Council Elections By District Proposed

Thu., June 25, 1998

By Kathy Mulady kathymu@spokesman.com

A grass-roots group is making the rounds of neighborhood council meetings, seeking support for their proposal to elect City Council members by district.

According to their initiative, the city of Spokane would be divided into three districts, each electing two council members.

The mayor would be elected by the entire city.

“The idea is to get people talking about it,” said Michael Maehl of the Spokane Policy Research Council.

The initiative was filed Tuesday. Supporters hope it will make the November ballot.

A similar initiative was filed by attorney Steve Eugster two weeks ago.

While Eugster’s proposal also calls for electing council members by area, his proposal divides the city into six districts instead of three.

In addition, Eugster’s proposal calls for the mayor to select a city manager for the duration of the mayoral term. The research council doesn’t mention city manager appointment.

“We aren’t concerned with the city manager issue,” said David Bray, a member of the group and frequent council critic.

“City government seems so focused on downtown, there is little neighborhood representation,” said Bray. “The problem is with the system, not the individuals.”

Mike Maehl, a member of the research council, recently presented the group’s proposal to the Five Mile Neighborhood Council.

Next he plans to meet with councils in Browne’s Addition and East Central, along with others. The Spokane Policy Research Council was organized in January and includes about 35 members, Maehl said.

“I heard about a meeting, went and got involved,” Maehl said. “There is a wide range of views within the group, but everyone is looking at promoting good city government and getting people involved in decision-making.

“We’re just putting ideas out there, asking people what they think,” Maehl said.

If the initiative makes it onto the ballot and is approved by voters in the fall, voting districts would be established in spring, just in time for the 1999 City Council elections.

Meetings of the research council are held monthly.

More information is available by calling Maehl at 455-6060.

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