Reset 2010: A new, hard look at elections and government

Every election is important. Some more so than others. The election of 2010 falls into the more so category.

An irritated and sometimes angry electorate coupled with a midterm election can be a combustible combination. Whether change will happen, or if our system is even set up for true change, remains to be seen. Early primaries and conventions across the nation have produced mixed results.

How this election plays out in Washington state will become clearer in the weeks to come. Candidates filed last week and the primary is Aug. 18.

The Seattle Times editorial board feels this is one of the most important elections this state and nation have faced and we plan on covering it differently than we have covered previous elections.

Our goal is to be the place voters will find informed opinion about the 2010 primary and November election. Our coverage will not only focus on contested races for the state house and federal seats but will lay out our expectations for government going forward. Our expectations are party agnostic. We expect more from Republicans and Democrats.

The editorial page will also explain to readers and lawmakers why government needs to be reset. We will examine the need for fiscal responsibility on the local, state and national level.

There are some issues we strongly believe must be addressed by candidates. Our endorsements will be guided by a specific set of criteria, much more so than in past elections. We did not come up with the criteria through a partisan lens. These issues must be tackled by both parties to right the state and the nation:

• Fiscal responsibility;

• Independence/leadership;

• Getting out of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars;

• Education, with an emphasis on doing better by higher education and reforming K-12;

• Public safety;

• Creating more jobs on Main Street and reining in Wall Street;

• Ensuring Washington state's competitiveness nationally and internationally.

This is a rigid list that surely omits issues closely held by some readers. I admit that we have skipped some items near and dear to me. But we are in a place economically and politically that very few of us have ever been. Government must be reset. The old way of doing things is dead, or should be.

We are adding one page a week that will be devoted strictly to the election and our belief that the United States and Washington state are in need of reset. And we will be showcasing much of our election coverage there.

At the top of the extra page, which will run Wednesdays, will be the heading, "Reset 2010: Charting a new path for the state and nation." A shorter version — like the one affixed to today's editorial on the preceding page — will go with election-related columns, op-eds and editorials when they appear outside Wednesday's election page. The label will also mark online election content.

Readers can expect staff columns to be largely devoted to election-related issues. In addition to the extra page, staff columnists will rotate through the Sunday Opinion section. Online will factor heavily into our coverage. Plan on seeing video and online chats with candidates. As we have done in previous elections, we will live-stream some endorsement meetings. And of course we will be blogging, tweeting and debating on Facebook.

Voters will have the final say in an era as polarized and nasty as any. My hope, regardless of the outcome, is that they are informed and ready to work toward a functional government that is more concerned with sustaining our state and country than holding onto or grabbing power.

Ryan Blethen's column appears Sunday on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is: rblethen@seattletimes.com