Stark resigns job to campaign for City Council

For the second year in a row, Councilman Brad Stark has resigned from his day job during a political campaign.

Stark, who is running against neighborhood activist Richard Rush in the November election to maintain his seat representing south Spokane, left his position as the director of membership and marketing for the Associated Builders and Contractors on Oct. 1.

He said his resignation came about because of time restraints on him as he balanced his day job with his City Council duties, the campaign and his family. Stark became a father in August – the day after he won enough votes in the primary to advance to the general election.

“It was a mutual decision between Kate and I,” Stark said, referring to his boss, Kate McCaslin.

He made a similar statement after he resigned his previous job last year as a district executive for the Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts.

“We made the joint decision that I would resign,” Stark said after leaving the Boy Scouts.

At the time, Stark was in a contentious battle for the GOP nomination for county assessor, a race Stark narrowly lost to Ralph Baker. His then-boss attributed the resignation to conflict-of-interest issues.

McCaslin, president and CEO of the Associated Builders and Contractors, said that she hired Stark in December. She confirmed that he resigned effective Oct. 1, but said she could not give details about his departure.

“We are a private organization,” said McCaslin, a former county commissioner. “We do not talk about our employees – good, bad or indifferent – in the news media.”

Stark noted that the Associated Builders and Contractors’ political action committee has contributed to his campaign. He said that he believes he has the ability to hold a full-time job with the council post even with a baby at home.

“If it wasn’t for the campaign I would have been able to continue on,” Stark said.

Rush supporters have questioned Stark’s ties to the development community, pointing to contributions made to his campaign from the developers and to his job with the builders and contractors group.

Stark said his job and contributions don’t influence him any more than Rush would be influenced by the contributions he has received.

“I don’t think that about him, and his supporters sure as heck shouldn’t be thinking that about me,” Stark said.

Rush said he was more concerned about contributions than Stark’s employer.

“The job just made that relationship tighter,” Rush said, adding, “I wish him well in whatever comes up next.”