Why a Charter Review Commission?

The League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County has provided this information. This article was prepared by Voter Services Chair Jo Collinge with assistance from members John Turnbaugh, Judith Wiseman, who served on the first Charter Review Commission in 1985, and Marge Laidlaw, who was its Chair.

Every 10 years, Whatcom County voters have a rare opportunity to shape the organization of our county government and the rules by which it functions.

Amending the Charter

The process begins Nov. 4 when voters elect a Charter Review Commission of 15 members, five from each of the county’s three County Council districts. The only qualification for charter review candidates is to be a registered voter. Commissioners serve for one year and receive no salary.

Since this happens only once every decade, electing a review commission — even the existence and content of the charter itself — is unfamiliar to many of the county voters.

Commissioners elected this fall will spend the next year reviewing the Whatcom County Home Rule Charter — the county Constitution, in other words — to determine whether it meets the current needs of their fellow citizens.

Like the state and federal constitutions, the charter covers such things as the qualifications, composition, powers, duties and method of election for legislators and county officials. It establishes rules for financial administration, the personnel system and how to amend the charter.

If commissioners agree that changes are necessary, they will recommend amendments to the charter. Those will appear on the November 2015 ballot, and voters can then decide whether to adopt or reject those changes.

A little background is in order. When Washington became a state in 1889, its Constitution provided one form of government for all counties – three commissioners, each selected by district, who exercised both legislative and administrative powers.

Just after World War II, Washington voters amended the state Constitution to allow Home Rule to counties of a certain size. Home Rule provides county residents with more direct local control of their government structure and operations. The vehicle for this is creation of a county charter.

Home rule is unusual among Washington counties. Only five of the 38 others — King, Clallam, Snohomish, Pierce and San Juan — have adopted charters. Clark County (Vancouver) will vote on a charter in November; voters rejected four previous attempts.

Board of Freeholders

An elected citizens’ committee drafted the Whatcom County Charter and voters approved it in 1978. It made two basic changes in our form of government.

It separated the legislative and administrative functions of government by establishing a non-partisan, seven-member, part-time county council and a full-time, elected administrator — County Executive — to replace the three-commissioner form of government. It also provided for the right of initiative, referendum and recall.

The first charter review was in 1985, followed in 1995 and again in 2005.

Candidates come from a wide range of backgrounds, occupations and political views. Some candidates are just interested in participating in their local government. Others have specific ideas for change and may be endorsed by groups who share their views.

Fifty people [see names on page 10] are running to be part of this process. Each voter selects five of those running in his or her County Council district. Still, the choice can be daunting. There are 20 names on the ballot in District 1, 18 in District 2 and 12 in District 3.

Selecting commission members is important because who conducts the review will influence the kind of amendments the commission brings forth for the voters’ decision next year. The number of candidates makes it a challenge to know what each stands for.

All commission candidates have been asked to give statements about their backgrounds and views for the Voter’s Guide that will be delivered to all Whatcom County households in mid-October. The Bellingham Herald requested similar statements from Charter Review candidates for publication in the weeks prior to the election.

The League of Women Voters asked all candidates for elective office — including Charter Review candidates — to respond to a series of questions about pertinent issues in their campaigns. These questions are posted on its statewide voter information website: www.Vote411.org.

We urge voters to use all these resources to cast well-informed votes on Nov. 4. Ultimately, the actions taken by those elected to serve on the Charter Review Commission may affect all of Whatcom County’s residents for many years to come.