West Plains resident, progressive group file recall petition against Commissioner Al French, alleging PFAS coverup

A West Plains resident filed a recall petition Tuesday against Spokane County Commissioner Al French, alleging he used his position to cover up contamination of the area’s groundwater.

The petition was filed by Mary Benham, a newly formed group called the Clean Water Accountability Coalition and is backed by liberal activist group FUSE Washington and comes even though voters will determine whether to re-elect French in November.

In Washington, a recall can only be initiated when a public official has violated their oath of office or engaged in wrongful conduct as part of their official duty. Benham’s petition accuses French of both.

Should the recall be approved by a judge and receive enough signatures, a vote could not take place until after this year’s November election. French is running for another term this fall and a recall could only move forward if he wins that contest.

Benham’s private well in her West Plains home has tested positive for PFAS chemicals and she believes French “betrayed his oath of office” by not disclosing to his constituents PFAS contamination at Spokane International Airport where he sits on the board.

The lawsuit did not name other public officials or airport board members who also knew of the contamination.

French has called such allegations politically motivated in past interviews with The Spokesman-Review. He did not immediately respond to a Spokesman-Review inquiry about the recall petition.