Top Two would have changed local elections

• Published March 18, 2008

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court today to uphold the top-two primary system in Washington is most important for areas that are strongly controlled by one party, like Thurston County.

Under the system – which was approved in 2004, but immediately challenged by the political parties – the two candidates to get the most votes in the primary will advance to the general election.

In Legislative District 22, which is the county core of Olympia, Tumwater and Lacey, the system would have pitted two Democrats against one another in November twice since 2000.

In 2000, now-Rep. Sam Hunt bested fellow Democrat Peter Rex, 12,733 to 9,081. The nearest competitor was Republican Bill Pilkey, with 5,602.

In 2004, now-Rep. Brendan Williams was in a five-way race for the democratic slot. He won, but No. 2 in that race, Margaret Holm, was also No. 2 overall, getting more votes than the Republican nominee, Ann Burgman.

Of course, this is all a bit like saying Rocky Marciano wouldn’t have beat Jersey Joe Walcott in a modern, 12-round championship bout. Just because Marciano knocked Walcott out in Round 13 doesn’t mean that, knowing he had only 12 rounds to work with, he couldn’t have changed his strategy.

As Thurston County Auditor Kim Wyman, a Republican, put it, under the top two system, “You can’t not do it differently.”