Efforts to draft a new charter for Lewis County hit a dead end at the ballot box Tuesday, falling short by a 55 to 45 percent margin as of Wednesday.
The failed ballot measure came just days after a judge ruled the election would count, following a legal challenge to the proposal by the very group that put it on the ballot. The home rule charter would have allowed for the creation of a new system of government for the county, simultaneously electing 15 freeholders to take charge of crafting that document.
The home rule effort was led by One Lewis County — a political action committee created by the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce — which wound up challenging the measure in court after county officials drew up brand-new subdistricts for the freeholder elections. One Lewis County believed the freeholder plan was unconstitutional, and its allies challenged it in court, hoping to force the county to re-do the election next year.
Instead, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Carol Murphy ruled Nov. 1 that the subdistrict plan was legal, meaning the election would count. By that point, voters had already received their ballots, and freeholder candidates complained that the legal cloud hanging over the election had doomed the home rule effort.
That fear was affirmed Tuesday with the measure’s failure. Following the results, Chamber executive director Alicia Bull said in an email that the group sees momentum despite the loss.
“The interest in the charter makes it very motivating to forge forward with continuing to stay involved and see out much needed change,” she wrote. “The charter initiative usually takes an average of three times to pass, so while it didn’t pass, in our eyes, we feel very happy with the initial effort and results. … One Lewis County is not going away, we will continue to be a voice for the people of Lewis County.”
Though voters opted not to overhaul county government, commissioner Edna Fund said in an email that officials have still gotten the message that they need to involve the public in their processes as much as possible.
“With this effort, we understand that we need to continue to invite the public to our meetings, to make public comment and ask questions,” she wrote. “Anyone who wants to know more about their county government are invited to our meetings, to watch them online or view them on Facebook.”
Fund added that residents can call her at any time, and encouraged interested citizens to come to the county’s budget hearing at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 19.
