Resolve Matter Soon, Decisively

Until recently, the concerns about Sadie Charlene Cooney’s handling of the Spokane County assessor’s office have been primarily about competence.

Now, however, the state Public Disclosure Commission has pushed the issue to a new level with charges that she pressured employees to support her politically and retaliated against those who refused. If true, the allegations raise questions not just of ineptitude but of illegality and malfeasance.

Cooney’s nearly eight years as assessor have been marked by blunders, from tardy property tax information to misleading predictions about tax bills to inaccurate assessments. Some of the errors have caused only inconvenience but some have caused monetary loss to local taxing districts, such as school systems, and to taxpayers themselves.

Over the years, Cooney has blamed computer systems and staffing shortages for the difficulties. County commissioners repeatedly have given her extra personnel in hopes of getting problems under control.

Now come accusations from employees in the assessor’s office that they were under pressure to spend time, on and off the job, helping Cooney get re-elected - certainly not the kind of workload county commissioners had in mind.

The PDC report quotes office workers who supported Cooney’s reelection bid in 1998 as saying they did so under pressure, sometimes on county premises and on county time.

Moreover, comments made to PDC investigators by employees of the assessor’s office suggest political revenge may explain why three former employees who refused to support Cooney in the ‘98 campaign no longer work there. Cooney has acknowledged that some campaign work was done in her courthouse office. That alone would be inexcusable even if, as Cooney maintains, the work occurred after hours or on employees’ lunch time.

Cooney has been assessor since 1992 and has worked in the office for more than 35 years. She should understand by now that it’s imperative to maintain a clear distance between campaign activities and official duties.

If, after hearing from Cooney, the PDC concludes laws were broken, its power to penalize is limited. The seriousness of such findings would demand a thorough investigation by the state attorney general’s office. If Cooney is innocent of the charges she deserves exoneration. And if she is guilty, the public deserves accountability.