WA Supreme Court refuses to stop recall of 3 Tri-Cities officials
The Washington State Supreme Court ruled a recall targeting all three elected members of the Port of Benton commissioners may proceed.
The state’s highest court upheld a March 30 ruling by Benton County Judge Diana Ruff allowing the recall against Commissioners William “Bill” O’Neil, Scott Keller and Lori Stevens to advance to the signature gathering phase.
Ruff dramatically cut back the grounds for the recall. The commissioners called it a win, but asked the Supreme Court to stop it anyway.
The court heard the case in an en banc, or private, session and issued its ruling a few hours later on July 2. A full written opinion is not available.
The decision means the backers can collect signatures on a petition that seeks to recall the three commissioners on accusations they committed malfeasance, misfeasance and violated their oaths of office.
The charges largely stem from the commission’s move to suspend its executive director, Diahann Howard, and to fire its new auditor and finance director, Alicia Myers, earlier this year.
Both women claim retaliation.
Citizens for a Better Port will begin gathering signatures immediately, with the goal of wrapping up the campaign by Aug. 27 in order to qualify for the November 2026 general election.
The recall is led by retired Benton County District Court Judge Eugene Pratt and two daughters, including Ashley Garza, a former port contractor.
The Port of Benton district includes two-thirds of Benton County, including north Richland, Benton City and Prosser.
Signature gathering to begin
Garza said petitions will begin circulating as soon as they can be printed. The campaign is verifying the wording for the ballot and hopes to hit the streets to begin collecting signatures by July 7.
Volunteer signature gatherers will work at booths at the Richland farmers market and other community events. Volunteers will go door to door and could operate in public places such as parks.
To qualify for the ballot, organizers must secure valid signatures equivalent to 35% of the turnout in the election that put the person in office, or roughly 4,000 signatures each from registered voters in the Port of Benton boundaries.
Garza said the campaign is targeting 5,000 signatures for each of the petitions to account for invalid or phony signatures.
The three commissioners were elected in different years, which means the number of required signatures varies for each one.
The minimum signatures needed for O’Neil is 3,956, based on his 2025 election win.
It is 4,092 for Keller, based on his 2023 election win, and 4,134 for Stevens, based on her 2021 election.
Citizens for a Better Port is a registered political action committee with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. It has opted for full financial disclosure. Information about contributions and expenditures is not available.
It is represented by Richland attorney Doug McKinley, who played the same role in the 2023 successful recall of three Richland School Board members.
The port commissioners are represented by attorney Carolyn Lake, who could not be reached Monday about the court’s decision.
Misconduct allegations
The recall campaign was initiated in February after the current commission ignored results of an outside investigation into 24 allegations of misconduct in two complaints against Keller.
Law firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt found four cases when Keller allegedly violated port policies and state law, chiefly in connection with the installation of unpermitted utility meters at private hangars at the Richland Airport, including to his personal hangar.
Keller worked for the port for 30 years and retired as its executive director in 2019. He then returned when he was elected commissioner.
Judge Ruff removed some other charges since they predated Keller’s election in 2023.
The Port of Benton is an economic development agency that works with Benton County and local cities to promote industrial and other development. It owns and operates airport in Richland and Prosser, as well as office and industrial parks, a wine village and business incubators.
The port commission meets at 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 8, at 3250 Port of Benton Blvd., Richland.
The agenda includes an executive session to discuss real estate, personnel and to discuss potential litigation and legal risks. Following the executive session, it will reconvene to possibly approve employment contracts with its interim executive director, Ron Branine, and new finance director, Stuart Dezember.