By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch An attempted recall of Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Lindquist derailed last week when its leaders conceded they couldnt' collect enough voters' signatures to force an election. Approximately 38,000 signatures on petitions had to be submitted to the county auditor for validation by Feb. 22 in order to schedule a vote later this year that would have determined if Lindquist remained in office. In a statement on its Facebook page Feb. 9, Recall Mark Lindquist, the group seeking his ouster, said it couldn't meet the deadline because it can't afford paying people to circulate petitions. The pro-recall group, headed by University Place resident Cheryl Iseberg, the cost of using "paid signature-gathering organizationsGÇ¥ had risen to $7 per signature. The group claimed it had difficulty raising money for the process. Lindquist said the recall attempt failed because "it lacked community support.GÇ¥ He cited the recall group's need for paid signature-gatherers as an example of a general public that didn't agree with the attack on him. The recall effort, he said, "was doomedGÇ¥ because the prosecutor's office has the public's support. "All I hear from people is to keep up the good work helping make our community safe,GÇ¥ Lindquist said. "That's what they care about.GÇ¥ Recall charges filed last summer against Lindquist and denied by him accused him of misconduct in his official duties. Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jay Roof, who was assigned to review the charges in order to avoid conflicts of interest for Pierce County judges, ruled Aug. 7 that the recall effort could proceed with a single allegation that Lindstrom abused the power of his office. Roof found legal and factual sufficiency in an allegation that Lindquist is responsible for allegedly vindictive prosecution of a Pierce County woman who faced criminal charges multiple times in connection with a case of alleged sex abuse of her daughter. Charges against the woman were dismissed twice by courts. Lindquist's office is appealing the latest dismissal. Leaders of Recall Mark Lindquist couldn't be reached for comment last week on whether they will mount another recall effort. But in its Facebook statement, the group said it that while it "will not turn in the required signatures this month,GÇ¥ it will "pursue all available avenues to us until Lindquist is no longer in office.GÇ¥ The statement didn't include the number of signatures that were gathered in support of its recall allegation. Recall charges must make it through a judicial review that determines if they constitute offenses warranting a possible recall. That's when petitioning of voters for a recall election can begin. The number of signatures that were required in the effort against Lindquist was based on 25 percent of the total votes cast in the last general election for prosecuting attorney. That's the percentage state law requires to qualify recalls for the ballot. Lindquist is the second elected Pierce County official to be a recall target in recent years. Both efforts failed. In the first one, Dale Washam, then the assessor-treasurer, remained in office after signature-gathering fell short of the necessary number to reach the ballot. Lindquist, previously a deputy prosecutor, has been prosecuting attorney since 2009, when he was appointed by the County Council to replace Gerry Horne, who retired. Lindquist was elected the next year to serve the rest of Horne's unexpired term, and he was re-elected in 2014 to a new four-year term. He is planning to run for re-election again in 2018. "I'm grateful to the people of Pierce County for their bipartisan support," he said, referring to his past election successes and the end of the recall attempt. "I promise to stay focused on protecting the public's safety."
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