Reed rises above fray

The following editorial appeared Monday in the Yakima Herald Republic.

Speaking of Secretary of State Sam Reed, how misguided it is that some Republican leaders in the state are sharply critical of the state elections chief’s handling of the disputed governor’s race.

Reed has been a pillar of strength and fairness during the furor surrounding the election that first had Republican Dino Rossi winning by 261 votes, then by 42 after a mandatory machine recount.

Then things got tense for the Republicans when Democrat Christine Gregoire finally won a hand recount, ordered and paid for by the Democratic Party.

The latter development, not unexpectedly, seems to be the lightning rod for GOP discontent.

Because of his office and provisions in state law, Reed, a Republican, was called upon to officially order both recounts. But that’s OK, it’s part of his job. On the other hand, it is not his job to bring a partisan overtone to any of his official duties, certainly not to deliver a GOP victory.

We’ve long admired Reed for his professionalism and expertise as an elections officer that dates back to several years as Thurston County auditor. He is able to rise above the partisan politics and bickering some of his critics are mired in.

Reed’s high-road approach is probably best exemplified by the presence of his office during two partisan appeals to the state Supreme Court last month.

First the Democrats wanted the high court to force reconsideration in the hand recount of previously invalidated ballots. In that case, Reed’s attorneys sat with the Republican party as the Democrats’ bid was rejected.

A short time later, Reed’s legal troops sat with the Democrats, who objected to a Republican effort to stop reconsideration of more than 700 mistakenly rejected King County ballots. Republicans lost that one and the ballots were counted, ultimately tipping the ultra-tight race to Gregoire.

Reed is sworn to uphold the law and he has done that. Far from criticizing him, we salute his even-handedness in dealing with a very delicate and volatile situation.