Editorial
Astute Seattle voters say 'no' to districts

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Seattle voters are a discerning lot. They read, they study public-policy issues, and nine times out of 10, they make an astute decision.

That is what happened with a proposal to elect City Council members by geographic district instead of the current citywide approach. Amid a hailstorm of anger at the council, Seattle voters kept their wits and opted to keep an election system that has served them well for nearly a century.

Voters realized they could weed out nettlesome, individual council members without limiting access to council members in the future.

Voters were mad, not blind.

Before last Tuesday, district-election promoters, some needlessly hostile and visiting from other cities, ran around telling people district elections would make the council more accountable to neighborhoods.

Not true. District elections are all about pitting one neighborhood against another and leaving no one in the legislative branch focused on the broader regional view, which our community needs.

Voters saw past the mumbo-jumbo and wisely recognized their current relationship with nine council members would be reduced to one under the district plan.

The way to deal with incumbents who don't perform well — Heidi Wills and Judy Nicastro, for example — is to vote them out. Voters did.

When district-election sponsors first burst on the scene, their lament was incumbents were so entrenched, challengers couldn't raise the money to win a seat.

Last week's election proved the fallacy of that argument, as voters threw out three council members, including, apparently, Margaret Pageler, who has been a solid, impressive council member for a dozen years.

The idea of electing council members by nine districts emerged as a strong possibility at a moment of significant voter disappointment with the council.

Seattle voters knew exactly what to do: Say sayonara to individuals while keeping a system that has worked well for a long time.

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company