The nuts and bolts of the recall case against Dale Washam

More than 50,000 Pierce County voters have signed the petition to recall Assessor-Treasurer Dale Washam – an unheard of number for a local, grass-roots effort.

But to hold Washam accountable in the November election, the recall committee must submit 65,000 valid petition signatures to the county auditor by the end of August. This number is more than twice that required for a county initiative or referendum petition campaign.

The recall procedure is a rarely used tool of direct democracy aimed at removing elected officials who have violated their oath of office and/or the public trust by committing acts of malfeasance, misfeasance.

The state sets the bar high for a recall election, and rightfully so. Only recall petitions, and the charges therein, are required to undergo judicial review prior to their circulation, and only once in recent history has a major recall effort been successful in this area – the 1970 removal of five Tacoma City Council members. (Initiative and referendum petitions do not require review by a judge prior to circulation.)

While collecting signatures, we have been asked numerous questions about Washam and the recall effort, including:

 • Who is Dale Washam?

Washam was elected in 2008 as county assessor-treasurer through the controversial ranked-choice voting system (since rejected by county voters). He oversees the valuation and taxation of Pierce County properties.

 • What are the recall allegations?

Allegations include: retaliation against an employee for filing a complaint, gross waste of public funds in pursuing criminal charges against his predecessor, failure to protect an employee against retaliation and false accusations, refusal to participate in independent investigations as to whether or not he had discriminated and retaliated against employees in his office and carrying out his duties in an unlawful manner. (All recall allegations are printed in their entirety on the recall petition.)

 • Have there been any outside, independent investigations of Washam’s behavior?

Yes. Four independent investigations confirm the facts listed in the recall petition.

 • How specific and factual are the recall charges?

Prior to circulation of petitions, allegations of misconduct in any recall effort must be presented to a Superior Court judge, who determines if the evidence shows the charges to be legally and factually sufficient.

In Washam’s case, the judge ruled that the allegations met that standard. The state Supreme Court then reviewed – and upheld – the lower court’s decision.

 • Who pays for these investigations and how much is it costing?

The investigations and settlements have cost taxpayers more than $150,000 – so far. Pending civil claims against Washam total $4.3 million. These costs are likely to continue to go up as long as Washam remains in office.

 • Is this a partisan effort to remove Washam?

Definitely not. Democrats, Republicans and independents alike have endorsed the recall effort.

 • Who is collecting the signatures on the petitions?

Volunteers have collected more than 25,000 signatures; another 10,000 signatures have been turned in on petitions (as paid ads) included in The News Tribune.

Because of the large number of valid signatures required (65,000) for a recall petition, the recall committee has hired paid signature gatherers to help in the effort. The goal is to collect many more than 65,000 signatures to cover any that are invalid or unreadable.

Will signing the recall petition remove Washam from office?

 • No. The purpose of the petition is to give Pierce County voters an opportunity to make that decision during an election in November.

 • Where can I sign or obtain a recall petition?

All day Monday through Friday, petitions may be signed or obtained in front of the County Annex Building (2501 S. 35th St., Tacoma) at a table maintained by a recall volunteer. Petitions may also be obtained from www. recalldalewasham.org; click on “Where do I sign?” and then fill out the on-line form. Other petition-signing locations are listed on the same website page.

 • Must a petition be completely filled with 20 names before it is sent back to the recall committee?

No. Partially filled-out petitions should be mailed back as promptly as possible.

 • Who is funding the recall campaign?

Literally hundreds of people have contributed and loaned money to the effort – most in small donations. Fund-raising will continue through August. People can find out how to contribute to the campaign by simply going to www.recalldalewasham.org; click on “Donations.”

Bill Baarsma, a former Tacoma mayor, was a volunteer in the successful 1970 effort to recall five Tacoma City Council members. He is an honorary co-chairman of the effort to recall Dale Washam.