This editorial will appear in tomorrow’s print edition.

A funny thing happened to the Pierce County auditor’s office in the two years since citizens voted to make it nonpartisan: It seems to have become more partisan than ever.

Its current occupant, Jan Shabro, was appointed by the Republican majority on the County Council early this year after former Auditor Pat McCarthy was elected county executive.

In appointing Shabro, the council rebuffed the Democratic Party’s nominees – which included Shabro’s chief challenger, staunch Democrat Julie Anderson. The contest this year looks as partisan as any in the past.

Perhaps it’s understandable that the Republicans and Democrats want to keep their stamp on the office. The auditor gets to print her name on every ballot sent out, which is a nice way to pick up name familiarity. That makes the position a good springboard to higher office, as McCarthy’s election demonstrated.

Still, the county’s chief elections officer ought to be more than nominally nonpartisan, if only to avoid the perception (inaccurate so far) that a particular party has its thumb on the scale when the ballots are counted. Running elections is pure administrative work, as are licensing, animal-control and the other responsibilities of the office. There’s no liberal or conservative way to chase pit bulls.
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This editorial appeared in the Monday print edition.

The Bethel School District gets the prize for having, if not the most vigorous school board campaigns, at least the oddest. It’s remarkable that the races are even contested.

In District 1, a staunch opponent of the school district is running against the one person on the school board who sees eye-to-eye with him on some issues.

Ron Morehouse, a physician’s assistant, has opposed school bond measures and thinks Superintendent Tom Seigel could be doing a better job.

We’re wondering what his beef is with incumbent Ken Blair, who has repeatedly voted against the superintendent’s positive performance evaluations and has been anything but a pushover on school funding measures.
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This editorial will appear in Tuesday’s print edition.

The races for Federal Way school board took on additional significance last week when Superintendent Tom Murphy, a respected 20-year veteran of the district, announced his retirement.

Murphy will leave in June, making the next school board responsible for hiring his replacement.

Even with less than a majority of the board at stake this election, the outcome is bound to influence the hiring of Murphy’s successor. Voters will want the right people in office to make that pick.

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This editorial will appear in Thursday’s print edition.

Tacoma voters could change the direction of city government this election, with a majority of the nine-member City Council potentially at stake.

Tacomans will elect a new mayor and three new council members next month to replace term-limited officials. With that many seats up for grabs, the next council is bound to look and act differently than its predecessor.

And should either Councilwoman Marilyn Strickland win her bid for mayor or Councilwoman Julie Anderson take Pierce County auditor, the new council would have to fill the vacancy. Up to six of the council’s nine seats could change hands.

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This editorial will appear in Friday’s print edition.

The races for Tacoma school board won’t be decided for another month, yet there’s already been an upset.

In the August primary, retired schoolteacher and principal Connie Rickman lost her bid for a second six-year term. Rickman, a supporter of ousted schools superintendent Charlie Milligan, faced some formidable challengers.

One of them, Catherine Ushka-Hall, is headed to the general election’s runoff for Position 2.

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This editorial will appear in Thursday’s print edition.

The blows to the Port of Tacoma just keep on coming.

Three months ago, when the editorial board endorsed Commissioner Connie Bacon’s re-election for lack of a better option, we noted that the port has had quite a run of misfortune and missteps. Mostly the latter.

The port plunked down $21 million in 2006 to buy land near Maytown for a rail yard, assuming that its foray into Thurston County would be treated as deferentially by the locals there as the port’s projects are here at home. Wrong.

Then, after port officials were successful in luring NYK Line here from the Port of Seattle, they discovered that they had underestimated the cost of developing the Blair Waterway for NYK and others by 50 percent.

Last week, the port halted the project after spending $190 million on property, design work, staff time and environmental preparations. NYK will now call at an existing terminal.

Given all that, this would seem the year to toss port incumbents who failed to exercise the kind of oversight that could have prevented such fumbles. We might have recommended voters do just that, had we been impressed with the alternatives.

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Federal Way’s municipal court has been troubled for too many years now. With any luck, it should be a healthier institution after election day.

Both seats on the court are up for grabs Nov. 3. Federal Way voters should be, well, judicious in distinguishing the two incumbents.

Judge Michael Morgan has been a flashpoint of controversy and accusations since he was elected four years ago. Judge David Larson has been a solid, steady, reassuring presence in the court. We urge the citizens of Federal Way to elect Morgan’s challenger, Rebecca Robertson – and re-elect Larson.

When a trial judge is in the headlines, it’s rarely a good thing. Morgan illustrates the point. As presiding judge, he has been responsible for court administration. He hasn’t fared well: The court has been racked by infighting during much of his tenure. Read more »

This endorsement will appear in Friday’s print edition.

The more we see of elections and their aftermath, the more we’re convinced that temperament is the single best measure of a candidate’s potential for public service.

A candidate can have ideas as big as the Grand Canyon or a résumé as long as Interstate 5, but he or she will get nothing accomplished without being able to work with others.

That’s especially true in Puyallup right now. The city – where City Council meetings too frequently devolve into sharp clashes between two voting blocs – needs council members who know how to disagree agreeably.

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