QUILCENE — A notice that the state Supreme Court upholds a lower court’s ruling in the case of two Quilcene Fire District commissioners accused of falsifying records has cleared the way for a recall effort.
“We are thrilled,” said Port Townsend attorney Peggy Ann Bierbaum, who represents the plaintiffs in the case.
“This is the first step in rebuilding the fire department.”
Fire Commissioners Mike Whittaker and David Ward have been under fire since 2010 over allegations of impropriety having to do with the creation of a chief operating officer job for the district and the hiring of Ward for that position.
In October, Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Anna Laurie ruled that the charges that Whittaker and Ward participated in the falsification of meeting minutes were sufficient and were enough to allow the recall to proceed, though she struck down three of the four charges brought by the plaintiffs.
Whittaker and Ward appealed to the Supreme Court to strike down the remaining charge.
The court announced Friday that it supported Laurie and let stand the final count, that concerning falsification of minutes.
The full opinion has not yet been issued. The notice said that “an opinion will follow in due course.”
Supreme Court spokeswoman Laurie Thompson said “it can take a little while” for a final decision to be issued, and the court made public its decision to accommodate the time sensitivity of the recall.
“The court has made its decision, and the recall can proceed,” Thompson said.
Attorney Shane Seaman, who represents Whittaker and Ward, declined to comment.
“At this point, all it says is that the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court on both appeal issues, but it does not say why,” he wrote in an email.
“Without understanding the rationale behind the Court decision, I cannot comment on this order.”
Bierbaum said no action can be taken for 16 days in order to give opposing council time to respond, but the gathering of signatures would begin at that time.
Recall signatures must add up to 35 percent of the votes cast for the race in the last election and have 180 days to do so.
It is too late for the recall to take place on the Nov. 6 general election.
The next date for a special election is Feb. 12, and signatures would need to be submitted by Jan. 4 to get on the ballot, according to the secretary of state’s 2013 election calendar.
The recall election would be conducted by mail, with ballots sent to voters in the Quilcene Fire District.
The amount of signatures needed for a recall election to proceed are based on the results of the last election.
Both commissioners were unopposed in their last election, with Whittaker receiving 554 votes in 2009 and Ward receiving 510 votes in 2007.
For a recall election to go forward, proponents must gather 194 signatures to recall Whittaker and 179 to recall Ward.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
