Auditor Kimsey Has An Ethics Problem
Yesterday, a second ethics complaint was filed against Auditor Kimsey.
Read the ClarkCountyToday.com story HERE
Does anyone else see the irony that the elected official in charge of keeping a watchful eye on our County government, the County Auditor, is mired in ethical problems and is now being "audited?"
But you already knew about this because I shared it with you in JULY 2022 email update:
FLASHBACK: Clark County Auditor, Greg Kimsey, Colluded With CCRP Leaders To Stop Candidate John Ley... Never Disclosed His Involvement To The Public Or The Judge
Recently, I received public record requests results and summary email (from Mark Moore), that clearly demonstrates that CCRP (Clark County Republican Party) leaders not only reached out to County Auditor Greg Kimsey regarding John Ley's residency issue but Kimsey then coached Kathy MacDonald, CCRP Vice-Chair, on the best tactics to have a stronger case against Ley. This guidance was then apparently (not confirmed yet) passed along from Kathy McDonald to Carolyn Crain because she followed Kimsey's "suggestions" with her later filed challenge.
Here's The Facts:
- Kathy McDonald makes a general inquiry via text to Kimsey (CC Auditor) to confirm John Ley has moved his voter registration address. From McDonald “Good afternoon, hey can you check and see if John Ley has changed his voter registration to a Battle Ground address?”
- Kimsey then responds (that day based that there's no new date on text messages) to confirm that John Ley has switched his voter registration to Battle Ground with "“Yes, he has moved to Battle Ground.”.
- Additionally, and without being asked, Kimsey suggests to Kathy McDonald, "Someone could file a voter registration challenge”
- After McDonald informs Kimsey that they plan to do just that and a few ways they're going to go about it, Kimsey coaches them on other methods to help make their case against Mr. Ley by texting "multiple photos of him arriving in the evening and leaving in the morning to and from Liz Cline’s home - time and date stamped. Best definition of residence is where you lay your head at night. He will say he’s temporarily sleeping over at Liz Cline’s house. Driver’s license is good supporting evidence, and where does he get his mail delivered.”
- On May 26, 2022, Carolyn Crain submits a Voter Registration Challenge that includes one of Kimsey's suggestions (Certified letter receipts).
- On June 28th, Kimsey oversaw the Voters Registration Challenge hearing he suggested against John Ley. Yet, he never informed Ley of his involvement or offered to recuse himself.
- On July 6, he issued his decision in favor of the Voters Registration Challenge but, as he warned to McDonald that "residency was hard to disprove", he didn't remove Ley as a candidate.
- On July 15, the judge rules that Ley is an ineligible candidate and, as far as I know, Kimsey never informed the judge of his role in the genesis and the development of the Voter Registration Challenge.
For full disclosure, I'm a fan of John Ley and the great work he's done for conservative issues in the county. However, I'm not a fan of the political strategy John took regarding changing his voter registration address to run in the 18th District and his motives for doing so (and I've shared that with him directly). However, I do believe that everyone is entitled to a fair hearing by an impartial official. Obviously, Ley didn't receive that and I believe that later the judge was not properly informed of Kimsey's behind the scenes involvement. Furthermore, the County has ethics policies that Kimsey possibly violated which reads:
"Honesty - I agree to disclose to my superiors any situation in which there is the fact, appearance or possibility of a conflict of interest between my interests and those of the organization. I also accept the responsibility and duty to disclose or refuse to conceal acts of wrongdoing of which I may have knowledge. I will make appropriate judgments as to how, when, and to who these disclosures shall be made." (https://clark.wa.gov/sites/default/files/dept/files/human-resources/documents/Clark%20County%20Human%20Resources%20Policy%20Manual.pdf page 132)"
Also, the "Use of public resources for political campaigns" is a violation of RCW 42.52.180 which was included in a recent ethics code resolution passed by the County Council. They adopted that all elected County officials to be held by the same standard stated below:
(1) No state officer or state employee may use or authorize the use of facilities of an agency, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of assisting a campaign for election of a person to an office or for the promotion of or opposition to a ballot proposition. Knowing acquiescence by a person with authority to direct, control, or influence the actions of the state officer or state employee using public resources in violation of this section constitutes a violation of this section. Facilities of an agency include, but are not limited to, use of stationery, postage, machines, and equipment, use of state employees of the agency during working hours, vehicles, office space, publications of the agency, and clientele lists of persons served by the agency.
The violation with the RCW code is that Kimsey (a republican) worked with republican officials on how to take out another republican, which all could've been done to help out Greg Cheney (you guessed it... another republican) all on his county cell phone.
Not to mention that Kimsey failed to disclose his involvement to the public (his supervisors are the voters) or inform the judge of his potentially compromised status. How can Kimsey maintain an unbiased and fair position as Auditor to rule on this matter? This is like a judge secretly working with a Prosecuting Attorney to help him build a stronger case against a defendant and pretending he didn't when ruling on the case.
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UPDATE: Restore Election Confidence Initiative
After multiple attempts to contact the Prosecuting Attorney's (PA) Office, including voicemails and emails, I have still not received a reply on the status.
Based on the letter sent on December 21st, the County Prosecuting Attorney plans to act outside of the Home Rule Charter (HRC) by trying to dismiss the initiative.
According to HRC 7.2, here's the process:
- Submit an initiative to Auditor
- Auditor has 5 days to forward to PA's office
- PA's office has 10 days to create a "true and impartial" ballot title stated as a positive question no more than 50 words and forward back to Auditor
- Auditor has 5 days to assign a number to the initiative and forwards it back to the PA's office
- The PA's office then evaluates the legality of the proposed initiative and is only allowed to indicate the following, "In the opinion of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney, the subject of this initiative is within the scope of local initiative powers. Yes [ ] No [ ] No opinion at this time [ ].”
