Demos accuse Reed of misusing state car

OLYMPIA — Secretary of State Sam Reed acquired a new $34,000 state car during the recent recession and has used it for at least one campaign outing, state Democrats said Monday.

State Democratic Chairman Paul Berendt filed an ethics complaint with the state Executive Ethics Board and asked for an investigation.

Republican Reed called it petty politics by Berendt and the Democratic challenger for the secretary of state post, state Rep. Laura Ruderman. He said the car he inherited from his predecessor, Ralph Munro, had nearly 100,000 miles on it and that he replaced it with the same make, a 2003 Buick Park Avenue. With the trade-in, the net cost was about $25,000, he said.

The Democrats released photos showing a campaign aide parking the car outside The Herald newspaper office in Everett. Reed said he visited the paper for an editorial board interview while on official business in the area.

“Sam Reed showed poor judgment when he used taxpayer dollars to buy himself a luxury car,” Berendt said in a statement released with his complaint.

State law says candidates cannot use their office, including vehicles, for election purposes.

Reed said other state officials have cars, and that he doesn’t use his for trips that are wholly or mostly campaign-related. His office said he reports $76 a month to the Internal Revenue Service as taxable income to cover any incidental personal use of the auto.

“My campaign car is my ‘95 green Subaru,” he said. “It’s full of yard signs and pamphlets that I need for my campaign functions. But when I’m already in a community and have been invited to a newspaper editorial board, heck, we’re not going to get out and rent another car just to go to the newspaper.”