by Susan Meister
Observing the machinations of the Charter Review Commission has been instructive. The Home Rule Charter of 2005 was the first to succeed in over twenty years in Washington state with a 65 percent majority of San Juan County voters.
Now it is clear that the CRC is hoping to overturn two of its key provisions, sending San Juan County back to an unsuccessful past.
It should be noted that at least three of those who have dominated the CRC’s questionably democratic deliberations were the same freeholders who were against Home Rule in 2005. Three of those who are championing arguments for the amendments effectively returning the county to the old board of commissioners form of government, were previous members of that board. Even Kevin Ranker has descended from his high post as State Senator to align himself with the arguments to eviscerate the charter. He appears to be one of those waiting in the weeds for the chance to resurrect an antiquated vehicle that some of his former colleagues might even wish to hop onto again. What credibility do those possess who opposed Home Rule from the beginning, whose livelihoods and social status were adversely affected by the charter, to propose that it be gutted?
Surely the enlightened voters of San Juan County will see the CRC exercise for what it is: a folly.
The charter made significant strides in taking the government out of the hands of partisan politicians whose meddling in the administrative branch of county government was a disaster for the taxpayers. It too often resulted in unlawful terminations and thousands of dollars in personnel lawsuits. This is the administrative and legal chaos to which the CRC proposes to return.
As importantly, through Proposition 1, the CRC proposes returning to the full-time, three-member, at large Commission form of government, resulting in unequal representation of the islands’ communities. No rational explanation for retreating from a one-person, one-vote democracy has been offered.
Those who wrote the charter wisely envisioned that it would need improvement. In focusing on simply taking it down, the leaders of the CRC wasted the opportunity to make it better.
In the end, government is only as good as those who are elected to carry it out. It is a mistake to blame the structure – the charter – for how it has operated. If you don’t like the job your representatives have done, elect new ones. Otherwise it is like burning down a building you have lovingly constructed because the plumbing doesn’t work.
Forward movement is the definition of progress. Do not be deceived by arguments that going back to the past will burnish the future. Stand in the voting booth proud to cast a vote for progress. Vote no on Propositions 1 and 2.
Susan Meister, a long-time resident of San Juan Island, was a founding principal in the Charter movement. She now lives in San Francisco and Pebble Beach with her husband, Robert Montgomery.