Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy’s search for budget savings has found a controversial target: poll voting.

County Auditor Jan Shabro told me she met with

McCarthy yesterday to discuss the auditor’s 2010 budget. The executive said in that meeting that her 2010 budget plan – due later this month – will not include $150,000 needed to keep Pierce County polls open next year.

It’s far from certain the polls will close. The County Council will have the final say over the budget and funding for the polls. And Council members have repeatedly expressed their support for poll voting.

In May the council declined Shabro’s request to conduct this year’s August and November elections exclusively by mail to save money. And in July the council approved a list of budget priorities that included keeping the polls open.

But McCarthy’s plan – first floated in May – shows the county’s budget troubles are serious enough that she’s willing to propose a cut that will be extremely unpopular with many voters. It also shows just how tenuous is Pierce County’s position as the only county in the state that still allows some voters to cast their ballots at the polls.

Earlier this year the Legislature considered – but did not pass – a proposal that would have forced the county to close its polling places.

Unless the Legislature or the council changes the law, Shabro said she’s obligated to keep the polls open. Shabro said McCarthy wants to start a conversation about poll voting.

After yesterday’s meeting with the executive, Shabro attended a County Council study session, where she asked council members to restore the $150,000 for poll voting in the 2010 budget.

Consider the conversation started.

Update: I talked to Pat McCarthy a while ago. She said it’s hard to justify spending money to keep

the polls open when so few people use them and there are other ways for people to vote. In last month’s primary election, she said about 3 percent of voters who were eligible to vote at the polls did so.

(I pointed out last November's polling place turnout was much higher – about 56 percent. McCarthy thinks the turnout for that election was an anomaly brought about by what many sensed was a historic presidential race.)

McCarthy said paying for that is a hard sell at a time when she’s telling the sheriff’s department and other county departments they’ll have to cut staff next year. The $150,000 for polling places is enough to pay for a sheriff’s deputy or prosecuting attorney, she said.

“It’s very costly,” she said of poll voting. “It just is not justifiable when you have such a low percentage of people who are accessing this option.”

McCarthy acknowledged the council may find $150,000 elsewhere in the budget to keep the polls open. But she said she’ll submit a budget based on priorities she can justify.

“People elected me to make good, well-though-out decisions,” she said. “Not everyone will agree with those.”

The Pierce County Council named Mark Lindquist to be the next county prosecuting attorney this afternoon.

The unanimous vote means Lindquist – currently the office’s chief criminal deputy –replaces Gerald Horne, who is retiring as prosecuting attorney after nine years. Lindquist was sworn in during today’s council meeting and assumes the job immediately.

Lindquist said his top priority is ensuring Pierce County lives up to a reputation for “putting away the bad guys for long sentences.”

He also pledged to fight to make sure the county gets only its fair share of state prisoners, to reduce a backlog felony cases and to “deliver the most bang for the taxpayer’s buck.”

“I am going to run an office that’s professional, nonpartisan and serves the public well” Lindquist told the council.

Because Horne is a Democrat, state law required the council to pick his successor from among nominees submitted by the local Democratic Party. Democrats also nominated Mary Robnett, supervisor of the prosecuting attorney’s office’s special assault unit, and Pat Hammond, supervisor of the misdemeanor domestic violence unit.

But it’s been apparent since Horne announced his retirement in February that Lindquist was likely to get the job.

Robnett and Hammond – both Democratic Party precinct committee officers – supported Lindquist for the job. On Tuesday each informed the council they preferred not to be considered for the post.

The council appointed Lindquist to fill out the remainder of Horne’s term as prosecutor. The timing of Horne’s retirement allows Lindquist to get a head start on the 2010 election for the post.

Lindquist already is raising money for that campaign. So far, no one has stepped forward to oppose him next year.

Lindquist has been with the prosecuting attorney’s office for 14 years. He served as chief of the drug unit from 2004 through 2008. Earlier this year Horne promoted him to chief criminal deputy.

