County candidates could declare party preference under new alternative to I-26

Alternative to initiative making offices non-partisan will appear on August primary ballot

The King County offices of Executive, Assessor and Council would be made non-partisan, but voters would be able to know which political party each candidate prefers, under an alternative to Initiative-26 placed on the August primary ballot today by the Metropolitan King County Council.

“Party preference is a useful tool because it provides voters with one more piece of information to help them make informed decisions about who is leading their King County government,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, who co-sponsored the I-26 alternative legislation.

“King County government does far more than fix potholes,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, another co-sponsor. “As the second-largest government in Washington, we make complex regional policy decisions about taxes, transportation, land use, water quality, civil rights, and criminal justice. Voters deserve to know the values and political preferences of candidates seeking to represent them in making these complex decisions.”

“There is no justification for denying voters the one piece of objective information they have on the ballot – the candidate’s party preference”, said Council Vice Chair Dow Constantine, who also co-sponsored. “Voters have the right to know where their candidates stand, and this ballot alternative preserves that right.”

“By knowing a candidate’s party preference, the people of King County will be able to judge better the values and principles for which that candidate stands,” said Councilmember Larry Gossett, a co-sponsor.

As provided by the King County Charter, the Council adopted an ordinance creating an alternative to appear alongside I-26 on the primary ballot. Both measures propose to amend the Charter to make the Executive, Assessor and Council non-partisan positions.

Provisions of the alternative are similar to those of the state’s new “top two” primary rule, whereby candidates for office will file declarations of candidacy on which they may state their political preference, or not. Such party preference would appear in the voters’ pamphlet and on the ballot and could not be changed. The declaration of party preference may not imply that the candidate is nominated or endorsed by that party, or that the party approves of or associates with that candidate.

Under the alternative adopted today, candidates would appear on the ballot as:

“Jane Doe
(Prefers Example Party)” or

“John Doe
(States No Party Preference)”

Under the alternative, candidates for county offices that are already non-partisan, such as the Sheriff (and Elections Director, if voters approve the charter amendment creating that office in November), would not have the option of declaring party preference.

On the primary ballot, voters must first decide whether to accept or reject the idea of non-partisan offices, then proceed to choose between the two alternate measures. If a majority votes “yes” on the first question, then the alternative that receives the most votes would advance to the November general election as a proposed charter amendment.

Both alternatives would also establish a process for the non-partisan selection of independent Districting Committee members who are charged with redrawing the boundaries of King County Council districts every ten years. The next redistricting process is scheduled for 2011.

Read more about this legislation on the King County Council’s LEGISEARCH system.
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