Controversial former Pierce County assessor-treasurer Dale Washam dies at 87

Yahoo

01-06-2025

Dale Washam, a one-term former Pierce County assessor-treasurer and contentious local figure who repeatedly clashed with county leaders during his brief four-year tenure, died of natural causes on May 15. He was 87.
A family member confirmed Washam's death, but declined further comment.
Until his unexpected election in 2008, Washam was known as a gadfly: a perennial candidate who ran unsuccessfully for public office in Washington more than 10 times and filed numerous complaints, lawsuits, and recalls against political and personal opponents. Targets ranged from local private citizens to former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Washam claimed Gingrich had stolen his idea for the 1994 'Contract with America.' The complaint went nowhere.
Typically running as an independent until late in his career, Washam would campaign by hand with limited money and public support. His surprising success in 2008 was a reminder of the need to vet candidates carefully, said current Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer Marty Campbell.
'The Assessor-Treasurer's office extends their condolences to his family and those who knew him,' Campbell said. He added though his knowledge of Washam was secondhand, the man's rise to office offers an example of why voters should do their research and vote the whole ballot.
'I never personally met Mr. Washam — although everyone's experience with Washam was unique, we recognize the impact he had on our office,' he told The News Tribune on Saturday.
The following account is based on Washam's Law, a 2009 series of special reports on Washam by staff writer Sean Robinson.
Born on June 30, 1938, Richard Dale Washam originally grew up in Missouri, the oldest of eight siblings; he moved to Western Washington as an adolescent and married his high-school sweetheart Dorothy Michaels in 1956. They had four children: daughter Elizabeth and sons Mark, Matthew and Christopher.
In 1956, he also joined the Air Force, where he served four years at George Air Force Base in Victorville, Calif., and was honorably discharged with the rank of airman first class. In 1970, he received an associate's degree in arts and sciences from Fort Steilacoom Community College, a branch campus of Pierce College.
In the early 1970's he had a failed dry-cleaning business and spent time selling trailers, tires and recreational vehicles for different businesses; he also tried a run for a state House seat but lost. By 1975, he had secured a job with Diamond Laboratories Inc., where he spent six years as a high-performing sales representative. Around this time, he set his sights on politics once more, running for the state Legislature but losing in the primary.
Between 1989 and 2008 — the year he was finally elected assessor-treasurer— Washam appeared in 42 court actions, largely as a plaintiff, totaling an average of about two lawsuits annually, during which he would represent himself despite lacking a law degree or license. In 1980, he was fired from Diamond Laboratories and sued for wrongful termination, representing himself — his case was later dismissed after years of litigation.
In 1990, he sued Pierce County Democrats after he lost an election to a seat on a small precinct committee. Washam ran unsuccessfully for Pierce County executive in 1992 and 1996, and lost elections for Pierce County auditor in 1993, 1994 and 1998 to Cathy Pearsall-Stipek. In 1997, he also lost an election for Puyallup School Board and sued to nullify the results.
He went on to file three unsuccessful recall petitions against Pearsall-Stipek over four years — in 1999, the Washington state Supreme Court ruled Washam could proceed with a fourth petition that charged Pearsall-Stipek with perjury for lying about her education, but he dropped the effort, claiming the process was made too difficult by the courts.
In 2000 and 2004, Washam lost elections for Pierce County assessor-treasurer to Ken Madsen, after which he filed a failed recall petition against Madsen in 2005. In 2002, he was also unsuccessful in a Pierce County auditor election against Pat McCarthy.
In 2008, under a newly implemented ranked-choice voting system, Washam won the election for Pierce County assessor-treasurer with 51.9% of the final tally.
In office, Washam was accused by employees of retaliation and mismanagement; three independent investigations confirmed the claims, finding he retaliated against employees, abused power and wasted government resources, while also hindering the investigations. Following the investigations' findings, five damage claims against Washam's office cost the county around $1.5 million in settlements and legal expenses, The News Tribune reported in 2012.
Former Pierce County Councilmember Tim Farrell, who served on the council while Washam was assessor-treasurer, told The News Tribune recently that people were skeptical when Washam won the office, but tried to hope for the best — unfortunately, he noted, he proved them wrong.
'There was a question of if he was going to be really good or really bad, and Pierce County found out the hard way that he was really, really bad,' Farrell said. 'He was arrogant, he had a difficult approach for managing his office.... he had a great group of people going in, but chased most of them out.'
In 2011, Washam faced his own favorite weapon: a recall campaign. The effort, headed by Puyallup resident Robin Farris, collected more than 64,000 verified signatures - just short of the 65,000 needed to qualify for the ballot. In 2012, Washam ran for re-election as assessor-treasurer. Four other candidates joined the race. In the primary, Washam finished fourth.
'We were trying to figure out who the 10% were that voted for him,' Farrell said about the primary. 'It was a relief, but the damage was done.'
It took a long time for Mike Lonergan, Washam's successor as assessor-treasurer, to get things back on track, Farrell added.
According to Farrell, the 2008 election helped push the Pierce County Council to end ranked-choice voting. Voters viewed it with skepticism after Washam's win.
Billie O'Brien, a former administrative manager in the tax division of the assessor-treasurer's office who worked under Washam, expressed her condolences to his family but said the four years of his term were very difficult. Washam was single-minded and convinced that his predecessors at the assessor-treasurer's office had committed unlawful acts, she said, and he focused on targeting and punishing employees of his office he felt were still responsible.
She said he was combative with his staff — at one point, he had a window in the office through which he would watch what the property appraisers were doing.
O'Brien said Washam's poor conduct helped galvanize her to run against him in the 2012 Pierce County assessor-treasurer election. When Washam found out, he was not happy, and tried to prevent her from taking time off to attend speaking engagements, despite Pierce County code allowing employees to take time off to run for office.
When Washam fell short in the 2012 primary election, staffers were relieved, O'Brien said.
'It was a time in that office when a lot of very good, dedicated employees were frightened about what would be the next thing he would do, what would be the next upheaval,' O'Brien told The News Tribune recently. 'Even the people who stayed until the next assessor-treasurer had nervousness and fear, there were a lot of changes that were unwarranted and made it difficult to do their jobs.'