‘May you live in interesting times” is an appropriate, if understated, proverb for election officials ever since the electoral deadlock in the presidential race in 2000.

Since then, allegations of fraudulent voting have been a staple of national, state and local elections.

The 2004 gubernatorial race in Washington state, with its multiple counts and court proceedings, shone a bright light on election officials.

Plus, when the courts overturned the “blanket primary” at the behest of the two major political parties, election officials had to deal with the misguided ire of voters grappling with a new system.

And if that weren’t enough, the department has had to deal with the transition to a mail-in voting system.

Throughout all of that, Vicky Dalton, a Democrat, has been the Spokane County auditor.

She was first elected eight years ago and is running her third campaign for the office.

Her opponent is Mike Volz, a Republican who joined the Spokane County treasurer’s office in 1999 and is now the finance manager.

His candidacy springs from his desire to bring back the vote-at-the-polls option.

Volz also wants the office to post more timely financial information on its Web site.

Both candidates are certified public accountants and have the qualifications to handle the job’s technical details, so the key factor becomes experience.

Volz is a solid candidate, but we don’t think he’s made the case for ousting an experienced auditor, especially with a difficult municipal election coming next year and a sure-to-be contentious presidential election in 2008.

While Dalton has the technical expertise and experience to better carry the county through the next few elections, the fact that Volz won the endorsement of her employees’ union should give her second thoughts about her personal style.

More humility could translate into better teamwork and a more accommodating office.

Dalton has been an advocate for mail-in voting, and we agree that it’s unrealistic to turn back the clock.

The current system is what most voters want, and running two systems is more expensive and can introduce errors.

Because of that and her greater experience and expertise, she has earned another term in office.

Prosecuting attorney:

The cruel irony of democracy is that you can promise people the right to vote but you can’t promise them a decent selection of candidates.

When Spokane County voters mark their ballots in the prosecuting attorney race, they must choose between shameful neglect and rank incompetence.

Incumbent prosecutor Steve Tucker, a Republican, is seeking re-election to the office where he has essentially been AWOL for the past eight years.

His Democratic rival, Bob Caruso, has been a lawyer only seven years, he’s never prosecuted a criminal case, he was chewed out by a judge concerned about a client’s rights, and he called publicly for a criminal charge that doesn’t exist.

Although some serious cases have failed to get the attention they deserve on Tucker’s watch – the Otto Zehm death and a firehouse sex scandal come to mind – his office has at least functioned because he has some capable deputy attorneys on his staff.

Tucker may not offer voters the likelihood of strong leadership, but he’s less likely than Caruso to do serious harm.

Vote we must, and Tucker is the less objectionable choice. After that, it’s four years and counting.

Treasurer:

Most Spokane County residents interact with the treasurer’s office only when they deal with property tax issues. So they don’t see the rest of the work of this office, including the safeguarding and management of money for more than 80 government districts and overseeing $6.5 billion a year in transactions.

The office requires a leader with sound financial management skills, plus the ability to handle with integrity large sums of money.

Voters have two qualified choices in the treasurer’s race. Democrat D.E. “Skip” Chilberg, 62, was treasurer from 1983 to 1992 before serving as county commissioner.

He also has experience in private-sector banking.

Republican Bob Wrigley is currently the county’s deputy treasurer. The CPA runs the daily operations and often fills in for his boss, Treasurer Linda Wolverton, a Democrat.

Wolverton, who had Chilberg’s strong backing to succeed him in 1992, has endorsed Wrigley.

Wrigley understands the need for good public service and how technology must meet the needs of citizens at many different levels.

His mother, Wrigley points out, would never pay her taxes online, while his son wouldn’t pay them any other way. Wrigley, 53, is doing a fine job now; even opponent Chilberg compliments him on a well-run office.

Wrigley gets our endorsement.

Sheriff:

For reasons that strain logical minds, the office of county sheriff is partisan.

How does a Democrat enforce the law differently than a Republican would? Beats us.

We’re just looking for a good law enforcement officer who can run an efficient office and see to public safety.

That’s what Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has been doing in Spokane County since last spring when county commissioners named him to succeed Mark Sterk, who resigned.

Knezovich happens to be a Republican. As was Sterk. As is Cal Walker, whom Sterk backed as his replacement. As are all three county commissioners, who picked Knezovich instead.

Knezovich and Walker, both experienced law enforcement professionals with recent, high-level experience in the Sheriff’s Office, waged a spirited campaign in the Republican primary, and Knezovich won.

Now, however, he faces a general election contest against a Democrat challenger who is relatively unknown.

James Flavel is a former Idaho state trooper, but he hasn’t worked in law enforcement for years. He hasn’t worked at all in the office he now wants to head.

During the past six months, Knezovich has shown himself a capable sheriff, including dealing decisively with personnel issues that threatened to embarrass the department.

The primary campaign gave voters ample opportunity to examine Knezovich, and they put their trust in him.

In the Nov. 7 general election, they should do the same.

Assessor:

There are enough problems in the Spokane County assessor’s office that voters are justified in accepting a replacement with limited qualifications.

Incumbent Republican Ralph Baker got the job by appointment, then ran unopposed for a full term and proceeded to usher in needed technological changes.

The problem is, he went too far. In the name of promoting Internet access to the assessor’s office, he purposely made it inconvenient for citizens to do their business in person if they prefer that.

Against the advice of experienced appraisers in his office, he removed the field books that contain decades of information about property parcels and sent them to the county archives in Cheney.

Even County Commissioner Todd Mielke, a fellow Republican, criticized Baker’s management style.

Spokane City Councilman Brad Stark, who lost to Baker in the GOP primary, lacked the experience one would like to see in a county assessor, but he had sufficient credentials to warrant an endorsement over Baker.

Democrat Judy Personett does not. She is a nurse who had some administrative responsibilities in the Department of Veterans Affairs, but she has no background in matters of real estate valuation.

As a candidate, she repeats many of the issues that have been raised in news stories, but she attributes information about Baker’s administration to sources she won’t name.

She has not availed herself of the public records that might back up her claims.

Baker leaves a lot to be desired, but Personett is not a reasonable replacement.