plus their storage costs. The price is too high when already 61 percent of voters already are registered to vote by absentee ballots, some officials said.
Koster and Nelson have said poll voters would feel disenfranchised.
Tuesday was the first council meeting of the year, and Koster, Gossett and Somers were sworn in after each won election in November.
Somers won after defeating Republican Jeff Sax. He lost his bid for re-election to Sax in 2001.
Gossett was chosen vice chairman of the council.
Sievers also was council chairman in 1998. He is in his 32nd year of county government, spending 21 years as county treasurer and 10 years as a councilman. His third and final term on the council runs through 2007; term limits prevent him from running again.
“I can’t keep a job” in county government, Sievers has said with a laugh.
Sievers described last year as “trials, tribulations and a lot of public hearings” as the county debated population, housing and job growth.
The coming year will bring debate on environmental regulations and lingering housing proposals that were rejected in December.
Sievers said he is meeting with department heads to schedule debates on those issues.
Chairmanship assignments for the council’s five committees will be announced by Thursday, with Democrats having first choice.
Committees include Law and Justice-Human Services, which accounts for more than 71 percent of county general fund spending; Planning and Community Development; Finance and Economic Development; Operations-Performance Audits; and Transportation-Public Works.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