But the PA's office seems to think they are above the law and making it up as they go which includes an unfounded dismissal by fiat.
The legal fight is beginning and I can't do this without your help. I'm getting estimates for the legal fight ahead but it could be north of $10,000
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Stay tuned...
Precinct Caucus Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Election of delegates and alternates for CCRP County Convention and discussion of issues for the CCRP Party Platform.
Caucus Locations
Please confirm your precinct at:
https://voter.votewa.gov/WhereToVote.aspx Verify your precinct location as you may not be attending the location closest to where you live.
Doors open at 8:30am. Registration ends at 9:55 am. Photo ID required. Must be a Washington state registered voter and 18 years old. Please arrive early, parking may be limited at some locations. Meeting time from 10am-11:30am.
Precinct Caucus Saturday Jan. 13, 2023
All the Caucus information is here.
The caucus is the election of delegates and alternates for CCRP County Convention and discussion of issues for the CCRP Party Platform.
Be the Party!
All Republicans are welcome.
ICYMI: County Prosecutor Improperly Halting Initiative From Going Forward
The initiative process is outlined in the Home Rule Charter, providing a transparent framework. Upon filing, the Auditor forwards the initiative to the Prosecuting Attorney's office, where a title is crafted and returned to the Auditor for formatting and numbering. Subsequently, the Auditor sends it back to the Prosecuting Attorney (PA) for a legal opinion. As per the Home Rule Charter 7.2 (C, 2):
"Within an additional ten (10) days, the prosecuting attorney shall evaluate the petition, providing the petitioner and auditor with the following statement: 'In the opinion of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney, the subject of this initiative is within the scope of local initiative powers. Yes [ ] No [ ] No opinion at this time [ ].' The prosecuting attorney marks the box reflecting their opinion, and the petitioner may include this statement on the petition."
Despite the explicit process, it is apparent that the PA's office is attempting to impede the initiative effort. In under two days, they made a determination, acknowledging their lack of understanding of the intent of the initiative but deeming it illegal nonetheless.
Contrary to the PA's stance, there are NO LAWS prohibiting the actions called for by the initiative. For instance, the County Auditor can still conduct the mandated minimum audit and an additional full forensic audit demanded by the people. There are no RCWs prohibiting various actions, such as using video cameras in ballot processing areas, reporting 85% of ballot results on Election Day, or following state requirements to clean voter rolls.
Despite the absence of legal prohibitions, the Prosecuting Attorney's office persists in hindering the initiative, aiming to halt the people's call for election reforms. Taxpayer money is paradoxically being used against citizens to obstruct the formulation and signature gathering of an initiative—a foreseeable outcome of the amendment to the Home Rule Charter in November 2021.
In response, I have emailed the PA's office, demanding a clear articulation of how the initiative purportedly violates State or Federal laws and specifying the actions deemed violative by rescinding or amending State law.
Anticipating a vigorous fight, I recall the PA's office's prior efforts, providing talking points for Temple Lentz's divisive Facebook post and presenting numerous theories during a hearing to dissuade Councilors from supporting the Mini-Initiative. The resolve of the PA's office is evident, and we await their response.
ICYMI: Restore Election Confidence Initiative Filed In Clark County
It'll come as no shock to many, that we've got a serious problem in Clark County —our recent election saw a dismal 26% turnout. What's more concerning? The lack of urgency from the folks at the top—the Auditor, County Council, and State officials. As a result, I've filed a new petition with the Clark County Auditor because the people have the final say and there are times when it falls in our hands to do something when our officials refuse to act.
Beyond the low turnout, the dismissive attitude of those in power brings us to this point. This year the County Council approved a $4.4 million request from the Auditor, despite valid concerns from the community and a promise to investigate issues raised. Also, Auditor Kimsey's response involved a misleading statement that has resulted in an ethics complaint adding to the growing mistrust. On both sides of the political aisle, many have expressed serious election security concerns that have lingered to the point that confidence in Clark County's electoral processes is hanging by a thread.
After careful review, with several attorneys, members of the Clark County Election Integrity Team, and Bill Bruch, WA GOP Chair of the State's Election Integrity Committee, the initiative submitted will address these core issues:
- Chain of Custody: Ensure the security and accurate reporting of ballots to the public from pick up to storage.
- Fraud Prevention: Stop fake and illegitimate ballots from being sent out or counted.
- Voter Roll Cleanup: Ensure voter rolls are maintained 30 days before mailing out ballots.
- Transparency Measures: Install cameras at all drop boxes and processing areas.
- Post-Election Audit: A thorough examination after every presidential election.
- Timely Reporting: Provide the majority of results by the end of election day.
- Fraud Investigations: Address irregularities promptly and keep the public informed.
- Implementation Deadline: Ensure all measures are in place before the next scheduled election and place serious consequences for failure to do so.
Now, the road ahead won't be easy but it's doable. After the Prosecuting Attorney's office reviews and releases for signature gathering, we need 35,000 signatures in four months. Seems daunting? Remember, we pulled in over 10,000 signatures in just one month back in 2021. It's very doable, but we need everyone on board.
Here's What You NEED TO DO:
Stay Informed: Sign up for updates and stay in the loop.
Volunteer: Join the signature collection efforts.
Spread the Word: Every small effort makes a difference.
As we stand on the precipice of change, your active participation is the only forward to change. By signing up, volunteering, and spreading the word, you'll contribute to the collective effort of restoring confidence in elections.
Your voice is a catalyst for change, and your involvement is the key to shaping the future of Clark County don't wait for someone else to come to step up and fix this. Remember the words of Benjamin Franklin who told us long ago, "A Republic, if you can keep it."
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