Developer Pac Slams County Duo Raymond Hanson Finances Effort That Assails Mccaslin, Roskelley

FOR THE RECORD: 7-8-2000 No endorsement: Spokane County resident Harlan Douglass said he is not supporting Democrat Cliff Cameron’s run for county commissioner. A June 23 story about the commissioner race stated otherwise.

A new political action committee bankrolled by a manufacturing mogul-turned-developer is attacking the records of two Spokane County commissioners seeking re-election.

It’s the latest sign that development interests intend to play hardball during this year’s race for County Commission seats.

Commissioners John Roskelley and Kate McCaslin are the target of a position paper issued this month by a group calling itself the Committee for Accountable Commissioners.

The group is financed solely by a $10,000 contribution from county resident Raymond Hanson, who made a fortune building custom mining equipment at his north Spokane factory and now works as a developer.

The paper accuses McCaslin of betraying her Republican Party roots and forming an alliance with Democrat Roskelley to push an anti-growth agenda, claims both commissioners called untrue.

“You will find in reading the attached summary that Ms. McCaslin has demonstrated by her voting record, her personal opinions and philosophies that she is not a conservative at heart,” an introduction to the paper states.

McCaslin said the position paper is a blatant attempt by Hanson and his group to influence decisions by commissioners.

“If these statements aren’t outright lies, then they are clear distortions,” said McCaslin, who is preparing a point-by-point rebuttal to the paper. “There is absolutely no substantiation to these charges. It’s all part of their intimidation and bullying game. When they can’t buy you, they try to bully you.”

The position paper, titled “Straight Talk,” also goes after Roskelley, saying he is promoting a “Socialist Environmental Agenda.”

“We must elect new officials when necessary to not only protect our freedoms, but we must aggressively take back lost freedoms that have been stripped from the citizens of Spokane County these last few years by the socialistic action of John Roskelley,” the paper states.

Responded Roskelley: “I’ve been called worse.”

The Committee for Accountable Commissioners is composed of Hanson, Richard Dahm and George Wells, according to records filed at the county elections office.

All have strong ties to Spokane County’s development community.

Hanson, who built the Spokane Valley Mall among other projects, has feuded with county planners on more than one occasion and has clashed repeatedly with Roskelley.

In October 1999, he sued Roskelley and the county over a land-use case. A judge threw out most of Hanson’s claims, but an allegation that Roskelley withheld some public documents from Hanson is pending.

Dahm is a local residential developer who has had protracted battles with the county Planning Department and neighbors over proposed subdivisions in the Greenacres area, including Turtle Creek.

Wells is the former president of the now-defunct Wells Built Homes, and both he and Dahm are former board members of the Spokane Home Builders Association.

Wells said Thursday the group decided to form its political action committee to fight what it sees as an anti-progress County Commission.

“We believe that this county election is the most important in recent history for the residents of Spokane County,” he said.

Wells cited numerous statistics that he said show how the Spokane economy is lagging behind the rest of the nation. One is that home ownership in the Spokane area stands at about 67 percent, nearly 10 points behind the national average, he said.

He also pointed to a 1999 Forbes magazine article that ranked Spokane as one of the worst places in America to do business.

“We will support candidates who support prosperity for all of us, not just county government,” said Wells, pointing to the county’s $16 million surplus.

“Straight Talk,” which begins with the salutation “Dear Citizens of Spokane County,” was mailed to the county’s nearly 260 Republican precinct committee officers.

Roskelley said the position paper is a “political hit piece” aimed at sullying his and McCaslin’s reputations during election season.

“The whole thing’s kind of odd,” said Roskelley, pointing out what he called several inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the paper. “They don’t have a lot of real substance here.”

Roskelley said he expects more such attacks as the campaign revs up. “They’re trying to fill their agenda,” he said. “This kind of stuff isn’t going to go away, unfortunately.”

Roskelley is facing a primary opponent who is sure to receive support from developers.

Cliff Cameron, running as a Democrat, is a land-use consultant and surveyor who is calling for more growth and development in Spokane County. He is backed by Harlan Douglass, one of the county’s largest builders.

In addition, the top Republican contender for Roskelley’s seat, Karl Wilkinson, is receiving heavy support from the development community and business interests.

Wilkinson, a mediator and real estate agent, has already received more than $10,000 in cash and in-kind contributions from the Spokane Home Builders Association. Hanson also has contributed $1,000 to his campaign.

Bill Sprague is also running for the Republican nomination to challenge Roskelley.

McCaslin is facing a challenge from Democrat Bill Burke. Republican Bill Evans has announced his intention to run against her in the primary, but Evans has not yet moved into District 2.

Wells said the Committee for Accountable Commissioners plans to endorse candidates soon.

In “Straight Talk,” the group says McCaslin has not done enough to seek state reimbursement for the county’s efforts to implement the Growth Management Act, among other things.

The paper states that McCaslin “has allowed” the county to spend nearly $6 million from 1993 to 1999 on GMA issues. The county has received only $3 million in reimbursements from the state during that time, the group claims.

“A true Republican would drag her feet for more state dollars on a state mandate such as this,” the paper states.

McCaslin called that charge “patently unfair.”

She pointed out that she has only been in office since 1997 and that she and Commissioner Phil Harris are pursuing a claim against the state to cover more costs of implementing GMA.

Roskelley added that the $6 million mentioned by the group includes money spent on the county’s long-range planning division.

Much of that money would have been spent regardless of GMA, he said. “I don’t know where they got their numbers,” Roskelley said.

The Committee for Accountable Commissioners also goes to great lengths in “Straight Talk” to try to paint McCaslin as a traitor to conservatives and an ally of Roskelley.

“Please read STRAIGHT TALK for document proof not only of Ms. McCaslin’s poor leadership, but of how she has voted with John Roskelley,” the document states. “You will see how she has empowered him and helped with his agenda.”

The paper includes a dozen examples of votes taken by commissioners over the past three years, mostly over land-use issues.

Those votes show McCaslin sided with Roskelley six times, with Harris four times and was outvoted by Harris and Roskelley once. The other issue was passed unanimously.

“I think that shows I have a very independent mind and vote my conscience,” McCaslin said. “I don’t always vote the party line. Maybe they don’t like that.”

The attacks mark a transformation for Hanson. During an address to the Valley Chamber of Commerce two months ago, he praised McCaslin for helping him work through the county’s development process.

At the same meeting, he said he should do more to get along with county officials. “I haven’t been very diplomatic,” Hanson said.

“Straight Talk” turns that on its head.

“We must stop for a moment and reflect on what could possibly be going on with our incumbent commissioner (McCaslin),” the paper states. “There is some apparent underlying agenda that we have seen sprout from her voting record these last 3-1/2 years of office.

“It certainly does not appear to be the agenda of the Republican Party nor of our forefathers who founded this country.”