— from Cindy Wolf —
This Saturday, February 2, the Democratic Precinct Committee Officers from all over the 40th LD will gather in Bellingham to select three candidates for appointment to our State Senate seat. Currently the people who have stepped forward for consideration are:
- Kris Lytton
- Learner Limbach
- Liz Lovelet
- Stacey Smith
- Jamie Stephens
- Rud Browne
If you prefer one of these candidates, you need to figure out which Precinct you live in and email your PCO by Friday night. Once the list of three names has been chosen, you need to let your County Councilors (Bill, Jamie & Rick) know who you prefer. You can do this by email, telephone and/or letter to the editor. They meet this coming Tuesday, February 5 to make the appointment, so you won’t have long to let them know!
Here is a link to a Precinct map https://sanjuanco.com/DocumentCenter/View/11255/Countywide-Precinct-Map?bidId= . Here is a link to the contact information for your PCOs https://sjdemocrats.org/about-us-2/precinct-committee-officers/ .
Please note, Mr. Stephens and Mr. Browne are both sitting members of the County Councils who will make the ultimate decision on the appointment. Currently the Washington State Democratic Central Committee expects them to resign their current positions with no guarantee of appointment if they wish to be eligible for nomination. This is in concurrence with opinions issued by the State Attorney General’s Office in 1985 & 1987. The Councilmen dispute the validity of these opinions and believe they have a Constitutional right to seek appointment. To this end they asked for a review of the situation by the legal counsel retained by the WSAC (a non-profit group established to advance the interests of 39 member counties which is 50% funded by dues from the counties and 50% funded by fees for projects they are engaged to complete.). The WSAC Counsel did not issue official legal advice, but did disagree with the Attorney General’s Opinions. It is unlikely that either the WSDC or the AGO will alter their positions before this appointment is made.
Cindy, thank you so much for the lucid explanation of the process. Thorough and actually very interesting. And yes, my interests in reading material do seem to be rather dry. ; )
Thank you, Cindy. I’ll email my precinct leader with my top choice(s) and hope others will do the same. I agree with the Attorney General and the Wa State Central committee that any sitting council persons should vacate their seats regardless of appointment outcome, if they want consideration for this position, or at least serve out their months and run for the November election like the other candidates will.
Just curious though; if one of the two would give up hid seat (sounds like neither will), would there be another general election for the Council seat this coming November – and by what process would SJCC appoint their replacement in the interim?
Hi Sadie,
According to Article 5.2 of the County Charter:
“Vacancies in a non-partisan elected office shall be filled at the next
November General Election, unless the vacancy occurs after the day for filing
declarations for candidacy, in which case the vacancy shall be filled at the next
succeeding November election. The person elected shall take office upon certification of
the results of the election and shall serve the unexpired term of the vacated office. Until a
successor has been elected and qualified, a majority of the County Council shall fill the
vacancy by appointment. All persons appointed to fill vacancies shall meet the
qualifications set in Section 4.20 of this Charter.