Category: Thurston County Democrats (Page 5 of 10)

Via the comment (from Jeff I assume) here.

Susan Bogni, retiring county commissioner Bob Macleod’s assistant, wrote a letter to newly elected PCOs, making her case for why she should be appointed to the upcoming vacant seat.

Nothing in the letter takes care of my reservations towards her here.

Again, I’m sure she’s really nice, but the whole idea of a staff assistant taking the position feels wrong.

Actually, her letter spells out and amplifies my reservations, at least in my reading.

For the past six years, I have sat by Bob’s side as his teammate with shared values for the many topics in county government. I sit at the table with him on water quality and flooding matters — I am the designated alternate on the Tri-County Flood Authority.

…

I have drafted and helped advance ordinances such as noise control, no shooting zones and the apprenticeship utilization ordinance…

She goes on to spell out her knowledge of county government from the inside, he involvement in the county Democratic organization and her laudable community involvement. But, that no more qualifies her for the position than any other engaged, committed citizen.

Using words like “team mate,” “sit at the table” and “drafted and helped advance,” it seems like she’s trying to tell us that she’s already a county commissioner.

The only other thing I’m worried about is that Susan has never run for office herself. She’s of course helped out on campaigns, she knows how they’re run. But, I think there is something vastly different when you’re the one on the spot.

The one positive thing I can say about Susan is that she lives in unincorporated Thurston County, where the people most effected by this commission seat also live.

Forget what I wrote here, here’s the actual process (via email):

Just a week ago, we were all saddened when Bob Macleod, Thurston County Commissioner, announced his mid-term resignation from the District 3 position effective December 31, 2008, due to health concerns. Our community is united in its gratitude for the 6 years of service Bob gave as our commissioner and the preceding decades of community service he generously provided while serving as news director at KGY radio. We all hope the challenges of his declining health may be minimized and that he may continue to stay active to the extent he feels comfortable.

We are now ready to begin the difficult task of “filling his shoes” for the remainder of his term. In accordance with Article II, Section 15 of the Washington State Constitution, the two other commissioners, Cathy Wolfe and Sandra Romero, will have 60 days after December 31 in which to appoint a successor who will serve until November 2009, when a successor to serve the remainder of Bob’s term will be elected. The Thurston County Democratic Central Committee (Precinct Committee Officers) will provide the names of three candidates from which Cathy and Sandra are to choose one as the temporary successor.

Although our newly elected Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs) do not take office until December 1st and the upcoming holiday season poses some scheduling challenges, we do intend to provide the three names to the two other commissioners by mid-January at latest. This is the process we will follow:
Applications

Applications from Democrats resident and registered to vote in Commissioner District 3 are now being accepted, provided they are postmarked or emailed by December 1st. In addition to providing contact information (name, address, phone numbers and email address), applicants must indicate

(1) why they want to serve as county commissioner,
(2) what they believe makes them uniquely qualified to fill this vacancy,
(3) how they are prepared to stand for election in 2009 and then again in 2010, and
(4) what they intend to accomplish during their term as county commissioner.

Applications may be emailed to commissioner@thurstondemocrats.org or post mailed to PO Box 164, Olympia, WA 98507.
Review Process

By mid-December (before the holiday vacations), the PCOs officially elected in 2008 whose precincts are in Commissioner District 3 will meet to interview the applicants and develop a ranked list to submit to the full Thurston County Democratic Central Committee (TCDCC). This date of this meeting will be announced after December 1st.

In early January, a special meeting of all PCOs officially elected in 2008 shall be convened to review the recommendations of the district PCOs and develop a final ranked list of three candidates to submit to the two remaining county commissioners.

Each meeting will be chaired and moderated by the Thurston County Democrats’ chair or designee.
Public Comment

Written comments from the public are welcome and may be sent to commissioner@thurstondemocrats.org. All comments received by December 15 will be distributed to all PCOs who are participating in the review process.

John Cusick, Chair
Thurston County Demcocrats

From what I know, no one has formally put their name forward for Macleod‘s seat. But, there’s a lot of talk going on out there, so here’s my effort to distill all that I’ve heard in terms of who could be going for it.

Joan Cathey, Tumwater City Council

She’s very likely to file. The only thing I can say is that she’s only been on Tumwater City Council for less than a year, not necessarily a bad thing, but that’s a pretty quick step from council to commission.

Ed Stanley, Tumwater City Council

You’ll soon get the feeling that being on the Tumwater City Council qualifies you for this position somehow. Geography just worked out, I guess.

Ed ran for port commissioner awhile back, might be interested in another county-level office.

Karen Valenzuela, Tumwater City Council

Karen is a pretty long serving city council-member that I’ve never heard anyone speak ill of. She’s also very good at helping out when other folks decide they want to run for office. If she files, she’d probably end up on the list of three.

Susan Bogni, Macleod’s administrative assistant

She’s also likely to file. I don’t know Susan, I’m sure she’s great. But, there’s something that feels wrong about a staffer stepping forward at this point.

