PC Council Approves Emergency Procedures to Fill Vacancies

Tonight’s Pierce County Council meeting, chaired by Tim Farrell from District 4, began with several proclamations thanking John Ladenburg, Ken Madsen, and Calvin Goings for their years of service to the County. There were thank-yous, memories, and standing ovations. Then, the Council moved on to other business …

The item we were watching was Proposal No. R2008-186

An Emergency Resolution of the Pierce County Council Adopting Procedures for Filling Vacancies in Nonpartisan Pierce County Elective Offices and Declaring an Emergency.

So, you want to be County Auditor since Pat McCarthy is taking the Exec spot in January?

Well, the county will be placing an announcement in the TNT and elsewhere asking people to apply for the position. An ad-hoc committee will be appointed to review the applicants and submit three names to Council. The Council will conduct interviews in a public meeting and the appointment will be made by resolution.

Sounds simple, right? Well, it’s not so simple. Pat McCarthy was elected as a Democrat. According to the Charter, partisan seats are to be filled by applicants chosen by their party. But the Auditor seat became non-partisan mid-term. So the Council plans to fill it with folks of their own picking.

The News Tribune posted pretty summary of the issue earlier today. Read that … then come back here.

By a 4 to 3 vote, the County Council adopted the resolution. EMERGENCY!

Expect a lawsuit shortly.

Link to the News Tribune