King County Makes Changes to Conform with I-200 Law

Friday, December 04, 1998

by Kery Murakami Seattle Times staff reporter

King County will end the hiring practice known as "selective certification," which requires that women and minorities be interviewed for any job that comes open.

It's part of the county's response to the passage last month of Initiative 200, but it doesn't appear that actions by local governments here will strike the death knell for race and gender-based preferences, as initiative supporters had hoped.

I-200, approved by Washington voters last month, bans state and local government from giving preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity and national origin in public employment, contracting and education.

Both the county and Seattle will also stop giving minority- and women-owned businesses preferences when awarding locally funded contracts. Federal funds still have affirmative-action requirements, so preferences will continue for city and county projects involving federal funds - mostly involving roads projects.

However, many other elements of affirmative action would stay alive - including hiring goals and recruitment aimed at women and minorities.

King County and Seattle's plans are similar to a draft directive by Gov. Gary Locke of state government's response, which would also continue outreach and recruitment.

Like Gov. Gary Locke, King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Mayor Paul Schell were vocal opponents of the initiative, and I-200 supporters have been suspicious they'll try to keep preferences alive.

The end of selective certification was a positive step, said I-200 chairman John Carlson. However, he said all three governments fell short of complying with measure, even calling their responses "an invitation to a lawsuit."

Even as they put an end to some programs, the state, county, city and other public institutions have been brainstorming about creating new programs that would accomplish affirmative-action's goals, though based less directly on race and gender. Sims said discussions about programs that might be based on economic status or geography are only preliminary.

"We can't have set-asides, but we can have a focus on making sure women and minorities have an opportunity," said JoEllen Warner, the director for the Seattle Office for Civil Rights. She is overseeing the city's transition after I-200.

Though selective certification is now gone, Sims stressed the county would continue to value diversity in hiring.

King County's plan, released yesterday, will still set hiring goals for women and minorities. Sims said the county simply wants to keep gauging "how well our work force reflects the population we serve."

He said "the goals were never mandatory and they aren't going to be mandatory."

But Carlson said goals are shorthand for quotas. "Why else would they have them?" he said.

Seattle Times reporter J. Martin McOmber contributed to this report.

Return to the I-200 page.
Return to the Affirmative Action and Diversity Page

Carl Gutiérrez-Jones
Department of English
University of California, Santa Barbara
e-mail: carlgj@humanitas.ucsb.edu