Word from the News Tribune is that two officers have been shot somewhere in Pierce County around 9pm. A suspect is reported shot and potentially decease and the officers are in critical condition. Officers are still reporting to the scene which started as a domestic violence call.
More info as it becomes available.
We were pleased to hear that we would have the opportunity to sit down with three fantastic authorities on voting reform.
Huddled in The Melon’s studio, what followed was a riveting discussion on Ranked Choice Voting, democracy, and three big amendments in Pierce County’s upcoming election.
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protectvoterchoice.com – Official No on Amendment 3, RCV website
noriggingthesystem.com – Official No on All 3 website
rankedchoice.blogspot.com – Kelly Haughton’s personal blog on RCV
fairvote.org – National election reform organization
Special thanks to Erik Connell for making this interview possible
In 2007 Pierce County voters overwhelmingly approved extending the Sheriff’s, the Assessor-Treasurer’s and the Auditor’s term of office from two four-year terms to three four-year terms.
During Thanksgiving week in 2008, Pierce County Councilman Dick Muri sponsored a resolution to do the same for the County Council and the County Executive. On December 2 at a County Council meeting held in Sumner, with only County resident Ken Paulson speaking in opposition, the Council voted five to two to put the issue before the voters this November.
On Christmas Day the County Council, using their official organ, The Puyallup Herald, published their intent for a vote by the people that if approved would extend their own and the Exec’s term limits to three four-year terms. A vote, if passed, that would also guarantee themselves another four years in office and another $400,000 in pay, not to mention a massive increase in their retirement accounts.
Fast forward to June of this year when this publication began asking questions as to how and when the “pro” and “con” committees, who write the statement in the voters’ pamphlet, would be appointed. The Auditor’s office, the County Exec’s office and County Councilman Tim Farrell didn’t have a clue.
Subsequently Farrell, who was one of two no votes on the measure, was instrumental in the formation of the “Con” committee.
Then out of the blue, in mid July, three elected officials, County Exec Pat McCarthy, Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma and State Auditor Brian Sonntag send the Council a letter asking to be appointed to the committee opposing the extension of term limits.
Had that letter not been submitted, is it likely that the Council would do as it has done in years passed and defer to the County Auditor to take the applications. However in the 2007 election no “pro” or “con” statements appeared in the voters’ pamphlet for charter amendments. So either nobody applied or, as Muri said, the Auditor fell down on the job.
By August 17 twelve people applied to be on the term limits “con” committee. On August 18 the council appointed Larry Faulk, Sherry Bockwinkel, and yours truly to the committee giving the members just six days to write and submit their statement.
To further confound the committee members the ballot title written by the Prosecuting Attorney’s office changed the traditional “Yes or No” vote on the ballot to “Accept or Reject” vote. Combined on the same measure was whether to change the election years for the County Exec and Council from even to odd number years.
So what if the voter was in favor of one and not the other; how are they suppose to vote? For the one they favor the most? The way the title was written is patently unfair to the voter.
That ballot title is now being challenged in Pierce County Court, not only over the “Yes or No” / “Accept or Reject” language, but also over a portion of the wording being argumentative.
There is also a question of Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor Mark Lindquist have been appointed to the committee in favor of the measure being a conflict of interest since the ballot title was written by a member of his staff. Arguments on the case will be heard August 31, a week after the committee statements are due at the Auditor’s office.
Also appointed to the pro committee was current City Councilman Rick Talbert a county employee who works directly for the County Council. Talbert, another career politician, if elected to the County Council, could then serve twelve years as opposed to eight.
Is what we have here a Machiavellian plot hatched by some County Council members for their own personal gain rather than for the benefit of Pierce County residents as some would have you believe, or is the simpler explanation that this elected body just can’t seem to get their act together?
It’s possible Muri came up the answer when he said, “People (County Council Members) who can make a difference don’t hit their stride until their sixth or seventh year (in office).”
Either way this is one hell of a political pill to swallow.
Editor’s note: This article was written while Hathaway was wearing his New Takhoman fedora.
