RICHLAND, Wash. – Local residents are pushing for a change in how the city council is elected. A non-partisan group known as “A Better Richland” is leading the charge by collecting signatures for a petition aimed at changing how the city council represents the city.
“The auditor’s office has to confirm that all of the signatures are legitimate, and then the next move will actually be presented to the city council, and they could actually accept it without even having a vote. But if they don’t accept it, then it would go to a vote of the people,” Randy Slovic, the volunteer coordinator for A Better Richland said.
The group has gathered over 3,800 signatures in the last two months. Slovic said Richland residents who signed the petition often felt “forgotten.”
Richland currently elects all city council members at-large, making it one of the last few cities in Washington state to do so. The petition proposes five distinct voting districts within Richland. This means that five city council members would be elected by residents, one for each district. Two members would remain at-large. Slovic explained the benefits of the proposed system.
“So it gives everybody, you know, a representative from their neighborhood who knows their neighborhood issues. And so I think that makes them more accountable,” Slovic said.
Edward Temple, a Richland resident, emphasized the support for the petition.
“We were able to gain 3,800 signatures, which were more than are required to get this to the city council, where they can decide either to implement it or to bring it to a vote,” Temple said.
The Richland City Council now has 30 days to decide whether to approve the petition’s proposals or to present the issue to voters in an election, possibly in February.
If the proposal is accepted, each of the five proposed voting districts would consist of just over 12,000 residents.
