A frequent refrain of the national media is that Americans across the political spectrum feel that our democracy is under threat, and a look at our presidential and congressional politics does not give much cause to dispel that impression.
However, here on Vashon, a quieter form of democracy is in better health: the everyday workings of our elected boards and commissions.
To keep our local government bodies as strong as possible, we depend on our neighbors to step forward and run for office, and I want to spread the word that decision time for throwing your hat in the ring is coming up soon. With daffodils still blooming, the November general election feels like a distant idea, but running for office actually kicks off with candidate filing week, which opens from May 15 to 19.
Even sooner, our local election office, King County Elections, is holding optional online info sessions for prospective candidates, on Saturday, April 15 and Monday, April 24.
To make it onto that November ballot, candidates must file in May. Slightly complicated rules determine whether or not the race shows up on the primary ballot in August, or if it goes right to November. But no matter what, now is the time to decide to run.
This year Vashon has many positions up for election: multiple seats on our school board, fire commission, park district and health care district, as well as seats on Water District 19 and our sewer district.
I have the honor to serve currently as one of three Water District 19 commissioners, and in that role I’ve been challenged, learned volumes, and consistently feel grateful to give back in a small way to this great community.
However, when I ran in 2019, I ran unopposed, as many of the candidates on the island do. This meant district voters didn’t have a choice, and I received no feedback on whether my ideas appealed to voters or not.
I’d love to open my voter pamphlet this August and again in November, and see a long list of contested seats where the candidates are taking positions and debating the important decisions that need to be made for our schools and healthcare district, for example.
Running for a local election isn’t expensive – the filing fee for every seat on the island is $0, and free publicity is available in the voters’ pamphlet and through The Beachcomber’s election coverage. There also isn’t any perfect set of qualifications — all of our districts need board input with finances, personnel, facilities, strategic planning, and more. Maybe you don’t do all of those things, but I’m sure many of our neighbors have expertise to share in some of those areas.
If you’re considering a run, visit the King County Elections website and visit the “Running for Office” section – you’ll find everything you need there. A huge thank you to all of the current officeholders, and even bigger thanks to those who decide to take the leap in the next few weeks and run.
I hope all of Vashon-Maury’s voters will have many choices to make on our ballots later this year.
Mike Weller serves as a commissioner at Water District 19 in his “spare” time, while also managing capital projects in his day job. You might run into him at Island Center Forest jogging with his Australian cattle dog, Hathaway.
