Last week, I wrote about how local Republicans could begin to make inroads in the Democrat-dominated 1st and 21st legislative districts.
Even though Democratic legislators dominate the delegations from both districts, they could do one thing better: Create interest in the party’s primary by giving voters a reason to vote on their party’s ballot.
Both parties have a chance to do that this year. With County Councilman Gary Nelson prevented by term limits from running for a fourth term, the seat will be open.
Let’s see contests for both nominations that will give South Snohomish County voters a reason to vote in the primary.
Like the Republicans, the Democrats need to get more candidates for precinct committee officer in 2008. In 2006, some precincts had no Democrats running for PCO and only a few had contested elections.
A chance for third-party candidates
The lack of Republicans running in local legislative elections creates a chance for Greens, Libertarians and other minor parties to establish themselves as opposition candidates.
The Libertarian candidate got more than 29,000 votes for U.S. senator last fall and the Green candidate got more than 21,000. That meant that each won about 1 percent of the statewide vote, but concentrate those 20,000 votes into one legislative district – possible with only one major party on the ballot – and you get close to 40 percent.
Add a primary voters’ pamphlet,
but change judicial elections
I support Secretary of State Sam Reed’s proposal for a statewide voters’ pamphlet for primary elections, one of four proposals Reed has given the Legislature. All four had hearings before a state Senate committee Thursday.
Snohomish County provides a primary voters’ pamphlet, but not all counties do.
Reed wants everyone to get a voters’ pamphlet, particularly for judicial primaries.
“I think it’s very important particularly because many judicial races are decided in the primary,” he said in December.
Because any judicial candidate who gets a majority of the primary vote is unopposed in the general election, the Administrative Office of the Courts produces a guide for judicial offices that appears in many newspapers before the primary, but not all voters see it.
I still want a statewide primary voters’ pamphlet, but I want the primary to have the same function in judicial contests that it does in other non-partisan elections. That would happen under another bill before the Senate.
If three or more people run for a position on the city council or school board, the primary serves to narrow the field to two. If only one or two candidates run, we skip the primary and go straight to the general election.
Under the Senate bill, that would also happen for judicial elections.
Evan Smith is the Enterprise Forum editor. Send comments to entopinion@heraldnet.com.
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