Make the tough call

Civic leaders can hire experts to do scientific polling. They can pull on their walking shoes and go door to door, if they want, to find out what residents think about any controversial issue. They can read tea leaves or consult astrological charts, if they so choose.

But one thing they cannot do is create a public vote to help them make a policy decision; not a binding vote, anyway. That's the opinion of attorney Scott Reed, who does his best to back up that conclusion in his My Turn column on Page C1 today.

This is an important distinction in upcoming races, where several candidates have declared their intention to let the citizens decide the most controversial issues. Reed cites case law supporting his argument that any such vote would be illegal and, therefore, nonbinding. Advisory votes are another matter - but not an effective alternative to leaders making tough decisions.

Public votes of any kind come at taxpayer expense. In the May 2013 local elections, for example, the bill for Kootenai County's elections department was $99,550. That included all 70 precincts (Coeur d'Alene comprises 24), and other variables would impact cost, but the point is elections cost money. The actual value of an advisory vote might amount to little more than two cents' worth.

Getting citizens sufficiently informed and engaged enough to cast a reasonably well thought-out ballot is a difficult proposition in any local election. The minute prospective voters learn that an election is merely to give leaders an inkling about how the people feel, they'll be even less inclined to vote.

Look back at the November 2011 local election, which closely resembles what voters will be deciding this November. Out of 62,568 registered voters throughout Kootenai County, only 11,936 (19 percent) bothered to vote. That election featured hotly contested city council races in Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, Athol, Hayden Lake, Spirit Lake, Dalton Gardens, Fernan, Hauser, Huetter and Worley. In other words, there was something for almost every voter, yet very few participated.

In 2009, more than three out of four registered voters in Kootenai County did not vote. In 2007, a mere 8,359 participated. How small do you think that number would become if voters were asked their opinion on an issue, but their votes wouldn't actually count?

This is why, in the interviews and forums ahead, citizens should demand of candidates an answer to questions about difficult issues, past and present. Even if Scott Reed is wrong in his informed interpretation of the law, the county's election numbers don't lie. Because the vast majority of citizens don't care enough to vote, individuals are elected to make tough decisions based as much on their good personal judgment as anything else. The unofficial input of outspoken citizens can help, but ultimately, elected officials themselves must bear the weight of decision-making responsibility.