An island activist carries on a challenge to his legal address.Central Kitsap Commissioner Josh Brown won last week’s residency challenge, ironically having moved into a new house that would have made the point moot the night before the verdict was announced.
Brown was sued over allegations that he did not live in the district which he was elected to represent. A judge ruled in his favor, even as Brown chose as a permanent home a house on the very edge of that district.
Brown now lives in the 6800 block of Ioka Drive near Hood Canal, part of Kitsap Commissioner District 3. His neighbors across the street are located in Commissioner District 1, North Kitsap.
Brown still faces a second legal hurdle tomorrow, when Bainbridge Island resident James M. Olsen will present documents to the Kitsap County Canvassing Board that claim Brown had no right to vote in the Feb. 6 election.
Olsen filed his challenge in early January. Since then, he has declined to describe the substance of the evidence or whether it differed from that in the earlier case.
The canvassing board convenes regularly to hear voter challenges and consists of North Kitsap County Commissioner Chris Endresen, Prosecuting Attorney Russ Hauge and Auditor Karen Flynn.
Like Brown, all are members of the Democratic party. And all contributed money to Brown’s campaign.
Olsen has criticized the canvassing board for its political makeup, and requested a change of venue. Flynn denied the request, however, saying there was no provision in the law to do so.
Flynn is the only member of the canvassing board planning to recuse herself from the proceedings. Endresen acknowledged her party bias, while pointing out that Republican South Kitsap Commissioner Jan Angel – the only person to whom she could delegate the responsibility – had a similar bias, against Brown.
Hauge, who usually delegates his position on the canvassing board, has said he plans to appear.
Olsen has been involved in a variety of political causes, such as opposing the Bainbridge Island World War II Japanese internment memorial and challenging the right of teachers to campaign for school levies.
Olsen calls himself “a humble citizen of Washington State and Kitsap County who places great weight and faith in democracy and the inviolate nature of our voting process.”
“I demand elected officials to answer in court valid questions about residency and their adherence to the letter and spirit of election laws,” he said. “I personally believe requiring senior elected officials to obey the laws of the land is basic common sense.”
Brown supporters have expressed surprise that Olsen is continuing his challenge after last week’s court result.
“I cannot imagine what he has to offer as evidence,” said Democrat Jim Sommerhauser of Bremerton. “His activities remind me of the old Army saying, ‘If you can’t convince them with the facts then baffle them with (untruths).’”
