In 2010, former Island County Commissioner Kelly Emerson made headlines, if not history, when she sued the county she was elected to serve.
While some found her lawsuit courageous, a stand against overstepping government, most saw it for what it was — a misguided challenge steeped in righteousness and an embarrassment to Island County.
Five years later, here we are again.
Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks, on behalf of the state, filed a lawsuit last week against a land-use attorney the county commissioners hired to help with the comprehensive plan update. The circumstances are different and the county itself is not being sued, but the end result will likely be the same.
Because our elected officials couldn’t settle their differences, we can expect months or even years of divisive controversy, wasted resources, a lack of productivity resulting from leaders at odds and taxpayers shouldering part of the bill as the board has agreed to cover the sued attorney’s legal bills.
What a shame.
The argument largely amounts to a turf war. The commissioners hired an outside attorney to do work normally performed by the prosecutor’s office, and Banks, an autonomous elected official, objected. While commissioners maintained that it would lighten the load on Banks’ staff, he argued that his office was ready, willing and capable to do the work themselves.
The issue should have ended right there. The commissioners are responsible for seeing the comprehensive plan update through, but it’s the prosecutor’s mandate to handle the county’s legal issues. It’s one of the reasons the office exists. The board should have abandoned its plans to help, thrown up its hands and said, “OK, it’s all yours.”
That said, we have to wonder if the beef is really worth going to court over. Perhaps the prosecutor’s autonomy and legal authority really are at stake, but it seems unlikely that such an action will set a precedent where the office is regularly usurped by outside counsel. Also, with two Island County Superior Court judges (who are also autonomous elected officials) already weighing in on the commissioners’ side we have to question the merits of litigation.
Ultimately, we feel the commissioners overstepped and should have backed off, but Banks just as easily could have let the matter go.
What will result from the two sides refusing to bend is another public spectacle, an even greater wedge being driven between the board and the prosecutor (the very person commissioners rely upon for legal advice) and taxpayers left to pick up part of the tab.
That’s a pretty steep price for something as silly as unasked-for help.
