Irrigation secretary claims threatened by candidate
MOSES LAKE - The administrative assistant for the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District told police she was threatened by a candidate for the district board of directors.
Julie Smith contacted Moses Lake police on Wednesday, saying candidate Mick Hansen told her he was going to "lay traps" for her "this time so you better watch it" during a meeting set to discuss election law Tuesday night.
Hansen's statements were reportedly recorded and witnessed by others at the meeting.
"She feels threatened as she does not know what exactly he meant, either about the election or against her personally," the police report stated.
Moses Lake Police Capt. Dave Sands said Smith only wanted to document the incident and Hansen was not contacted by police.
Hansen said Thursday his comments were in reference to the upcoming election, which he believes could be subject to tampering under the current system of gathering ballots.
"(Smith) has total control of the ballots after the election for the next full week. That is not right," he said. "If anybody is going to send ballots to (the irrigation district) I would say mark it in a special way so that they can go in and identify them later on."
State law dictates irrigation board elections are handled by the district's themselves, not by the Grant County Elections Department.
District Board Director Rich Archer recently presented a list of suggested changes to how the elections are held, made to help the board and the public feel more confident in the vote.
Hansen ran an unsuccessful bid for election against current Position 1 director Ronald Covey last year and this year is running for position 2, currently held by Norm Benson.
Hansen expressed concern the Dec. 13 election could be a repeat of 2010, the outcome of which he called suspicious.
By telling Smith he was "setting a trap" for her, Hansen said he was simply referencing his plan to have supporters mark their ballots to protect against perceived ballot tampering.
"If we get a big switch like last time we're going to call these people in and make sure all ballots are accounted for," he said.
Smith declined to comment on the police report Thursday. She also said she was unable to relate further details of Tuesday's meeting, including whether any action was taken regarding election changes, because the final meeting minutes had not been approved.
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