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Article: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR KING COUNTY CHARTER.(Editorial)
- Article from:
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- Article date:
- July 20, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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How we got here: King County is one of only five Home Rule counties in Washington state. Our state Constitution allows counties (and cities) the right to design their own government by electing freeholders to write a charter, then having the charter approved by voters at the ballot box. This is not easy - voters have a tendency to turn down proposed charters. But in King County, and in other Home Rule counties, elected freeholders did succeed in crafting charters that met with voter approval.
What's a Charter? A charter for a Home Rule county is a basic blueprint for government but is subject to the state Constitution and to state laws. Much like a Constitution ...