Local Republicans need to work to compete with Democrats in the 21st legislative districts.
Democratic legislators won without opposition in all three positions on the ballot in the November 2006 elections.
Yet, the Republicans can win. Republican Gary Nelson has represented the area on the county council for 12 years.
The party’s first challenge is finding legislative candidates. Letting candidates of one party win without opposition is not just bad for the minority party; it’s bad for representative government. Even if a candidate gets few votes, he or she can force the winner to defend his positions and qualifications. A candidate who gets 35 percent may be prepared for a better showing in another year.
Republicans should pay filing fees. That $163 can seem like a daunting gamble for some candidates. If no one files during the filing period, Republicans can use the extra week the law gives major parties to recruit candidates.
If a spot on the Republican ballot is still empty, the party should pay for someone to register as a write-in candidate. A write-in candidate can register up to the day before the primary and have his or her votes count. The law requires no minimum number of votes to win the nomination; so, if only one candidate files, he or she could get the nomination and a place on the November ballot with one vote. Three candidates in South King County got onto the November ballot this way. It can happen in Snohomish County.
Second, encourage enough candidates to create at least one contest for a Republican nomination each year. Since Washington started the pick-a-party primary three years ago, Snohomish County voters have had little reason to vote on the Republican ballot. That’s because we’ve had few if any contested Republican primaries. Republicans need to give voters a reason to vote on the Republican ballot. The best incentive is to have contested races.
Giving people a reason to vote on the party’s ballot helps develop a kind of brand loyalty for the party.
This year, there will be only two partisan contests on the local ballot – for county executive and for the District 3 county council position.
Sheriff Rick Bart is the only announced GOP candidate for county executive and former 21st District State Rep. Renee Radcliff Sinclair is the only Republican for the council seat that Nelson is vacating. They need opponents to make the primary worthwhile.
Finally, the party needs to get candidates for precinct committee officer in 2008. In 2006, less than half the precincts had even one Republican running for PCO and only 1 or 2 percent had contested elections.
Evan Smith is the Enterprise Forum editor. Send comments to entopinion@heraldnet.com.
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