Let's hear it for the party animals

Eighteen months before the 2009 King County Council and executive elections, the county's political machinery, which has been idling quietly, is beginning to whir.

• King County Executive Ron Sims announced a June 17 fundraiser in pursuit of a fourth term. Nothing too shocking, except Sims had not been raising much money for 2009. Now he is holding an already packed event that signals to potential challengers he will come on strong.

• King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, who has been itching to run for executive for eons, said 10 weeks ago he would not run against Sims. Now he is doing a turnaround. He all but announced a run. "It's a more open question," he said, explaining unhappiness with Sims over troubles at the county animal shelter and the ebb — more than flow — of the county budget.

• Phillips swears his change of heart is not affected by two changes coming to county elections, most notably an initiative backed by 80,000 signatures that will turn future county elections, except for prosecutor, into nonpartisan events. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling also means Washington will use a top-two primary system, making it possible for two Democrats to advance to the general election in Democratic King County.

County Councilmember Bob Ferguson, another Democrat, said two months ago he would not challenge Sims and said again this week that remains his plan.

At first blush, the proposal to make the council and executive positions nonpartisan sounds like a boring civics lesson, but it represents real change.

This is not the first time the idea of nonpartisanship has surfaced in the county. In the early 1990s, as the County Council and Metro merged, a plan to make the new council nonpartisan failed by one council vote. The idea was to better reflect suburban and urban city councils, where candidates run nonpartisan in elections that cover meat-and-potato matters of sewers, police and transportation.

The current initiative campaign is heavily backed by Republican businessman John Stanton, who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor. I asked Stanton if he wants to run for executive. He said no to that and to the idea he is doing this to promote a specific Republican candidate who would fare better without an R beside his or her name.

The citizens' initiative campaign is championed by Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer, a Republican from Federal Way, who favored a switch to a nonpartisan county sheriff several years ago.

Interestingly, before Stanton wrote his first supporting check, he thought the initiative would make the county prosecutor's office nonpartisan, which it clearly should be; but the initiative does not cover that.

The proposal for nonpartisan county elections needs 52,000 valid signatures. A betting person would say it will have enough signatures, gain preliminary voter approval in August and sail through in November. If sold as a referendum on whether our country and county are too partisan, it's a slam dunk.

Nonpartisan elections, understandably, are often proposed by the out-party as a way to gain power. Former County Councilmember Dwight Pelz, now chairman of the state Democratic Party, proposed a similar change years ago when Republicans were in control.

The best argument for this idea is that you get rid of distracting partisan rancor.

The current system produces calcification. Council members hang around for decades. As one insider put it, you run for election in November, take office in January, hold your first fundraiser in February. Then, too often, incumbents get a pass.

The most compelling argument for partisan elections is the information the party label provides.

"I don't buy that government improves and becomes neat and tidy if you take away the party label," says Luke Esser, chairman of the State Republican Party. "You are just masking information."

County councils and executive positions are training grounds for future governors and other statewide elected officials. Political parties need a place beyond the Legislature to groom candidates. Gary Locke was in the Legislature and served as King County executive before becoming governor. Former Pierce County Executive Booth Gardner served as governor in the 1980s and early 1990s.

For Republicans, the star example is Rob McKenna, who advanced from the County Council to state attorney general. McKenna is the top Republican in elective office in our state.

The nonpartisan measure is likely to pass. But it stands in front of us as an important good-government question. In the end, information provided to voters by labels such as D or R (or G for Green, L for Libertarian) helps voters. Public awareness and participation surpass other legitimate arguments.

Joni Balter's e-mail address is jbalter@seattletimes.com; for a podcast Q&A with the author, go to Opinion at seattletimes.com