Petition filed to recall Reed

OLYMPIA – A petition to recall Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed has been filed with Reed’s office, accusing him of mishandling the recounts in the contested governor’s race.

The petition was filed Wednesday by Martin Ringhofer, who said mistakes made by Reed led to Democrat Christine Gregoire ultimately winning the third count and the election by 129 votes.

Reed certified the results on Dec. 30.

On Wednesday, Gregoire was sworn in as governor and Reed was sworn in for a second term.

Ringhofer said Reed’s decision to certify election results despite many admitted and alleged errors by King County elections officials was wrong.

“If you looked at the list of anomalies, it would change the outcome,” Ringhofer said.

Ringhofer is a Boeing Co. employee who lost a bid for the Seattle School Board in 1999.

He said he and others plan a Web-based campaign for the recall.

Reed’s office said that in order for the petition to be valid, a recall needs signatures equal to a quarter of the votes in the race in question.

In this case, that’s about 660,000.

Before that, the petition must go to court to see if the allegations are sufficient to warrant a recount, said John Pearson, assistant state elections director.

“Sam has received tremendous support statewide,” said Trova Hutchins, Reed’s spokeswoman.

“He’s not concerned about the recall petition.”