Well, yeah, Carl…

…in fact, I think it's a dandy idea.

The question in my mind isn't why Bob Ferguson is crossing party lines to support an elected County Auditor, it's is why he would find it necessary to do so. I know that many local Democrats are afflicted with an unhealthy devotion to the kind of goo-goo politics exemplified by the LWV and the Muni League, but the County Auditor has enough policy and operations influence to make the position elected, and ideally partisan. It matters who runs our elections, and the voters should have an opportunity to examine the applicants and make their decision.

Goldy's notion that the size of King County separates us from the other 38 Washington counties that already elect their county auditors and he's right. It's just that I see the size of the county and the scope of the office as an argument for an elected office. If anything, we should have been first.

And it's hard to imagine a less democratic, let alone Democratic, notion than this...

...an elected Auditor would virtually assure that one of the largest elections jurisdictions in the nation will now be run by a political hack rather than a qualified professional…

Holding the electorate in contempt isn't a core Democratic principle, folks.

It's not that the County Auditor's office is too important to be entrusted to the voters, it's that it's too important not to be.

Update: Carl checks in to report that the position will be non-partisan. I hate that. It's another woeful result of the goo-goo influence in county government, I suppose, and a neccessary sop to those folks if they're going to add the position to the ballot.

Just the same, we don't have to settle for non-partisan candidates even for non--partisan offices. Candidates for non-partisan races now, most city councils, for instance, regularly yield to the demand for partisan declaration in exchange for partisan endorsements and support. Refusal to disclose can be equally revealing.

I suppose it's true that there will be efforts to "...slip a Katherine Harris past the voters." Heck, I'm sure it's true. The need for vigilance is endless. The current system offers no better protection, though, just less transparency. Does anyone out there think that Dave Reichert was anything but a conservative Republican when Ron Sims appointed him Sherrif?