The bill that would help Mill Creek and other cities control development in their urban-growth areas will require compromise to pass next year.
State Senate Government Operations Chairwoman Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park, said last week that representatives of cities and counties would meet between legislative sessions to narrow differences on the bill, which would make land adjacent to cities conform to the cities’ building and zoning codes.
The bill died on the last day of the legislative session largely because real estate agents, lobbyists for counties and legislators from some cities got so many amendments attached to it that Fairley and other supporters decided to kill it.
Fairley said, however, that she expects the various interests to come up with a compromise.
Top-two primary: Stop fighting it
After the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Washington’s top-two primary, the state Republican and Democratic parties suggested that they might come back with another lawsuit.
They should cut their losses rather than end up with something worse.
We’ve always heard that the Supreme Court has the final word, but language in the court’s opinion indicates that the court may be open to another suit.
The court said that, while the top-two law was not unconstitutional on its face, the plan might be open to constitutional scrutiny based on how the state applies it and how people understand the election.
Justices said that party claims that the scheme would confuse voters were “mere speculation” but seemed to leave open the possibility that the political parties would have a case once they could show actual harm from an election held under the top-two system.
Elections officials will carefully design ballots and voters’ pamphlets to make sure voters understand that the primary is qualifying candidates for the general election rather than picking party nominees and that general-election candidates aren’t necessarily the nominees of their parties.
Still, the parties will find someone who finds either the primary or the general election confusing and bring a suit on that person’s behalf.
Already, the parties are preparing suits over the way the Secretary of State is preparing ballots.
If the court eventually should decide that the top-two primary as Washington applies it is unconstitutional, the Washington State Grange, sponsor of the 2004 “top two” initiative, says it will draft an initiative to drop all party labels from both primary and general election ballots.
Voters who have expressed disgust at having to pick a single party’s ballot, probably would pass it.
This would give us a ballot that might say “Representative, 7th Congressional District – Jim McDermott, Non-Partisan.”
So, the top-two primary may save us from that silly prospect and, ultimately, save partisan politics in Washington.
So, it’s in everyone’s interest to stop fighting the top-two system and to try to make it work.
Evan Smith is the Enterprise Forum editor. Send comments to entopinionheraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.