Effort to recall Port Commissioner Davis fails

There will be no recall election for Port of Seattle Commissioner Pat Davis.

Chris Clifford, a high-school teacher and citizen activist, had successfully argued all the way to the state Supreme Court there were legal grounds for recalling Davis.

Clifford contends that Davis committed malfeasance when she signed 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 2007.

But Clifford said this week there is no way he'll submit the 149,124 signatures of King County voters necessary to put a recall question on the ballot. Under law, Clifford has until today to hand in the signatures.

Clifford said he didn't have the time or money to collect that many. He tried to gather them through a Web site he created, but said he has fewer than 30,000 signatures.

He has submitted none of those, according to King County Elections.

"What really hurt is her decision not to run again. That was a major hindrance" to his cause, Clifford said.

On the same day the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 last year that Clifford could proceed with a recall effort, Davis announced she would not seek re-election.

Davis declined to comment Thursday on Clifford's failed effort. She said she is not changing her plans to step down from the Port Commission at the end of the year. She was first elected in 1985.

Davis has maintained she did not break any laws or act inappropriately in regards to the Dinsmore memo. She said a 2007 Port-initiated investigation by a former judge and a law professor found she committed no ethical or legal violations.

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com