By JULIA PATTERSON AND REAGAN DUNN

Last November, the voters in King County made a significant change to the way their county government is organized.

Your King County executive and council are now non-partisan elected officials, which means you will no longer see a ‘D’ or ‘R’ behind our names in newsletters, campaign literature or on your ballot.

There are pros and cons to switching from a partisan body to non-partisan. The pros include:

• Partisan labels are often unnecessary at the local level and can divide council members personally and professionally.

• 95 percent of decisions on the King County Council are already unanimous because decision-making is not driven by party, as is often the case in Congress or the state Legislature.

• Local government is focused on issues relating to bus service, criminal justice and human services, which are not partisan issues.

There are cons to non-partisan bodies, namely that voters are provided with less information about candidates. Party labels provide information about how candidates think and where they consider themselves to be on the political spectrum. For many voters, knowing this information is a valuable tool in making a selection on their ballot.

Having said that, the voters have spoken and we are now non-partisan. We are serious about making changes on the King County Council to reflect the wishes of our constituents.

In the first month of our new role, the council has made three significant changes in the way we organize ourselves and in the way we interact with each other.

First, we pushed for a new way of meeting informally to discuss issues. In addition to our televised committee meetings, the council meets for informal caucus meetings. Although caucus membership is customarily based on party affiliation, since we are now non-partisan, we will now add a suburban caucus so that members representing the “other” 37 cities can share concerns and ideas relating to the smaller suburban cities.

There are many issues where geography plays an important role in our decision making process and while they transcend party lines, not all concern each region of the county. It makes sense for those members, representing constituents with these different concerns, to meet regularly to talk through the issues and get problems solved.

Second, our formal committee structure is different in that three of the five chairs of our committees, including council member Reagan Dunn, are what were formerly known as Republicans. Sharing the responsibilities of running the legislative branch, and the power that accompanies that work, is a result of the new non-partisan King County Council.

In addition, one of the major formal committees, Law, Justice, Health and Human Services, is co-chaired by Julia Patterson and Kathy Lambert, who were elected with different party affiliations. Not only is work being shared between committee assignments, but within them as well. Council member Lambert has become the council’s expert on law and criminal justice issues, while council member Patterson, in her fourth year serving as the chair of the King County Board of Health, is the council’s most knowledgeable member about health and human services. It made sense for the two to share the duties and chairing the issues they know a lot about and feel passionately toward.

Third, as a symbolic gesture of a “new day” in King County government, the council rearranged seats so that members of both parties are sitting on either side of the Chair during full council and committee meetings. As you may hear when describing the political spectrum, “to the right” or “to the left” actually originated based on what side of the chair or aisle (in Congress and the state Legislature) members sat on. Democrats on the King County Council sat to the left of the chair, while Republicans sat to the right. Now, as non-partisans, we mix and mingle on either side, allowing us further opportunities to talk and collaborate.

As you can see, we have responded to our constituents’ desire for a non-partisan body. We know that our constituents vote for the individual, not the party. It is our responsibility to show you that we are listening and responding to your clear preference that we become more neutral and less politicized.

We look forward to working with our colleagues to find additional ways to transform our legislative body into a truly non-partisan, highly functioning organization. Our voters have asked for a change, and we intend to deliver.

Julia Patterson of SeaTac and Reagan Dunn of Maple Valley represent parts of Renton on the King County Council.