OLYMPIA — Neither world war had been fought the last time Washington senators gathered for an impeachment trial — a 1909 event that took two weeks in a summer special session.
But if state elected officials and lawmakers want indicted state Auditor Troy Kelley to go, that’s the route they’ll likely have to take.
Kelley, a Democrat elected in 2012, hasn’t just gone away like many of those officials would have hoped. In fact, he returned last week from an unpaid, self-imposed seven-month leave of absence intended to allow him to fight federal charges alleging tax evasion and money laundering.
Whether Kelley’s surprise return will boost the prospects of impeachment depends on whom you ask. A resolution announced by four lawmakers this month calls for impeaching the auditor, saying Kelley “willfully abandoned his statewide elected office” during his leave.
Impeachment resolution co-sponsor Rep. Chris Reykdal, D-Tumwater, said that if articles of impeachment were brought to the House floor, he believes they’d pass. If that happened, the Senate would be tasked with holding a trial.
But lawmakers, who will gather in January for a 60-day session, already have plenty to do. Legislators must work on finding a plan for the state Supreme Court’s K-12 school-funding ruling known as McCleary and are expected to address another of the court’s decisions, which ruled charter schools unconstitutional.
They’ll also debate a supplemental budget to pay for, among other things, this year’s record-setting wildfires and possibly needed social-services funding.
Given those pressures, and the complexity surrounding an impeachment trial, Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said he believes not even Kelley’s return will give legislative leaders the appetite to move on impeachment.
“In a vacuum, it sounds great to say we need to be firm about Troy Kelley,” said Pedersen, ranking Democrat on the Senate Law and Justice Committee. But, he said, “we’ve got a long list of things that people want us to deal with.”
Jaime Smith, spokeswoman for Gov. Jay Inslee, said the issue of impeachment would have to be decided by legislators.
Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said there have been no meetings between the legislative caucuses on impeachment. As for a Senate trial, “it would be complicated to add that to a short session.”
Through a state Auditor’s Office spokesman, Kelley has declined to comment on the prospect of impeachment and in a statement said he “can’t possibly imagine” filing to run for re-election in 2016.
