PORT TOWNSEND — The decision as to whether a recall action will proceed against two Quilcene fire commissioners will be made sometime this week.
Court Commissioner Keith Harper, who was acting as a Jefferson County Superior Court judge, postponed his decision in order to examine all the information presented during a two-hour hearing Tuesday.
Fire Commissioners Mike Whittaker and David Ward have been under fire for more than a year 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.
Recall paperwork was filed June 30 by attorney Peggy Ann Bierbaum after several people told Whittaker and Ward that a recall petition would be filed if the two did not resign.
That was soon after Chief Bob Low, who had replaced the late Bob Wilson as chief in February 2010, submitted his resignation June 23, saying he could no longer work with Whittaker and Ward.
Whittaker and Ward stayed put, and the recall paperwork was amended July 14 to include additional allegations against Ward.
Tuesday’s hearing was not meant to discuss the merits of the case but to determine whether the petition is sufficient for recall action.
Harper also will rule on the ballot language prepared by the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Recall proponents allege that Ward gave specific instructions that meeting minutes be falsified and that he created and served in the chief operating officer position to qualify for state retirement benefits.
The ballot language of the proposed recall of Ward says he created a paying position for himself, continued to serve in that position even though a new chief had been hired, falsified his start date, did not create any work product and failed to take action to remedy the situation.
The ballot language against Whittaker differs slightly, saying he allowed Ward’s actions to occur.
Whittaker and Ward avoided comment about the matter until Tuesday, when attorney James Hanken talked about their case in court.
“Mr. Ward made some mistakes, some errors in judgment,” Hanken said.
“But he never intended to do anything wrong and never did anything illegal.”
Hanken said Tuesday that Ward’s collection of the chief operating officer’s $800 monthly salary was an attempt to save the district money, since he usually collected about twice that amount in reimbursements as commissioner, Hanken said.
Ward did not collect any reimbursements during the eight months he collected the chief operating officer salary, Hanken said.
That job was created to catalogue all the data left behind by Wilson, who died of cancer in April 2009.
The data were on obsolete computer media and needed to be transferred to accessible storage.
Bierbaum, arguing for the recall, said the data Ward pulled together during his term as chief operating officer weren’t usable for any purpose.
Bierbaum cited Low as the source for this information.
Tuesday was the first time that Ward, through Hanken, addressed this allegation.
Recall proponents have said Ward has not shown substantial “work product” to document his job, but Hanken recently submitted several CDs full of data that he said quantified Ward’s efforts.
He asked that the material on the CDs be redacted from the public, as it contained confidential information that should not be disclosed.
Bierbaum had not seen the material but asked why it had not been submitted prior to last week.
“This has been going on over a year, and they have not made any responsive action,” she said.
“For that time, [Ward and Whittaker] have arrogantly refused to supply any information.”
If the judge rules that the recall can proceed, supporters would have up to 180 days to collect the needed signatures. Petitions can be submitted as soon as they are complete.
If the petition is approved, recall supporters must gather signatures equal to 35 percent of the votes cast for the race in 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 would need to gather 194 signatures to recall Whittaker and 179 to recall Ward.
Recall elections cannot occur between a primary and general election, so the action would take place after Nov. 8.
The recall election would be conducted by mail, with ballots sent to voters in the Quilcene Fire District.
Should one commissioner be recalled, the other two would select a replacement.
Should both be recalled, the county commissioners would appoint one replacement, who would select the second replacement with Commissioner Debbie Randall, according to state law.
If the recall proceeds, Whittaker and Ward will be liable for their own attorney fees; if it is dismissed, they will be reimbursed by the district.
________
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
