Dean Logan sent this e-mail to Ron Sims and members of the County Council last Friday regarding his deposition --
M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Ron Sims, King County Executive, Members, Metropolitan King County Council
FROM: Dean C. Logan, Director, King County Records, Elections and Licensing Services
DATE: April 22, 2005
RE:Briefing Paper - Election Contest Deposition & Ballot Identification
Earlier this week I was deposed by attorneys representing each of the primary parties in the election contest. The transcript of my two-day deposition has not been completed by the court reporter and I have not had the opportunity to review and sign a copy as provided under Superior Court Civil Rule 30.
Superintendent of Elections Bill Huennekens was similarly deposed yesterday and today in this lawsuit. The deposition of Mr. Huennekens is not complete and the depositions of other King County employees related to the election contest litigation have not even begun. As a result, we do not have completed transcripts related to these employees available for disclosure.
We are hearing multiple reports that excerpts from the draft transcript of my deposition and references to Mr. Huennekens' deposition are being circulated in the political community and on web blogs. Likewise, the print media has received various reports and representations of the depositions and has been requesting copies of transcripts with the indication that they plan to report on the rumored content this weekend.
For your reference, attached to this memorandum is a response from Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Janine Joly to a public records request by the Associated Press for the transcript of my deposition. The draft we have received is an optical character recognition (OCR) version that has not yet been reviewed and prepared by the official court reporter that was present at the deposition.
It is my belief that these selective reports from and representations of the depositions misrepresent the context and content of the actual depositions and lack a foundation of reference to the manner in which elections administration is conducted in King County and throughout the state. I do not intend to argue these points in the media, but I believe it important for you to be aware that this is occurring.
As you know, I have appeared publicly at five town hall meetings, two lengthy appearances before the Committee of the Whole, in numerous broadcast media reports, and have spent several hours discussing these issues with newspaper reporters. The context in which these issues were discussed and my responses in the depositions this week were substantially the same as all previous public statements and presentations made regarding the 2004 election.
The election contest trial begins May 23. As previously indicated, I have fully cooperated with responding to discovery related to the case and in appearing for a deposition. The case is before a Superior Court Judge and will likely go the State Supreme Court for final decision. Those proceedings and the associated pleadings will all be part of the public record. Rather than repeat those proceedings in the media, my immediate focus will remain on administering the upcoming special elections and implementing process improvements.
Additionally, I want you to be aware that in completing the quality checks I directed of the empty ballot envelopes and materials from the 2004 General Election, one additional uncounted absentee ballot was identified, bringing the total number to 95. The ballot, located in precinct 43-1782, was found during a random review of the empty absentee envelopes previously checked as part of the discovery request in the election contest lawsuit. The ballot has been secured and, like the others, will remain sealed unless action is ordered by the courts.
I remain, as you do, concerned with the issues identified with regard to the processing of absentee ballots in the 2004 elections. Several actions have been taken to immediately address these issues as we administer the April and May special elections - including reassignment of staff, placing some employees on leave pending further investigation, instituting more rigorous quality assurance steps, and providing for heightened accountability and reconciliation.
A professional, independent team of employment investigators has been selected in cooperation with the Human Resources Division and the Prosecuting Attorney's office to fully examine the personnel related aspects of the processing of absentee ballots in 2004. That investigation is estimated to take 30 days to complete. In the meantime, procedural and policy issues are being examined and addressed on a real time basis.
I welcome the oversight and expertise of the newly established Elections Commission and that of the Independent, professional audit approved by the Council last week. You can expect my full cooperation and assistance in ensuring timely, appropriate, and necessary improvements in the Elections Section. My staff and I are committed to working aggressively on implementing the recommendations of these bodies - and those improvements we have already identified.
-----Original Message-----Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at April 25, 2005 11:55 AM | Email This
From: Joly, Janine
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 12:23 PM
To: 'rcook@ap.org'
Cc: Porter, Donald; Stoa, Mary; Egan, Bobbie
Subject: Response to Your April 18, 2005 Public Disclosure RequestDear Ms. Cook:
The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office received your public disclosure request by e-mail on Monday, April 18, 2005. You requested copies of the transcripts of the depositions of Dean Logan, Bill Huennekens, and any other King County elections employees giving depositions to the parties in the election challenge. You also requested copies of all public records requests submitted to the King County Records, Elections and Licensing Services Division ("Elections Division") during the past six months.
