Two more enter race for King County assessor

Two more candidates — one an accountant, the other an appraiser who criticized the appraisal practices of his former employer, Washington Mutual, before the bank's collapse — filed Thursday as candidates for King County assessor.

Accountant Bob Blanchard and appraiser Graham Albertini bring the number of candidates for assessor to four.

They will compete against Seattle Port Commissioner Lloyd Hara and Bob Rosenberger, an appraiser in the assessor's office for 24 years.

A special three-day candidate-filing period ends today. Voters will choose an assessor Nov. 3 to complete the two years remaining on the term of Scott Noble, who resigned in June before he was sentenced to jail for causing a head-on, injury collision on Interstate 5 while intoxicated.

Albertini was named 2008 appraiser of the year by the Appraisal Institute's Seattle chapter after he told newspapers WaMu's appraisal practices had deteriorated, leading it to approve risky mortgages.

Albertini said Thursday he is running "because I'm an experienced appraiser with appraisal management experience and I think that's what the office needs." He said he will talk to employees in the assessor's office before recommending any specific changes.

Blanchard, a certified public accountant who was once tax manager and assistant vice president of Safeco Properties, said the need for new leadership in the assessor's office is shown by the large number of appeals, sluggish issuance of refunds, and the state auditor's recent finding that the assessor hasn't adequately documented the case for some refunds.

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