Integrity v. Extremism
Bob McCaslin’s showcase strength as a candidate for the office of Spokane County Auditor is not his demonstrated competence for managing a large, detail-oriented office. His primary qualification is his devotion to the election fraud conspiracy theory carried forward, without evidence, from the 2020 election. McCaslin is running on the strength of his ability to cast doubt and distrust (even as he publicly downplays it), not on his competence.
Who is this Challenger?
Judging by the biography on his campaign website, Bob McCaslin Jr.’s prior work experience is not in management but rather as a teacher in grades K through 5 in Spokane Valley, and as a volunteer at the Union Gospel Mission and at His Place Evangelical Free Church in Post Falls. In 2014 McCaslin Junior saw an opportunity to enter politics. His father, Bob McCaslin Sr., died in 2011 after serving as the well-respected conservative Republican State Senator from LD4 (Spokane valley north to Mt. Spokane) for thirty years. McCaslin Junior sailed into a State Representative seat in same legislative district, besting an exclusively Republican field of candidates while garnering 58% of the vote. His victory was arguably based on the name recognition built up by his dad.
McCaslin’s performance as a legislator was more of a follower than a leader. The vast majority of bills on which McCaslin is listed as one of the sponsors in the current session are of the “honoring, recognizing, celebrating, or acknowledging” variety, not substantive legislation. The one piece of substantive legislation that stands out is WA HB2115 “Improving election integrity, security, and accountability for Washington voters”. HB2115 stands out in part on account of McCaslin’s co-sponsors: Rob Chase (R-LD4), Robert Sutherland (R), and Vicki Kraft (R). McCaslin, Chase, and Sutherland have been tireless promoters of the Trumpian election fraud narrative, even as the public face these and all other local Republicans put on this pig is to blandly suggest they just want to “restore trust”. “Oh, no, it is not we who doubt the integrity of the Washington State election system: the doubters are other people in need of reassurance.”
Here’s McCaslin Junior’s public statement to the Spokesman meant to reach people who don’t share his hidden views on election fraud:
“Really, I don’t have any proof of wrongdoing,” McCaslin told the paper. “I’m not running for this because I think there are serious problems. I just think I can contribute really positively to this.”
That isn’t just poppycock, it’s a lie.
In the Washington State legislature McCaslin Junior’s seat-mate from LD4 from 2014 to 2020 was the now nationally infamous Matt Shea, author of The Biblical Basis for War, a road map to insurrection. Shea is a theocratic firebrand who now serves as pastor of On Fire Ministries & Kingdom Christian Academy in Spokane. When Shea and McCaslin Junior were seat-mates from LD4, McCaslin Junior was a consistent co-sponsor of Shea’s billsto establish Shea’s theocratic “State of Liberty” by splitting the State of Washington in two along the crest of the Cascade Mountains. Now that Shea is gone from the legislature, McCaslin Junior, with just three other state representatives, carries on the tradition of annual sponsorship of Shea’s State of Liberty Bill.
McCaslin Junior’s devotion to Shea is in defiance of McCaslin’s well-respected and long-serving father. When then Washington State Senator from LD4, Bob McCaslin Senior, resigned in 2011 for reasons of deteriorating health, he wrote a terse message to the Spokane County Commissioners tasked with appointing his replacement: “I wish to state that under no circumstances would I support Matthew Shea for any public office.” At the time Matt Shea was only in his second year as the State Representative to the legislature from LD4 (Spokane valley to Mt. Spokane). It took McCaslin Jr.’s father only those two years serving together with Shea in Olympia to recognize the danger that his son’s later seat mate (starting in 2014) presented. Yet McCaslin Jr has evidently become Shea’s legislative lapdog.
The Civics of the Office of County Auditor:
Mr. McCaslin is applying to the voters for election to an office with a broad range of administrative responsibility. In the State of Washington County Auditors are tasked by state law (RCW 36.22.010) with a multitude of detail-oriented duties summarized here from the Spokane County website (the bold is mine):
The Spokane County Auditor’s Office is responsible for the administration of the Recording, Financial Services, Motor Vehicle Licensing and Elections Divisions.
The primary functions of these diverse divisions are the recording and preservation of all public records which are required by law to be recorded, the integrated financial management of all activities of Spokane County, conduct all Elections for the county in accordance with state law and the issuance of vehicle and vessel licenses for the County.
Is McCaslin even able to discuss these duties?
Evidently not.
The Spokane League of Women Voter website page on their candidate forums notes:
Other races [forums] that had been planned that could not be held due to League’s “empty chair” policy since only the first named candidate committed to attend:
Spokane County Auditor – Vicky Dalton & Bob McCaslin (cancelled after confirming)
This is becoming a pattern that suggests that McCaslin is afraid his ignorance might be exposed.
In April Al Merkel of Spokane Valley Speaks podcasts offered interviews to both the incumbent Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton and candidate Bob McCaslin. Ms. Dalton demonstrated her deep understanding of the duties of a county auditor in a series of two interviews, each roughly an hour long. You can listen to them by clicking Part 1 and Part 2. McCaslin’s response to the offer of an interview with Mr. Merkel speaks volumes about McCaslin’s lack of understanding of the job for which he is applying to county voters: The Spokane Valley Speaks website states, “Candidate Bob McCaslin, also running for Auditor, was invited to interview as well. He initially agreed but withdrew after receiving the questions which were the same as those used for this interview.”
Listen in to others of Mr. Merkel’s podcasts. His interviews are generally even-handed and open-ended. He offers a platform, not a grilling. Why didn’t McCaslin consent to an interview? Was it for fear of exposing his ignorance of the duties of the job of Spokane County Auditor, his association with the extremist Matt Shea wing of the local Republican Party, or his active promotion of the bogus Lindell/Trump election fraud narrative—or all of the above?
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry
P.S. That the SpokaneGOP chooses to actually endorse McCaslin Junior for Spokane County Auditor, combined with its general support for the election fraud narrative, is a testament to the Republican sellout to extremism. I would understand and respect not endorsing either candidate—the Republican Party is, after all, the Republican Party. Endorsing McCaslin reminds me of variation of the theme of the old saying, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to endorse and remove all doubt.”
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