Suit says new county commisioner lied about where he lived.

Newly elected Kitsap County Commissioner Josh Brown may face allegations in court that he lied about where he lived during his election campaign last year.

Robert Ross, an East Bremerton resident who filed suit against Brown with the Kitsap County Superior Court at the end of last month, contends that Brown’s primary residence was not in the Central Kitsap district in which he was elected.

Ross, who hired a private investigator to follow and monitor Brown after the Nov. 7 election, is asking the court to remove Brown from office.

“I’ve never met Josh Brown and have nothing against him,” Ross said.

“But if he’s willing to lie to get elected, then what will he do once he is the commissioner?”

Ross is the son of Ron Ross, who was the largest single contributor to the campaign of Jack Hamilton, who Brown defeated in the November election.

Brown’s lawyer, John D. Morgan, insists his client met all legal residency requirements to run for election last year.

The suit, Morgan said, is thinly veiled dirty politicking.

“This is a case of sour grapes,” he said. “This was done for political purposes, and is nothing but harassment.”

While the suit alleges Brown resided at his parents’ home in North Kitsap, Morgan said Brown can provide proof he lived in East Bremerton, which is within his position’s Central Kitsap district.

“This includes rent receipts, paid utility bills and a state-issued driver’s license,”

Morgan said.

If Ross’ motion is not struck down in summary judgment, Morgan said he will present that evidence.

In the meantime, Morgan is tackling the case on on procedural grounds, contending that the suit was not filed 10 days after the certification of the election.

Kitsap County Auditor Karen Flynn also interprets the law to read that all challenges must be filed 10 days after the certification of the election, which Flynn completed on Nov. 28.

But Ross’ attorney, Michele Radosevich of Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle, has interpreted the limit for filing an action as 10 days after the candidate’s Jan. 21 swearing-in.

Radosevich, who has a background in election law, said she was hired for the case “because I had done some local work for the Republicans in the past.”

Ross said he has shared all the legal expenses with at least two other individuals, whom he declined to name.

Hamilton, Brown’s opponent and now Kitsap County Republican party chairman, said neither he, the party, nor any Republican candidate had any knowledge of or involvement in the lawsuit.

Brown, who turned 26 on Tuesday, is currently closing on the purchase of a house in the Silverdale area.

The investigator hired to track Brown never witnessed any activitiy at Brown’s Bremerton apartment on Perry Avenue, according to Ross.

Brown leased the apartment on July 13, more than two weeks before the filing deadline, Morgan said. Brown paid $525 per month in addition to utility and a phone fees.

Brown announced his intention to run for the commission seat in February 2006.

If Brown is found guilty or resigns, the vacant position would be filled by the remaining two commissioners until the next election.

Flynn said a replacement must be of the same political party as the former commissioner, which would rule out Hamilton and former Central Kitsap commissioner Patty Lent, who was defeated by Hamilton in the Republican primary last year.

The motion filed against Brown will be heard at 9 a.m. on Jan. 16 in Kitsap County Superior Court.

Staff writer Tristan Baurick contributed to this report.