Editorials / Opinion

State government election races are mediocre at best

There seems to be a crisis of democracy in King County [“Funding state elections from near, afar,” page one, Nov. 3]. By my unofficial count, half of the 108 elected offices in the county involve “races” in which a candidate is running unopposed. And — although this is a more subjective assessment — at least a dozen of the remaining races involve at least one candidate who is totally unqualified (based on a lack of endorsements or other criteria). And at least five others feature candidates who exhibit the proverbial “distinction without a difference.” In five instances, the “candidate” did not even offer a statement of qualifications, goals or philosophy, and several other candidates didn’t bother submitting a photograph.

The implications of this are alarming — incumbency is too often unchallenged, the pool of ideas is limited and our much-ballyhooed “diversity” seems to be more of a slogan than a reality.

Stephen Triesch, Shoreline