As of this writing, seven out of the nine amendments put on the ballot by the Pierce County Charter Review Commission are on their way to winning! The only two amendments (Amendments 4 and 5) to go down to defeat were those lowering the number of signatures for referendum and initiative. In terms of passing Charter Amendments, this Charter Review Commission is the most successful of any Commission in the history of the Charter.
Pierce County will now be electing its Sheriff (Amendment 1). Paul Pastor, the current appointed Sheriff, has already said he will be running for Sheriff in 2008. A more formal announcement will occur later.
Pierce County will be using Instant Runoff Voting (Amendment 3) to elect its county level officials (Executive, Assessor-Treasurer, Auditor, Sheriff and County Council members) starting in 2008. Auditor Pat McCarthy has vowed to make the IRV implementation in Pierce County the best implementation in the country. Let's all pitch in and help her make good on her commitment. It is great for Pierce County to take such a leadership position in improving democracy.
Pierce County will not be able to use eminent domain to condemn private property to give it to another private party. Amendment 9 was written to prevent such takings by the county government.
