King County, Washington
From Sunshine Review
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King County is one of 39 counties in Washington.
The population in the 2000 census was 1,737,034. In 2006, the population had increased by about 100,000 to 1,835,300. In terms of its population, King is the largest county in Washington, and the 14th largest in the United States.
The county seat is Seattle, which is the state's largest city. About two-thirds of King County's population lives in the Seattle suburbs.
King County ranks among the 100 highest-income counties in the United States.
[edit] Website evaluation
[edit] The good
- Budget is published.[1]
- County council members listed with contact information.[2] Meeting schedule, minutes and agendas available.[3]
- Includes contact information for public records officer.[4]
- Building permits[5] and zoning information provided.[6]
- Audit reports are available.[7]
- Local tax info available.[8]
[edit] The bad
- County contracts are not online.
- Does not disclose if belongs to taxpayer-funded lobbying associations.
[edit] Lobbying
In 2008, King County reported $250,000 spent on lobbying. [9]
[edit] Public records
[edit] Yousoufian v Sims
- Main article: Yousoufian v. Office of Ron Sims
In 1997 Armen Yousoufian requested documents concerning economic studies that had been done regarding the public financing of what is now Qwest Field in King County. The county took four years to respond with the requested documents (the Washington Public Records Act requires a response within five days). A penalty of nearly $124,000 was assessed to the county, but the Washington Supreme Court ruled in January 2009 that the fee was insufficient, and ordered a lower court to calculate a larger penalty. [10] As Justice Richard Sanders said in his majority opinion, King County "repeatedly deceived and misinformed Yousoufian for years." [11]
On April 1, 2009, King County asked the state Supreme Court to re-hear the case. The basis for their request is that claim that justice Richard Sanders, who wrote the landmark decision, was prejudiced in his opinion about the case because at the same time he wrote the ruling, Sanders had a public-records lawsuit pending in Thurston County. King County Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Wright said, "A justice may not define the scope of rights under state law while simultaneously seeking to personally benefit from that law in other litigation."[12]
The county is asking the high court to re-hear the case, substituting a temporary justice in the place of Sanders. Since six justices on the nine-justice court agreed with Sanders, it isn't clear that substituting a replacement justice for Sanders on the court would change the outcome. [12]
Sanders denies wrongdoing. He consulted with the court's ethics attorney before hearing Yousoufian. Sanders also says that he will not financially benefit from any additional fines imposed in the Thurston case, so that he does not have a financial conflict-of-interest.
Seattle lawyer Thomas Fitzpatrick, a member of a committee that reviews the canons of the state's Code of Judicial Conduct, said Sanders does not have the type of financial interest in the Yousofian case that would have constrained him for hearing it. "He's not a party or related to a party in the case. To me, this is the kind of situation where [a judge] may want to think long and hard about it. But I don't think it's a violation of the canons."[12]
[edit] Sharkansky v. King County
- Main article: Sharkansky v. King County
On April 24, 2009, King County settled a lawsuit with blogger Stefan Sharkansky. The county agreed to pay Sharkansky $225,000 for withholding public records that Sharkansy requested in 2004.[13]
In December 2004, Sharkansky filed a request under the Washington Public Records Act for everyone who voted in the county in the November 2004 election. The county did not provide the records for two years.[13] Once Sharkansky did receive the records, he says they revealed that elections officials in the county counted ballots that were ineligible, and that this changed the outcome of the state's 2004 gubernatorial election between Democrat Chris Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi.
The county's failure to provide the records on a timely basis prevented Sharkansky from providing needed evidence in a trial in Chelan County Superior Court over the disputed election. "The trial never explained this mystery of why there were more votes than voters,” he said on April 24.[13]
[edit] External links
- Official King County Website
- King County on E-Reference
- Historylink.org provides an unparalleled collection of articles on the history of Seattle and Washington. See especially their history of Seattle and King County.
- Public records law gets teeth, Wenatchee World, January 17, 2009
- Wash. high court: $124K fine for withholding records is too low, Associated Press, January 17, 2009
- Supreme Court: $15 daily fines not enough in egregious public records case, The Olympian, January 15, 2009
- King Co. to pay blogger $225K for witholding docs, The Olympian, April 24, 2009
[edit] References
- ↑ Budget
- ↑ Council Members
- ↑ Meetings
- ↑ Records Officer
- ↑ Building
- ↑ County Code
- ↑ Audit Reports
- ↑ Taxes
- ↑ King County Lobbying Report
- ↑ Bigger fine for King Co.'s withholding of records, Associated Press, January 15, 2009
- ↑ Washington Supreme Court to agencies: Comply with open records act or pay more, Seattle Times, January 15, 2009
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Seattle Times, "King County asks state high court to void records ruling", April 2, 2009
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 First Amendment Center, "Wash. county to pay blogger $225K for withholding records", April 27, 2009
[edit] See also
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