Vote Could Split City Into Districts Proposition Backers Promise More Accountability From Change, But Opponents Say Voters Will Lose Clout

Supporters of a proposal to elect Spokane City Council members by geographic districts like the idea of council members sticking up for their home turf.

Opponents fear that slicing the city into three districts will bring a return to the type of divisive politics they say plagued Spokane earlier this century.

Others point out that neighborhood councils already give citizens a voice and role in city government.

If Proposition 1 is approved, the first three council members would be elected by district in November 2001. The next set would be elected two years later. The mayor would still be elected at-large.

Voters would elect just two members of the council and the mayor, instead of the full seven they now choose.

Dennis Dellwo, a former state representative for Spokane, has been speaking in favor of the initiative at public forums.

“You do not have adequate representation now. You have a council that is baby sitters, just continuing the status quo,” Dellwo said.

With districting, Dellwo predicts a more lively council.

“You are going to have people standing up, speaking out and yes, posturing,” Dellwo said. “It is an opportunity for people to speak out for the people they are representing.”

Councilwoman Phyllis Holmes, who has argued against districting at many of the same forums, said citizens are not being given an accurate picture of the proposal by its supporters.

“People are being offered a set of images and feel-good impressions,” Holmes said.

At 60,000 residents each, she said the districts are too big.

“They think they are going to know their council members. That’s not right. They are going to be part of a very big pool.

“The proponents are also obscuring the reality that you will no longer be able to vote for all seven council members,” she said.

It will still take a minimum of four council members in agreement to adopt ordinances. With sticky neighborhood issues, it could be difficult to find those votes.

District representatives who want to be re-elected will be looking out for their own corner instead of the city as a whole, opponents say.

“You have to give the person you elect more credit than that,” Dellwo said. “There will be many unanimous issues.

“But if something is important to the district, you have to work hard to get your point across. You sell it to the City Council,” he said.

Karen Bell thinks electing council members by district would give her a name and number to call about her concerns.

The Shadle resident said she suspects there may be a drug house operating in her neighborhood. She said she isn’t sure who to call.

“I don’t know where to go. I don’t feel like I have an advocate in my neighborhood,” she said.

She hasn’t called the police, her Community Oriented Policing office, or her neighborhood council, although all are active in her neighborhood.

That’s where city staff would likely direct her if she called with her problem. She would also be directed to the council member who now serves on the Public Safety Committee.

The result would likely be the same under districting, Holmes said, except Bell’s council representative may or may not be on the Public Safety Committee.

“There is not a dramatic difference, not enough to give up four votes for,” said Holmes, noting that Bell would no longer have a say in electing four of the council members.

Judith Gilmore, who lost her bid in the primary for the Position 3 council seat, is the campaign manager for Citizens Alliance. It has raised $16,600 for television commercials promoting the districting proposal and another plan on the ballot to drop the city manager form of government in favor of a strong-mayor system.

There is no organized group opposing districting.

The initiative was proposed by David Bray, a candidate for the Position 1 City Council post. To Bray, the biggest difference with districting is accountability.

“If district representatives aren’t doing their job, they won’t be re-elected,” said Bray.

He said the initiative was developed by the Spokane Policy Research Council, a group that grew out of John Talbott’s mayoral campaign two years ago.

Gilmore said districting was recommended by Community Partners, a group assigned by the City Council in 1997 to update the city charter.

Two dozen Washington cities, including Tacoma, Bremerton and Pullman, elect all or part of their councils by district.

Three years ago, Seattle residents rejected a proposal to elect council members by district.

Around the time Spokane’s Community Partners group was recommending districting, the long-simmering idea of neighborhood councils was just starting to cook.

There are now 25 neighborhood councils, covering virtually all of Spokane.

The neighborhood councils were created by the City Council about four years ago to open the lines of communication between City Hall and neighborhoods.

The Community Assembly of Neighborhood Councils, a gathering of representatives from each council, meets monthly. Four times a year, neighborhood council representatives meet with Holmes, Talbott and Councilwoman Roberta Greene.

But districting proponents say it’s not enough.

“Neighborhood councils have a voice, but not a vote on the council,” Bray said.

Some opponents of the districting initiative say it would erode the strength of neighborhood councils.

Al French, a Position 2 City Council candidate, sees irony in the way supporters of districting marketed their initiative.

“The process that developed this initiative is the same process that people are so frustrated with,” said French, who is also chairman of the Nevada-Lidgerwood Neighborhood Council.

“They just created something, and when it was finished, they brought it out to the citizens and tried to sell it. There was no community involvement in creating it.”

French said districting proponents never presented the measure to the Assembly of Neighborhood Councils for comments or to ask for support.

Bray said the signatures gathered on the initiative petition are a sign of citizen support.

Bray and Dellwo both said district representation is what the country’s founding fathers intended for the citizens.

“This isn’t a new idea,” Bray said. “It’s an old idea that has come back to life.”

But it reminds former Spokane Mayor David Rodgers of the city’s old ward system earlier this century.

“All they did was fight with each other,” Rodgers said of old-time council members. “If they weren’t fighting with each other, they were fighting with the mayor.

“If you forget your history you will repeat its mistakes,” Rodgers said.

1. AT A GLANCE Proposition 1 Ballot Title: Shall the Spokane City Charter be amended to elect the six council members (other than the mayor), two from each of three geographic districts, to be drawn by a board and re-drawn as required; to require council members to reside in their district before and during their term; to make provisions for eligibility and procedures of the districting board; and to make other implementing changes, all as provided in Proposition 1?

2. MEASURE’S EFFECTS Proposition 1 would change the city charter: Council members would be elected by geographic district. Districts would be established by a districting board. Two council members would be elected from each of three geographic districts. Three council members would be elected by district in November 2001 and take office in January 2002. The next three council members would be chosen at the next election. The mayor would be elected at-large. Terms would still be four years. At the time of filing for candidacy, a council candidate would be required to have lived in the city for two years, and in his or her district for one year. Council members would be required to live in their district during their terms. If a council seat became vacant, an appointee who lives in the district would complete the term. A districting board and the City Council would hold public hearings before final adoption of the district boundaries. The districting board would consist of the mayor, mayor pro-tem, and three citizens appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council.