Noble's resignation welcome but overdue

KING County Assessor Scott Noble did the only thing he could do when he resigned his position this week, a day before he was sentenced for vehicular assault for a drunken-driving incident that injured two other people.

A felon cannot serve in office — and Noble entered his guilty plea May 20. That begs the question: Why did he wait so long?

Noble should have resigned before June 1 — the cutoff to ensure voters had a real primary race Aug. 18 to begin selecting his successor. As it is now, a special filing period will be held after the primary, which means all candidates who file will appear together on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

So far, two candidates, Noble's chief deputy and interim assessor, Richard Medved, and Port of Seattle Commissioner Lloyd Hara have filed papers with the state Public Disclosure Commission and are raising money. But there could be more.

The delay in Noble's resignation foreclosed an opportunity for voters to have more of a conversation about who should be the new assessor after Noble's 16-year tenure.