Fred Chang’s Newsclips

Port Orchard Independent

If the process by which Port Orchard is attempting to fill a vacant seat on its city council has demonstrated anything up to this point, it’s that there are a few flaws in the system itself.

As of Friday, seven Port Orchard residents had applied to fill the vacancy created by the resignation last month of City Councilman Tye Moore, who was convicted of forgery in connection with checks written to help finance his campaign for the seat. By law, Port Orchard has 90 days to fill the opening before the Kitsap County commissioners step in to impose their own remedy.

But the law leaves open the question of how exactly the city must decide on a replacement.

For its part, the Port Orchard City Council has appointed a selection committee consisting of Councilmembers Fred Chang, John Clausen and Carolyn Powers to screen the applicants and choose one — who, if approved by the council as a whole, will serve the remaining year of Moore’s term, which is scheduled to expire next November.

From our vantage point, that presents several problems.

For starters, although in this case it isn’t as much of an issue as it could be, investing the council — indeed, a subcommittee within the council — with the power to select a representative who could conceivably serve and shape policy for several years, seems like it’s cutting the voters out of the loop for longer than necessary.

In special cases such as this one, where a replacement needs to be selected quickly, there’s nothing in theory wrong with the council tapping someone it knows well to fill the opening on an interim basis. But he or she should only serve until a special election can be held in which the public can express its wishes.

Obviously the question of how much lead time would be needed from the date you announce it until the special election were held would be a matter for debate. But in a small community like Port Orchard, there doesn’t seem to be any practical reason why the process couldn’t be completed in three to six months.

As it is, whoever the council selects is already going to be with us for nearly a year. But if Moore’s problems had surfaced earlier, his replacement could have been in office two years or more — and that’s far too long for someone who lacks the mandate of election to be representing the community in an elected office.

“I think (the right person),” Chang said, “would be someone who will bring some fresh ideas and enthusiasm as well as good working relations with the council.”

That sounds fine, but if those ideas aren’t what the voters asked for, they shouldn’t be welcome. Ironically, the replacement should more closely resemble Moore, who the voters approved, than those of someone they rejected.

Two of the seven announced candidates for the vacancy highlight the problem the council faces. Dennis Goss and Jay Weatherill, you may recall, were candidates for city council during the last election cycle — and both lost. Weatherill, in fact, was defeated in his race against Chang just a year after losing his seat as Port Orchard’s mayor to Kim Abel after serving for 20 years.

Say what you will, but that sounds like a pretty clear indication the voters wanted to move in a different direction. And yet it’s quite conceivable under the current system Weatherill’s former allies on the council could return him to office. Likewise it’s possible Goss, who didn’t even have the 20 years of affirmation Weatherill had, could find himself on the council despite the stated wishes of the voters.

None of which is to suggest we believe either Weatherill, Goss or any of the other candidates is any more or less qualified for the office than anyone else. Our only concern is that the voters, not cronies, be the ones to decide.

© Copyright 2006 Port Orchard Independent