||| FROM KEVIN RANKER, CHAIR, SAN JUAN COUNTY CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION |||
The San Juan County Charter was designed to give the greatest authority possible to the people, stating that, “The power of the County shall be liberally construed; it is intended that this Charter confer the greatest power of local self-government on the people of San Juan County consistent with the State Constitution.”
2020 was a year marked by protests, marches and a growing community awareness that followed the rise of the Black Lives Matter [BLM] movement as well as demands for climate action and greater environmental responsibility. Following this year of awakening, last November the voters of San Juan County elected 18 charter review commissioners.
The commission began its work by hosting town hall meetings, holding small-group discussions and receiving input from hundreds of county residents. What became clear to the commission was that they were not tasked to simply rearrange the deck chairs, but to consider bold actions that would substantially improve our local government’s ability to address justice, equity, climate change and environmental protection while dramatically improving our government’s ability to support our citizens and economy.
After seven months work with several meetings each week and significant public engagement, the commission submitted its first six propositions that San Juan County voters will vote on this November. The commission continues working and plans to submit additional propositions for the 2022 ballot.
The 2021 ballot propositions include:
- Introduction to Charter: Acknowledgment, Preamble, and Declaration of Community Values
- Term Limits for Council Members
- Climate and Environment Commission
- Initiatives and Referendums
- Non-discrimination in the Exercise of County Powers and Performance of its Duties
- Justice, Equity, and Inclusion Commission
The commission recommends amending the charter introduction by acknowledging the Coast Salish First Peoples of the islands and clearly stating the function and authority of the charter by recognizing the core county values of equity, our precious environment and the protection of each person under the law.
On the issue of county council term limits, the commission recommends a three-term limit, or twelve years, recognizing this balances the need for new voices in legislative leadership while allowing councilmembers to bring to their job the knowledge and experience that comes with multiple terms.
The commission responded boldly to climate marches that took place around the nation and here in our islands and to hundreds of youth who reminded us to address climate change and protect the natural environment with the proposal to establish a San Juan County Climate and Environment Commission to advance climate action, protect our environment and carry out San Juan County resolutions passed in 2020 and 2008 but not acted upon.
Following the commission’s lead, the county council created an independent county department of Climate and Environment last month. The commission did not think it was enough to simply make the existing division a department but heard from the public that the department must have the autonomy, strength and direct citizen involvement and transparency to be effective and advance climate action and environmental protection.
The charter commission proposes the Climate and Environment Oversight Commission should therefore oversee and support the county’s Climate and Environment department. This oversight commission will review activities of the department and recommend actions. It will annually develop and update a Climate and Environment Action Plan and release an annual report to the public on the implementation of the action plan and performance of the county department and elected officials. It will meet with the director of the department in an oversight role and conduct future searches for department heads to forward to the county council to hire.
The Climate and Environment Oversight Commission will be appointed by the county council and shall include representatives of environmental organizations, business, youth, existing county committees, Coast Salish tribes and others.
The charter commission also proposes changes to local initiatives and referendums by removing requirements for county budgeting by citizens, lowering the signature requirement to place an item on the ballot, and requiring paid signature gatherers collecting petition signatures for San Juan County initiatives and referendums to display how they are paid.
The final two recommendations voters will decide on arose from the BLM movement and a recognition that we must do more if we are to be the equitable and just community we strive to be. Shockingly, San Juan County is one of only two charter counties without a non-discrimination section and is silent on anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion.
To address this, the commission proposes including a non-discrimination section in the charter that incorporates state and federal non-discrimination language and upholds the core values put forward in the San Juan County Safe and Inclusive Community Resolution that was passed last year following the BLM marches but not acted upon. The recommendation ensures that no person is discriminated against in hiring and conditions of employment, compensation or termination of county officers or employees, or in the treatment of residents and visitors in the provision of government services.
A key component of this recommendation ensures that all contractors of professional services for the county meet the same anti-discrimination requirements as we demand of ourselves.
To carry out these non-discrimination measures, the commission recommends establishing a Justice, Equity and Inclusion Commission to provide advice and support to San Juan County government — bringing county residents into a meaningful dialogue with the county government. The Justice, Equity and Inclusion Commission may recommend executive and legislative actions and work with all branches of government to ensure principles of non-discrimination are followed.
The charter commission believes that these propositions will demonstrate how our small community of islands can be a model of how government can lead by example when it comes to justice, equity, climate action, the environment and citizen engagement in democracy. These propositions will allow the voters of San Juan County to be the change we want to see.
Has the Prosecuting Attorney weighed in on the propriety of the Commission to exercise an “an oversight role” over the Department of Climate and Environment? That and the delegation of developing, updating, and reporting on the Department’s performance of the Commission’s “Climate and Environment Action Plan. It seems the Commission would be usurping functions reserved to the County Council.
There is nothing shocking about the County’s position on nondiscrimination. The County is bound by extensive, existing, robust and well-understood federal and state civil rights laws. Nothing in the charter amendment as proposed “ensures” that no one is discriminated against. Those protections already exist, and the amendment is performative, at best. In fact, it appears not to track the precise language of federal and state laws exactly, creating a few new protected categories, unique to the County, which means our courts will have to develop interpretive case law for it.
The proposed amendment also purports to require the County to bind all contractors “of professional services” to meet the same anti-discrimination requirements. Again, many such entities are already bound by state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
Kevin Ranker (chair), Olivia Roseberry (vice chair), and the other members of the Charter Review Commission have devoted a staggering amount of time and effort to bring six proposed amendments to our County Charter to this November’s ballot. These proposals deal with important issues regarding the sustainability of our natural environment, the fairness of our society, and the right to self-governance. I urge all interested voters to study the proposals carefully and critically.
Please note that the proposals were not adopted unanimously by the commission and there is a minority report which can be found at https://www.sanjuanco.com/1764/Charter-Review-Commission under the section “Minority Reports, Regarding several topics”. All six proposed amendments are discussed and the dissenting opinions are signed by several of the commissioners.
The opinion piece by Mr. Ranker discusses background information, motivation, and a summary for each of the proposed amendments. The actual ballot measures (Measure Text, Explanatory Statement, and Arguments For and Against) are in the Voters’ Guide of the General 2021 Election which can be found at https://voter.votewa.gov/ (enter your voter info and the guide will appear). The Measure Text and the Explanatory Statements of the Voters’ Guide were prepared by the Prosecuting Attorney and may not match the exact text of the proposed amendments. The full amendments can be found at https://www.sanjuanco.com/1764/Charter-Review-Commission under the section “Amendments for 2021 Ballot.”