Charter commission will meet, attempt to close legal loophole that could void election

PORT ANGELES – Clallam County’s Charter Review Commission will have one last meeting today to plug a legal leak in the charter changes they’ve proposed to voters.

A chance exists that it could sink whatever amendments voters approve in the election that ends Tuesday.

The special session will start at 6 p.m. in the commissioners’ hearing room (160) of the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St.

The problem surfaced earlier this week when Ron Richards, a Clallam County commissioner from 1977 to 1981, sought the wording of how the charter would read if voters adopt any of the five proposed changes.

The charter functions as Clallam County’s constitution.

If approved by voters Tuesday, the changes would:

  • Authorize county commissioners to adopt instant runoff voting, also known as ranked choice voting.

  • Forbid the county to use eminent domain primarily for economic development.

  • Return the director of the Department of Community Development to an appointed position.

  • Bring the charter into line with state law concerning independent candidates in partisan primary elections.

  • Change from five to eight the number of years between charter reviews.

    Although Richards found the proposed changes – also known as ballot titles – he could not find the actual language the changes would produce.

  • More in News

    Sue Long, left, Vicki Bennett and Frank Handler, all from Port Townsend, volunteer at the Martin Luther King Day of Service beach restoration on Monday at Fort Worden State Park. The activity took place on Knapp Circle near the Point Wilson Lighthouse. Sixty-four volunteers participated in the removal of non-native beach grasses. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
    Work party

    Sue Long, left, Vicki Bennett and Frank Handler, all from Port Townsend,… Continue reading

    Portion of bridge to be replaced

    Tribe: Wooden truss at railroad park deteriorating

    Kingsya Omega, left, and Ben Wilson settle into a hand-holding exercise. (Aliko Weste)
    Process undermines ‘Black brute’ narrative

    Port Townsend company’s second film shot in Hawaii

    Jefferson PUD to replace water main in Coyle

    Jefferson PUD commissioners awarded a $1.3 million construction contract… Continue reading

    Scott Mauk.
    Chimacum superintendent receives national award

    Chimacum School District Superintendent Scott Mauk has received the National… Continue reading

    Hood Canal Coordinating Council meeting canceled

    The annual meeting of the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, scheduled… Continue reading

    Bruce Murray, left, and Ralph Parsons hang a cloth exhibition in the rotunda of the old Clallam County Courthouse on Friday in Port Angeles. The North Olympic History Center exhibit tells the story of the post office past and present across Clallam County. The display will be open until early February, when it will be relocated to the Sequim City Hall followed by stops on the West End. The project was made possible due to a grant from the Clallam County Heritage Advisory Board. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
    Post office past and present

    Bruce Murray, left, and Ralph Parsons hang a cloth exhibition in the… Continue reading

    This agave grew from the size of a baseball in the 1990s to the height of Isobel Johnston’s roof in 2020. She saw it bloom in 2023. Following her death last year, Clallam County Fire District 3 commissioners, who purchased the property on Fifth Avenue in 2015, agreed to sell it to support the building of a new Carlsborg fire station. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group file)
    Fire district to sell property known for its Sequim agave plant

    Sale proceeds may support new Carlsborg station project

    As part of Olympic Theatre Arts’ energy renovation upgrade project, new lighting has been installed, including on the Elaine and Robert Caldwell Main Stage that allows for new and improved effects. (Olympic Theatre Arts)
    Olympic Theatre Arts remodels its building

    New roof, LED lights, HVAC throughout

    Weekly flight operations scheduled

    Field carrier landing practice operations will be conducted for aircraft… Continue reading

    Workers from Van Ness Construction in Port Hadlock, one holding a grade rod with a laser pointer, left, and another driving the backhoe, scrape dirt for a new sidewalk of civic improvements at Walker and Washington streets in Port Townsend on Thursday. The sidewalks will be poured in early February and extend down the hill on Washington Street and along Walker Street next to the pickle ball courts. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
    Sidewalk setup

    Workers from Van Ness Construction in Port Hadlock, one holding a grade… Continue reading