OLYMPIA — A Thurston County Superior Court judge says a Grays Harbor County election was “not properly conducted,” sharply criticizing county officials for conduct that “shocks the conscience,” while ordering the county to pay nearly $70,000 for intentionally withholding public records related to the 2023 election.
Judge Christine Schaller made the comments during a July 24 hearing involving a public records lawsuit brought by Ocean Shores Mayor Frank Elduen and his wife, Kerin Elduen. Schaller admonished Grays Harbor County Auditor Joseph MacLean, and the county’s elections administrator, Scott Turnbull, over their handling of records concerning the election and a change in the order of candidates on the ballot.
She said the court had uncovered “very unethical behaviors” by the two officials and described their conduct as “interference with the election process.”
But Schaller also made clear she was not ruling that election laws had been violated. She said she could not impose a penalty for the alleged election interference because the issue was outside the scope of the public records case.
“I cannot enter a penalty that punishes the Auditor and Mr. Turnbull for the actual behavior as it relates to what they did in that election, which I’ve already indicated is — it’s terrible,” Schaller said. “I’m not the fact finder on those issues, but it seems very intentional and willful what they did.”
Grays Harbor County did not respond to a request for comment.
The underlying public records lawsuit stemmed from questions about the order of candidates on the 2023 ballot. Elduen’s name in the Ocean Shores mayoral race initially appeared first but was moved to second after the lot draw used to determine candidate order. MacLean denied any improper switching, but did not adequately explain the change, according to court filings.
Under state law, candidates’ names on the general election ballot are ordered through a lot draw, a randomized process intended to ensure fairness and transparency.
After contacting MacLean, the Elduens filed public records requests with the county seeking records related to the ballot order. The county failed to provide the signed lot-draw document, even after the Elduens specifically requested it. The document was released 184 days after the initial request.
Schaller called the withholding of the document “a truly egregious violation.”
The records dispute later expanded to texts and other communications between MacLean and Turnbull. During the lawsuit, MacLean produced some communications, while other records remain unproduced, according to court proceedings.
Attorney Jeffrey Myers, representing MacLean and Turnbull, said he didn’t want to “trivialize” the mistakes made by the county, but disputed claims that officials had been dishonest. He said the lot-draw record had gone missing until about a week before the election and that, by the time it was found, it was too late to do anything about the ballot.
“When the plaintiff argues that the County has been dishonest about it, he’s not telling the whole story,” said Myers.
The Elduens sought $2.2 million in damages. Their attorney, Douglas Cloud, argued that the case warranted a very stiff penalty, because of what he called the “fundamental importance of the election process.”
Cloud questioned why MacLean had produced some texts but not others, suggesting that he might have been trying to avoid producing potentially incriminating evidence.
Myers argued that the $2.2 million damage request “shocks the conscience,” particularly given the county’s budgetary constraints.
“What really shocks the conscience is the behaviors of Auditor MacLean and Mr. Turnbull,” Schaller countered in her closing remarks. She also said she did not find testimony from the two about the delayed lot-draw document or missing texts credible.
Despite the reordering on the ballot, Elduen defeated incumbent Mayor Jon Martin with 57% of the vote in the 2023 general election.
MacLean, a Republican, was first elected county auditor in 2018 and is not running for reelection. Turnbull was hired by the county in 2017.
