David C. Wong
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If voters approve Amendment No. 1 to the King County Charter next month, they will for the first time be able to elect the county's elections director--in February. Yet the potential race for that post is one virtually no politician is considering.
No politician, that is, except Julia Patterson, a seven-year veteran of the King County Council who is mulling a run for elections director should the ballot measure pass next month (the position is currently filled through appointment by the county executive and confirmation by the council).
"I'm considering the idea," says Patterson (D-SeaTac), who currently serves as the council's chair. "My main interest is in making sure that we have a very professional and experienced person in that position." But while she's open to a bid, Patterson says she'd consider not running if someone else "who meets the needs of the people of King County" stepped forward.
The Republican-backed push to make the elections director an elected position can be traced back to 2004, a year in which King County got national press for its incompetence in handling that election—highlighted by the fact that the governor's race was ultimately decided by a mere 133 votes after multiple recounts. Hundreds of absentee ballots went uncounted (735 turned up more than a month after Election Day in a locked cage in a SoDo warehouse), and hundreds more provisional ballots were counted without verifying voter eligibility.
In 2005, Patterson co-sponsored a bill with Republican council member Kathy Lambert to reform the election system. Proposed changes included preventing provisional ballots from being tabulated until they are verified and centralizing county elections facilities to improve efficiency.
"I have a great deal of political capital invested in making sure the elections division is successful," says Patterson.
If Patterson were to move into the post, that would mean a salary boost from approximately $120,000 to more than $140,000 annually. Because she's on the council, Patterson says it's not appropriate for her to take a position on whether the charter amendment should pass, but the King County Democrats and County Executive Ron Sims are against it. They say that an appointed elections director is a more qualified one, and the holder of the office should be free from the politics of having to run for it. (Sims also opposed the 1996 move to elect the county sheriff.) Republicans argue, on the other hand, that Sims and the Democrats just want to retain the power to appoint. But support for the idea has crossed party lines; Democratic State Auditor Brian Sonntag, for one, has voiced his support for the measure.
Patterson appears to be alone in her interest at this point. Democratic consultant Cathy Allen says that while she's "totally on the prowl for candidates," it's tough to get anyone to focus on anything beyond the November 4 election. "We're going to wake up November 5 and say, 'Oh my God. We've got to get going on this,'" Allen adds.
Lori Sotelo, chair of the King County Republican Party, says that "we don't have any commitments at this point. I would imagine that things would jell quickly after the election." She adds that an elected elections director is "something we support pretty enthusiastically."
Of course, voters still have to decide next month whether they want to make the position elective, but history shows that when you give voters the opportunity to vote for whether they want to vote for something, they usually say yes. The last time King County was posed this question, the charter amendment to make the sheriff an elected official, voters approved the measure by a margin of 57 to 43 percent. And in Pierce County last year, voters opted to make the Pierce County sheriff an elected post by a resounding 75 to 25 percent.
King is the only county in Washington in which the person responsible for overseeing its elections is appointed; elsewhere, the auditor is elected to handle such duties. For now there are only two requirements for the King County job: Candidates must be registered to vote and reside in the county. More stipulations may soon follow. Also on the November ballot is another charter amendment (No. 4) which would give the county council the opportunity to set qualifications for a handful of executive positions, including the elections director.
Allen says that while she's aware of Patterson's interest, the only potential candidate she's spoken with is state Sen. Joe McDermott (D-West Seattle)—and he's decided against it. "I've decided to focus on my work in the Senate," confirms McDermott, who serves on the Government Operations & Elections Committee. "Ultimately I decided I'd have more effect on that policy and on others in my current position." Furthermore, McDermott—or any incumbent state legislator, for that matter—is barred by state law from fundraising activities beginning December 13, or 30 days before the legislative session starts, thus making a run for a February election difficult.
Former state Rep. Laura Ruderman is also a name who surfaces as a possibility, but she says that rumor is false. "My name comes up mistakenly on that list," Ruderman says. "I'm not interested. That's not where I want to put my efforts."
