Nearly 30 years ago, a group of freeholders were elected by the people of Pierce County to craft a new form of county government. Larry Faulk was one of those elected freeholders and a member of the three person drafting committee.

The vehicle for accomplishing that goal was a new document called the Pierce County Charter. In the process of drafting the charter there were 52 public meetings where people listened to experts; questionnaires were sent out, the answers considered and the group studied other charters.  The Freeholders met twice a week for six months, and on many occasions, considering so much testimony, meetings often lasted past midnight.

The issue of term limits became a cornerstone provision of the Pierce County Charter because Pierce County had a powerful and entrenched board of three commissioners, who executed power over both the legislative and executive responsibilities of government.  Freeholders sought to correct that undue concentration of political influence by creating an elected county council for the legislative functions and an elected county executive for the executive branch.

The issue of term limits was never controversial because of input stating that Freeholders needed to create a county government truly of the people, by the people and for the people of Pierce County – rather than a government of political insiders and entrenched politicians.

That charter, approved by the people, limited the executive and county council to two consecutive terms in office.  It was that resolve, to make government more open and inclusive for all, that made Pierce County the first county in the nation to establish term limits for its elected officials.

Today, it is the current Pierce County Council that has proposed 12 charter changes in the past three years.  That brings the total of proposed amendments to 39 since our charter was voted into existence in 1980. The Constitution of The United States has only been amended 26 times in 222 years. The Pierce County Charter is a governing document and should be changed infrequently and only after much consideration and public debate. That has not happened since the council began proposing changes to the charter in 2007.

Now the Pierce County Council wants the voters to extend their own term limits. This is bad public policy and self serving.  Extending term limits will return this county to a concentrated power of political insiders and entrenched politicians.

In crafting the Pierce County Charter, the Freeholders, established a limit of two terms for policy makers including the council and executive. It was a good balance. It was enough time then and it is enough time today, 29 years later.

Proposed Charter Amendment 1 also wants to change the election of council members and the county executive to odd numbered years. Again, the Freeholders considered that alternative and decided that elected official should be elected in even numbered years when statewide elected officials are on the ballot as well as candidates for Congress and the President. Election results over the years prove that more people turn out to vote in even year elections. By continuing to elect county council and county executive during even year elections, the charter provision ensures more voters elect those to powerful positions.

Beyond having more people vote, changing to odd year elections will cost Pierce County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars extra. Currently, with the even year elections, the Federal Government pays for county wide elections. If elections are moved to odd years, the county taxpayers will have to foot the entire cost of the election which is estimated to cost $600,000. This is not a wise use of tax dollars in this time of budget cuts.

In 1980, the entrenched county commissioners were Democrats. In 2009, the Republicans are the entrenched majority on the county council. Clearly it does not matter which party it is, both Democrats and the Republicans are subject to the old adage about power corrupting – no reason to return to the tyranny of long-term incumbents who serve special interests over the public’s interest.

The Pierce County Charter named, “We the People” is a charter created by citizens not by elected officials. Extending terms to three terms distorts the checks and balances of our system and concentrates undue political influence in the hands of a few elected officials for way too long. Eight years is plenty to get the job done.

In summary, a representative government works best because of transparency, access, diversity and discussion. A limit of two consecutive terms in office provides for a balance of interests in office. It also opens up the system to greater participation by a more diverse group of people who represent different perspectives on county public policy making.

For these reasons, vote before November 3 and reject Charter Amendment 1.

Larry Faulk is one of the three people appointed by the Pierce County Council to the all volunteer Reject Amendment 1 committee.

Chris Van Vechten sits downs with City Council incumbent Jake Fey to discuss his time on the Council and his unopposed reelection campaign.

Learn more about Jake at jakefey.com.

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With a long list of experience working with youth and community development, Catherine Ushka-Hall is looking to tackle the big issues facing our schools. Catherine intends to use her organizational and management experience to help advance our school system.

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For more information visit: http://votecatherine.com/

Beckie Summers-Kirby intends to “hit the ground running” if elected to City Council. Having served on the Tacoma Human Rights Commission, the Tacoma Civil Service Board, the Tacoma Public Library Board of Trustees and the Pierce County Charter Review Commission, Beckie hopes to bring accountability to the City Council and find new ways to make the voices of Tacomans heard.

Find out more at: http://beckiesummers.com/

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The latest results from Iran’s recent presidential election featured Mir Hossein Moussavi, the primary opposition candidate, in a disappointing and suspicious loss to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad, considered by many Iranians to be at fault for the years of economic instability during his presidency, enjoys staunch support from rural communities and is to some an enemy of the wealthy and “champion of the poor.” In contrast, Moussavi is believed to be a more moderate candidate, advocating greater cooperation internationally and engagement with the United States. While Moussavi was predicted to win by the vast majority of Iranian media, his loss is suspicious due to large number of what are being referred to as irregularities.

Even before polls had closed Moussavi condemned the election as unfair. Within hours, the United States and Canada both expressed “concern” over the potentially unfair nature of the elections. From the amount of skepticism both inside and outside the state of Iran regarding the elections it’s fairly clear that something at least marginally democratically improper occurred.

Thinking critically, the important outcome of the election is not a presidential candidate, but the progress of Iranian democratic values, the traditional precursor to democratic institutions.  After election results were announced Iranians gathered in Tehran and chanted “Death to the Dictatorship,” and Mousavi supporters conducted sit-ins. While most gatherings were peaceful, some turned violent involving clashes with the police and burning buses. With Iranians who publicly denounce the government often disappearing, this is an intriguing turn of events.

