Pair of League of Women Voters members keep Snohomish County voters tuned in to candidates

There are candidates forums and then there are candidates forums.

There are those in the dispiriting-to-a-working-democracy category, where the empty chairs outnumber the audience and the candidates outnumber the chairs.

And then there's the Snohomish County League of Women Voters candidates forum held each year in Edmonds, usually in the basement of the United Methodist Church and usually attracting a standing-room-only crowd to a hall that holds about 250.

Snohomish County politicians say it is a must-stop on the campaign trail and attribute its success to the dedication of two of its founders, Norma Bruns and Mary Jane Thompson, ages 84 and 87 respectively. As stalwarts of the county league, they invite the candidates, organize the program, screen the questions and make sure someone is bringing refreshments.

They've been doing it for 27 years.

"Each year they create a living, breathing voters pamphlet," said Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson, who has appeared at the annual forum four times.

Particularly memorable for him is the blaring, "animal bird-noise horn" that signals to speakers that their time has elapsed.

"Most pay attention, but a few blab right through it," Haakenson said. "That's when the women have to get tough."

The National League of Women Voters was founded in 1920, the same year the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. The organization's goal was to promote informed citizen participation at all levels of government.

"So women wouldn't vote the way their husbands told them to," explained Thompson, at her home in Edmonds earlier this week where she and Bruns were finalizing the attendance list for Thursday's forum.

Bruns joined the League in 1958 as a young wife and mother new to the Seattle area and wanting to meet people with a similar interest in politics. Thompson joined in the early 1960s. At the time, she had four children, several horses, a 4-H group, a Girl Scout troop and was completing a science degree at the University of Washington.

"She has a lot of energy," Bruns said of her longtime colleague.

Their own names, in their early years in the organization, were listed in the membership roster and meeting minutes as Mrs. Cal Thompson and Mrs. Richard Bruns.

The two say the annual candidates forum was born of necessity. Although the Washington secretary of state mailed a voters guide for state races, no similar information was available for county and local candidates.

Their chapter actually started a voters pamphlet — collecting and typing up candidate statements and distributing the mimeographed pamphlets around town. But many submissions arrived with poor spelling, incomplete sentences and garbled thoughts. The women decided that voters should meet the candidates in person and have a chance to hear them speak.

The forums haven't been without controversy. Police were invited to one in neighboring Brier many years ago because local council members had exchanged threats. The inclusion of minor-party candidates, including from the John Birch Society and Constitution Party, angered some mainstream politicians over the years.

And although the evening usually wraps up by 9:30 p.m., some candidates grouse that the program goes on too long because it includes races for hospital commission, port commission and the public utility district.

"We plead guilty," Bruns said. "I think we should include every candidate running for office. I wish we were going to have all 10 running for governor this year, but we just couldn't. It would go on all night."

Snohomish County Councilman Mike Cooper attended one of the League's first Edmonds candidates forums as a Boy Scout leader whose troop presented the flag. When Cooper ran unsuccessfully for public lands commissioner in 2004, he estimates that he attended 10 candidates forums around the state.

The Edmonds event, he said, was, "Hands down, the best I've ever done."

He described it as a "friendly, lively debate" that remained civil, largely because of Thompson and Bruns. "They're articulate, humorous, and, on the issues, at least as well-informed as the candidates."

Some of the early candidates forums were moderated by a KOMO TV newsman to attract a larger audience and to give the event credibility. But League members soon realized they had a gifted moderator in Bruns, whose firmness with windy politicians and ability to articulate and restate audience questions have won her accolades and invitations to moderate similar events around the county.

"She won't hesitate to stop a candidate who starts making a speech," said Deanna Dawson, a League member and Edmonds City councilwoman.

Dawson, 38, credits her decision to run for City Council in 2001 to Thompson and Bruns and said they continue to inspire her, although she no longer regularly attends chapter meetings.

"Every time I go, I'm blown away and totally energized. They are so engaged in the community," she said.

Membership in the National League of Women Voters peaked at 157,000 in 1969, the height of the women's movement and the unsuccessful campaign to adopt an Equal Rights Amendment.

As more women entered the work force, fewer participated in volunteer organizations such as the league, said Maggie Duncan, spokeswoman for the national league.

Bruns and Thompson said that when they get a new member younger than 60, they cheer.

Neither has plans to retire from civic work, but at their ages, they said, they don't look too far ahead. They assume other league members will step forward and continue the forums if they can't.

In the meantime, said Thompson, "I'm taking good notes."

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com