Candidate’s bankruptcy causes tumult

A Republican Party primary race for Spokane County commissioner blew up Wednesday with news of one candidate’s personal bankruptcy and controversy over how it came to light – through an opponent’s supporters.

District 2 candidate Mark Richard declared personal bankruptcy in 1997.

He said Wednesday that the situation was caused by the bills incurred because of medical problems his wife and he suffered over the course of one year, including pregnancy complications and his own emergency surgery and hospitalization.

Richard also accused one of his Republican primary opponents, Matt Ewers, of using the bankruptcy to sully his name.

“The reality is this – you’ve got somebody whose representatives are trying to show me as unfit to serve our community. Obviously, he’s not done his homework and is grasping at straws because he’s trying to come from behind,” Richard said.

Richard filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means his debts didn’t have to be repaid.

“I was advised by credit counselors that this was the only option,” Richard said, although he refused to say how much debt was written off. At the time, he was working as a real estate agent.

Records detailing the debts aren’t available at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Spokane. “If this was a matter of me mismanaging my finances I would think it was relevant, but that’s the farthest thing from the truth,” he added.

Ewers denied involvement in spreading information about the bankruptcy, although he said he was aware of it. “The Citizens for Matt Ewers campaign is not responsible for putting this information out to the public about Mark Richard’s bankruptcy,” Ewers said.

It wasn’t his campaign staff. It was his mother. Spokesman-Review security tape footage showed a woman dropping off an anonymous packet of Richard’s bankruptcy documents at the newspaper Tuesday. Ewers later confirmed it was his mom.

Included with the packet was a note.

“Shouldn’t this be investigated? How can a person who can’t manage their own finances manage a County budget of $250 million? A Concerned Citizen,” read the short letter.

When asked Wednesday afternoon if the anonymous tipster was his mother, Ewers initially evaded the question and then said he didn’t know.

Ewers refused to discuss Richard’s bankruptcy, saying that he wants to concentrate on his own qualifications for the job.

Later Wednesday evening, after a League of Women Voters forum, Ewers said that after his initial interview on the topic, he confronted his mother and she confirmed that she dropped off the information at the Spokane County Republican Party’s office and The Spokesman-Review.

“She did it without our endorsement,” a chagrined Ewers said. “I can’t control my mom.” He added that he hoped she wouldn’t end up hurt by the publicity. “We love her.”

Richard wasn’t just upset with Ewers’ mother. He also took issue with current County Commissioner Kate McCaslin pushing his bankruptcy as a campaign topic. McCaslin had raised the issue with reporters.

“I think the relevant question for people is whether they consider this mudslinging a legitimate issue, or what it is – dirty politics,” Richard said.

McCaslin, who has endorsed Ewers, said Richard’s bankruptcy is a legitimate campaign issue because so much of a commissioner’s job is dealing with the county’s budget.

“Personally, I think it’s entirely relevant that it be brought out and discussed,” McCaslin said. “I don’t think that’s dirty politics whatsoever. Is Mark afraid of the truth?”

Meanwhile, the third Republican candidate in the District 2 commissioner’s race was doing his best Wednesday to steer out of the storm.

“You don’t want to have partisan bickering between people,” said Liberty Lake Mayor Steve Peterson, who is campaigning for the same commissioner seat.

Several other Republican leaders were pulled into the debate when they received e-mail from a Ewers supporter asking them to reconsider their endorsements of Richard because of his personal bankruptcy.

State Sen. Bob McCaslin, who received one of the e-mails, said he won’t withdraw his endorsement of Richard.

“I called Mark because of this, not because I’m worried about it, but I wanted to warn him that this information was going out,” McCaslin said of the e-mail.

The e-mail’s sender, CPA Jim Erlandsen, said he isn’t part of Ewers’ campaign team, although he supports Ewers.

“When I see a bankruptcy filing … I get a little concerned about that person running a $250 million budget,” he said.