The campaign to stop the repeal of ranked choice voting, the No on 3 Campaign, has launched its official campaign website: http://www.protectvoterchoice.com. Pierce County Charter Amendment 3 was put on the ballot by the Pierce County Council this past February. If passed, it would repeal ranked choice voting for county elections. RCV was first passed by county voters in 2006, and in 2007, voters voted to keep RCV elections on track for 2008.
If you care about improved democracy in Pierce County, please visit the campaign’s website, and volunteer to donate your money and/or your time. For more on why we should keep RCV, please see my recent article on this very website: Give Ranked Choice a Chance (http://themelononline.com/2009/05/give-ranked-choice-a-chance/).
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.
Readers may have periodically heard me lament about the funding situation of the Pierce County Arts Commission since shortly after first joining roughly a year ago. In my time, I’ve watched the commission’s budget fall from $180,000 to $135,000 in September of 2008, to – literally – $0 for the 3/09-12/09 budget cycle.
To say I’m disappointed by the council’s decision would be an understatement: I’m pissed. Pissed because all these cuts are being done in the name of “creating jobs” but which nonetheless ultimately have the effect of spawning mass lay-offs. Pissed because those about to be laid off represent several productive members of society whose industry is ultimately no less essential to our community than any other.
After a year on the commission, I’ve come to realize our limits and they are, I’m sorry to say, surprisingly short. But at the end of the day, I consider myself fortunate enough to be on a commission that actually accomplishes what it sets out to do: promote art awareness and development. The recession aside, Pierce County’s artistic community has bloomed in ways nobody expected over the past five years and for that alone our county and cities’ commissions deserve a lot of credit.
I can only assume that its time to once again remind our elected officials of that fact, and I would therefore encourage every reader to write their county councilman (which can be found here) and tell he/she to support the arts this recession. (If you don’t know which district you live in, find out here.)
In the video below, members of the Pierce County Arts Commission, including myself, speak about the cutting of our budget and the importance of public arts funding.
Last November I reported having sat on a juried panel to purchase art for government buildings owned by our county government. Over 300 pieces were submitted to said panel by some 41 local artists and were reviewed by four art professionals and myself. Among these 300 pieces, there was one which, although receiving the highest composite score from the panel, was nonetheless ultimately denied for purchase because – upon closer examination of the painting – it was discovered that the words “Impeach Bush” appeared on the canvas. The politically charged phrase had been shrunken by the slide through which we – the panel – viewed it and thus we were unaware of existence.
I asked committee staff why such a statement, in itself, overruled the collective judgment of four art professionals and a private citizen like myself. Their response was something to the effect of “you may not like the president, but it is inappropriate for a government entity to insult the commander and chief in that way.” As I know the people on committee staff are Democrats, I do not think they were making excuses for why the painting – whose artist shall remain unnamed – wasn’t purchased.
QUESTION: Is it appropriate for a public arts commission to purchase a private work that calls for an unpopular president’s removal using tax-payer dollars?
image credit http://flickr.com/photos/articnomad/
Every year Dr. Douglas Goodman and Dr. Bruce Mann, two economists from the University of Puget Sound, review and forecast the Pierce County economy. The Pierce County Economic Index (PCEI) is organized by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce and several local organizations.
Obviously the forecast for 2009 is comparatively pessimistic, since the U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007. However, it is worth noting that the Pierce County economy did not begin to show signs of recession until mid-2008, and it is predicted to improve by the third quarter of 2009, along with the rest of the nation.
Here’s the unedited presentation by Goodman and Mann:
image credit http://flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/
I’ve spent the past six months working for the Democrats on a daily basis. And when I say daily, I mean seven-days a week, without more than one 3-day break in August to go to a friend’s wedding. It’s been rough, especially because the pay worked out to less than minimum wage. To add insult to injury, some of my co-workers (who were paid more than me) didn’t have to endure the same kind of labor as myself. In particular, I had four jobs: to doorbell until my shoes filled with blood; to phone-bank until my ears went deaf, to recruit other poor-saps to join me at the oars; and to determine how private individuals planned to cast their ballot.
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