That news report, along with complaints from Assessor’s Office employees, is why Lori Wick decided to run, she says. (The state auditor is currently investigating the allegations of properties missing from the tax rolls, according to an e-mail sent to Mason on July 20.) “I think there may be some perceived vulnerability based on really, really poor reporting,” Baker says.īaker’s referring to a multi-part story put out by KREM 2 anchor Randy Shaw on whistleblower Debi Mason, an appraiser in the office who alleged large numbers of properties - nearly $20 million - were missing from the tax rolls. So why the unusual number of opponents running against him? “By doing that, we’ve raised the expectations of what citizens expect of us.” “For taxes and assessments, and all the information about your house, it’s on our web page,” Baker says. Ultimately, Baker’s most proud of the website that allows easy access to property information. He turned “one of the worst Assessor’s Offices in the state to one of the best Assessor’s Offices in the state,” he says, pointing to a 2009 Washington State Department of Revenue study showing the Spokane County assessor’s measurements are one of the state’s most accurate. Since 2005, when he first took office, Baker says he whittled down the two-year backlog on land segregation paperwork to less than 90 days. The assessor has to keep track of a whole slew of regulations and stipulations, all while managing a staff of 45 people. If certain properties aren’t documented, they won’t be taxed - raising taxes for everybody else. The Assessor’s Office tracks all the properties in the county and estimates their worth. (A bit awkward, Horton says.)īut all of them make the same argument: The office of assessor is a mess. Vicki Horton is currently an appraiser, still working under the man she’s running against. Sadie Charlene Cooney, Spokane County assessor from 1992 to 2002, is attempting to get her old job back.
Real-estate broker Gina McKenzie led the bring-trash-pickup-back-to-the-alleys campaign that helped sink former Mayor Dennis Hession’s re-election chances. Andrew Jackson is a computer software engineer. The types of candidates pitted against five-year incumbent Ralph Baker vary. There were also three candidates in 2002, 19 - and only one in 1990. In 2006, the last election for assessor, there were three candidates. Ralph Baker, Sadie Charlene Cooney, Vicki Horton, Andrew Jackson, Gina McKenzie, Lori Wick
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