4th Legislative District Deserves Representation!

January 24, 2011 by Alex
Filed under: Action Alert, Elected Officials & Candidates, News

On January 5, 2011, the state senate seat in the 4th Legislative District was vacated when 30-year Senate veteran Bob McCaslin retired.

State law specifies when a state legislative seat is vacated during an elected official’s term, the precinct committee officers in that district gather to nominate three people for the job. It is then the duty of the county board of commissioners to select and appoint one of these nominees.

If the commissioners fail to act within 60 days, the Governor has the authority to make the appointment.

Time is of the essence

On Saturday, January 15, 2011, Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs) from the 4th Legislative District in Spokane County, met to select nominees to fill Senator McCaslin’s seat. The nominees are:

Matt Shea, an attorney and sitting State House Representative from the 4th LD
Jeff Baxter, a local businessman and former school board candidate, and
Roy Murry, also a local businessman.

As reported on the Spokane County GOP website, Representative Shea was the first nominee selected and also received the highest number of votes.

The nominees have been submitted to the Spokane County Board of Commissioners; now the commissioners must choose an official replacement. The commissioners have set an extraordinarily long due diligence review period, until March 4, 2011.

In the interim, the 4th Legislative District is without senatorial representation.

Why is it taking so long to appoint a successor?

Local political insiders note that the Spokane County Board of Commissioners may be facing pressure from outside groups and interests.

Meanwhile, voters from the district are understandably frustrated that they are without representation during this critical period of the legislative cycle when bills are being introduced and agendas set in Olympia.

The commissioners are on record indicating that they feel they must complete a diligent review. Surely the sentiment is commendable, but it doesn’t add up. Why would it take up to 60 days to complete a review?

The law is unambiguous about the process, the elected party officers have made their choice, the next steps are clear. It leads to the uncomfortable question – are the commissioners playing politics?

Urge the commissioners to action

We encourage all citizens to contact the commissioners at the numbers below to provide input to the decision-making process and encourage a speedy resolution. The Commissioners have set a February 2, 2011 deadline for public comment on the nominees.

Mark Richard
(509) 448-6160
(509) 251-3643 cell
(509) 477-2742 office

Todd Mielke
(509) 220-2200 cell
(509) 477-2267 office

Al French
(509) 994-4351 cell
(509) 477-2741 office

Comments may be emailed to derickson@spokanecounty.org or mailed to:
Daniela Erickson
Clerk of the Board
1116 W Broadway Ave
Spokane, WA 99260