From the San Juan County Charter Review Commission
The next meeting of the San Juan County Charter Review Commission (CRC) is on February 4th at the San Juan Grange from 8am to 2pm (with a break for lunch). Public input is welcomed and there is time set aside for it early at 8:30 again at noon. At this meeting the CRC will hear presentations from current and past San Juan County department heads.
The CRC members were elected in November 2011 and began meeting in early January 2012. This board of 21 San Juan County voters is charged with reviewing the Charter “to determine its adequacy and suitability to the needs of the County.” Changes that they propose will be put on the ballot for the public to vote on in November. The schedule of meetings through March can be found at the CRC website
The February 11th meeting will be at the Orcas Hotel from 7:30am to 3pm.
In their previous three meetings the CRC has heard presentations from County Auditor Milene Henly, County Administrator Pete Rose, County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord, former County Commissioners John Evans and Tom Cowan, and former County Commissioner and Council Member Alan Lichter. They have also adopted motions to the following effect as their draft “working model” for a proposed Charter amendment:
- That there be three elected legislators (county council members or commissioners)
- That these council members or commissioners be legal residents of their respective districts, and be elected in countywide primary and general elections.
- That the districts be the same as the County Commissioner districts used prior to the Charter.
- That the powers of initiative, referendum and mini-initiative be preserved in any recommendations other than to repeal the charter as a whole.
- That the three council or commissioner positions be full-time, with full-time pay.
In upcoming meetings they will be discussing the role of the county administrator, the potential of going back to partisan elections, as well as issue such as the consolidation of departments and the number of elected and appointed department heads.
You can find documents relevant to the Charter review process on the CRC website on the San Juan County homepage. Members of the public are encouraged to attend CRC meetings and to contact any member of the Commission to voice their opinions (contact information is also available at the website).
Do I understand that the CRC is leaning toward a proposal that would have every voter in the County voting on who will be our Councilperson or Commissioner? I am curious about the rationale for that. Nothing in the scope of the CRC debate seems clearer than the fact that each island has its own identity/character/spirit/personality–however you choose to describe it. I strongly prefer to have people who live here and know the Island elect the island’s representative. The notion of making the elections partisan is similarly inconsistent with the island way. Look how well partisanship is working on the state and national levels.