Tim Hill And Checc: A Legacy Of Reform

WHEN King County Executive Tim Hill vacates his office next week, it will mark the end of a remarkable 30-year career in public life. It also formally closes the book on CHECC, a model citizens group that helped transform local government and give meaning to an over-used term - civic reform.

Thirty years ago Seattle was run by a small establishment clique of elder businessmen who kept a tight grip on the budget but showed little regard for minorities, urban design and neighborhood concerns. The city had been jarred by scandals surrounding police and political payoffs. City Hall was supporting more freeways through inner-city neighborhoods and demolition of the Pike Place Market.

CHECC - Choose an Effective City Council - was organized quietly in 1967 by a small, bipartisan group of young lawyers and citizens who wanted a change of direction. They helped elect two fresh, young faces to the City Council: Hill and Phyllis Lamphere.

In 1971, voters elected two more CHECC candidates: Bruce Chapman and John Miller. Two years later, they added Randy Revelle, providing an effective majority on the Council.

By the mid-1970s, the organization was on the wane - if only because its job was done. Much of what Seattleites most love about their city today can be traced, directly or indirectly, to that quiet revolution. CHECC-backed politicians helped preserve the market and urban neighborhoods. They pushed for open meetings, campaign-finance reform, licensing reform and much more. They helped transform a sleepy company town into a city known for its livability.

Individuals expanded that influence. Miller moved on to Congress, Chapman to secretary of state, then into the Reagan administration. Revelle served a term as county executive and remains a key force behind health-care reform. Lamphere is a leader in the Seattle Commons effort.

CHECC politicians defied the stereotypes of American politics. Hill, Miller and Co. were never accused of being slick or charismatic. They forged reputations for intelligence, guts, hard work, pragmatism and integrity.

Most important, they made a difference.

Tim Hill's career is as good an example as any. For 30 years, he has stoodfor a combination of strong values and fiscal responsibility. When last year'sstate Republican convention was controlled by the religious right, most politicians pandered to the narrow-minded crowd, while Hill stood up and taught a lesson in tolerance and open-mindedness. Like his CHECC colleagues, Hill's quiet leadership exemplifies what should be the goal of any public official: He leaves his city and his community a better place than he found it.

To Hill and dozens of mostly anonymous activists who made things happen a generation ago, we say, Thank You.