Clark County voters’ embrace of the charter amendments will go a long way to provide better governance. Kudos to the charter commission for drafting amendments to improve Clark County Council effectiveness and equitable delivery of services.
More work is needed to reduce the negative impact of political polarization. Voters took step one by making county executive offices and county councilor positions nonpartisan. Step two will be to adopt ranked choice voting.
Ranked choice voting enables voters to rank and vote for more than one candidate. Voters will want to learn more about the issues to determine which candidates best represent their views and interests. Candidates will be encouraged to reach out to a wider range of voters, as it benefits them to be the second choice of voters who may prefer another candidate as their top choice.
Candidates more likely to work for the common good, rather than to appease their base, stand a better chance of winning election. Elected officials working for the common good will increase trust in government and civic engagement.
To learn more about ranked choice voting, plan to participate in virtual Charter Review Commission meetings on Dec. 1 and 8. Visit the website https://clark.wa.gov/county-manager/meetings-agendas-archives for meeting information.
