Our Cause is Citizenship!
By Tom Albro, Chairman

Some fondly call The Municipal League a good government group. This is accurate in a sense, but more than that, though, I believe we are a good citizen group.

As Americans, we have struggled for and earned the right to rule ourselves. We are not ruled by a foreign state, a monarch, or an authoritarian regime. We are self-governing and therefore there is no valid distinction between people and government in this country.

What has been secured by the sacrifices of so many, however, can only be preserved by ordinary diligence—the diligence of our everyday citizenship. Citizens select the office holder. Citizens tax themselves to pay for their public institutions. Citizens hold their government accountable and take it to task when it falls short.

The Municipal League is a good citizen group. We are good citizens, and we help others be good ones too.

For nearly 100 years straight, League volunteers, ordinary informed citizens, have objectively rated countless candidates running in thousands of political contests. These ratings represent the only non-partisan, non-agenda-driven system of evaluating political aspirants that exists in King County today or, for that matter, at any time over the past nine decades.

League evaluations are based on candidates’ fitness for public office, not their political platforms. Volunteer committees conduct personal interviews with candidates and examine their public records and backgrounds. This information is used to rate each candidate on civic involvement, effectiveness, character and knowledge.

Voters in King County rely on this information. Municipal League candidate ratings make them more informed voters and help them to be better citizens.

Rating candidates and voting are important but by no means everything. Citizens need to have a causal relationship toward their elected bodies and government structures. We need to pilot the ship. The best phrase for this is civic activism.

This is why the League convenes citizen study committees and works to shape and reshape our civic institutions to better serve us all. Let me give you some examples.

Consider what would happen if the Port of Seattle were privately owned. Although it is hard to ponder now, in 1910 it was an open question. In fact, the railroad and shipping companies were posturing for control.

Members of the Municipal League succeeded in making our port a public asset and its commissioners directly elected by the voters. There is no doubt that we are better served today by a public port authority than we would have been with a privately owned port.

How about during the 1950s when it was unsafe to eat the fish in Lake Washington or swim in its waters? League members labored to form a utility district that would see to the treatment and rerouting of all the wastewater entering the lake. It worked! The Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle, better known as Metro, was formed, and we have been swimming and fishing in the lake for more than a generation.

Just this year, the League issued a report on Seattle City Light, looking specifically at its planning capability, its response to volatility in the wholesale power market, and its use of debt. This substantive study helped to point up the problems at the public utility and prompt the mayor to form a task force. The Seattle City Council has now hired an expert auditor to study the matter as well.

Our committee’s challenge now is to work with these efforts and to make sure the root causes of the problems are addressed. We are on the job because the Municipal League is a good citizen group and citizen action is the name of the game.

Over the years, there have been scores of League efforts, and there will be countless more. Many were successful, some failed, but all were helpful in the cause of citizenship.

Since September 11th, a new wave of patriotism has been sweeping our nation. Patriotism is wonderful because it can fan the flame of active citizenship. The emotion of patriotism, however, without the action of citizenship is an empty vessel. Patriotism alone just doesn’t make a difference.

When coupled together however, patriotism and active citizenship secure our liberties, strengthen our values, and make almost all civic actions doable. This, is what the Municipal League is about, and why I refer to us as a good citizen group.

So if you are a member of the League, thank you. What we do is important and makes a difference. If you are not yet a member, I urge you to join us. Because your Municipal League is a good citizen group. And now, as much as ever, we need good citizens.