Court Opinion

ID: 9549484
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:19:25.095134+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:20:23.414477
License: Public Domain

Hill, J.
(dissenting)—I dissent.
Amendment 8 added the recall provision to our state constitution, contained in sections 33 and 34 of article 1. Section 33 states what the petition for the recall of an elective public officer shall contain. It must recite,
[T]hat such officer has committed some act or acts of malfeasance or misfeasance while in office, or . . . has violated his oath of office, stating the matters complained of ... .
The implementing statute is chapter 29.82. The section dealing with the charges which make a public officer subject to recall is RCW 29.82.010. The charge must state that he has
[Cjommitted an act or acts of malfeasance, or an act or acts of misfeasance while in office, or has violated his oath of office, or has been guilty of any two or more of the acts specified in the Constitution as grounds for recall[1] which charge shall state the act or acts complained of in concise language, without unnecessary repetition ....
The majority opinion sets forth in haec verba the “matters complained of.” It is necessary to find in that melange of disagreement, disapproval, and disgruntlement an act or acts of misfeasance, malfeasance, or a violation of his oath of office2 by Mr. Danielson (the plaintiff-appellant herein), if the recall petition is to be deemed sufficient.
*863Initially it should be noted that he is not charged with dishonesty, corruption or any neglect of the statutory duties which have been imposed upon him. The majority has had to stretch the conception of misfeasance, malfeasance, or violation of oath of office beyond anything we have heretofore conceived as being included in those terms.
From the first charge, the one which the majority has found to be sufficient, it appears that Mr. Danielson has advocated that those residents of Public Utility District No. 1 of Wahkiakum County residing on Puget Island might be better served by organizing a water district of their own. This they have the undoubted right to do (RCW 54.16.180). If the plan he advocates is not in the best interest of the voters in that area, they need only reject it.
It may be lese majesty to suggest to the residents of a particular area (such as Puget Island) that they can be better served by a water district of their own than by Public Utility District No. 1 of Wahkiakum County, but I submit that it is neither misfeasance, malfeasance, nor a violation of his oath of office for Mr. Danielson to advocate that one area in a public utility district can be better served by organizing a water district of its own. If Mr. Danielson is incorrect, the respondents here are free to point out the errors in his advocacy in the election necessary to form such a district.
Actually on the first charge, the complaint against Mr. Danielson amounts to no more than that he has exercised his constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech.
The majority is saying that a public official lays the foundation for a recall by recommending to the voters of any section of his district that they should consider a change in structure in the event such change would diminish the functions of the agency he was elected to serve. A school director could face a recall election, if he should recommend that the district be divided; and a county commissioner who advocated the incorporation of part of the *864county as a city or town would have the Damoclean sword of recall hanging over his head.
I cannot agree that such advocacy should be categorized as “wrongful conduct that affects, interrupts, or interferes with the performance of official duty” (quoting the majority opinion), nor can the advocacy of Mr. Danielson of the creation of a water district on Puget Island be so categorized in the present case. It is a far cry from my concept of misfeasance, malfeasance, or a violation of his oath of office (to quote the constitution).
However, a dissent in this case must do more than disagree with the majority as to the sufficiency of the first of the four charges; for, as pointed out in the majority opinion, if any one of the four charges is sufficient to warrant a recall the election must be held. Morton v. McDonald, 41 Wn.2d 889, 252 P.2d 577 (1953). The second and third charges were held insufficient by the superior court, and there has been no appeal from that holding.
The fourth charge appears on page 846 of the majority opinion, and charges that Mr. Danielson: (1) “arrogantly” refused to answer questions at public meetings; and “arbitrarily and capriciously” refused to consider “citizen voters petitions and requests”; (2) refused to attempt to negotiate an agreement with the town of Cathlamet.
As to (1), his conduct may have been politically inept and imprudent, but it does not constitute misfeasance or malfeasance; neither is there any violation of his oath of office.
As to (2), his refusal to negotiate an agreement could not prevent its negotiation, if the other two commissioners desired to negotiate. This charge seems completely immaterial.
It is my view that there is nothing in the portion of the recall petition now before us for review that constitutes misfeasance, malfeasance by Mr. Danielson, or- a violation of his oath of office.
*865I would reverse the judgment appealed from and enjoin the recall.
Donworth, Weaver, and Neill, JJ., concur with Hill, J.
'February 29, 1968. Petition for rehearing denied.

The significance of the clause “or has been guilty of any two or more of the acts specified in the Constitution as grounds for recall” is not clear, as the statute has already stated the three grounds of malfeasance, misfeasance, and violation of oath of office designated in the constitution.

“Each commissioner before he enters upon the duties of his office shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation that he will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of his office to the best of his ability. . . .” RCW 54.12.100.