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Primary bill fails to ensure
local voices are heard
The primary legislation
adopted late Monday night by the House may be a step forward toward
replacing Washington’s defunct blanket primary, but
Rep. Ed Orcutt expressed concern regarding another important
factor: the bill would jeopardize the current system for appointing
people to fill vacant legislative seats.
“As it came to us, Senate Bill 6453 would allow the governor to appoint
people to vacant legislative positions – a job that now belongs to
commissioners in the counties that make up the affected legislative
district,” said Orcutt, R-Kalama. “I believe the responsibility for
appointing local representatives belongs to the local folks who know
their district and the candidates best.”
Two seats in the Senate and one in the House were vacated just this
year, and if this bill was law, the job of appointing people to those
positions would have fallen to someone in Olympia – the governor, Orcutt
explained.
“The bill would centralize power instead of allowing local control,”
said Orcutt. “Citizens want representatives selected locally, not by
someone from another area of the state.
“Only one amendment was allowed to Senate Bill 6453, and it didn’t
affect the section on appointments to vacancies. I couldn’t support the
bill knowing how it would take control out of the hands of local people
and move it to Olympia,” Orcutt said.
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For more information, contact:
Brendon Wold, Public
Information Officer: (360) 786-7698
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