Muni News
VOLUME 90, ISSUE 2 -
FEBRUARY 2000
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OPTIMISM ABOUNDS FOR THE LEAGUE
New League Chairman, Tom Albro, updates efforts
to strengthen support for the League
Dear friends and fellow members,
January was a fantastic month for the Municipal League. We made significant
progress on every front and are well on our way to a successful new year.
Our fundraising drive is ahead of schedule and going well. As of January 31,
we have raised over $24,760. There is still a significant amount of money that
we need to raise in order to meet the goal of at least $50,000 by March 31. With
your financial support today, we will succeed and again put the League on stable
fiscal ground.
Other milestones include our new web page (check it out at www.munileague.org),
four successful transportation forums conducted jointly with the League of Women
Voters, and of course, another great issue of the Muni News!
In our last issue, I mentioned that we would be re-evaluating our Candidate
Evaluation Committee (CEC). This effort has been used by the Municipal League to
rate candidates for public office since 1911. Without a doubt, CEC has provided
tremendous public benefit for almost 90 years. The question though, is whether
or not it is the best way for the League to foster qualified individuals in
elected office. Should CEC be changed or replaced with another effort that could
better achieve our desired outcome?
The Board of Trustees formed a task force to examine this question. This
group has been working diligently since early January and is charged with making
recommendations to the full Board in March.
The arguments in favor of CEC as it stands are:
- It is and has been a major product of the League for almost 90 years;
- Ours is the only truly independent rating effort in King County;
- Municipal League ratings are a useful tool to many voters; and
- Rating candidates improves the stature of the League with both candidates
and voters alike.
The arguments for change, though, cannot be easily dismissed:
- Many other groups now provide ratings to voters (although they are seen as
less objective);
- Voters today have a tremendous amount of information available to them and
appear more interested in the candidates themselves than in how they are
rated by a good government group;
- The Municipal League should work to develop good candidates, instead of
focusing on rating poor ones; and,
- As it is conducted now, CEC is a major effort and consumes a very large
portion of League resources, preventing us from having more impact in other
areas (such as issues analysis and government accountability).
We need to know what you think. Please email me your thoughts at chairperson@munileague.org
or call me at (206) 930-4004. Your input now will be both timely and helpful.
The Board of Trustees will be discussing CEC at our February meeting and will be
resolving the question at our meeting in March.
Thank you for your continued support of the League.
Until next time…
Tom
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