Bill Would Make Candidates Give Up Office

It’s too much work to hold one office while campaigning for another, a Senate panel was told Thursday as it considered a bill to require elected officials to step down if they run for a different post.

“Let’s be honest, running for office is very time-consuming,” said Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, at the hearing by the Senate Government Operations Committee.

No action was taken on SB5058 and no members of the public asked to testify, so committee members mostly discussed the bill among themselves.

The bill would make two exceptions to requiring officials in the state to step down when they run for another office. They could stay on the job if fewer than 75 days are left in their terms, or if they become candidates because no one else files to represent their political party in a race.