Lloyd Hara, one of three candidates that have officially filed their intent to run for King County Elections Director (a formerly appointed position that voters made elected in November) reportedly plans to keep his part-time Port Commission seat if he is elected elections director, numerous sources say. Hara has raised just over $37,000 for his port reelection, and has not yet raised any money for his King County Elections bid. Although Lori Anderson, spokeswoman for the Public Disclosure Commission, has not returned a call for comment, state law stipulates only that a candidate's name can't appear twice on the same ballot. Because the elections director position is on the ballot in February, and the Port position is on the ballot in November, the two positions would appear on separate ballots.

There is some precedent for holding both a state and a local office. Tim Sheldon, a conservative Democratic state senator from Potlatch, ran for Mason County Commissioner in 2004 and won; and Pam Roach, a state senator from Auburn, ran for King County Council in 2003 and lost. Both Sheldon and Roach were were seeking jobs that paid significantly more than their existing positions; about $65,000 and $104,000 for Mason County Commission and King County Council, respectively, compared to state senators' part-time salaries of approximately $33,000. (Roach's name is also on the list of likely candidates for elections director this year).

However, Hara's case would be different in one key respect: As elections director, he would be overseeing his own election. Under Washington State's "incompatible offices" doctrine, a person can't hold more than one office if "the functions of the two offices are inconsistent or, more generally, where occupation of both offices is detrimental to the public interest," such as "where one office is subordinate to another in some aspect of its functions and duties." That same doctrine was raised—unsuccessfully—in Sheldon's case in 2005, but Hara's case seems more clear-cut. In the words of one close observer of the elections process, "it's a totally clear conflict of interest."

Hara's situation is parallel to Sheldon's and Roach's in one other respect: The new job would pay substantially more than his current position. Port commissioners receive a per diem for going to meetings and travel expenses for junkets around the world—about $6,000 a year, plus up to $8,600 for attending events. The elections director, in contrast, makes $146,000. In the past, Hara has argued that port commissioner should be a full-time job—with full-time pay and benefits. He did not return calls for comment.

In other elections-related news, Sherril Huff, the current King County elections director, will reportedly announce tomorrow that she's running to keep her position. Huff, appointed by county executive Ron Sims in 2007, previously said she wouldn't run but appears to have changed her mind. (She didn't return a call for comment either). Huff's entry into the competition could eliminate some would-be candidates who were thinking about jumping in, as she's generally respected in county government. (Progressives and candidates with a Democratic background may also be hesitant to overcrowd the field and hand the position to someone like Roach, as I wrote in last week's In the Hall column.)

Also in the running: Alec Fisken, a former port commissioner who was defeated by Bill Bryant in 2007. He says that although Huff has "a good record," his name recognition will count for more in a low-turnout February election. Fisken opposed making the elections director an elected position and says he'd work to keep the office "truly nonpartisan." Meanwhile, Joe Fain—chief of staff for Republican King County Council Member Pete von Reichbauer and a leader of the campaign to make the elections director appointed—is not running for the position. The filing deadline is this Friday, December 12.