Whitman County recall process continues: Prosecutor outlines citizen's argument for commissioners' recall

The process that may lead to the recall of two of three Whitman County commissioners is under way.

Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy sent two petitions to the county superior court Wednesday outlining the reasons why Oakesdale resident Roger Whitten is requesting the recall of commissioners Pat O'Neill and Greg Partch.

In his request letters, Whitten said Partch and O'Neill flagrantly violate the Open Public Meetings Act and violated their oath of office. Whitten's primary concern was commissioners' disregard for the low-frequency noise pollution created by wind turbines, he said.

Tracy outlined Whitten's complaints for review by Asotin County Superior Court Judge William Acey at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 2 in Whitman County Superior Court. Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier recused himself of the hearings so Acey will decide whether Whitten's allegations are legally sufficient to warrant the creation of a petition. Throughout the process O'Neill and Partch will be represented by their own attorneys on the county's tab. Commissioners voted Monday to use county money to pay their legal aid throughout the recall process. Partch said he has already retained Spokane lawyer Brian Werst, who has handled a recall case in the past. Partch did not know how much Werst will charge for his time and Werst was unavailable for comment.

O'Neill was also unavailable for comment.

Should Acey rule in Whitten's favor, Whitten will have to collect 2,846 signatures against Partch and 3,876 against O'Neill to get the recall listed as a ballot item.

As per Washington law, Tracy also wrote up a ballot synopsis, what a voter would read if Whitten attained enough signatures to get the recall on a ballot.

For both Partch and O'Neill, Tracy listed five allegations for voters to consider. Four points alluded to violations of the Open Public Meetings Act, which requires commissioners to publicly announce any meeting in which a quorum of commissioners are present. Commissioners also are required to hold public meetings if they take any action or have discussions that lead to action.

The fifth point on the ballot synopsis outlines Whitten's complaint that commissioners did not include any information about low-frequency noise in a commercial wind energy ordinance.

Tracy's petition for hearing to determine sufficiency of recall charge and adequacy of ballot synopsis is available upon request at the Whitman County Clerk's office.