The Clark County Republican party is asking for an investigation into the role County Auditor Greg Kimsey played in the passing of the home-rule charter.
In a letter to County Prosecutor Tony Golik dated Nov. 4, Clark County Republican In a letter to County Prosecutor Tony Golik dated Nov. 4, Clark County Republican Chairman Kenny Smith alleges Kimsey used his office to advocate for the passage of the home-rule charter when he placed a two-page explanation of the proposed charter in the general election voters pamphlet.
Commissioner David Madore, who was a vocal critic of the charter, expressed similar concerns before the election.
The county Republicans allege Kimsey “actively campaigned for the passage” of the charter and used “copies of pages 58-59 of the 2014 Voter’s Pamphlet as his primary campaign literature.”
“Additionally, any reasonable person who opposes the proposition would find these pages to be carefully crafted to put the proposition in the most favorable light possible, while strategically omitting the many legitimate objections voters have to the proposition,” the letter reads.
Clark County voters approved the charter Tuesday night by a double-digit percentage.
Kimsey said he was disappointed that after 16 years spent as a Republican precinct committee officer and despite being a former member of the Clark County Republican Central Committee, he had to hear about the letter for the first time from a reporter.
Kimsey said the county auditor has the authority under state law to provide information about a home-rule charter in a voters’ pamphlet. He touched base with both the secretary of state’s office and the county prosecutor’s office before preparing the pages.
Earlier example
Kimsey also referenced a Thurston County home-rule charter vote in the 1990 general election, where additional information about the charter was placed in the voters’ pamphlet.
The Clark County Board of Freeholders asked Kimsey to provide two pages of “factual, unbiased information” describing the charter. Kimsey said he agreed because he believed voters would benefit from the information.
Before the two pages were written, Madore expressed concern information could be omitted.
Kimsey said he encouraged Madore to provide Kimsey with a written description of the information he was worried would be omitted, but never received any information from Madore.
The anti-charter political action committee Don’t Lose Your Voice raised $89,868, and Madore contributed $37,000 to the PAC. The Clark Forward, or pro-charter PAC, raised $104,196. Kimsey pitched in $10 to the effort.
In 2002, when the county was also considering a home-rule charter, the board of commissioners funded the creation and mailing of brochures to every household in the county.
Republican Party Chair Kenny Smith said he felt asking Golik to investigate was the most responsible way to handle the situation.
“I hope to find an answer to whether what he has done is proper or not,” Smith said.
Smith said people “are clamoring for an answer” and it made sense for the Republican party to take the lead and ask for an investigation.
Golik said he was aware of the letter but had yet to see a copy.
He confirmed the county auditor has the statutory authority to add supplemental pages to a voters’ pamphlet.
