Monty's Plan for Conservation District Elections

Crafted by a man who once won an election as a Washington State Elected Official with 140 votes, total...

I believe that Conservation Districts should have more than five Supervisors. It is an unpaid voluntary position, and getting a quorum to meetings is difficult. Therefore;

There should be a total of 9 Board members on a Conservation District Board of Supervisors.

I believe that elections for Washington State officials should be run on the general ballot. I further belive that political parties have no place on this board. Therefore;

Washington State Conservation District Board positions should be on the November general ballot, and should be non-partisan in nature.

Conservation Districts are special organizations, working on issues and programs that aren't easy for newcomers to understand. In addition, cost of annual elections is prohibitive. Therefore;

District Supervisors should serve 6 year terms, to increase their level of effectiveness. In addition, Supervisors should be elected in cadres of three, every three years, to minimize election costs. There would be therefore an election for three Supervisors every three years, held on the general ballot in November.

It is commonly recognized that there needs to be provision for continuity on District Boards, as well as some surety that issues of statewide importance are being addressed. Therefore;

The Washington State Conservation Commission should appoint three Supervisors to six year terms, one every other year.

Conservation District boundaries are countywide, and it is a hardship to ask candidates to run in countywide elections for unpaid positions. In addition, in some Districts the issues are diverse, and the Board should be representative of the Disrict as a whole. Therefore;

Conservation Districts should "district" their supervisor positions so that positions represent geographical units that are roughly equivilant in number of citizens represented.

This plan would make elections affordable for Conservation Districts and would remove the main cloud over these fine organizations; that the District is governed by Supervisors who are selected by a flawed, undemocratic process.

I am prepared to present my ideas and this plan to any group or individual requesting my time. Contact me at your convenience to discuss this.

Monty Mahan
360-710-1506
"montymahan@gmail.com"