County administrator outlines coroner options: elected, appointed or split responsibilities; timing and qualifications cited as obstacles

Summary

County Administrator Todd Mulkey told the Charter Review Commission that changing the coroner from an elected to an appointed position would allow the county to require technical qualifications and — if approved by voters and the commissioners — could be implemented faster than waiting for a future general election to fill an elected office.

County Administrator Todd Mulkey briefed the Clallam County Charter Review Commission on March 10 about the administrator’s role and the options for the county coroner’s office, telling commissioners that decisions about whether the coroner should be elected or appointed hinge on qualifications, legal constraints and timing.

Mulkey said the coroner position is “a highly technical position” and that the county’s current senior coroner staff member has a background in microbiology, a death investigator certification and advanced forensic training. He said the county faces three practical tradeoffs when deciding whether to require qualifications or change how the position is filled: (1) if the county keeps the coroner as an elected office, statutory candidate-qualification rules limit how much the charter can restrict who may run; (2) if the county moves to appointment, it can set more precise qualifications and can…

County administrator outlines coroner options: elected, appointed or split responsibilities; timing and qualifications cited as obstacles

Summary

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