Prosecutor candidates spar over 17 traffic tickets

EPHRATA - Moses Lake attorney and Grant County prosecutor candidate Garth Dano said the 17 traffic citations he received since 2005 should have nothing to do with the political race or the prosecutor's job.

His opponent, current county prosecutor Angus Lee, disagrees and released a campaign video recently calling into question Dano's driving record. Lee cited several citations Dano received.

The video ends after a voice states "He (Dano) says he wants to enforce the law, shouldn't he try following it first?"

Dano said he received several citations while driving back and forth between his office in Moses Lake and courthouses across the state. He noted some of the citations were either dismissed or lowered to a lesser charge by a judge.

"Yes, I have received a number of speeding tickets, but I have paid all of the fines," he said.

Dano said driving with a suspended license ticket issued in 2008 was dropped because he did not know his license was suspended automatically after a parking ticket in Spokane County went temporarily unpaid.

He said a reckless driving ticket issued in 2005 in Lincoln County was lowered to a speeding ticket after he explained he was trying to help police by following a reckless speeder. He said he was speeding while trying to record the license plate number of the speeder when he was pulled over. According to court documents, Dano had three speeding tickets either dismissed or lowered to a non-moving violation in the last three years.

"The duty of the prosecutor is to uphold the law and work to improve public safety. One cannot habitually violate the law and uphold it at the same time," Lee said.

Dano said his driving record should not be a campaign issue. He said he wanted to keep the campaign clean and focus on the job of cleaning up the prosecutor's office.

According to court documents, Dano received the following citations in Washington:

July 19, 2005, Reckless driving, amended to speeding, 25 mph over posted speed limit; fine paid.

Dec. 22, 2008, Speeding, driving without a driver's license; speeding fine paid, no license charges dropped.

July 20, 2009, Defective equipment, speeding; fine paid.

Nov. 24, 2009, Driving with wheels off roadway; dismissed.

Feb. 7, 2009, Speeding; dismissed.

Sept. 20, 2010, Speeding; fines paid.

Jan. 6, 2011, Failure to signal; fines paid.

Aug. 2, 2011, Speeding; fine paid.

April 9, 2012, Speeding; fine paid.

May 1, 2012, Speeding; dismissed.

July 16, 2012, Using cellphone while driving; fine paid.

Jan. 12, 2013, No seat belt, speeding. Paid fine for seat belt citation, speeding was dismissed.

Sept. 19, 2013, Speeding; fine paid.

Oct. 31, 2013, Speeding, expired tabs; fines paid.

Feb. 23, 2014, No proof of insurance; fine paid.

April 12, 2014, Using cellphone while driving; fine paid.

May 19, 2014, No driver's license on person; fine paid.