The Whatcom

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

, the legislative body of

Whatcom County, Washington Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Canadian Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts of British Columbia) to the north, Okanogan Coun ...

, consists of seven members, five elected by district and two elected at large. The Council adopts laws, sets policy, and holds final approval over the budget.

Councilmembers

All elective offices in Whatcom County are officially

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

. Following the 2015 election, the council districts have changed; the districts listed here are districts which each member was elected to.

Meetings

The County Council meets biweekly at 7:00 p.m. on every other Tuesday. Meetings are held in the County Council chambers, on the first floor of the Whatcom County Courthouse located at 311 Grand Avenue in downtown Bellingham.

Structure

Five Councilmembers are elected by district to four-year terms. Councilmembers in districts 1, 2, and 3 are up for election in 2025, while Councilmembers in districts 4 and 5 are up for election in 2023. There are two at-large seats, also elected to four-year terms. At-large seat A is up for election in 2025, while at-large seat B is up for election in 2023. Prior to 2015, the council was elected following three districts with two seats each, and one at large member. This changed upon the passage of Charter Amendment Proposition 9 by voters in 2015, which change the council from three districts to five. Also in 2015, the passage of Charter Amendment Proposition 1 changed the method of election in the general election from county-wide voting to district-only voting. Previously, primary elections for council seats were decided on by voters within each district, but the during the general election the entire county could vote on each race. Following 2015, only voters within each district get to vote for the candidates running for that district's seat. As before, the at-large seats are voted on by the entire county. The

Whatcom County Executive The Whatcom County Executive is the head of the executive branch of Whatcom County, Washington. The position is subject to four-year terms (with a term limit of 3) and is a nonpartisan office. History County voters approved the adoption of a ...

is not a member of the council, and is a separately elected official. The Executive submits legislation to the council for consideration. The Executive has veto power over ordinances passed by the council. The Council requires a vote of five of the seven council members to override the Executive's veto.

Charter Review

Whatcom County became a home rule county in 1978, governed by a county

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

. Every 10 years, a Charter Review Commission is formed to review the charter and recommend charter amendments, which then must be voted on by the citizens of the county. The most recent charter review was in 2015.

Notable past council members

* Ken Mann, council member 2010–2018, co-host on Bellingham radio station

KGMI KGMI (790 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Bellingham, Washington. The station is owned and operated by Saga Broadcasting, dba Cascade Radio Group. It airs a news/talk radio format. KGMI serves Northwest Washington with a signal ...

. * Carl Weimer, council member 2006–2018, former executive director of

RE Sources for Sustainable Communities Re or RE may refer to: Geography * Re, Norway, a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway * Re, Vestland, a village in Gloppen municipality, Vestland county, Norway * Re, Piedmont, an Italian municipality * Île de Ré, an island off the w ...

, a Bellingham-based non-profit environmental advocacy group. *

Pete Kremen Pete Kremen is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served for 12 years as a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 42nd district, then served for 16 years as the Whatcom County Executive, the county' ...

, council member 2012–2016,

1996–2012, Member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from the 42nd district 1985–1996.

References

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External links

Whatcom County Council
* Whatcom County, Washington County government in Washington (state)