Uncontested races hurt quality of election process

Unfortunately, we’d like to extend our congratulations to the candidates winning seats on our local city councils.

Congratulations, you ask. But isn’t the election still almost three weeks away? And why unfortunately?

Yes, congratulations and yes, the election is still three weeks away. Unfortunately, because of the 12 positions up for “grabs” among Airway Heights, Cheney and Medical Lake, only two — Airway Heights and Medical Lake — have contested races.

Ten council candidates face no challengers, three of the five seats in Airway Heights and four of the seven seats in Cheney and Medical Lake. That’s a significant amount of representation automatically receiving a free pass to serving as elected officials over the next four years.

Individuals winning seats on the councils are Aspen Lynn Monteleone (Position 3, newcomer) and Dave Mallet (Position 7, incumbent) in Airway Heights; Doug Nixon (Position 2, incumbent), Ryan Gaard (Position 5 short-term newcomer and long-term elected), Jill Weiszmann (Position 6, incumbent) and Dan Hilton (Position 7, newcomer) in Cheney; John R. Paikuli (Position 1, returning), Howard N. Jorgenson (Position 5, incumbent) and Laura Louise Parsons (Position 6, incumbent) in Medical Lake.

It’s not that these 10 council members aren’t good representatives worthy of reelection, or in a couple cases, election. They’re all hardworking individuals who love their community and serving its residents, and we heartily applaud their dedication and willingness.

But without a challenger, residents of the three West Plains cities won’t receive a full overview of what these individuals believe is important to their communities, what their views are of the future and how they intend to guide their respective elected bodies towards those goals. An election is not only a selection process it’s also an interview, even an audition, for those seeking public service.

Without a challenger for comparison, voters will never know if there are alternative viewpoints. And from an electorate that clamours for “more choices,” it’s discouraging to see the lack thereof at the local level, a level that can have as much impact over daily lives as that of the state and national elected bodies.

There are usually all sorts of excuses tossed out for why people abstain from taking part in the governing process through public office. The most common is the “I don’t have the time” excuse.

Without a doubt, it’s a busy world and many of us have long lists of obligations in our lives. Public service requires time, with one council member telling us they usually spend 10-15 hours a week on council matters such as serving on committees — local and regional — meeting with city officials and reading council packet information.

There are also periodic statewide organizational meetings, such as the annual Association of Washington Cities, and the annual Olympia lobbying junket to beseech our legislators from cutting more revenue from city budgets. But council members do receive a monthly salary to compensate somewhat for the time spent, as well as travel allowances.

Another reason some people list for not running for office is they don’t feel qualified. A valid excuse, but there are ways to gain insights into the mechanics of local government such as serving on a planning commission, a park board, or other appointed citizen bodies.

Finally, individuals who are considering running for elected office may not know how to go about doing it. the Spokane County Elections Office has a wealth of information available for the prospective candidate on their web page under the “Running for Office” link. We suggest anyone who is considering public office visit this site and do a little reading.

For now, residents of Airway Heights, Cheney and Medical Lake will have to be satisfied with the current makeup of their councils since no seats are up for election until 2017, including mayoral positions. We hope that in the intervening time, more people will consider serving their communities through at least running for public office.