Editorial: Lawsuit by county GOP plays game no one wins

“It’s just politics,” said John Roskelley, in response to the Spokane County Republican Party’s effort to get him tossed off the ballot in the Spokane County Commission race.

That’s surely the case, but it cuts deeper than that, because it feeds public cynicism and suppresses civic participation. And we have little doubt that if the situation were reversed, it would be the Democrats playing this dreary, predictable hand.

So, what’s the game this time?

Republican officials say that because Roskelley sold his residence and has yet to move into another within the district, he is not eligible to represent it. So they intend to file a legal challenge to his voter registration.

Roskelley says he has purchased property within the district and has begun making improvements, such as digging a well, with the intent of building a home. He has permit applications that buttress the claim. In the meantime, he and his wife are living at a son’s house outside the district.

Precedence seems to favor Roskelley. The bigger picture does, too.

In a 1992 commission race, Skip Chilberg had property within his district and intended to build a house. The Republican Party lost that challenge. Roskelley said he would have moved into an apartment in the district, but was told by the County Auditor’s Office that he could use the property’s address to file for office. He should not be tossed from the ballot for not sleeping where he is building.

The point of such laws is to prevent an outsider from swooping in to try to grab public office in unfamiliar surroundings. Roskelley has lived in the district for 27 years and represented it for eight years as a county commissioner. He is intimately familiar with District 1 and would be a legitimate representative.

Bumping him now because he didn’t pitch a tent violates the law’s intent. It would also provide a sour ending to a highly anticipated matchup with incumbent county Commissioner Todd Mielke.

It hasn’t escaped notice that Republicans challenged Roskelley’s candidacy on the final day people could file for office. If a judge does boot Roskelley, he or she would be handing the election to Mielke, who is the only other candidate. While that would please the GOP, it would shut out the voters. Furthermore, it would silence the debate on the serious issues facing the county.

So, yes, it is just politics. But it’s the corrosive kind that turns people off by highlighting partisanship over civic engagement.

The state’s political heritage springs from a populist tradition that has produced initiatives, referendums and open primaries. At its core is the spirit of participation.

Ideally, races – and this is shaping up as a good one – should be decided on the merits. Roskelley ought to be given the benefit of the doubt on this technicality. If voters disagree, they can still register their discontent at the polls, which is precisely how it should be.