Whatcom County Council grapples with tight schedule to replace state Sen. Ericksen
Whatcom County Council is on a time crunch to appoint a replacement for state Sen. Doug Ericksen before Washington’s legislative session begins on Monday, Jan. 10, according to discussions at a special council meeting Wednesday, Dec. 22.
Ericksen died on Dec. 17, after it was reported that he was diagnosed with COVID-19 while visiting El Salvador. Since 2010, the Republican has represented Washington’s 42nd Legislative District in the state Senate, and his death leaves the seat empty.
In a 4-0 vote, Whatcom County Council decided to tentatively set Tuesday, Jan. 4, to vote on Ericksen’s replacement, but only if the Whatcom County Republican Party provides their list of nominees by Friday, Dec. 31. (Two of the seven councilmembers — Rud Browne and Carol Frazey — were absent from the Dec. 22 special meeting. Councilmember Todd Donovan left the meeting before the vote was taken.)
The replacement process is fairly straightforward: The Whatcom Republican Party nominates three candidates to fill Ericksen’s senate seat, and County Council selects one.
But it is trickier in practice, with both the holidays and the 2022 legislative session looming in the near future. Some councilmembers expressed concern that selecting a replacement by Jan. 4 would rush the process and burden county staff over the holidays. Others were more concerned that the 42nd Legislative District would not have a representative before the 2022 legislative session begins.
The Whatcom Republican Party is waiting to select its nominees until at least next Wednesday, Dec. 29, after Ericksen’s memorial service, according to County Councilmember Barry Buchanan, who was texting Party Chair John Ramsey during the Dec. 22 special meeting. Buchanan said that he needs to clarify whether that means the Whatcom Republican Party will not begin the process of selecting nominees until Dec. 29 or whether they will not send County Council a finalized list of nominees until Dec. 29.
When the County Council has replaced state legislators in the past, it has sent questionnaires to nominees, who have a week to answer the questions. The County Council then meets to further question each of the nominees and select one. But if the County Council doesn’t get names until at least next Wednesday, there will not be enough time for this process.
County Councilmembers Ben Elenbaas and Tyler Byrd said that the Council could forego the formal questionnaire, and councilmembers could instead reach out to the nominees individually to ask them questions in the days leading up to a Jan. 4 meeting. This could alleviate the burden on county staff and streamline the process, Elenbaas said.
County Councilmember Todd Donovan was concerned about moving forward too quickly with the process and was a proponent of instead appointing Ericksen’s replacement at a County Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 11, a day after the state legislative session begins.
“All of this to get one extra day for someone in session?” Donovan said in the Dec. 22 meeting.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 2:46 PM.
