The State Supreme Court will take up a citizen proposal to recall

The State Supreme Court will take up a citizen proposal to recall Port Commissioner Pat Davis at its May 1 meeting. But the court will not hear oral arguments in the case. State law says you must show malfeasance in order to mount an effort to kick a public official out of office. Clifford says Davis violated the public trust when she attempted to orchestrate a payout, behind closed doors, for retiring CEO Mic Dinsmore. King County Superior Court gave him the go ahead to start collecting signatures for the recall last May, but Davis appealed the decision to the state’s highest court. If the supremes give him the green light, he’ll have 6 months to collect the 150,000 signatures needed to get a vote on the ballot. While it’s possible word could come as early as May 1, it is likely to be a day or two because of the logistics of getting orders signed and processed once a decision’s been made, according to a court spokesperson. Clifford, a Renton resident and high school teacher who’s representing himself, had hoped for the opportunity to argue his case in front of the court. However, he says, “Anything that gets this moving is good. …I’m curious to see what they’ll do.”