As prosecutor, Lindquist will oversee a staff of about 230 employees and a budget of about $26 million.

Lindquist, 50, lives in Tacoma with his wife Chelsea.

This alert came in from the Associated Press:

Oscar voters to rank best-picture choices Eds: APNewsNow. Moving on general news and entertainment services. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Academy Awards voters are going to have to put extra effort into their choices for best picture. Oscar overseers are adopting a preferential-voting system in which academy members rank their best-picture favorites from 1 to 10. The change was made because of the academy’s decision to expand the best-picture field from five nominees to 10 starting with the awards next March. Under the old system with five nominees, voters simply chose one film, making the winner the one that received the most votes. The new method adds weight to voters’ No. 2 and 3 picks. If the academy had maintained the old system, the best-picture prize conceivably could have gone to a film with barely 10 percent of the vote.

Okay, so it's not exactly like Pierce County's ranked choice voting system. But we can't wait until Meryl Streep and Denzel Washington start doing RCV ads. And when does Dale Washam pick up his Oscar?

Barring a shocking turn of events, the Pierce County Council will name Mark Lindquist to be the next prosecuting

attorney this afternoon.

Lindquist is one of three candidates nominated by the local Democratic Party to replace retiring prosecutor Gerald Horne. But the other two candidates – Mary Robnett and Pat Hammond, both attorneys in the prosecutor’s office – support Lindquist for the post.

Lindquist seems to have support from council members of both parties. Among other things, they credit him for a recent initiative to address a backlog of cases in Superior Court.

Nonetheless, the council this afternoon may hear from all three candidates. Council attorney Susan Long said each nominee will have an opportunity to speak and answer questions. The public also will get a chance to comment.

The council may or may not go into closed session to discuss the qualifications of the candidates before making a final decision, Long said.

The council will meet at 3 p.m. in Room 1045 of the County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Ave. S.

Lindquist is the chief criminal deputy in the prosecutor’s office. He’s been with the office for 14 years. You can read more details of his biography here.

A judge has dismissed a challenge to the ballot language describing three proposed amendments to the Pierce County charter.

Sherry Bockwinkel, a term-limit supporter, and Kelly Haughton, a supporter of ranked choice voting, claimed the language of the amendments was inappropriate. But Pierce County Superior Court Judge Ronald Culpepper did not rule on their claims.

Instead, Culpepper found the pair had failed to meet a deadline for challenging the ballot language. And while he suggested county policies for alerting people to the deadline might be lacking, he found the county had followed the letter of state law.

County voters will consider three amendments to the county charter in November:

• Proposition 1 would move the election of the county executive and council to odd-numbered years by 2015 and increase term limits for those offices from two consecutive four-year terms to three consecutive four-year terms.

• Proposition 2 would move the election of auditor, assessor-treasurer and sheriff to odd-numbered years by 2015.

• Proposition would eliminate ranked choice voting and restore the primary and general election system for all county elected offices.

Bockwinkel will help write the voters pamphlet statement against Proposition 1. Haughton will help write the statement against Proposition 3.

They claimed the language describing those measures that will appear on the ballot is faulty on two counts.

First, they noted that each amendment asks voters to “approve” or “reject” the amendments. They said that’s a departure from the language used on other recent charter amendments, which used “yes” or “no” language. They said the change in language may confuse voters.

Second, they argued the language of Proposition 1 is prejudicial. It states the proposal would make term limits for executive and council “consistent with term limits in effect for auditor, assessor-treasurer and sheriff.” The plaintiffs argued the phrase constitutes an argument in favor of the proposal.

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Buried on page 27 of the 39-page report on a discrimination and retaliation complaint against County Assessor-Treasurer Dale Washam is this passage:

“Employees are also concerned about improvements Washam has made to the office, including removing a wall to enlarge his office, requiring overtime weekend electrical work, carpet, paint, etc. Employees are aware he requested an SUV, so a new Ford Escape was purchased.”

It suggests that Washam is wasting taxpayer money to make himself comfortable. Washam denies he’s wasting money and contends the passage has no bearing on whether he discriminated or retaliated against employees.

