Pair Offers Chance To Kick Out Clowns

If the people of Spokane County are fortunate there soon won’t be a three-member board of county commissioners to make our local government a scandal and a laughingstock. Instead, the community can work to make a success story of the county Freeholders’ plan for a more representative, potentially more efficient system of government.

But it’s unknown whether the freeholders’ proposal will pass when voters consider it Nov. 7. So, one more time, we must evaluate county commissioner candidates. There are six. Two, a Republican and a Democrat, stand out, offering voters of both persuasions a respectable choice.

What our editorial board looks for in a candidate, before getting to ideology, are the abilities to serve constructively with others and to articulate, clearly and knowledgeably, what the candidate aims to achieve in office. Divisiveness or vague rhetoric leaves us cold, and democracy poorly served.

Among the Republicans, Art Meikel shows the best effort to learn about county government.

After 20 years in the Air Force as a pilot and administrator, Meikel retired to Spokane where he serves in local groups ranging from Big Brothers and United Way to the Gleneden Homeowners Association.

He voices stern fiscal conservatism, doubting the need for county employees to have cellular phones and disagreeing with the move by incumbent Republican commissioners Phil Harris and Steve Hasson to hire another receptionist for their own office while asking other county offices to cut back. He recognizes criminal justice spending as “a band-aid” on a society that needs to work harder at constructive, preventive efforts like Big Brothers. He supports growth but says infrastructure should be put in place as growth occurs rather than later when it’s more expensive.

Among Democrats, John Roskelley met our criteria better than his opponent, George Marlton. Because Marlton worked for 19 years as an assistant county public defender, he does know courthouse personalities, but has difficulty describing clearly what he wants to achieve as commissioner.

In contrast, Roskelley is articulate, quick and penetrating in his analysis of county issues and how he would address them. Roskelley’s service on the parks advisory committee and the county planning commission illustrate his commitment to the community. He’s an environmentalist who supports growth management because it can protect our quality of life and facilitate the sort of well-planned, appropriately sited development most of us welcome. He would invite the county’s now-demoralized employees to provide ideas for thrifty, more creative ways to do business. He criticizes the meat-ax cuts county commissioners made in the land-use planning staff.

A lifelong Spokane resident, Roskelley offers a clear commitment to the county’s long-term interests and a reasonable temperament that should make for respectful relations with other commissioners and the public.

Whether voters prefer Meikel’s philosophy or Roskelley’s, both stand out as candidates who could bring some needed dignity to a deeply flawed government.

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