All governments rule through a combination of legitimacy and coercion. No state exists solely through either legitimacy or coercion, but rather through a combination of the two. Generally, the more coercion required to maintain state control the more unstable that state becomes. (An example of this could be the Soviet Union’s control over the Warsaw Pact, as legitimacy of the Communist ideology eroded it became increasingly necessary to execute coercive control over the Warsaw pact countries, In 1991 Gorbachev refused to use the necessary force to retain Soviet control and the Warsaw Pact disbanded.)

Iranian elections began, with relatively little at stake, as a means to create a more legitimate form of government. (It remains unclear how much power the elected executive branch truly has, and all candidates must be cleared by the Supreme Council before being allowed to run) This week’s election may symbolize a turning point in Iranian politics. The population is becoming so upset over the potential irrelevance of their vote that in order to restore order and stability the government will have two options for future elections; choose to conduct fairer and freer elections (a turn towards more legitimate rule), or choose to continue elections with predetermined results, a turn towards greater coercive rule. Although one is clearly favorable, either outcome could prove positive in the long-run. Less legitimacy domestically generally translates to less legitimacy internationally, and the Iranian regime appearing illegitimate would be useful for creating international support to slow or stop a proliferating Iran. In contrast, a free and democratic Iran would surely translate positively for US-Iranian relations.

The evolution of the Iranian political system to a point where an inherent assumption exists that the will of the majority creates legitimacy is far more encouraging than the election of a moderate on what is a very limited political spectrum.

I conclude with a statement one voter made to the Tehran Times following the election:

Despite all the country’s problems over the years, we see that the culture of democracy is beginning to take root in Iran, and the people are becoming confident that they can control their destiny by casting ballots. And the people are happy. These are good signs that augur well for the future.

( Source: http://www.tehrantimes.com/Index_view.asp?code=196629 )

East-Side activist and former City of Tacoma Community Relations Specialist  Roxanne Murphy is running for City Council.  After moving to the East Side of Tacoma six years ago, Roxanne has be adamant about making change. Her goals as a City Council member would be to reduce crime and develop a more thriving business district on the East Side.

Find out more at electroxanne.com

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A couple of weeks ago The Melon sat down at Forza Coffee Co. with City Council At Large candidate, Victoria Woodards.  Victoria has been a member of the Metro Parks board since 2004 and is the current board President.

Victoria is running on a platform of creating opportunities for families and businesses, maintaining infrastructure and making our city government more responsive and efficient.

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Find out more at http://woodards4tacomacitycouncil.blogspot.com/.

As a former University of Puget Sound student who worked on the “Yes on Three” campaign to bring ranked choice voting (or, as we called it during the campaign, instant runoff voting) to Pierce County in 2006, I was disappointed to hear the news that the Pierce County Council voted put a repeal measure on the ballot this fall. Its action flies in the face of how well ranked choice voting (RCV) is working in other states and the rising support for the system, which now includes President Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain.

Talking to friends back in Pierce County, the perception is that not enough voters understand the system. This comes as a big surprise to me. Of the countless number of voters that I talked to in 2006, only a single person objected to the system because they thought it was confusing. In the nine other municipalities that have run ranked choice elections this decade, voters have handled it quite well – in fact the number of invalid ballots was very low in Pierce’s RCV races as well. I have faith that people in my former county can handle ranking candidates just as well as they can in any of the other places using RCV.

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A week ago, I helped change the world. I, like so many others, came out in force to propel a young senator from Illinois to the most powerful position in the free world. After the election had been called, the citizens of Seattle took to the streets in joy. From 9:00pm to 2:00am, happy voters partied peacefully as Seattle Police watched from the perimeter. There was no vandalism, no arrests, only a palpable sense of joy. There were similar outbursts in cities like New York and Chicago, although few as peaceful, as mind boggling as the one in Seattle.

This historic win may not just lift the first African-American to the highest publicly elected in the country. Should Obama deliver on even half of his proposed changes and rollbacks of the past years, he will reinvigorated the political spirit of America laid low when beloved president John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and when Richard M. Nixon besmirched the White House with his lies. Since these tragic strikes against the American dream, politics has been treated as a dirty word, something most would choose to willfully ignore despite the potential for benefit. It has even been suggested that Obama’s presidency could begin the fourth republic in America.

But what the future holds remains to be seen. As it stands now, there is much work to do. Despite the landslide of electoral votes and surprising separation by the popular vote, 46% of the country voted for John McCain. Despite our joy, there is still sorrow there. There is confusion, anger, and also curiosity. Today, I did not change history, but hopefully I changed one girl’s perspective.

One of my co-workers, the only one my own age, asked me what I thought about Obama’s win. I explained to her my elation about his win, and the hopeful new age in American politics, when I was met with a strange collection of questions. Was Obama a naturalized citizen? Would he repeal the constitution? Would he take away the second amendment? Who was this Joe Biden character?

For the next half an hour, I gave her a crash course education in the requirements to be president, what it takes to pass or repeal an amendment, who Joe Biden was, why he as a good candidate for Vice President, and the responsibilities of the Vice President. I explained to her the vast insufficiencies of Sarah Palin as a vice presidential candidate, and why Obama’s tax plan would be a benefit to the country at large.

In his concession speech. John McCain proved that deep beneath the image he spent cultivating over his campaign, the relic of the 2000 campaign still lurked there with dignity and compassion. But McCain’s followers are not the forgiving and knowledgeable man he is, and part of responsibility of an informed voter is informing others. Do not shy away from this task because in the coming days it will be one of the most important ones we undertake. An informed yet disagreeable voter is a much larger asset to this country than an uninformed one. President-elect Barack Obama has given us hope in our political system, let us take that hope and give it to our countrymen. It is the least we can do.

Photo credit to current.tv