He said including allegations about the SUV and office remodeling in the report is evidence that the report is an attempt to discredit him.

“What did that have to do with anything?” he said of the report’s reference to the SUV when I interviewed him last week.

Washam also wonders why the investigation took so long. Administrative officer Sally Barnes filed a complaint alleging discrimination and retaliation against Washam on March 11. The report documents events that took place more than two months after the complaint was filed.

Washam and deputy assessor-treasurer Alberto Ugas see that as further evidence of the ill intentions of county officials.

“In fact, it was necessary for the investigator to extend the process for several months after the date of the alleged misdeed, in order to find or fabricate incidences that could be used as an excuse for charges of retaliation, and thus attempt to justify the costs of said report,” Ugas wrote in a letter to The News Tribune.

Pierce County Human Resources Director Betsy Sawyers denies there is any political motivation behind the investigator’s report. I asked her about the issues Washam raised. Here’s what she said:

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As I reported yesterday, an investigator has concluded that Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer Dale Washam retaliated against one of his senior managers for filing complaints against him with the county human resources department. The report makes it sound like Washam doesn’t have many friends at the office. But he has at least one key supporter.

I found a letter (here’s a PDF copy) from Deputy Assessor-Treasurer Alberto Ugas in my mailbox this morning. It’s intended as a letter to the editor, and I’m going to pass it along to our editorial page. But in light of Washam’s allegations that the report is an attempt by the powers that be to undermine his authority, I thought Ugas’ letter merited publishing here.

Ugas contends the charges against Washam are baseless. Some excerpts:

• “…[I]t was necessary for the investigator to extend the process for several months after the date of the alleged misdeed, in order to find or fabricate incidences that could be used as an excuse for charges of retaliation, and thus attempt to justify the costs of said report.”

• “As a young man, it was necessary for me to leave my homeland, my family and my friends because of a broken political system … Today sadly I see this abusive process being enacted all over again.”

• “Mr. Washam upset the apple cart when he was elected into office. As an outsider who has dedicated his life to the cause of truth and justice for the taxpayers of this county, he represents a threat for those in power, because he has gained access into the very bowels of these abuses.”

Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer Dale Washam

retaliated against one of his top managers and refused to cooperate with an investigation of his behavior, a county report has concluded.

The report (here's a PDF copy), obtained by The News Tribune and posted on the assessor-treasurer’s web site today, found insufficient evidence that Washam discriminated against the employee because of her age or gender. But it found the assessor violated county policies by retaliating against the employee – administrative officer Sally Barnes – for filing complaints against him to the county human resources department.

According to the report, the retaliation included excluding Barnes from decision making, revoking her job responsibilities, assigning her to a special project and moving her to a remote office, among other things.

Washam refused to be interviewed or turn over documents requested during the investigation and refused the investigator’s request to tour the assessor-treasurer’s office.

The report, written by private attorney Diane Hess Taylor, claims Washam’s behavior violated county equal opportunity policies, which are based on state and federal law.

Washam, a political outsider elected assessor-treasurer last November, denied the charges of retaliation and called the report “dishonest, unfair (and) not even reasonable.” He said the report is an attempt to discredit him and a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The report cost the county $18,000.

“It is so bogus that it doesn’t even warrant much attention,” Washam said.

Barnes still works in the office. She could not be reached for comment Monday.

Barnes, who until recently oversaw property assessments in the assessor-treasurer’s office, has filed at least two complaints against Washam. In January, Barnes and other employees cited what they believed were inappropriate religious references Washam made during staff meetings.

According to the report, Washam sometimes made comments like “God put me here,” “after prayerful consideration” and “after praying last night.”

After employees complained, county human resources director Betsy Sawyers and County Executive Pat McCarthy asked Washam to stop making references to God and to stop asking employees to participate in moments of silence in his office, according to the report.

The report says Washam later criticized his staff for filing the religion complaint. And employees told an investigator that Washam singled out Barnes for negative treatment.

