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Whatcom Charter Commission narrowly rejects plan to eliminate two at-large council seats
Summary
The commission debated removing two at-large seats from the county council and shifting to district-only representation, then voted 8-7 to reject the amendment after extensive public comment and commissioner debate about representation and proportional voting systems.
The Whatcom County Charter Review Commission debated and then rejected a proposal to eliminate two at-large county council seats and move to district-only representation, voting 8-7 on the measure on June 11.
Supporters, led by Commissioner Joe Ellenbos, argued the at-large positions give disproportionate influence to Bellingham residents and cited policy differences between urban and rural residents. “It’s about what unfair and inappropriate activity is taken by a commission where the majority of the folks reside in Bellingham,” Ellenbos said during discussion.
The proposal drew lengthy public comment. A resident supporting the change said half the county’s population lives in Bellingham and asked whether the system should represent “people or acreage.” Other public speakers and several commissioners urged a more comprehensive fix — such as proportional voting or different district lines — rather than a simple removal of at-large seats.
Commissioners who opposed the amendment argued the current proposal, in a winner-take-all system, could reduce representation for sizable political minorities. Commissioner Andrew Redding said he would back a truly proportional system but not the amendment as written, calling district-only, winner-take-all a risk to minority representation.
The roll call produced a close result. The tally recorded in the meeting was 8 against, 7 in favor; the motion failed.
The commission’s discussion also touched on related fixes: several commissioners and members of the public urged exploring proportional or ranked-choice methods and larger multi-member districts to preserve minority representation. Commissioner Maya Morales said she supported proposals that keep representation local but also make election results proportional to the county’s voters.
No legislative change was adopted; the amendment will not be placed on the ballot.
The commission moved on to other amendments after the vote and scheduled additional discussion on related reforms at future meetings.
