Seattle City Council votes to lift rule on pamphlet

By Bob Young
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The City Council yesterday struck a blow at the civility that has defined the "Seattle way" in politics. In a 7-1 vote, council members said they want to change the city law that governs what candidates can say about their opponents in the taxpayer-financed Voters' Pamphlet.

Under current rules, candidates are not allowed to say anything — good or bad — about their opponents in the pamphlet. But council members voted to drop that ban. Calling the existing rules "way too polite," Councilman Jim Compton said "we should welcome hurly-burly language" and "feisty, loud speech, even that which makes some uncomfortable."

Council members stopped short, however, of actually changing the law because of another hallmark of Seattle politics: process.

The final decision on what goes into the pamphlet will be left to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, a panel of seven citizens who are largely independent of city government. The commission was created to oversee ethics and elections rules in Seattle and penalize those who violate the rules, including council members. Last month, the commission indicated it wanted to keep the rule.

Councilman Nick Licata, who sponsored the proposal to strike the ban on discussing opponents, said it is important to let the commission have the final say.

"It's critical for the public to know the council respects the independence of the commission," Licata said.

Councilman Tom Rasmussen, the lone dissenting vote, argued it was inconsistent for the council to leave the decision to the commission.

"It's a policy decision the council should make," Rasmussen said.

William Rava, a Seattle lawyer who lobbied the council to dump the politeness rule, called the council's action encouraging. But Rava said the council "seemed to be passing the buck" on the policy decision and "attempting to have it both ways."

In the end, council members might be able to say they supported unbridled political speech, while the commission maintains the ban on mentioning opponents, which is seen as favoring incumbents who generally enjoy better name recognition than challengers.
 
Councilwoman Jean Godden said she was uncomfortable with her vote for that reason. The existing rule is "almost an incumbent-protection clause," she said.

The commission appears likely to keep the politeness rule. Last month, it voted 5-1 to reinstate the rule, which had been suspended while a lawsuit by Rava made its way through the federal court system. Late last year, a federal appeals court found that the rule did not violate free-speech protections.

Commission Chairman Paul Dayton urged the council to keep the rule intact. Dayton said the purpose of the pamphlet is to allow candidates to introduce themselves to voters. Dayton said the pamphlet could be undermined by nasty rhetoric.

"Lack of restriction on comment may turn the voters' guide into just another billboard for general campaign rhetoric," he warned in a letter to the council last week.

It's not clear how the commission will respond to the council's vote. Dayton could not be reached for comment. Wayne Barnett, the commission's executive director, would not speculate on the panel's next steps.

Even if the commission opens up the pamphlet to negative campaigning, it doesn't mean a barrage of foul language will show up in the guide. Under the council's action, the pamphlet would still outlaw "obscene, profane, libelous or defamatory" language.

In a related decision, the council agreed to cut the length of campaign statements in this year's pamphlet in an effort to save the commission some money.

Statements advocating local initiatives will be cut from 400 words to 200. Rebuttals will shrink from 150 words to 75. Similar rules would apply to local candidates, but there are no city races this year. The council voted to restore the old word limits in 2005, when the mayor, city attorney and four council seats will be on the ballot.

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com