As Matt Rosenberg noted the other day, a movement is building in rural King County to split off and form a new county. This is gaining momentum. Eastside political giants, including Rep. Toby Nixon and County Councilmember Kathy Lambert, are lending their support. An activist friend e-mailed me and asked me to encourage people to contact Rep. Geoff Simpson, Chair of the House Local Government Committee, to ask him to give a hearing to HB 1500, which will establish rules for forming new counties.
Simpson's phone number is 360 786 7918. He represents the 47th District. If you have friends in that district, please have them call him also. In addition, please call your own Representatives and Senators. The hotline number is 800-562-6000.
Under Cedar County vs Munro the Supreme Court decided that no new county can be formed until the legislature puts a process in law. This bill would develop that process. There are at least two fundamental reasons why this is imperative. First, the constitution says that new counties can be formed. Without the legislation to do so, the people of this state are not able to exercise their rights under the constitution of this state.
Secondly, there has to be an avenue in any relationship where people have the ability to set limits and remove themselves if needed. The HB 1500 was modeled after current divorce laws. Without an avenue to separate from a union that is no longer workable, people suffer. It brings back the words: "....mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." - Declaration of Independence - Thomas Jefferson said it so well....
There are many things happening across the state that make it necessary for this bill to pass. Some counties are on the brink of bankruptcy and want to come back together (an amendment that will be added to HB 1500) and some counties are so powerful that they may dominate the state or be unable to provide the needed services or representation. Whatever the issue, the fundamental issue is that the constitution needs to be made whole.
Please call your Representatives and Rep. Simpson and ask him to give this bill a hearing.0.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at January 31, 2005 10:56 PM | Email ThisWould Kent fit into Cedar County?
Posted by: Deborah on January 31, 2005 11:38 PMAs far as I know Stefan hasn't stated his position on a smoking ban. It was Matt Rosenberg who made the post you're referring to.
Posted by: Brendon on February 1, 2005 12:17 AMPaul Berendt's crew may be crooked but they aren't stupid.
Posted by: Brendon on February 1, 2005 12:47 AMThe minority party doesn't introduce legislation that will pass. No, if it was going to pass, some D's would want their name on it prominently. Instead, the minority introduces legislation to have it shot down. The more reasonable the legislation, and the more fiercely it is shot down, the better. They then turn to the people and ask, "Is this who you want running the government?"
By the way, remember that our party isn't divided R vs. D. There's a lot who cross the aisle. It's conservative vs. liberal. We need more C's and fewer L's, whether they have an R or D in their name. So this may have the positive effect of helping some CD's take the LR's seats, or convincing the LR's to be a little more CR.
Posted by: Jonathan Gardner on February 1, 2005 01:25 AMPosted by: John on February 1, 2005 08:23 AM
We also moved because the traffic in and out of Duvall was as congested as I-5 during peak traffic hours. Where did all those road mitigation fees get spent? You guessed it...Seattle! A very good reason to concede from KC. The only "improvements" made to the roads were stop lights, which caused traffic congestion to increase.
Because these subsidiaries are campaign contributors to council members growth management was completely ignored, and the developers were able to build their mega developments while the cost of infastucture and improvements was left almost solely on tax payers. With no money in Novelty Hill road, that services Redmond and Duvall, will never be improved to support the growth.
Posted by: Joe on February 1, 2005 09:18 AMNo Seattle City Council member nor elected official has any reason or motivation to change their behavior at this point in time. Having a big chunk of the county, along with its citizens and property taxes, get lopped off, might finally light a fire under some of these people.
Posted by: Larry on February 1, 2005 10:01 AMA band of folks out in rural Snohomish County have crusaded for years to establish their own county--"Freedom County." The problem? Well, State Senator Val Stevens once described them as "crackpots"--if that's any indication. They basically act like separatists and have little respect for the law. The unfortunate part is that the follies of the Freedom County folks obscured the fact that there is nothing wrong, in principle, with the idea of establishing new counties.
Posted by: Seth Cooper on February 1, 2005 10:59 AMInstead of splitting King County, I would like to see something like is done in, where Cities over a certain size are excluded from the surrounding county and become counties of their own.
Posted by: Paul on February 1, 2005 11:37 AMInstead of splitting King County, I would like to see something like is done in Virginia, where Cities over a certain size are excluded from the surrounding county and become counties of their own.
Posted by: Paul on February 1, 2005 11:37 AMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_city
This expands on the Independent City.
www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Animation/wa.div.html
This is an animated map of the formation of Washington State counties, with the last formed in 1911.
So who knows? Just call.
Posted by: Michele S on February 1, 2005 12:48 PMReagan County.
If that doesn't cause hyperventilation in certain areas, nothing will.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega on February 1, 2005 03:13 PMWhen I wrote him early on in this election debacle to ask him to vote against certification, he replied with a lengthy dissertation about his OWN win by 135 votes after a recount (sound familiar?), then went on to sing the party line: "As an interested observer, I have seen nothing to indicate that anyone stole the election and there are no provisions in state law that allow for a re-vote simply because some people do not like the results of an election....blah, blah, blah, blah blah."
After he voted for the certification, I called his office to ask how many of his constituents asked him to vote AGAINST it and how many asked him to vote FOR it. His aide (Julie?) said she'd get the info and call me back the next day. Golly, gosh, gee whiz, I've yet to hear from her... imagine that!
I've since sent other emails that have been ignored.
The most recent was yesterday when I saw him quoted in that piece about the new county where he said "he knows people are angry and he wants them to have their say." BUT HE ALSO THEN SAID:
"It would be nice if we could focus on real solutions, instead of political stunts,"
Excuse me???? POLITICAL STUNTS???
I am outraged that he considers our concerns about our future and our representation as "stunts". How dare he? It seems to me that in his arrogance of ignoring his constituents he has forgotten that, (quoting HIM now): "It just doesn't seem like the right way to resolve our differences,".
These power hungry party liners NEED to be exposed and we are the only ones that can make that happen.
Posted by: Cheryl on February 1, 2005 03:20 PM