Time: Tue Jun 17 14:56:11 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id OAA20601; Tue, 17 Jun 1997 14:54:22 -0700 (MST) by usr02.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id OAA00891; Tue, 17 Jun 1997 14:54:16 -0700 (MST) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 14:52:47 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: New County Movement Threatens Establishment (fwd) <snip> > >New County Movement Threatens Establishment >- Citizens in Washington State work to reestablish >primacy of local government - > > We live in the era of big government: huge federal government, >big state government, even big local governments. Citizens in >Washington state, however, are using a provision in the state >constitution to rein in government by seceding from their counties >and fon-nitig new counties within the confines of the old parent >counties. > >Citizens committees to form new counties have sprung up across the >state and are spreading like wildfire. There are nine new counties >being proposed in Washington. Four of them have gained signatures >from a majority of voters within their jurisdiction, which is >required to break away. Five others are still collecting signatures >but seem poised to soon achieve their goals. > >Cedar, Skykomish and Freedom counties are being created out of King >and Snohomish counties around Seattle. On the Canadian border, >Pioneer County is being created out of Whatcom County. The five others >are River (near Vancouver), Puget Sound, West Seattle and Vashon >(near Seattle), and Liberty County (out of Grant County in central >Washington). > >Why are they seceding? Lois Gustafson, president of Cedar County >Committee, says the bid to create new counties aims "to bring the >government close to the people." Joe Ahrend, of Citizens for River >County, says "taxes are out of control. Every time someone wants >to do something with their land it seems there's some endangered bug >on it. We have no say on how money is spent, finally we said enough >is enough." Amy Hansen of Skykomish County Committee says the movement >is about "representation, local control, less bureaucracy, more >responsive officials, and smaller government." > >In the view of these leaders, county govemments have become too distant, >too bureaucratic, too large, too meddlesome and too entrenched, and >have forgotten that local officials are supposed to serve the people >rather than other bureaucracies in Olympia and Washington, D.C. > >Many of the issues that have brought this movement into being >involve restriction on development and use of private property. >Leaders say they plan to eliminate most of the local regulations. >Another issue that has thrown the establishment into panic is the >new county leaders' stated intent to reassert local control over >things like law enforcement and education, which have come >increasingly under control of state and federal government. >The mission statement of Citizens for River County, for example, >says that the new county will accept no federal or state >education funds. Rather than trying to maintain an expensive >public school bureaucracy, they say they will actually encourage >alternatives like home schooling. > >Secession as a Check on Government > >It has-been said that the ultimate voting power is the power to >vote with your feet. When governments become too burdensome, >people leave their jurisdiction. To stem the loss of revenue >government then either must become less burdensome, or extend >its jurisdiction to make it impractical for anyone to leave. >This being true, the easier it is to leave a govemment's >jurisdiction the less burdensome that government can be. >The ultimate extension of this principle is the ability for small >communities to leave a govemment's jurisdiction without having to >move geographically. > >As one would expect, the political establishment in Washington >state does not look favorably on these movements, but supporters >are using a provision of the Washington constitution which seems >to allow for the creation of new counties on fairly easy terms. >Article I 1, section 3 of the Washington constitution reads: >"New Counties. No new counties shall be established which shall >reduce any county to a population less than four thousand (4,000), >nor shall a new county be formed containing a less population than >two thousand (2,000). There shall be no territory stricken from >any county unless a majofity of the voters living in such territory >shall petition therefore and then only under such conditions as may >be prescribed by general law applicable to the whole state." > >What is unique about this provision is that unlike many constitutions >which require the permission of the old county in order to create a >new one; here, all that is required is a petition by a Majority of >voters in the territory to fon-n the new county. > >Theoretically, if you are not happy with the way your local >government is running things, all you have to do is get >together with a couple thousand of your neighbors, and >you can secede and start your own county. It is never quite >as easy as that. The political establishment in the state >has being doing everything it can to prevent the formation >of new counties. > >The Establishment Fights Back Although the secretary of >state's office has certified that the petitions have >achieved the number of signatures needed, the new counties >cannot come into existence until the state legislature enacts >legislation specifying how these splits are to take place. >The legislature will divide up the assets and liabilities of >the old county, and set the official county boundaries. >Last spring, State Rep. John Koster, a Republican from the >district of the proposed Skykomish County, introduced bills >to bring into existence three of these new counties. > >The