Proposed Amendment: Stricter Residency Requirements for Political Candidates

The following charter amendment was proposed by Delaine Clizbe, District 1, at the February 9 Charter Review Commission meeting.

Thank you all for beginning the discussion about amending the Charter to allow for equal representation on our County Council. In addition to that change, I would also like you to consider adding some residency requirements for candidates running for County Council and Executive positions in our County.

As I'm sure you are all aware, last year one candidate for the 42nd district senate race was criticized for changing addresses at the last minute in order to qualify as a candidate in the district. State law requires only that a candidate is registered to vote in their district at the time they declare their candidacy. In my opinion this leaves a wide opening for address hopping.

RCW 29A.24.075 The name of a candidate for an office shall not appear on a ballot for that office unless, except for judge of the superior court and as provided in RCW 3.50.057, the candidate is, at the time the candidate's declaration of candidacy is filed, properly registered to vote in the geographic area represented by the office. 

Other Counties have added additional residency requirements for County Council Candidates:

Pierce County Charter Section 4.3 In addition, all Council members shall be residents and registered voters of their Council districts for at least one year immediately prior to filing for the Council position, and shall maintain residency in the Council district during the term for which the Councilmember was elected

Snohomish County Charter Section 4.3 Each county official holding an elective office shall be, at the time of appointment or election and at all times while holding office, a citizen of the United States over the age of twenty-one, a county resident for the three years immediately prior to filing for or appointment to office, and a registered voter of the county. No person shall be eligible to be elected to more than three consecutive full terms for any office. For the purposes of this section, different positions on the county council shall not be considered different offices. 

I am suggesting a simple change to Section 2.11 by adding the following statement: All Council members shall be residents and registered voters of their Council Districts for at least one year immediately prior to filing for the Council position ... And to Section 3.21, The County Executive shall be a resident and a registered voter in Whatcom County for at least one year immediately prior to filing for office.

When I moved to Bellingham to attend Western I had to pay out of state tuition until I had lived here for a year. In addition, we require voters to have their voters registration done one month before they can vote. So I don't think it is too much to ask that our County Council and Executive have lived in our community for a period of time before they can run for office. Thank you for considering this proposal.

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