We had another election today, and you probably didn’t get to vote

Danny Stusser is founder and publisher of JOLT - The Journal of Olympia, Lacey & Tumwater

Did you know there was an election today, of a board of supervisors, accountable to the citizens of Thurston County, that you likely didn’t get to have a say in?

And what if I told you that this isn’t the only semi-private election for a public board here?  I can’t say for sure and, so far, neither can anyone else. At least they can’t say definitively.

The election that ended today is for the Thurston Conservation District Board of Supervisors. Ever heard of ‘em? An informal survey suggests that most of us have not.  Here’s their mission:

“… to educate and assist the citizens of Thurston County in the management of natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations, inspiring voluntary, incentive-based conservation practices.”

Sounds good. 

Three of their (our) five Supervisors are “elected,” by whoever requests a mail-in ballot by the due date (it was last week).  The other two are appointed by at least two of the three who are elected.

Most members of most county committees, councils and boards are appointed by the County Commissioners and are accountable to these three elected officials. So the Thurston Conservation District is a little unusual in that it’s at least semi-democratic. 

The Conservation District Supervisors election brings up several concerns, for me at least. These include:

• Why aren’t all five supervisors elected?
• Why doesn’t the law require that this election be handled by the County Auditor’s office, along with other elections? [Hint: Is it because the Conservation District  doesn’t want to pay for it?]
• How many other elections are most of us missing for other districts and commissions in Thurston County, whose officials are elected in semi-private elections?   Ever heard about drainage, cemetery or irrigation districts? 
• How is it determined that some boards, committees, commissions, councils, etc. are appointed instead of elected?

We’ll investigate this and get back to you soon. 

The JOLT’s Opinion Section remains open to anyone in Thurston County who wants to write (or make a video) about local issues.