I guess that reveals my main prejudice about this process. I want to vote for someone who has already run for elected office and served, hopefully for awhile. Being knowledgeable about the particular position and the issues isn’t necessarily a good thing to be, because of the danger of built in biases. Someone (like a city council member) with elected experience, who already knows how to be a candidate and has served on a board and that already participates in regional processes (we got those ’round here) would be the kind of person I’m looking for.

Brendan Williams, state representative

Brendan is stepping down in his own right, having decided not to run for the legislature again in two years. And, in the mean time, Tim Sheldon proved there’s no legal problem with being in the state legislature and a county commissioner at the same time. And, while Sheldon is doing it from Shelton and Olympia, Brendan would be doing it all from Olympia.

Another bonus for Brendan. He replaced Sandra Romero, one of the county commissioners that will decide on the replacement, in the legislature. She also endorsed him in a crowded primary for her seat. Maybe not a shady backroom deal if he gets onto the commission, but you could say that Brendan and Sandra would work well together.

Steve Lundin, legislative staffer (house Local Government Committee)

Not a name I came up with, I’m sure he’s pretty smart about local government.

Bob Jacobs, former Olympia mayor

He’s been a former mayor for awhile, so I guess geography puts him on the list. Since leaving he’s been involved, very involved.

Jeff Kingsbury, Olympia City Council

I like Jeff, but at the same time I’d hate to lose him from the city council. Or, if he tried to do both, lose his attention.

Jeff isn’t interested.

Russ Lehman, former Olympia School District

I heard back in the day when it wasn’t known yet whether Macleod would run for a second term, that Russ was putting together a campaign committee for the position. Since then Bob stepped up, Russ stepped back and then Russ became a central part of the horror show that was the Olympia School Board for the last year or so.

Did resigning from the Olympia School Board taint Russ? I don’t know, but I thought he was a pretty strong candidate two years ago and felt bad he didn’t have the chance to run.

Neil McClanahan, Tumwater City Council

Right now, Neil is my top choice. I’ve heard good things about this work with the county housing task force. He’s also the right mix of the person who has run for office before and has served well in regional boards.

The only knock I think that will hold up is his working against trying to keep Walmart out of Tumwater. Though, it seems, his approach there was to take the reality of Tumwater’s fiscal condition into consideration. If he gets on the list, it will be because he was able to move past Walmart.

Anyone not from Olympia/Tumwater?

Like, you know, someone from Rochster/Grand Mound or Little Rock? These rural communities have the most per capita interest in who actually gets this seat, but I haven’t heard of anyone put forward that could say they represent anywhere outside the urban core.

I’d be interested in any names.

The Precinct Committee Officers will put together a list of possible replacements for county commissioner Bob Macleod. But, that process will likely take a bit longer than we’ve assumed. Put it shortly, the process sketched out by the Olympian is wrong:

The precinct committee officers elected during the August primary will take office Dec. 1. They then have a month to finalize a slate of candidates. It’s up to the party to determine if all the officers in the county or only those within the district now represented by Macleod will make those decisions.

Between the party central committee and the two county commissioners, there is actually two whole months to work after December 31. According to the state constitution, there is no need to appoint someone before Macleod even resigns officially.

Here’s the language:

…shall be one of three persons who shall be nominated by the county central committee of that party, and in case a majority of the members of the county legislative authority do not agree upon the appointment within sixty days after the vacancy occurs…

This is backed up by the scuttlebut at the recent PCO orientation meeting this week. From what I heard, there will be an application process in early January. Those names will be considered by the PCOs in Macleod’s district and then a (hopefully) long list of candidates will go to the entire body of PCOs.

Fittingly, this follows the path for county commissioners in wider elections. They are winnowed down during a primary in which only district voters can participate. But, the final decision is made by the entire county.

R. Scott blames Sandra Romero for pointing out where Thurston County was wrong:

Her group filed a growth management appeal in 2005 challenging Thurston County’s comprehensive plan and cost the County an estimated 1.5 million dollars defending against this frivolous claim.

The County Commissioners have a duty to administrate the State laws and provide for public safety, heath and roads. The Commission doesn’t need to be sidetracked by having to deal with lawsuits generated by special-interest groups.

Wouldn’t a frivolous claim, that the rules in Thurston County governing growth didn’t jive with state mandates, be thrown out by the courts? It would, but R. Scott lied when he characterized the nature of the lawsuit and how it ended up. Futurewise actually won the case.

Even the local builder’s association admits this:

According to Andy Cook, BIAW Legal Counsel “the decision is a mixed bag, but mostly a loss”. The court ruled that the Growth Management Hearings Board did not err in ruling the Thurston Count’s urban growth areas were too large. Cook noted, that “the court completely dismissed our arguments and evidence showing that the Board made a clerical error in finding that the UGAs were too large.”

So is it frivolous to challenge government action that you think is wrong? Is it frivolous when two judges agree with you?

For your refernce’s here’s Washington Land Use Law blog’s post on the topic.