The Wenatchee World wants to know why so many office in North Central Washington are not contested. In fact, 79% of all the offices in N. Central Washington are won by candidates running unopposed.
Matt Manweller, political hack for the Dino Rossi campaign think tank and the closest thing this area has to a pundit, says that there are too many elected positions. However, it’s not just elected positions. It also seems like a lot of places are having trouble filling commissions and boards too.
I would argue that one reason people don’t want to be part of government is that the Republican Party has spent the last twenty years demonizing government. It has got so bad (especially in Central Washington) that lots of people don’t want to associate themselves with public service. It’s amazing to see something like public service getting a bad name. But, that’s what happens when a whole political party decides to be irresponsible.