Romero Wins Label of Party Favorite: County Democrats Also Back Wolfe
By Brad Shannon, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.
Apr. 29–Sandra Romero came away with Thurston County Democrats’ nomination for county commissioner Monday night in a close vote by party precinct officers, besting longtime party volunteer Jon Halvorson.
“Congratulations to Sandra. And for those who feel sorry for me, envelopes to send me money are at the end of the table,” Halvorson, a former longtime Lacey City Council member, joked after the vote.
It’s unclear what benefit the nomination will have for Romero, since neither candidate will be able to list the party favorite label on the Aug. 19 ballot under the secretary of state’s proposed rules for the state’s new top-two primary. Instead, each will be listed as preferring the Democratic Party.
The Democrats also nominated Commissioner Cathy Wolfe without division; she has no Democratic opposition but is opposed by Republican Judy Wilson.
Romero, a former six-time state legislator, acknowledged she might brag about the nomination in campaign materials “where appropriate.” The vote, which was weighted according to the number of Democratic voters in a precinct, was 77 to 63 in Romero’s favor.
“Our quote is, ‘we love each other,’ ” Romero had quipped before the vote. “And we’ll both be Democrats in the morning,” Halvorson had added.
The two candidates with the most votes advance to the Nov. 4 general election — even if they are from the same party. It’s one facet of the top-two, which converts the primary election from a nominating process to a runoff system, similar to what Louisiana does.
Voters approved the top-two in 2004 as part of Initiative 872, but the federal courts set it aside on constitutional grounds before it could be put in place. The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it in March but left open the door for further legal challenges by the state Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and others who challenged it before.
Although Halvorson and Romero were good natured about it, the vote split precinct committee officers in the county’s third commissioner district, which covers the county’s eastern third. Some didn’t like having the vote — since it excluded votes by those living outside the district.
“I have a problem having the Washington state party telling us how to conduct our business,” precinct committee officer Virginia Garity of Olympia said.
Another PCO, Guy Hoyle-Dodson, questioned why the vote was even taken, because county Democrats voted April 19 at their convention not to endorse. But Thurston County Democratic chairman John Cusick said it was a vote on nominating, not on endorsing, which the convention resolution spelled out.
Cusick said the nomination vote was needed to preserve the state Democratic Party’s legal options if it is to further challenge the new top-two primary.
“That will then provide the opportunity to go the next step legally and demonstrate that the Democrats’ right to designate candidates has been violated,” Cusick said.
“This is the first big test in Thurston County tonight,” state Democratic Party chairman Dwight Pelz said in a telephone interview shortly before the Thurston County vote. Pelz said Democrats in the rest of the party’s 88 voting districts — 39 county parties and 49 legislative districts — are “stepping up” and making the nominations as needed.
Among the choices that loom is one between Mason County Commissioner Tim Sheldon and his Democratic challenger, Roslynne Reed, who is county Democratic chairwoman. Another pits state Rep. Jim McIntire and ChangMook Sohn in the state treasurer’s race.
Pelz declined to speak in specifics about the party’s legal plans but discounted the prospect of further legal action. “We have no plans to go to court over the top-two primary,” Pelz said.
Pelz did say that by carrying out nominations the party could preserve its ability under campaign finance law to spend money directly for the benefit of candidates, such as those for governor.
Top-two’s past
The top-two has had an odd history. Washington voters passed Initiative 872 in 2004 by a lopsided margin, creating the top-two. Federal courts ruled the measure was flawed, ruling it unconstitutional, but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed that finding March 18.
The system could face further tinkering even without legal action. State Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, told PCOs he intends to introduce legislation in January to change the voting system.
“We want to make sure this is the only time in our state history that we have this stupid primary,” said Hunt, who had favored the pick-a-party system in effect after the Supreme Court threw out Washington’s wide-open blanket primary system in 2004. The pick-a-party system let voters pick a partisan ballot without the choice ever being made public.
“If we are going to go back to a primary that makes sense, we have to make the case to the judge,” Hunt said.
Brad Shannon is political editor for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-753-1688 or bshannon@theolympian.com.
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