As you may know, Mr. Logan's deposition was completed on Tuesday, April 19. The final transcript of his deposition has not been completed by the court reporter nor has Mr. Logan had a chance to review and sign the deposition as provided under Superior Court Civil Rule 30. Based on the information provided by the court reporter, we anticipate receiving a complete draft transcript early next week, and expect that Mr. Logan will need a couple of days to review it. Moreover, because Mr. Logan has to conduct an election on April 26, and because the transcript will contain information that requires redaction, we do not expect the document to be available until the week of May 2. We will make a copy for you as soon as it is available.
The deposition of Mr. Huennekens is not complete and the depositions of other King County employees related to the election contest litigation have not even begun. As a result, we do not have completed transcript related to these employees available for disclosure. You may wish to resubmit your public disclosure request for these documents at a later date.
Documents responsive to your request for copies of the public disclosure requests received by the Elections Division in the past six months will be available no later than 4:30 p.m. today. Please call Mary Stoa at 296-1540 to make arrangements to pick up the documents. They will be available at the Elections Division's office.
Pursuant to RCW 42.17.290, King County charges fifteen cents per page for copies of public records. We cannot give you a total cost at this time since we do not know how many pages of documents are responsive to your request. We will let you know the costs of the copies when you pick them up.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me.
Janine Joly
Sr. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
(206) 296-9015
hmmmm. Substantially? Is that another accuracy rate that any bank would be proud of?
You mean, as opposed to the heads of the deparment and the county eager to be friendly to Gregoire, right?
Posted by: jimg on April 25, 2005 12:47 PMOh well, they can always read the P-I to see what Judge Bridges said even if he didn't say it. The P-I can act like a tranquilizer to their panic-stricken psyches.
They both seem worried about what the underlings might say next week in their depositions.
The case IMO will boil down to 'proportional analysis'. I saw some case law (WA State) regarding this but have misplaced it.
Posted by: Michael on April 25, 2005 01:05 PMfound it on this link:
http://www.tvw.org/resources/capitolpress.cfm?CFID=110671&CFTOKEN=26294664
Posted by: ranboy on April 25, 2005 01:05 PMIn answer to your question, the entry said that the email was sent to the County Council. And there *are* a few friendlies there. No need for a mole in Elections this time.
I almost feel sorry for Logan. Almost, but not quite. Is that wrong?
Posted by: TB on April 25, 2005 01:14 PMI saw that the email went to some friendlies on the council after I made my post. In answer to your question...No, not wrong at all.
Logan, et al, need to take their a**-whipping like a man...they've earned it.
Posted by: Danny on April 25, 2005 01:25 PMBut then I recall how he was so arrogant and smug on the floor of the hand recount office.
As I was sitting at a table about six feet from him, I remember him going over an interview with a reporter before the camera was turned on. They carefully planned every question and answer. And as soon as the camera came on, he changed the tone of his voice to try and sound authoritative. When asked if KC could be compared to Florida, he just looked at the camera and answered "No ho ho ho" in a forced chuckle that sounded like Santa.
Cutting him an immunity deal to go after Sims is about the extent of my sympathy.
Rebecca's been there for some time. She replaced long-time scribe, Hal Spencer who took a job with the Office of Financial Management.
While I'm not fan of the MSM - especially after their behavior over the past 18 months, Ms. Cook is not a screaming partisan like some others are.
And Danny, I wasn't thinking one way or the other about the intent behind your post. Just pointing out the obvious to others who may not be as reasonable.
Posted by: jimg on April 25, 2005 01:34 PMLogan should have been suspended (with pay, of course) rather than allow him to continue in a capacity making him responsible for tabulation and certification of legally cast votes.
Posted by: Baynative on April 25, 2005 01:35 PMLogan is responsible for all KC elections office P.O. box votes. Logan is responsible for the missing military ballots. Logan is responsible for all the lost and found ballots and "irregularity" that occurred.
Dean received his marching orders from Sims. If he is smart he will come clean. I think that is what he was saying between the lines is 'I can't cover up the truth (Fraud) anymore Ron! The cat is out of the bag and I'm not going to take the fall for you (unless you have something to offer)'.
