Crow drops bid for top City Council spot

Spokane City Councilman Rob Crow is pulling out of the race for City Council president, averting what was expected to become one of the most closely watched races of the year.

Voters, however, will still get a chance to vote for Crow because he missed the June 14 deadline to withdraw from the Aug. 21 primary ballot.

Crow, 38, confirmed his decision to quit the race in an interview Thursday.

The announcement leaves incumbent Joe Shogan and retired nursing aide Barbara Lampert as the remaining choices and creates a rematch of the 2003 general election for the northwest City Council seat, when Shogan beat Lampert with 78 percent of the vote.

The council president presides over council meetings and is a voting member.

Crow said he made the decision after meeting with campaign consultants, who indicated the race would require far more time and money than he was prepared to invest. Crow said the race would have been extra difficult because Shogan enjoys financial backing from many of the same contributors as Mayor Dennis Hession, who also faces a tough re-election bid. Shogan has collected about $11,000 in campaign contributions, state reports show. Crow had not started raising money.

“The amount of time that it is going to (take) is probably two to three times (what) I thought I would need,” Crow said.

He said he would rather have to apologize to voters for limiting their choices than to his wife and three kids for missing family time.

If Crow beats Lampert in the primary, his name will carry to the general election. If he wins in November and opts not to fill the office, the seat would be filled by City Council appointment, not the second-place finisher. In that scenario, Shogan would stay in the seat until someone else took the oath, said Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton.

“When you’re filing for office, you need to very seriously consider your reasons for filing for office and the consequences of filing for office,” Dalton said.

Crow said he plans to send a letter to the state Public Disclosure Commission vowing not to take office should he win. The action will allow him not to file campaign finance reports. The document is not binding, but if he breaks the promise he would face campaign violations, said PDC spokeswoman Lori Anderson.

Crow will not be refunded the $400 – 1 percent of the salary of the job – he spent to file for office.

Although Crow remains convinced he would have done a better job as council president, he is endorsing Shogan.

“Joe’s, in my opinion, a good guy,” Crow said. “I will vote for him.”

Crow said for months that he likely would run for the job.

“If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right,” Crow said Thursday.

Because Crow was appointed to his City Council seat, he will be replaced by the winner of that City Council race as soon as the election is certified.