Yes on Prop. 1/Yes on I-937

Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, October 25, 2006

If two Bainbridge fire commissioners sit down to

a cup of coffee, under state law the event constitutes a quorum and thus an official public meeting; it must be announced in advance and minutes kept.

That’s not a formula for effectiveness or communication, and it’s really all the reason islanders should need to support Proposition 1, to expand the Bainbridge Fire Board from three members to five. Here’s another: it’s time for broader representation on the body that oversees essential fire and emergency response services for this community.

Boards elected from within the citizenry are essential components of local government, and they’re structured so as to encourage diverse participation. Our city council has seven members. Our school board: five. Our park board: five. Yet as has been true since the fire department was founded, our fire board is made up of just three commissioners.

While that arrangement may have worked for a “smaller” island, decisions on today’s multi-million-dollar budgets, tough personnel and labor issues, big-ticket equipment purchases and other organizational challenges demand more voices and perspectives from throughout the community. It’s time for a five-person fire board.

Broader representation is better representation, and the Review urges voters to support Proposition 1.

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Not all of the answers are blowin’ in the wind.

Where energy is concerned, some answers may be baskin’ in the sun as well.

That’s the premise behind I-937, the “Clean Energy Initiative” to promote development of alternate energy sources and conservation programs among Washington utilities. Voters statewide will decide the issue Nov. 7.

I-937 sets a goal that by 2020, some 15 percent of power sold by Washington utilities will be generated through “clean” sources – the old standbys of wind and solar, and more cutting-edge technologies as well – as utilities look to supplement hydro-power to meet the demands of a growing region. Also, power companies will be required to credit consumers for conserving energy in their households.

The initiative has attracted bipartisan political support, and backing from organized labor and church councils. It is opposed by big business, which raises the specter of higher costs or layoffs in energy-dependent industries. But grousing that “some jobs may be lost” with a move away from non-renewable energy sources is like stepping back to 1980 and ruing the imminent demise of the typewriter industry. Clearly something better came along, a new industry that created far more jobs and commerce; so too, over time, should the development of clean, low-cost alternative energy sources spur economic development in this state.

Historically, this page is no fan of citizen initiatives, and we can usually find reasons to oppose even the best-intentioned. That’s because most are drafted to benefit narrow interests – developers and land speculators (I-933) and the state’s wealthiest families (I-920), to cite two current examples – instead of Washingtonians as a the whole. But there isn’t a household in this state that won’t benefit from financial incentives to conserve energy, and a broad push to develop cleaner power for the future.

The ultimate beneficiary – our planet – is a broader interest still. Vote “Yes” on I-937.

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Recap of Review endorsements so far:

No on state Initiative 933

No on state Initiative 920

Yes on state Initiative 937

Yes on local Proposition 1