bills faced the united opposition of Democrats in the state >legislature, but Republicans have a majority in both houses. >Nevertheless, Republican support for the new counties proved >lukewarm. Only the one bill to create Skykomish County was >actually brought up for a vote in the House, and passed. >Pressure from Democrat Gov. Gary Locke prevented any such bill >from being considered in the state Senate, despite its Republican >control. One of the staffers on the committee handing the creation >of new counties said he believes the passage of the Skykomish >County bill through the House represented a sop thrown to supporters >of the new counties rather than any senous, commitment from most >members. >The official creation of the three counties remains in limbo >until next year, when the state legislature can resurrect >the measures. But supporters of the new counties insist that >they will never rest until the new counties come into existence. >The other proposed county with enough signatures, Cedar County, >is pursuing a slightly different route. The Cedar County committee >has maintained that the petition process constitutes a special >election. >The committee has filed suit with the state Supreme Court, asking the >court to order the secretary of state's office to certify the petition >process as an election. They feel that if the process is certified as >an election, the legislature will have no choice but to pass legislation >bringing the county into existence. John Stokes, one of the founders of >the new county movement, has taken an even more creative approach. >In a move which is controversial even within the new county movement, >Stokes has filed a petition with the United Nations Human Rights >Commission arguing that "the right of self-determination and >self-government. . . are being denied by the state of Washington." >Supporters hope the complaint will embarrass Gov. Locke enough to >get him to drop his opposition. > >While the opposition of the political establishment may delay the >creation of new counties, it has done nothing to dilute the ardor >of the new county movement. If anything, such resistance has >energized the movement even more, and has shown the need for more >representative government. Citizens for River County started their >movement in the summer of 1996 and in less than a year the committee >has collected more thatn 4,000 signatures - about a third of the >total needed. > >Success Stories > >While secession has always been opposed by existing establishments, >there have been a couple of notable successes in recent years. >In 1983, through a petition process very similar to that being >used in Washington, the northern half of Yuma County, Ariz. broke >away to form the new county of La Paz. The political establishment >in Arizona apparently was caught off guard by the move and was >unable to stop it. Nevertheless, after La Paz came into existence >and it appeared that other counties might also break apart, >the state changed its law to make county secession much more difficult. >Another success story in progress is the secession of the San Fernando >Valley from the city of Los Angeles. Los Angeles has a population >larger than many states, and larger than many countries; it is a huge, >sprawling city. The size and population of the city has meant that >local government does not really exist in the ordinary sense of the >word. For years the population of San Fernando has sought to break >away from Los Angeles and become its own city, but the Los Angeles >city council has had veto power over loss of any section of the city. >Finally, this spring, because of public outcry, the city of Los Angeles >has dropped its veto of the new proposal and is accepting a compromise >bill in the California legislature, which will remove the veto power >of the city council. Senate bill 176 and assembly bill 62 sailed >through committee and seem ready to pass the full legislature, to be >signed by Gov. Wilson. This proposal will allow San Fernando to >secede from Los Angeles with a majority vote of the Los Angeles >residents. >That vote is not assured, but supporters feel that they finally have a >real chance. >Secession of any sort has never been easy. The American colonies fought >a long war for their independence. Madison remarked in Federalist 14 >that one of the advantages of the American federal system, provided for >in Article 4 Section 3, was that when states became too populous for >effective self-govemment they could divide and form new states. >Jealousy among states for representation in the Senate, and the desire >of established governments to keep as many subjects as possible, has >prevented this from happening. Nevertheless, on the local level we are >beginning to see a revival of the old idea that self-government means >local government. > >At a time when politicians are increasingly moving towards large, >centralized government, citizens are finding an effective tool in >returning to smaller, more local government. The United States was >founded on the idea of self-determination and local control - >just maybe we have a chance to get back to it. > >Paul Clark is chairman of the Coalition for Local Sovereignty, >and tracks citizen efforts to gain more local control over their >affairs. For more information on this burgeoning movement or >related issues, contact Clark at 58 Crescent Road, Suite B, >Greenbelt, MD. 20770, or call (301) 982-1360. > <snip> ======================================================================== Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.2 on 586 CPU website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. ======================================================================== [This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
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