Washblog

Sullivan and Berkey are looking at the same position - the seat being vacated by "sometimes Democrat" County Councilman Kirke Sievers who shall be forced to depart after 2007 as a result of term limits. If Lovick does indeed decide to run for Sheriff, it will be to fill an open position left by Rick Bart, another victim of term limits. In another countywide open secret, Bart, a Republican, has already begun his race to challenge County Executive Aaron Reardon who will be seeking his second term in that office. In yet another office left open to term limits, current manager of the Elections Division, Carolyn Diepenbrock has made her intentions known that she will be seeking election to the non-partisan office of County Auditor. During the 2006 campaign it was suggested that 44th LD State Senator, Dave Schmidt (R), who was just defeated by Democrat Steve Hobbs, might also be considering a run for County Auditor. With the loss of his senate seat still fresh upon him, Schmidt is taking some time out before making any further comment on his political future. Finally, rounding out the field of "major races", former 21st LD Representative (and former candidate for State Lands Commissioner), Democrat Mike Cooper will likely challenge for the term limited seat of Snohomish County Councilman Gary Nelson.  

There are so many issues here it's hard to know where to begin. Term Limits; oh how I deplore them. From President down to County Clerk, I firmly believe that this effort to "control the tyrannical reign of incumbency" only acts as an enabler for the lazy citizen at best and, at its worst, deprives an educated and engaged citizenry of all its available choices at election time. OK, I will save this for another post.

Is the public well served when its servants seek re-election with the knowledge (however firm it may be) that they will not serve their entire term of office? While it is one thing for party activists to be "in the know" about the potential for a mid-term run, do the constituents have a right to know that such a possibility exists and might it affect the ultimate outcome of a race? Certainly in the case of Rep. Lovick, there are not many in the district who can say that they had heard nothing about a possible run for sheriff and yet, if there was any complaint, you surely could not see it in the final results. While Sullivan and Berkey ran unopposed, would their potential county council candidacies have brought out Republican challengers if they were more widely known?

Then, of course, there is the whole process for filling empty seats that will need to occur if any or all of these incumbents are elected to new positions. The races within LDs to seek appointment to fill open seats will be nearly as exciting as the actual election races themselves. According to the rules in place in Snohomish County, any open seat in the State Legislature will be filled by the County Council from a list of names supplied by the Legislative District organization. In the 38th LD, Jean Berkey has been twice appointed. She was appointed to the State House to fill the remainder of the term of her mentor, the late Rep. Pat Scott, when she passed away in 2001. Berkey was then appointed from the State House to the State Senate seat vacated when Aaron Reardon was elected County Executive. Former Everett City Councilman, David Simpson was then appointed by the council to fill out the last year of Berkey's term in the House. The following year, Simpson was defeated in the Democratic primary by current 38th LD Representative, Mike Sells.

And so it begins. The 2007 election cycle with its city and county races as well as potential city, county, and state ballot measures. One thing is certain, with the number of open seats throughout Snohomish County, 2007 promises to be as exciting as any election we have seen recently. Stay tuned.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue