Democratic contender Scott White to remain in race he tried to quit

A King County judge ruled that North Seattle legislative candidate Scott White will remain on the ballot, resolving a bizarre two-week dispute over whether White withdrew from the race.

In the end, Superior Court Judge John Erlick said the county Elections Division was in the best position to decide whether White's form withdrawing from the race arrived before a June 12 deadline.

The judge essentially dismissed complicated arguments from White's opponent about what time the form arrived via fax. The deadline to withdraw was the close of business that day — 4:30 p.m. — and White's fax arrived sometime between 4:29 p.m. and 4:35 p.m.

To prove that the fax had arrived before 4:30, an attorney for White's legislative opponent, Gerry Pollet, performed a series of tests, faxing county departments from Kinko's and comparing the fax clocks to the World Clock and clocks around the elections office.

After sending his fax at the last minute June 12, White called June 13 to ask whether his fax had arrived. When he learned that it hadn't, he decided not to withdraw. But Pollet said the fax arrived before the deadline, so White should be kicked out of the race.

Part of Pollet's argument was that White improperly used the fax machine in County Executive Ron Sims' office to send his form. White has since reimbursed the county for use of the machine.

The elections division took White's side. It said an elections employee stationed at the fax machine on the afternoon of June 12 didn't see the form, so White missed the deadline. Another employee discovered the form on the fax machine midmorning June 13.

White and Pollet, both Democrats, are running for the House seat in the 46th District being vacated by state Rep. Jim McIntire, who is running for state treasurer.

Pollet is an attorney and director of a Hanford watchdog organization.

White said he is resigning from his job in the King County Department of Transportation to campaign full time. He decided two weeks ago to quit the race because he had pneumonia. Now he says he's feeling better. During the hearing, he sat in the front row, coughing.

"I made a mistake in a moment of weakness and my opponent pursued a cynical political ploy to steal the race before anyone voted," White said in a statement after the hearing. "If anything, this distraction has strengthened my commitment to winning this race."

Although he dismissed Pollet's petition, the judge said he had "grave concerns" about the way the elections division handled the withdrawal process.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246