State Supreme Court says quest to recall Port commissioner can proceed

Renton activist Chris Clifford can proceed with his quest to recall Port of Seattle Commissioner Pat Davis, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Although he won his case, Clifford faces another tough challenge in trying to oust Davis: He has to collect about 155,000 signatures from King County voters in the next six months to get a recall question on the ballot.

Davis, whose term expires next year, said Thursday she would not seek re-election. Still, Clifford is determined to press on. Clifford, a teacher who argued his own case before the Supreme Court in June, said he doesn't have any financial benefactors and doesn't plan to spend any money gathering signatures.

"I'm not going to get paid signature-gatherers. I'm a teacher, I'm not rich," Clifford said. Instead he hopes voters will download petitions from a Web site and sign them.

In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that Clifford had sufficient legal grounds to ask voters if Davis committed malfeasance by signing a 2006 memo that sought to give former Port CEO Mic Dinsmore almost an additional year of his $339,841 salary after he retired in March 2007.

That memo amounted to an unlawful gift of public funds, Clifford argued. Port officials refused to give Dinsmore the money after Davis' memo was made public.

State law says "malfeasance" means "any wrongful conduct that affects, interrupts, or interferes with performance of official duty" and specifically includes breaking a law.

In a written statement, Davis maintained Thursday she did not break any laws or act inappropriately. She said a Port-initiated investigation last year by a former judge and a law professor found no ethical or legal violations.

Davis also noted the Supreme Court did not say she committed malfeasance. Instead, the court said Clifford had enough reason to ask voters to remove Davis from office.

But in the opinion written by Justice Charles Johnson, the court said Clifford's malfeasance accusation "is supported by the record and demonstrated by the fact that the Port Commission had to hold a public meeting in order to undo Comm. Davis's contract with Dinsmore."

The court concluded that "Davis understood her duties as Port Commissioner and the legal necessity of voting in public session before potentially obligating the Port in any monetary agreement, and, for purposes of recall, intentionally acted outside the scope of these duties by signing an agreement with Dinsmore."

Davis, who has held office since 1986, said she decided "some time ago" not to run for re-election but "wanted to wait for the ruling" to make it public. She did not return calls.

Clifford said Davis should resign rather than "drag the Port Commission through the mud" of a recall election.

Neither Clifford nor Davis' lawyer, Suzanne Thomas, knew when an election might be scheduled. Under state law, it appears a special election would take place between March and late May if Clifford succeeds in his signature drive.

Commission President John Creighton said the recall is "in the hands of voters now and I think it needs to run its course."

Bob Young: 206-464-2174

or byoung@seattletimes.com