WA: Reed Off the Hook?

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed is now off the hook as there will be no continuing recall effort against the Republican. That is unless the decision is successfully appealed to the state Supreme Court.

The effort to remove him comes primarily from fellow Republicans, who feel Reed sided with Democrats one too many times during the contested 2004 gubernatorial election.

The real issue is not whether a recall election ever sees the light of day, but if backers have succeeded in proving their point, that Reed has been unfairly accommodating to the corrupt Democrats in Washington State.

I'd say they've accomplished that. Whether Reed gets the message is not clear.


(Seattle Times)

OLYMPIA — A Thurston County Superior Court judge today rejected an attempt to recall Secretary of State Sam Reed.

Martin Ringhofer of Soap Lake, and Linda Jordan of Seattle filed a petition recently seeking to recall Reed.
They argued in the petition that Reed committed "misfeasance or malfeasance" during the election in part because he certified results for the governor's race even though it was an election "he knew was wrought with violations of election laws and regulations."

Jordan argued Reed should not have certified the results. "It is clear to us Mr. Reed knowingly failed to perform his duty," she said.

State law requires a court review to determine if charges against an elected official are serious enough to warrant a recall effort. Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Even said Reed would have had to do something "very, very wrong and do it knowingly" for the recall to move forward.