Q: Does Pierce County have to pay Washam's legal costs for the recall?

A: It's not automatic. The county (meaning the county council) can say no.

The process is spelled out in detail in chapter 2.120 of the county code, which governs liability for county officers and employees. The code does not specifically cite recall actions, but it states that the county council "may, in its discretion, provide for the defense of its officers."

The discretion cuts both ways. The county officer has to ask for it. The asking includes a promise: the county officer has to agree to accept legal advice.

Whether the county agrees to pay is up to the executive and/or the prosecuting attorney or the council. The precise circumstances provide the road map for approval.

County leaders can refuse to pay such costs. Past recall actions by Washam provide a precedent.

Washam tried to recall former county auditor Cathy Pearsall-Stipek four times between 1995 and 1999. Three times, the county paid the legal bill after courts found the recall petitions insufficent. On the fourth occasion, when the recall charges revolved around Pearsall-Stipek's false statements in court, the recall petition was ultimately approved, and the county declined to pay the bill.

Washam also tried to recall former assessor-treasurer Ken Madsen in 2005. That petition was rejected. The county paid Madsen's legal costs.

Washam has asked the county for reimbursement of his legal expenses tied to the recall. The county council has not considered the request yet.

Q: How many signatures are required to put the recall election on the ballot?

A: 65,495, according to county auditor Julie Anderson. The number represents 25 percent of the ballots cast for candidates in the 2008 election won by Washam.

The math is spelled out in state election law, RCW 29A.56.180. Relevant excerpt:

"The number of signatures required shall be as follows:

(1) In the case of a state officer, an officer of a city of the first class, a member of a school board in a city of the first class, or a county officer of a county with a population of forty thousand or more -- signatures of legal voters equal to twenty-five percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office to which the officer whose recall is demanded was elected at the preceding election."

Washam was elected in a year when Pierce County briefly used a ranked-choice voting system. Here's the auditor's statement explaining the calculation of required signatures:

"The actual number is 65,495. When calculating the threshold, we do not count ‘over votes' or ‘under votes.' The RCW states that we calculate using the votes for ‘candidates.' Over and under votes are not votes for candidates. The Secretary of State's Office concurs with this interpretation.

Rumor: Recall petitioner Robin Farris is related to former Pierce County Council candidate Kathy Farris, and/or has connections to Olympia lobbyists named Farris. (Source: anonymous online comments in TNT stories)

Reality: Robin Farris is no relation to Kathy Farris.¹ A search of state Public Disclosure Commission records from 2008 to the present found no registered lobbyists in Olympia with the last name of Farris.

¹ Source: Richard Farris, DVM, Kathy's husband, who carries the family name and owns a veterinary clinic in Puyallup.

Rumor: The TNT is going after Washam because he raised their property taxes.

Reality: The News Tribune's property taxes have dropped during Washam's tenure.

There are two properties in question. Both are owned by McClatchy, the TNT's corporate parent. The tax records appear on the assessor's website.

The first parcel is no 4425001165, for real property. Assessed values over the last three years:

• 2008 – $18.2 million
• 2009 – $18.2 million
• 2010 – $25.9 million

At first glance, it's a big jump, almost $8 million. The number fuels the rumor. The records show the TNT paid roughly $211,756 in property taxes on the parcel in 2009, then $306,481 in 2010.

The increase is a reflection, an accounting echo. The mirror image appears in the TNT's second parcel, no. 2009288000, for personal property (including machinery and equipment).

Assessed values over the last three years:

• 2008 – $9.9 million
• 2009 – $9 million
• 2010 – $1.05 million

A big drop, almost $8 million. The records show the TNT paid $104,641 in property taxes on the second parcel in 2009, and $18,176 in 2010.

The change reflects a shift in billing practices, nothing more.

"The state has shifted how property such as machinery and equipment is taxed. The values have shifted from personal property to real property," said Kenny Hubach, the TNT's vice president of finance.

Overall: a wash. Combined assessed values for the two parcels over the last three years reveal a moderate decrease:

• 2008 – $28.1 million
• 2009 – $27.2 million
• 2010 – $26.95 million

Combined property taxes paid by the TNT for both parcels:

• 2008 – $345,062
  (Washam takes office in 2009)
• 2009 – $316,397
• 2010 – $324,657

Rumor: Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist handled the 2009 criminal prosecution of former Superior Court Judge Michael Hecht.

Reality: The state attorney general's office handled the Hecht prosecution. The rumor came from Albert Ugas, Washam's chief deputy, and Dan Fishburn, a Sumner resident who joined Ugas in a failed attempt to recall Lindquist.

In the recall matter, Ugas and Fishburn objected to the presence of visiting Judge James Cayce, who also presided over the Hecht case. Ugas and Fishburn said Cayce had a conflict of interest because he had supposedly worked with Lindquist during the Hecht case. In reality, Cayce had never met Lindquist.