By Jeff Bossler
Now seeing all the candidate’s signs along the road in an odd year just months after we had already elected our Councilmembers, I thought it would be informative for me to investigate the 1967 Dusch v. Davis case from Virginia Beach and the 1975 Dallas v. Reese case from Selma Alabama. More importantly, since these two cases are used in defending the return to our old grossly unequal districts and at-large voting scheme, I wanted to know if Virginia Beach and Dallas County (Selma) Alabama were still living by these rulings. In both cases, the answer is a resounding “NO.”
In 1994, Virginia Beach moved by referendum and General Assembly action to 7 equal districts with 7 of their district commissioners elected by district only, and 4 commissioners elected at-large. Dallas County, Alabama on the other hand was forced by the courts to drop their voting scheme once defended by the court in Dallas vs. Reese. They now have 4 equal districts and 5 commissioners, 4 elected by district and 1 at-large.
In both Virginia Beach, and Alabama, the “rational” used to defend the same kind of at-large un-equal districts scheme in San Juan County has been defeated. Imagine where women would be today in regard to voting if archaic precedent would have been the only source of reason. The existence of, and a return to such a voting scheme defies common sense, which is why this issue has been hot in San Juan County for 4 decades, and will continue to hold us back until we join the rest of the nation in upholding basic constitutional standards.
Jeff Bossler of Orcas Island is a plaintiff in the in the lawsuit appealing the Charter Proposition Amendments in Skagit County Superior Court.
