Hession backs fast-track recall

Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession on Friday threw his support behind a proposal to streamline any future recall elections of Spokane city officials.

“The state’s system of recall is very, very cumbersome,” Hession said during a breakfast appearance before the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Hession, who became mayor last month following the recall of former Mayor Jim West, said he supports a system in which the City Council could place a recall directly on the ballot.

Under state law, recalls now require a voter to bring charges against an elected official in the form of a petition. The charge or charges must first be approved by a state court. Then, if the charges gain judicial approval, recall proponents have to gather thousands of voter signatures to place the petition on the ballot.

More than seven months passed between the time charges were filed against West and certification of his recall Dec. 16 for abusing his office for personal benefit.

The City Council is now considering a proposal to circumvent the petition and signature-gathering process by allowing the council to place a recall measure directly before voters, probably through a supermajority vote of at least five of the seven council members. The change would require voter approval of a charter amendment, which could go to voters as early as this fall.

“I see that as a real viable option,” Hession told hundreds of chamber members at the Doubletree Spokane Hotel. “I saw a weakness in our system that does not allow us to transition from one mayor to another.”

During the West recall, Hession said, city workers continued to fight house fires, respond to crimes and keep up with other city services, despite uncertainty in leadership.

Hession, 55, said that if city workers can perform well under the stress of a mayoral recall, he expects them to achieve greater things under more normal circumstances. “My sense of people at City Hall is they feel better about things,” he said in responding to a question about employee morale.

The Friday morning speech was Hession’s first State of the City address before the chamber, an event that began during the mid-1990s.

“I believe strongly in open and accountable government,” Hession said in his opening remarks.

He described growing up in a nurturing family in Salt Lake City, and learning to dance Irish jigs from his newspaper-executive father.

A graduate of Gonzaga University law school, Hession pursued a career as an attorney in business law before branching into elected office in a successful race for City Council in 2001. He ran for council president and won in 2003, a job that put him in line to succeed West as acting mayor in the event of a recall. He was appointed by the council in December to fill the remaining two years on West’s term.

During the West controversy, Hession said the people of Spokane “refused to let the stress characterize us.”

The city’s 42nd mayor then went on to list accomplishments in the city.

He said the city’s record-setting pace for new building permits, which totaled $408 million in 2005, shows no sign of letting up in 2006.

He said his administration will continue to take a hawkish view of finances in an attempt to prevent a recurrence of budget cuts dating back several years. “We intend to attack the budget from all directions,” Hession said.

Hession also called for annexation of a commercial area on the west side of Division Street north of Francis Avenue as a way to bring new tax revenue into the city treasury. At the same time, he said he wants to work cooperatively with other agencies and business.

“We need to work together for a successful region,” he said.