King Co. (WA) to pay blogger $225K for witholding docs

The News Tribune (Tacoma WA) ^ | 4/24/09

[llevrok]

SEATTLE -- Conservative blogger Stefan Sharkansky says King County has agreed to pay him $225,000 to settle a public records lawsuit over the county's failure to release documents about the 2004 governor's election.

Sharkansky filed his request in December 2004, seeking a list of everyone who voted in the election that year, but the county didn't satisfy the request until more than three years later.

He says the documents that were ultimately provided revealed that elections officials in King County counted hundreds of ineligible ballots, which could have changed the outcome of the razor-thin race between Democrat Chris Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi.

The county issed a statement Friday saying officials had a hard time fulfilling Sharkansky's request because they were so busy dealing with the gubernatorial recount and court challenge. The statement confirmed the county reached a settlement, but declined to say for how much.

Sharkansky wrote on his blog Friday that the size of the payment, which King County offered before trial, clearly reflects the county's culpability.

[SeaHawkFan]

If Stefan wasn’t so interested trying to protect some of his GOP buddies. Rossi would have won in a landslide both times. He had all the evidence he needed to take Gregoire down, but wouldn’t use it because it would have also taken down Rob McKenna.

Rossi had the evidence, too. He was more interested in protecting some of his buddies than in beating Gregoire.

Stefan is a hypocrite.

[an amused spectator]

So what do real Americans do with Third World thugs who take over their state governments?

[SeaHawkFan]

Gregoire won the election because Rossi wasn’t willing to do what it took to win it.

[an amused spectator]

The Dems never pay any price after stealing an election.

Yes, but the taxpayers got to cough up an extra $225,000...

[an amused spectator]

They know they stole it, we know they stole it, they knew all along that we knew. They also know that in the future the same pattern will repeat itself. Unless this moves us solidly in the direction of actually stopping election fraud next time, it means very little.

Way down in Athens, Tennessee - stop and have some wine...

Athens, Tennessee, Marie and me - we're doin' fine...

Sweet Maria - never long gone, never long gone...

[sionnsar]

Thanks to Fractal Trader for the ping.

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[Ramius]

Woah.