Contributor to Gregoire and Sims heads panel

Cheryl Scott, appointed by King County Executive Ron Sims to chair a panel investigating problems in the 2004 election, contributed $1,000 to Sims' unsuccessful campaign for governor.

Scott, former president and CEO of Group Health, also gave $2,700 — half in the primary and half in the general election — to the campaign of the woman who beat him in the Democratic primary, then-Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

Scott gave a smaller boost to Gregoire's general-election opponent, Republican Dino Rossi, hosting a fund-raiser for his general-election campaign that he reported as an in-kind contribution worth $378.

Another member of the new King County Commission on Elections, University of Washington School of Law Dean Joe Knight, made a $50 donation to Sims' gubernatorial campaign.

Gregoire's 129-vote victory over Rossi in a hand recount exposed problems in the county's election process. Rossi, who outpolled Gregoire in two earlier machine counts, is contesting Gregoire's election in Chelan County Superior Court.

Sims' office and Scott said yesterday Scott's and Knight's contributions won't affect the commission's ability to conduct a fair and independent review of the King County Elections Section.

But some Rossi supporters said Scott's support of Sims, Gregoire and other Democratic candidates will leave many citizens wondering if the panel she heads is truly nonpartisan and independent.

Scott said yesterday she would not have agreed to chair the commission if she thought her campaign contributions to Sims and Gregoire would compromise the appearance of impartiality.

"The irony is I've also donated to Republicans," Scott said. "It's a difficult thing to be described as a Democrat or a Republican when I've tried to think about my political contributions as a private citizen and also as someone who cares about the issues, not just the people. ... I don't identify as a Democrat nor as a Republican."

Sims' spokeswoman Carolyn Duncan said he expects the Elections Commission to do a completely independent review of the elections process. "This group was brought together because of its integrity, their individual accomplishments and their lack of agenda in this," Duncan said. "The executive was very clear he wanted them to be independent."

Some members, like Scott, were appointed because they are "change agents," some because of their elections expertise and others because their legal backgrounds will help them investigate election-fraud allegations, Duncan said.

She noted that commission member Suzanne Sinclair, the Island County auditor, is a Republican.

The 10-member commission has been charged with investigating problems in the Nov. 2 general election, which included uncounted absentee ballots, improperly counted provisional ballots and illegal voting by felons.

Sims said Monday the panel will "take a hard look at our elections operations and give us a nonpartisan, frank assessment and recommendations for needed changes."

Duncan said yesterday the panel will be given a budget to hire its own staff.

County Councilman Steve Hammond, R-Enumclaw, said Scott's support of Sims and Gregoire will compromise the appearance of fairness.

"My position has always been that the people in Records and Elections were appointed or hired by Ron Sims or somebody Ron Sims appointed. He shouldn't appoint the people to investigate them. That's not going to come across to the public as independent," Hammond said.

Another Republican councilman, David Irons of Sammamish, who is running against Sims for county executive, declined to comment on Scott's qualifications. But he said he was concerned that most members of the Elections Commission aren't election experts.

"There's a time for amateurs. This is a time for professionals," said Irons, who said problems in the Nov. 2 election were largely the result of past management by political appointees who weren't election professionals.

The Metropolitan King County Council plans to commission an outside, professional audit of the county elections office and to revive the Citizens' Election Oversight Committee that studied election procedures after the county failed to mail absentee ballots on schedule in 2002.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com