No? I didn't either, until yesterday's Sustainable Belltown meeting, where I met one of the guys running for King County Conservation District Board of Supervisors.As the Seattle Times explained it today:
"On March 16, an election for countywide office will be held, but hardly anybody will notice. It will receive scant coverage in this paper or on the Web, and none on the TV news. There will be no absentee ballots, and the actual polling places won't be listed on the King County Elections Web site.
But the winner will help control a public agency with millions of dollars and the power to help shape land use and conservation in the 13th-most-populous county in the nation.
Welcome to the campaign for King Conservation District Supervisor. The Conservation District is an agency authorized by law in 1939 to support land and water use and conservation. It is funded by your property taxes and governed by both appointed and elected members..."
There is a longrun issue about how an election can possibly be fair when only a few thousand out of the more-than-a-million potential voters even know about it (only 196 people voted in the 2008 race!) When there's only one polling location in the entire city of Seattle, and half-a-dozen others throughout King County (a county that is larger than Rhode Island!), we have a problem. The solution to the problem is to have the County take over this election and absorb the cost, running the election along with our normal elections, but the County doesn't seem eager to absorb new costs in this difficult economy. For now take note:
Voting sites
AUBURN
King County Library/Auburn Branch
1102 Auburn Way South, Auburn WA 98002
Poll hours 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
BELLEVUE
King County Library/Bellevue Regional Branch
1111 110th Avenue NE, Bellevue WA 98004
Poll hours 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
CARNATION
King County Library/Carnation Branch
4804 Tolt Avenue, Carnation WA 98014
Poll hours 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
DES MOINES
King County Library/Des Moines Branch
21620 11th Avenue S., Des Moines WA 98198
Poll hours 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
SEATTLE
Seattle Public Library (Downtown Main Branch)
1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle WA 98104
Poll hours 10:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
SHORELINE
King County Library/Shoreline Branch
345 NE 175th, Shoreline WA 98155
Poll hours 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
VASHON
King County Library/Vashon Island Branch
17210 Vashon Highway S.W., Vashon Island, WA 98070
Poll Hours 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Voters must present proper identification, like a driver’s license, passport or birth certificate, at the polling location.
I'm endorsing Kirk Prindle, because he went out of his way to come to our Sustainable Belltown meeting and talk about the issues (calling it "the most important election you've never heard of".) He says the other candidates in the race are o.k. too, and I like a guy who won't disparage the competition. But mostly, he seems to have the technical knowledge and positive attitude that I like to see in public service.
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