Credit Troy Kelley with this: He’s brought Republican and Democratic lawmakers and officials together in agreement that the federally indicted state auditor should resign.
Kelley, who leads the state office responsible for holding state and local governments and agencies accountable for public resources, announced a leave of absence Thursday after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of filing false tax returns, attempted obstruction of a civil lawsuit and possession of more than $1 million in stolen property related to his former real estate title business.
Calls for his resignation, particularly from fellow Democrats continue to mount, starting at the top with Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Rob Ferguson.
Inslee was blunt: “This indictment today makes it clear to me that Troy Kelley cannot continue as state auditor. He should resign immediately.”
Kelley isn’t taking the advice; he’s not stepping down but stepping aside and maintaining his innocence and vowing to return.
The time for Kelley to take a leave of absence was earlier, before the indictment was returned. Kelley, of course, is presumed innocent until proved guilty, but the legal challenge he faces is certain to be lengthy and threatens to reflect poorly on the office for which he is responsible. His guilt or innocence is an unanswered question. What is certain is his inability to lead the office he was elected to because of the tumult surrounding him.
That leaves the course of action to others: either recall or impeachment.
One recall effort already has begun. Will Knedlik, a disbarred attorney who served a term in the state House in the 1970s, has filed a recall petition, but its charges are largely unrelated to the federal indictment, alleging inadequate auditing and that Kelley violated the state Constitution by living in Tacoma instead of Olympia while in office.
Knedlik should either refile his petition with the new — and more damning — information, or allow someone else to file a new petition. To put a recall measure on the ballot the petition will have to collect valid signatures from 715,800 registered voters. We wonder if initiative master Tim Eyman might volunteer his skills for such a campaign.
The other option is for the Legislature to impeach Kelley. A state representative could start the process in the House by filing a resolution of impeachment, which if it received approval by a majority, would move on to the Senate, which would investigate the charges. Impeachment there would require passage by a two-thirds majority.
Recall might be the preferred alternative. A higher standard of proof would be necessary before the Legislature than before the voters. And the House and Senate have enough on their plate right now and are already looking at a possible special session to finish work on education funding, school levy reforms, transportation funding and operating and capital budgets for the next two years.
If legislators believe it necessary to move forward with impeachment, they should take up that effort after they have completed all other tasks.
Or Kelley could save everyone the time, money, effort and aggravation and resign.
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