Spokane City Council candidate Barrientos is sued for eligibility to run; a judge must hurry to decide

Three residents sued Spokane City Council candidate Alejandro Barrientos on Monday, questioning whether he resided in the district he is running to represent .

Barrientos, who is a Democrat running for the open seat for Spokane’s southern council district against Kate Telis, is accused in the lawsuit of living at other residences following his divorce in the year before his candidacy filing.

State and local law requires a candidate for public office to have lived in the jurisdiction for at least a full year before they file for office. Specifically, under the Spokane City Charter, a candidate must have their “primary residence” be a “permanent address where he or she physically resides and maintains his or her abode.”

Barrientos called the lawsuit “an 11th hour dark money smear.”

“Voters deserve a real choice between candidates and their positions on the important issues facing Spokane,” Barrientos wrote in a statement provided to the The Spokesman-Review. “…Make no mistake: I am a resident of District 2 and I look forward to representing my neighbors on the City Council. On Election Day, the people of Spokane will reject the politics of personal destruction and Seattle dark money.”

According to the lawsuit, Barrientos did not reside in District 2 from April 2024 to April 2025 following a divorce and was instead living in a downtown Spokane condo, with his brother in Cheney or in California. He also owns property in Coeur d’Alene where some of his family members reside, according to court documents.

Barrientos officially filed for divorce from his wife in May 2024. In initial court filings, Barrientos certified to the court that he and his wife were no longer living in the same residence. By October, he told the courts he would surrender the home to her, according to previous newspaper reporting.

Property records show he still maintains ownership of the home he purchased in 2018.

Barrientos told alternative local news outlet Range Media that while he stayed in different places following his divorce, he and his wife maintained his primary residence was the South Hill home the two shared. To him, that meant where he would bathe his children, keep his things and occasionally spend the night.

He also said he never lived in the downtown condo full time, but used it as an office where he would sometimes sleep. He also told The Spokesman-Review last week that this property transfer hadn’t actually occurred yet.

“This is an attempt to weaponize a painful period for my family for political gain,” Barrientos said in his statement. “We do not know who is paying for this attack because they are hiding behind a law firm – but it is clear they are fearful the citizens of District 2 will reject the failed policies that have let down the people of Spokane.”

The recent lawsuit was filed by three voters, all publicly identifiable, in Spokane’s south side. They are Elaine Rosato, Larry Keyser and J B Freeman. None of them has donated to any Spokane campaigns thus far, according to their attorney, Jeffry Finer. Contribution records also show the three have not contributed to either Telis or Barrientos.

Finer said Monday he filed the lawsuit pro bono after residents came to him with concerns about Barrientos’ eligibility. He also lives in District 2. Finer took the case because he thought it was a “case that needed immediate action,” he said, and he believed he was the only attorney to do it last minute because he is retired and “had a free weekend.”

Ballots have already gone out to voters, and Election Day is within a week, making the turnaround time for a judge to make a decision on the matter short.

A county judge must rule on Barrientos’ eligibility by Monday, the day before Election Day. Those voting by mail must send in their ballots by Tuesday.

Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton is also named in the lawsuit because she oversees the elections office.

If a judge decides to take action, they could order Dalton’s office to do likely one of two things, she said during a brief phone call Monday. If Barrientos is determined ineligible for office, the judge could order the city’s votes for him to go uncounted. If the judge decides to count the votes, they could order the candidate cannot be included in the certification of the election results.

Should he win but be ineligible, Barrientos’ replacement would be appointed by the Spokane City Council. Five of the seven sitting council members have endorsed Barrientos’ opponent.