The candidates have been narrowed for the job of possibly rewriting parts of Pierce County's home-rule charter government. In the primary election that concluded Tuesday, voters whittled races to two finalists for positions on the Charter Review Commission. Three members for each of the seven County Council districts will be chosen in the general election in November and then spend about six months reviewing the charter and recommending possible changes of it. Any proposed amendments would be decided by voters in 2016. In council District 3 in south Pierce County, the candidates who moved through the primary are Jason Bergstrom and Amy Cruver for Position 1, and Greg Hartman and Kerry Hooks for Position 3. Bergstrom finished with about 37 percent of the votes to Cruver's 36 percent, while Hartman and Hooks garnered about 36 and 32 percent, respectively, in their contest. The results are still unofficial, but the top two finishers in each race appear certain, as a third candidate in each one trailed by wide margins. Bergstrom is a former candidate for state representative. Cruver is a council assistant to Jim McCune, the County Councilman from the Third District. Hartman has run previously for state representative. Hooks helped organize a petition drive that placed a citizens referendum on this November's ballot in opposition to plans for a new county government office building. Bruce Lachney and Richard Thurston will face off in November for Position 2 from the Third District. Because there are only two of them, they didn't have to run in the primary. Similar to a federal or state constitution, a county charter defines the rights, liabilities and responsibilities of government. Under the home rule charter that Pierce County adopted in 1981, a review is required every 10 years. That's when possible changes in the structure of the government can be drafted by the commission, which is elected each time the review process comes around again.
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