Five compete to fill remainder of Noble's term

Voters will select a new King County assessor on Election Day, for the first time in nearly two decades.

Five people — an accountant, two appraisers, a general contractor and a Port of Seattle commissioner — are vying to complete the two years remaining on the term of Scott Noble, who resigned in June. Noble, who was first elected in 1992, was sentenced to eight months in jail for causing a head-on collision on Interstate 5 while intoxicated.

The winner will manage a $20 million budget and oversee an office that appraises more than 680,000 properties in King County in 166 separate taxing districts. The assessor's 220-person staff inspects and revalues one-sixth of those properties each year and updates the rest with computerized tools.

Every year the assessor is responsible for certifying the assessment roll and setting levy rates based on district budgets and the tax roll. Rarely in the limelight, the assessor also advises lawmakers on property-tax policy.

Interim Assessor Lynn Gering says the biggest issue the new assessor will face is shaping the debate on whether property-tax initiatives, such as state Initiative 1033, would be helpful to taxpayers.

Initiative 1033, on the Nov. 3 ballot, would cap the growth in general revenue of city, county and state governments to the rate of inflation and population increases.

Even though the average King County homeowner saw a 15 percent reduction in assessed value this year, Gering says, when tax bills arrive in February, many owners will be asking why the bills haven't gone down proportionately.

The assessor is "someone who has the ability to explain how it works," Gering said.

Graham Albertini

Albertini, 46, is a state-certified home real-estate appraiser who works for American Home Appraisals and teaches at North Seattle Community College.

The Bellevue resident said he's the only candidate running who has nearly a decade of experience managing appraisers, all of it at Home Savings of America.

If elected, Albertini said, he would work to improve the accuracy of values of properties being remodeled. Due to lags in the entry of permit data, King County could be underassessing hundreds of remodeled homes, resulting in the potential loss of millions of tax dollars, Albertini said.

The county also could be overassessing properties whose values are fraudulently inflated in irregular real-estate transactions, he said. If elected, Albertini said, he'd give the public a hotline to report potentially fraudulent sales.

Albertini said he's "on the fence" on Initiative 1033, but leaning against it. He said he understands people's frustration, but says electing fiscally conservative leaders is a better approach to reining in taxes. He's endorsed by the statewide Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights, which supports Initiative 1033.

Albertini hasn't appealed assessments on his property.

The Municipal League of King County, a nonpartisan better-government organization, rated Albertini as "very good." State records indicate he's raised more than $8,000 toward his campaign.

Bob Blanchard

Blanchard, 62, is a CPA who was assistant vice president for Safeco Properties and ran a tax-accounting firm that he sold in 2006.

The Redmond resident said he's running because the assessor's office is inefficient and needs stronger management. As evidence, he points to what he calls "a large number of appeals."

Historically, about 4,400 appeals are filed annually, according to the county Board of Equalization. Last year more than 13,000 appeals were filed for taxes due this year, as many saw their housing values fall sharply.

There was a similar spike in appeals during the early 1990s recession, Gering says.

Blanchard, making his case for stronger management, noted a recent state audit found the assessor's office gave a tax refund of more than $100,000 despite insufficient documentation. The assessor's office disagreed with the audit, saying it didn't take into account all the facts.

If elected, Blanchard said, he wouldn't allow any refunds of more than $5,000 without his signature. He said he'd also reassess properties every two years instead of annually because that would "save manpower and postage expense." (Gering says the Legislature wants all counties to conduct annual assessments.)

There's no record of Blanchard appealing a property assessment.

The league said it didn't give Blanchard a rating because he didn't fill out a questionnaire. He's raised no campaign contributions, according to the state.

Lloyd Hara

Hara, 69, is a politically connected business consultant who's held various government roles: His four-year term as Port of Seattle commissioner ends this year. He served a year in 1994 as a regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. From 1980 to 1992, he served as Seattle's elected treasurer before voters abolished the office. Before that he was King County's auditor for a decade.

Hara said he's the only candidate with public-sector management experience. He's opposed to Initiative 1033.

If elected assessor, Hara said he would bring a "customer-service culture" to the department and would lobby on behalf of low-income seniors to raise the income threshold for deferring property taxes.

Hara appealed the valuation of his Queen Anne home in 2003 and got the $933,000 value knocked down to $765,000, according to the assessor's office. Hara said he challenged the assessment based on sales of comparable homes in his neighborhood.

The Municipal League rated Hara as "good." He's raised about $74,000 so far in campaign contributions, according to the state.

Robert Rosenberger

Rosenberger, 57, worked in the assessor's office as an appraiser from the mid-'80s until last year. A real-estate investor, he's making his third run for assessor, having sought the office in 1991 and 1992.

"My plan is more or less to continue the path of professionalism and improvement that it's been on for the past two decades," he said.

He has published a 12-item reform plan, including cutting the assessor's $134,000 salary by $24,000.

While he opposes Initiative 1033, Rosenberger says he supports legislative reforms. Some property owners have abused the historical-preservation exemption, which allows them to deduct from taxable value any improvement, such as putting a hot tub on the roof, he said.

Rosenberger has successfully appealed King County's valuation of vacant parcels he owns next to his Rainier Beach home. He appealed this year's assessment on a rental house in North Bend, which flooded last year. He said he'd drop the case if elected because he doesn't think it's appropriate for an assessor to appeal.

The Municipal League rated Rosenberger "very good." State records show he has raised more than $101,000 in campaign contributions — about $90,000 of it his own money.

Eugene Lux

Lux, 82, has said that while he is running for assessor, he doesn't really want the job. The Lake Ridge general contractor hasn't raised any contributions.

The Municipal League rated Lux "not qualified."

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103 or sbhatt@seattletimes.com

News researcher David Turim contributed to this story.

This article, published October 25, 2009, was corrected October 25, 2009. A previous version incorrectly stated "Nov. 4 ballot." The ballot will be collected Nov. 3.