What's a party to do? (after Top Two)

How exactly local parties should live with the Top Two is the topic. In Thurston County we have the very real possibility that we could end up with two Dems or two Republicans in a county commission election in November.

So, how should the Thurston County Dems live with this? The Olympian:

Thurston County Democratic chairman John Cusick said he hopes there is some way the party's precinct committee officers could be allowed to nominate more than one candidate in situations such as the race between Romero and Halvorson.

"I want to hold out that possibility," Cusick said.

Failing that, he said the party's precinct committee officers might nominate one candidate, and the party might endorse two. Or, the party could bypass all of the nomination problems by just letting the top two play out the way its sponsors intended, letting candidates run regardless of party support.

But Zack Smith, an Olympia resident who serves on the Democrats' executive board from the 9th Congressional District, predicted his party will do nominating conventions separate from the ongoing presidential caucus process.

"As far as I can see it's open and shut," Smith said of the nominating conventions. "What we need to be able to do is let people know which candidate is the choice of the party."

The Pierce County Democrats have already sort of dealt with this by deciding how they're going to live in a post-IRV world. They're going to allow up to three candidates for county offices to advance with the bold "Dem" lable attached to their candidacies. This move allows choice, but also avoids the "nomination" fight.

Rather, it simply says that "these people are Democrats." The local Democratic organization decides who carries the lable, but it doesn't limit the label to just one candidate either.
Submitted by Emmett on March 26, 2008 - 11:37am.