It seems in vogue these days to dismantle by initiative our electoral form of government, piece by piece. The bazarre method of that dismantling is actualy by creating more elected office holders.

Case in point this year is another initiative by hired gun Tim Eyman, but his self-indulgence for pay is not what we are aiming at today.

It is King County Initiative 25. That hardly noticed measure that will be on the ballot Nov. 6 would require the county director of elections be a non-partisan post elected by the people of King County. This person would replace the elections director now appointed by King County Executive Ron Sims.

Certainly there have been a slew of problems in the county elections department. The mess over lost, uncounted and spoiled ballots sometimes made people here think that crazy elections director from Florida had taken up residence.

Some problems certainly do still exist. We are aware of one individual who moved in January and still has not gotten King County elections to change their address despite seven or more calls and a raft of silly-sounding excuses ("the computer is down;" "the computer locks us out during some times;" "your elections card is in the mail").

But how will electing the elections director solve that? If he or she screws up, then we still have to wait for the next election, or get the voters to rise up and run the person out of town on a rail.

The mantra is "put the people in charge." Haven't we done that by electing the King County executive? We don't like what he has done, then we toss him out at the next election. But despite all the fuss and fury over the past election messes, we haven't done that, have we? We actually reelected Sims two years ago. Although he seems tired of his job (witness his astounding turnaround action involving the proposition to increase taxes for roads, bridges and transit), some say he has done little on fixing the elections department.

What we do not need is a political gladhander in the technical and difficult office of elections director. We need someone with technical skills, not some politician using the positition as a leg-up to higher office.

Initiative 25 is a dumb idea propounded by people who who care little about election efficacy and more about stirring the pot to get the voter's eyes of their miscues. If we do not like the job Ron Sims is doing, make certain he is not reelected in 2009.

- Jack Mayne