Mayor Fight Festers Over Election Bill Talbott Upset Over Lawmakers’ Measure To Clarify City’S Strong Mayor Transition

An attempt to further guarantee Spokane voters can elect a strong mayor this fall is crumbling amid a bizarre feud and one legislator’s unusual stance for what he admits is a lost cause.

The uproar is muddied in politics no one professes to completely understand.

And it’s all about a bill that’s unlikely to have much impact at all.

About the only thing not in dispute is what that bill does: It would change state law to clarify that after voters agree to change a city’s form of government - as Spokane voters did last fall - that city may hold a general election in an even-numbered year.

Players in the saga include a mayor who wants to run for re-election; a state representative defeated for that office by the current mayor; another state representative who supported both candidates; and two state senators contemplating runs for mayor.

“There are a lot of people out there with sugar plums dancing in their heads about the prospect of being mayor,” said Rep. Brad Benson, R-Spokane. “They see an $80,000-a-year job and are jockeying for position.”

Currently, state law requires cities such as Spokane to hold their elections in odd-numbered years, unless the city declares an emergency and the county auditor agrees to hold a special election. Late last year, the City Council voted 6-0 to do exactly that, and the county auditor has said she plans to schedule an election in November.

In an informal opinion, an assistant attorney general for the state agreed that the city was within its rights to hold the election.

As it stands, any person mounting a challenge to the election based on constitutional grounds “would face a very tough road,” Assistant Attorney General Jeff Even said.

But Spokane Reps. Jeff Gombosky and Duane Sommers said they proposed the bill for extra protection.

Both lawmakers said they wanted to absolutely ensure that once the election was held, the results couldn’t be successfully challenged on constitutional grounds, which would further complicate a difficult transition. “If the city’s going to go through all the trouble and the expense of holding this election, then the election results should at least stand,” Gombosky said. “It’s a simple little bill.”

In theory, at least.

On Wednesday, Benson asked the House speaker to hold the bill, arguing it would wrongly cut Mayor John Talbott’s first term as mayor down to three years. Benson wants to kill the bill unless it’s amended to guarantee Talbott could finish his term - an amendment he doesn’t expect to be able to tack on.

“If it was me, I would find it fundamentally unfair to have the office pulled out from under me,” Benson said Thursday.

But Benson acknowledges that killing the bill won’t likely change the November election date. And he contends that he doesn’t care whether the election is held this year or next. Benson also admits that if his amendment were to survive, everyone counting on an election this fall will be angry.

“It’s a matter of principle,” he said. “I’m going to do what I think is right, and if I know I’m doing that, I can take the heat.”

He said he had no particular ties to Talbott, and only shared his plans with the mayor after he’d made his stance. In fact, Benson said, he only supported Talbott in his 1997 election campaign after the candidate Benson originally supported - Sommers - lost in the primary.

Talbott, who plans to run for re-election this fall, is furious that Gombosky and Sommers proposed the bill in the first place - even though he called the measure “gratuitous” and offered no explanation for what it could possibly change.

He also repeatedly said he had no plans to challenge the November election that would cut short his term. “Why would I challenge my own re-election?” he asked, adding that he knows of no one else with plans to challenge it.

His real complaint: “If they’re going to introduce legislation that affects the city of Spokane … that primarily affects my job … I would think they would give me a call. It irritates me when legislators muddle in the affairs of city government.”

Gombosky and Sommers say they’re baffled by Talbott’s fury. They said they thought they were merely affirming a position he and the City Council already held. Even though the city hadn’t requested the legislation, Gombosky said he checked with councilmen Rob Higgins and Steve Eugster, both of whom professed to support it, he said.

Gombosky said Talbott exploded at him and Sommers during a Wednesday meeting in Olympia of the Association of Washington Cities. “I said, `John, all this does is help prevent a lawsuit by someone who doesn’t like the result of the election,”’ Gombosky recalled.

Talbott’s response? “He loudly asked, `Where were you guys on River Park Square?”’ Gombosky recalled, referring to the mayor’s opposition to city involvement in a downtown Spokane shopping center project.

Meanwhile, Spokane Sens. Jim West and Lisa Brown, both of whom are considering a run for mayor, contend the furor ultimately is meaningless. The bill is probably unnecessary, they said, and Benson’s amendment wouldn’t likely survive the Senate even if it passed the House.

“It’s much ado about nothing,” West said.