Voters should always take care when making their election picks, but some parts of the ballot deserve more attention than others this year.
In many South Sound races, voters have two good options, and the public will be well-served no matter the outcome of the election.
Other decisions are more pivotal. Take the election for Federal Way Municipal Court. Judge Michael Morgan has hurt the court’s standing and its internal workings. He has to go.
His challenger, Seattle prosecutor Rebecca Robertson, would seem a shoo-in. She led in the primary election – and since then, Morgan has done more to discredit himself (by apparently letting his city-owned computer be used for his re-election campaign).
But with all the name familiarity Morgan’s garnered with news coverage of his troubles, he still stands a chance – if some voters haven’t been paying attention.
Other races that deserve close inspection:
• The three-way race for Pierce County auditor is the only position that will be decided by ranked choice voting this year, and there is a very real threat that partisanship could end up handing the election to a thoroughly unqualified candidate.
The News Tribune editorial board endorsed Tacoma City Councilwoman Julie Anderson for the position. But we think Jan Shabro, the incumbent by appointment, would make a fine pick, too. Trouble is, the race has heavy partisan overtones despite the position’s new nonpartisan label. Some Democrats might be loath to mark Shabro their second choice, and Republicans the same for Anderson.
That way, disaster lies. The third candidate, Will Baker, is best known as a conspiracy theorist who disrupts public meetings. He has been convicted of disorderly conduct. Anderson supporters should put aside any reservations they have about Shabro – and Shabro supporters vice versa – and mark each others candidates their second choice.
• In University Place, critics of the beleaguered Town Center project risk a self-inflicted injury that could cost the community dearly.
Frustrated voters may be tempted to send a message by ousting two veterans – Ken Grassi and Linda Bird. They should look closely at what they would get in return.
The challengers don’t work well with others. What’s more, their views of Town Center risk squandering the city’s sizable investment at the exact moment an economic recovery could pay off.
• Finally, voters should carefully consider the two statewide ballot measures. Referendum 71 and Initiative 1033 hit the hot buttons of gay rights and taxes. But they are worthy of more than knee-jerk reactions.
R-71 would not make gay marriage legal, no matter what its opponents say. What it would do is fulfill the promise of the state’s domestic partnership registry, which provides legal recognition for committed couples who can’t marry. Fairness and common decency requires that the law not withhold basic protections on the basis of sexual orientation.
On I-1033, the debate is perhaps less charged but just as prone to hyperbole. Tim Eyman says his baby is the only possible check on government spending. Politicians say it is a train wreck in the making.
The truth is, the basic theory of I-1033 is sound. It’s based on Initiative 601, which did help restrain the Legislature until lawmakers found it easy to subvert. But I-1033 has a profound flaw – its timing.
It would lock in recession-era cutbacks in public safety, health care and higher education. Let’s not institutionalize the pain of this downturn.
• To read election endorsement editorials, log on to www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/endorsements.
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