King County Local Voters Pamphlet
NOVEMBER 2, 1999 GENERAL ELECTION

KING COUNTY Charter Amendment No. 1

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 KING COUNTY Charter Amendment No. 1:

    BALLOT TITLE

    Explanatory Statement

    Statement for

 Statement against

BALLOT TITLE

CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 1

Shall the King County Charter be amended to provide that the county council may submit any proposed ordinance, with certain exceptions, as a council-submitted referendum to the voters for their approval or disapproval and to provide that a council-submitted referendum shall not be subject to the veto power of the county executive, as provided in Ordinance No. 13633?

Explanatory Statement

   The King County Charter currently makes no provision for the county council to submit a proposed ordinance to the voters as a council-submitted referendum.

   If Charter Amendment No. 1 is approved by the voters, the county council would be authorized to submit any proposed ordinance, with certain exceptions, as a council-submitted referendum to the voters for their approval or disapproval.  The proposed Charter amendment provides that a council-submitted referendum could include proposed appropriation ordinances or objects of expense in an appropriation ordinance, whether or not such ordinance or object of expense was proposed or requested by the county executive.  Ordinances not subject to referendum by a county under state law and ordinances that provide for collective bargaining or approve a collective bargaining agreement would not be subject to council-submitted referendum.

   Under the proposed Charter amendment, a proposed ordinance would be submitted to the voters as a council-submitted referendum if the county council passed an ordinance calling for the submission of the proposed ordinance to the voters.  A proposed ordinance submitted to the voters as a council-submitted referendum would become effective if approved by a majority of voters voting on the issue.  Neither the submission of a council-submitted referendum to the voters, nor the ordinance proposed in the referendum, if approved by the voters, would be subject to the veto power of the county executive.

Statement for

    "Power to the People!"  It was a popular slogan when King County's government was formed.

    Now, at the close of the century, giving increased power to the people is a responsible reform.  King County Charter Amendment Number One returns power to our citizens by allowing them to vote on certain measures submitted to them by the County Council.

    In the late '60s, a group of freeholders wrote the county's charter.  They debated whether citizens should have the full right of referendum; including having laws submitted to them for their approval directly by their local legislature.  The freeholders denied citizens that right, even though it exists at the state level.

    As the millennium approaches, a basic ideal is becoming popular again.  Government gets its power from people and should not be afraid to share that power with people.

    Those who oppose Proposition One will call it a power grab.  It is.  But it's the people of the county, the citizens, who are grabbing the power.  We urge a yes vote on Charter Amendment Number One.

Rebuttal of statement against

    Charter Amendment One is simple:  It puts power into the hands of citizens.

    There is nothing vague or mischievous about including citizens in the decision making process.  It is the essence of democracy.

    This issue was debated thirty years ago by the freeholders, discussed numerous times since, and is a right citizens have exercised for years in their state government.

    The full right of referendum will give citizens greater control over county decisions.  Vote Yes!

STATEMENT PREPARED BY:  Dino Rossi, Lucy DeYoung, John Spellman

Statement against

Vote "No!" on King County Charter #1

    We are asking you to vote "NO" on King County Charter Amendment #1.  The proposal was developed behind closed doors and rushed onto the ballot with almost no public participation.  While it sounds deceptively simple, it masks a host of possible problems and potential abuses.

    The measure seeks to short-circuit the balance of power between the King County Executive and the Metropolitan King County Council that the citizen freeholders so carefully crafted in the original charter.

    This amendment does not contain the checks and balances that make government work.  It will, however, create a political climate where public policy will be made -- not by those elected to -- but by those who can finance a referendum campaign to sell their idea to the voters.

    This vague, mischievous amendment is poorly thought out, hastily thrown together and deceptively dangerous to the careful safeguards of our county government.  We agree with the Seattle P-I in calling this "an affront" to voters.

    We elect council members to make decisions on key issues, and that is exactly what they must do.  We urge you to vote "No" on King County Charter Amendment #1.

Rebuttal of statement for

    This is not "power to the people," but power to a few Councilmembers and special interest groups eager to sidestep vetoes.

    This is not democracy; it is politics ripe for abuse.  At the state level, both the House and Senate must pass an issue to place it on the ballot.  This offers no such safeguard.

    Protect your government from influence by special interests.  Vote NO on Charter Amendment #1.

STATEMENT PREPARED BY:  Gary Locke, Lois North, Randy Revelle

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