What issues do you want your local leaders to address? What critical discussions are occuring in your community? We invite your input as we build our plan for fall candidate forums. Just follow this link and tell us what matters most to you in the upcoming election.
This is a local election year, the time we elect many of our council members, mayors, school board members, fire commissioners and municipal court judges. In many ways, these local elections are more important than the national races. Did you vote in the August primary election? If you didn’t, you missed a chance to have your say about this next round of leaders – leaders who will make critical decisions about issues that literally touch your life - local laws, water rates, public safety issues, street repairs, the quality of our schools and how quickly your local fire department responds to an emergency call. If you think one vote doesn’t matter, consider this. In 2016, the City of Snohomish changed its form of government to a strong mayor system by a majority of just 9 votes. In the just-completed primary election, one set of winners was separated by less than 5 votes.
Your next chance to participate in this fundamental piece of democracy comes on November 2nd. The League will bring you needed information in our next round of candidate forums. We presented 16 forums for the primary elections, for races in Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mukilteo and Snohomish. You can still link to these by going to the Candidate Forums page on our website. Remember, most of these candidates will be on your ballot in the fall election. Our fall Candidate Forum series will begin with our September 13th edition of Magazine on the Air.
At a time when access to the poles is being challenged and deliberately suppressed across this country, I am proud to live in Washington State. Our system of mail-in voting, and online and same-day voter registration is a national model. The League of Women Voters certainly appreciates that access to the ballot is a hard-fought right that demands a never-ending vigilance. Please, don’t take this right for granted. Your vote matters.