Election "turnaround team" opposed

Hiring a "turnaround team" to improve King County's management of elections is the wrong idea at the wrong time, members of a citizens advisory committee said Tuesday.

No member of the Citizens' Election Oversight Committee spoke in support of the turnaround-team concept, which was the central recommendation of a separate election task force in July.

The resounding rejection will likely heighten misgivings among County Council members, who this week delayed action on County Executive Ron Sims' request for $500,000 for a turnaround contract. An additional $850,000 has already been set aside for the contract for which Sims has chosen Waldron & Co. of Seattle.

The council, saying it needed more time to study the proposal, put off action at least until its next meeting, Jan. 17.

The council could reject Sims' request for the additional $500,000 and that could kill the deal.

The Independent Task Force on Elections, appointed by Sims, had urged him to hire an outside team that would shake up management of the troubled Records, Elections and Licensing Services Division.

Sims vowed to follow the task-force recommendations but wasn't able to hire a consulting team in time for the September primary, as he had hoped.

Several members of the Citizens' Election Oversight Committee, reconvened by the County Council after errors in the 2004 election, said Tuesday that the elections division has made great strides in improving the elections process.

But League of Women Voters representative Joan Thomas said a turnaround team could end up "turning around every bit of progress we've made, and starting all over again."

The county virtually eliminated the mishandling of provisional ballots and dramatically improved its ballot accounting in the November election.

Members also were concerned about a turnaround team's likely relationship to Elections Director Dean Logan. "Either Dean's in charge or not," said Republican Party representative Mike Sheridan.

Democratic Party representative Mike Snyder called the turnaround team "a nonstarter."

"This seems to diffuse accountability and responsibility instead of focusing it in one place," said Paul Guppy, vice president of the Washington Policy Center.

Sims aides have declined to say how much the contract with Waldron would cost, but it's expected to be $1 million to $2 million.

County Councilwoman Jane Hague, R-Bellevue, said last week she wanted to know that the turnaround team "has authority" before she would vote for it.

Councilman Bob Ferguson, D-Seattle, said he favored the turnaround concept earlier this year to "leave no stone unturned" in ensuring the fall elections were well run. With the elections over, he said, the idea needs a fresh look.

Sims spokesman Sandeep Kaushik said Sims welcomes the County Council's thoughts on whether a turnaround team should be hired.

In the meantime, he said, "We did make a commitment to the task force, which is the group that Executive Sims created, to implement this turnaround-team idea. That remains our position at this point."

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