Whoever wins the legal challenge to the governor's election, Washington taxpayers will pay.

The state expects to spend about $200,000 of taxpayer money on private lawyers defending the Secretary of State's Office from the lawsuit filed by the Republican Party and GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi, The Associated Press reported.

County auditors and prosecutors also are spending thousands of dollars in staff time to respond to the lawsuit, and some say the matter is bleeding resources from other areas of government.

In Island County, county officials estimate they've spent at least 162 hours of staff time — costing taxpayers about $4,600 — responding to the GOP's discovery demands and preparing for hearings.

"It's a major monkey wrench in the machinery of Pierce County," said the county's deputy prosecuting attorney, Dan Hamilton, who said he and another attorney had spent the past two weeks almost exclusively working on the case. "A lot of the county's business is not being done because of just trying to manage this."

Republicans said the election was irredeemably tainted and the challenge worth the cost.

"We don't know who won, and we can't just sweep it under the table because it's a bother," said Rossi spokeswoman Mary Lane.

Oak Harbor

Petty officer killed when car hits a pole

A 23-year-old Oak Harbor man died yesterday after the car he was driving went off a Whidbey Island road and crashed into a utility pole, according to the State Patrol.

Robert Walters was northbound on Oak Harbor Road when his car left the road, according to the Patrol.

Walters was a petty officer at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

Everett

Woman hospitalized after car collision

A Lake Stevens woman was in satisfactory condition yesterday after a Saturday collision near Lake Stevens.

The car that Annie Welk, 60, was driving was hit while attempting to cross Highway 92 on 99th Avenue Northeast, according to the State Patrol.

Welk was taken to the Colby campus of Providence Everett Medical Center.

Times staff and news services