Posted by: Splatter on April 25, 2005 02:03 PM"A professional, independent team of employment investigators has been selected in cooperation with the Human Resources Division and the Prosecuting Attorney's office to fully examine the personnel related aspects of the processing of absentee ballots in 2004. That investigation is estimated to take 30 days to complete. In the meantime, procedural and policy issues are being examined and addressed on a real time basis."
So does this say that some rogue employees stuffed the ballot box and are going to be fired and sent to jail? I am not sure, it might also be that some staff were criminally neglegent in processing of absentee votes.
Oh my, this could get interesting!!!!!!
The scapegoats have been found, all that is lacking is the ceremonial sacrifice.
Posted by: Bob on April 25, 2005 03:14 PMThe MSM is putting this reporter on their blacklist as we speak. Don't forget Rebecca, you can have it your own way, as long as you do just as the progressives say.
ht: orbusmax
Posted by: Splatter on April 25, 2005 03:34 PMWhen was the last time you read a Progressive Liberal blog that had posts like: "I almost feel sorry for (insert Republican)." or "I almost feel sorry for (insert Republican) too."? Show me the proof trolls!
You know, I almost felt sorry for Queen G during the re-re-count! She is controlled by special interest groups and her actions were dictated to her by them (as well as WA law). But it didn't take long to see Queen G is nothing more than a self-serving, spineless, greasy palmed, political pawn. The sympathy ducts have dried up for her.
Dean Logan still has time to do the right thing. I'm not holding my breath.
Posted by: Splatter on April 25, 2005 04:06 PMI thought it was very interesting that Joly excused Logan right up until the trial begins. They are using every tactic in the book to delay information that will appear suspicious to the average concerend WA voter.
Logan knows that he screwed up. He knows that the election was handled poorly and that even if there was not outright organized fraud, that his screwups in accounting and polling place procedures were easily enough to swing the election to Gregoire. Even if the Republican case is not enough to convince Judge Bridges given the current high standard of proving every illegal vote that is today's WA law, the public can plainly see that there was more than enough error to swing the election. Logan knows that even if the contest fails, Gregoire's legitimacy will always be questioned because of his actions. He has made life very hard for Gregoire, Sims and his organization.
Thus he's still squirming hoping for some way to stay covered until the contest is over, hoping with everything he's got that the contest fails. But the damage is done. The people of WA no longer trust King County and the man left holding the bag is Dean Logan.
Posted by: Jeff B. on April 25, 2005 04:36 PMYes, Logans predicament is tough. He and Sims KNEW of "cultural" problem. Unlike in the past, where they were able to obscure facts by claiming 'mistakes' (fraud) happens, this time EVERY LEGAL VOTE COUNTS.
And who could have predicted the SP Sharkansky Factor? Darn them meddling bloggers..
Just wait until the next election. RINOS and RATS should remember, search engines never forget.
Posted by: Splatter on April 25, 2005 05:17 PMHowever, look out - it "will remein sealed unless action is ordered by the courts." Is this a threat? "We can find more ballots, you know, so just watch it." I wish that was a joke.
Posted by: Mac on April 25, 2005 05:21 PMWhere is the latest pithy Nelson comment? Oh, Nelson, Nelson where is ya? I guess the truth from the Logan-man is shaking his confidence?
Pudster
Posted by: Puddybud on April 25, 2005 06:09 PMWhat Logan is saying here...is that he is not going to set himself up for any hard questioning journalists from the media...And he's warning Sims that the media may be contacting him instead...Giving Sims a heads up...
"As you know, I have appeared publicly at five town hall meetings, two lengthy appearances before the Committee of the Whole, in numerous broadcast media reports, and have spent several hours discussing these issues with newspaper reporters. The context in which these issues were discussed and my responses in the depositions this week were substantially the same as all previous public statements and presentations made regarding the 2004 election.
Wow! What Logan seems to be expressing here is some kind of guilt (He threw someone under that bus! Maybe it was Sims!).... He is trying to justify something to Sims by listing all of his recent public appearances etc... "See? everything I've done for you Ron? I've done my part in covering your ass"..."And Ron?...I tried to stick to the script about the 2004 elections - I said pretty much everything I stated during all of those public appearances....but be prepared....some things I've stated in the depositions may not be in the *exact* context of the script - but they were close.....Don't think I've flaked out on you Ron!"
Posted by: Deborah on April 25, 2005 07:40 PMWhat do you folks think?
I mean the guy is a shoe salesman with a high school education for God's sake!!