Democrat Tapped To Fill Assessor Post But Kootenai County’s Party Not Happy Republicans Got To Select Candidates

G. Ray Lee came out of retirement Wednesday and stepped into a promotion.

Lee, 65, a former city manager and excommercial appraiser, started his new career Wednesday as Kootenai County’s assessor.

The county’s all-Republican commission appointed the one-time Democrat to finish the term of Tom Moore, who died last month from lung cancer.

Lee, who’d been home building a boat from scratch and fighting the retirement blues, said he jumped at the chance to apply for Moore’s position.

“I’d received a lot of calls from employees and people who knew my background and there was lots of encouragement to do the job,” Lee said.

But he has thrust himself into a confusing firestorm.

A Democrat, Lee was nominated by Republicans who thought he was a qualified candidate.

He was chosen by commissioners over five others - including colleague Mike McDowell, who plans to seek election to Moore’s seat in 1998.

But while McDowell, a Republican, is happy to have Lee running the office, the county’s Democratic Party is not.

Party chair Linda Payne said Democrats feel Lee’s appointment is invalid. They are planning an appeal.

“The problem is still there: Which party gets to pick the names?” she said.

By law, an officeholder’s party gets to nominate three people as a replacement when the elected official dies or resigns.

But before his death, Moore - a life-long Democrat - switched parties so his longtime deputy Mike McDowell could be considered as his replacement.

County Democrats cried foul. Prosecutor Bill Douglas agreed, saying Moore’s deathbed conversion didn’t change the fact that he was elected as a Democrat.

So Democrats nominated three candidates: a member of Kootenai Environmental Alliance, a soil conservation commissioner, and a former legislator who was an assessor in Boundary County more than 30 years ago.

But Republicans, not convinced Douglas was correct, nominated candidates of their own including McDowell and Lee, who had been overlooked by Democrats because he wasn’t a regular party member.

Commissioners Tuesday chose Lee.

“His credentials are immaculate,” Commissioner Dick Compton said. “He’s got a doctoral degree in public administration. He’s been the manager of a couple of cities in Arizona. He’s an excellent choice.”

Commissioners didn’t want to disrupt the office by hiring someone with minimal experience. They also didn’t want to court turmoil by hiring a Republican.

Commissioners also felt Lee’s party affiliation might smooth Democrats’ ruffled feathers.

Apparently not.

“This is not a matter of Ray Lee being a Democrat or not,” Payne said. “This has to do with what the law says.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo