Lewis County ‘Surprised’ by Late Challenge to Freeholder Ballot Plan

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The fate of a plan to redraw Lewis County’s system of government now hangs on the outcome of a legal challenge from the group that proposed the change, and county officials say they’re taken aback by the late challenge from political action committee One Lewis County.

“I was surprised,” said commissioner Edna Fund, noting that a reporter’s question two weeks ago was the first she’d heard of a potential challenge. “I’ve not heard from One Lewis County, have not had any dialogue with them, have not seen them to be in any of our meetings.”

The group, which successfully petitioned to place a home rule charter on the November ballot, is taking issue with the county-drafted plan to elect the freeholders who will carry out that measure if it is passed by voters. Should a majority choose a new charter, 15 simultaneously-elected freeholders would then be tasked with re-writing the structure of county government. One Lewis County believes the system for choosing those officeholders violates the Washington Constitution.

“It has to be done right and fair,” Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce Director Alicia Bull said Friday. The Chamber formed One Lewis County in 2017, and its board took a majority vote Friday to sue the county after its demands to rework the freeholder districts were not met.

The group said last week it will file the suit in Thurston County, and it’s hoping for a hearing as soon as Sept. 21. Lewis County will mail ballots to voters on Oct. 17.

The current plan divides the county into 15 sub-districts, five from each commissioner district. One freeholder will be elected from each subdistrict. State law requires that such elections rely on legislative or county commission districts, and opponents argue that further narrowing the map is a shaky legal maneuver.

“There’s no authority for that in the state Constitution,” said Gerry Alexander, the former Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court. Alexander co-signed the One Lewis County’s demand letter as an associated counsel. “It violates the plain language of the Constitution. There’s no provision for dividing the districts into sub-districts.”

For its part, the county says it’s not worried about the legal standing of its plan.

“It seems like an unfortunate attempt to stop the process from going forward,” Lewis County prosecutor Jonathan Meyer said last month, as rumors circulated about a potential challenge. “There’s nothing in the law to suggest that (sub-districts are not allowed). I believe that the method adopted by the commissioners is legal, and we'll defend it.”

He updated that stance last week, noting that the county would not acquiesce to the changes demanded.

“I know of no changes forthcoming,” he said.



One Lewis County had called for the county to rescind its freeholder plan and restart the home rule process on its own, holding a special election that would presumably take place next February. It voted to sue the county when that demand was not met. The demand letter noted that such sub-districts have never been attempted before, meaning the suit will break new legal ground.

“This is totally unprecedented,” Alexander said.

The freeholder plan was first floated by the county in March, and Fund expressed dismay that One Lewis County had waited until now, about a month before ballots are scheduled to be sent out, to contest it.

“I was very surprised, and I still believe that our sub-district system is a very fair way for our population,” she said. “The ballots will be going out in October, and here it’s September. If they did not like that system, I would have thought they would have commented at any of the public meetings (Lewis County prosecutor) Jonathan (Meyer) held throughout the county.”

Bull did not respond by press time Monday on One Lewis County’s timing for contesting the plan.

Fund believes the current plan is the most fair, because using only commissioner districts could allow candidates from small municipalities, like Winlock, to get crowded out by candidates from cities with which they share a district, like Chehalis.

“This has equalized the playing field for people in our very rural areas,” she said.

Opponents counter that several high-quality candidates might be clustered in a single sub-district, and narrowing the map ensures only one will get to serve.

“It really dilutes the voting power of people within any subdistrict,” Alexander said. “It’s undemocratic.”