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A lawsuit filed this week seeks to force Pierce County to change the ballot language on three charter amendments voters will consider in November.

Sherry Bockwinkel, a term-limit supporter, and Kelly Haughton, a supporter of ranked choice voting, filed a lawsuit late Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court. The lawsuit seeks to prohibit the county auditor and prosecuting attorney from publishing ballots and the voters pamphlet with the current language.

Bockwinkel and Haughton say the ballot language for the amendments is inappropriate and that the county did not provide them adequate opportunity to challenge it. County official say the ballot language and the process used to develop it are proper.

Voters will consider three amendments to the county charter in November:

• Proposition 1 would move the election of the county executive and council to odd-numbered years by 2015 and increase term limits for those offices from two consecutive four-year terms to three consecutive four-year terms.

• Proposition 2 would move the election of auditor, assessor-treasurer and sheriff to odd-numbered years by 2015.

• Proposition 3 would eliminate ranked choice voting and restore the primary and general election system for all county elected offices.

Bockwinkel will help write the voters pamphlet statement against Proposition 1. Haughton will help write state statement against Proposition 3.

Both say the language used to describe the charter amendments on the ballot is inappropriate.

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Sherry Bockwinkel, a longtime backer of term limits who is taking a lead in opposing the extension of term limits in Pierce County, called to say she is part of a legal challenge to the ballot title on Prop. 1.

Bockwinkel and Kelly Haughton will be represented by attorney Richard Shepard when they appear Friday morning before Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff. They will argue that the ballot title prepared by county lawyers is argumentative and should be rewritten.

Bockwinkel also claims that there was no notice given by the county that challenges to the wording were allowed. By the time the county gve her a copy – only after she filed a public records act request – the deadline for the challenge had passed.

The matter will be heard at 9 a.m.

Pierce County will close down most of its mental health services and lay off 130 employees next month as the state and a private contractor seek to revamp services here.

The reshuffling of services will affect thousands of people suffering mental health crises, many of them a danger to themselves or others.

State officials say the quality of care for those patients will not suffer.

“The county is not losing any services,” said Doug Porter, an assistant secretary at the state Department of Social and Health Services. “We hope the quality of care is the same if not better,”

County officials – who bargained unsuccessfully to keep the existing system – sounded less confident.

“All we can go on is the assurances we’ve been given by the state,” said Deputy County Executive Kevin Phelps.

Pierce County provides inpatient and crisis services to thousands of people each year. Among the services it offers:

• A 30-bed evaluation and treatment center for voluntary and involuntary patients. The center admitted 793 people last year and 419 people through the first six months of this year. About 85 percent of patients are involuntarily committed because they pose a danger to themselves or others or because they are gravely disabled.

• An 18-bed crisis triage center. The center admitted 3,562 people last year and 1,803 people through the first six months of this year. About 35 percent of people admitted to the center are brought in by police officers. Others are diverted from community hospital emergency rooms, which are not equipped to treat mentally ill people who are manic, loud, violent or otherwise disruptive.

• A 24-hour crisis telephone line for emergencies, information, referrals or phone counseling.

• Mobile outreach crisis teams provide who provide mental health services throughout in Pierce County from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and on weekends.

State officials say they will not reduce the level or quality of services Pierce County provides. But beginning Oct. 1 those and other services will be provided by a variety of new contractors to be announced as soon as Friday.

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I talked to Pierce County Auditor Jan Shabro this afternoon. She said she visited eight polling places and express booths this morning.

Not surprisingly, it was pretty slow. Shabro expects tonight’s vote count to be routine. Here’s the schedule:

8:30 p.m. First release, absentee ballots processed through election day.

10:30 p.m. Second release, poll results.

12 a.m. Third release, poll results.

2 a.m. Fourth release, final election night unofficial results.

Starting tomorrow, the auditor’s office will release the latest results each day at 5 p.m. (except weekends and holidays). The election will be certified on Sept. 2.

Check Political Buzz this evening for the latest results.