Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008

County seat petitions to be submitted next week

By the Herald staff

Fred Staples said Friday he plans to submit his petition to move the Benton County seat in about a week.

Staples, a retired district and superior court judge, has been gathering signatures for more than 21/2 years. He said he now has about 18,500 signatures, more than the 14,203 he needs to force a ballot measure asking county voters to decide where the county seat should be located.

The Benton County seat has been in Prosser since 1905. But Staples contends it should be in Kennewick, where most of the county's residents live and the majority of its employees work.

Staples also is running for county commissioner this fall against incumbent Leo Bowman.

The soonest Staples' measure could be on the ballot if his petition is submitted this year would be 2010.