Of the five proposals for changing the King County charter in Tuesday’s primary election, four were approved by voters:
• Anti-Discrimination: Elevating to charter status the existing prohibition in the county code against discrimination based on disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression in county employment and contracting – joining such other prohibited grounds as sex, race, religion and age.
• Regional Committees: Reducing the number of County Council members on the council’s three regional committees, establishing a vice-chair position to be filled by a non-council member, authorizing the committees to initiate legislation, and authorizing the Regional Policy Committee to adopt its own work program without the need for council approval.
• Qualifications: Permitting the council to establish additional qualifications for separately-elected officials who head charter-based executive branch departments, as currently permitted for the sheriff.
• Budget Timeline: Giving the council an additional 20 days to review the county executive’s proposed county budget, for a total of 65 days for review, in recognition of the increased scope and responsibilities of County government from the time the review period was originally established 37 years ago.
“With more than 78 percent of the voters agreeing, extension of the timeline for budget consideration will help improve financial planning and efficiency,” said Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, vice chairwoman of the budget adoption committee. “When we are faced with cutting critical services to meet budget shortfalls, these three extra weeks will allow more time for in-depth review and development of creative solutions to meet the needs of our citizens efficiently and cost-effectively.”
A fifth proposal – to streamline the process for amending the county charter by citizen initiative – didn’t receive a majority of yes votes and thus failed.
The charter changes were prepared by the King County Charter Review Commission. Its members included co-chairmen Mike Lowry, a Renton resident and former governor, and Lois North of Seattle, a former County Council member.
None of the commission members were from the southeast King County area.
