Commissioners move quickly to fill assessor's seat 7/19/05 Clallam County, WA - Clallam County Commissioners are already starting the process of finding someone to fill the vacancy created with the death of Assessor Linda Owings-Rosenburgh, with plans to appoint someone to run the office between now and the end of the year. That should cover the on-going management of the department until the vacancy can be filled through the election process this fall. Rosenburgh, who was first elected in 1994, was in the third year of her third term in office. She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound over the weekend. The shooting happened at her Jamestown home, and she died about 10-hours later after being airlifted to Seattle. Her death has left colleagues and friends in shock. In a meeting Monday morning, commissioners discussed the situation with the prosecutor’s and auditor’s staff and decided to follow procedures in selecting a new assessor. Commissioners decided that they would appoint someone to fill the post until certification of November’s election. That will involve the establishment of qualifications, and a process for taking applications. At the same time, filing for election to the remainder of the term will open this coming week at the Auditor’s office. That will follow the usual procedure, with whoever is elected taking office after the election, and then serving through next year, with another election for the next 4-year term. County officials are pointing out both the appointment and election run independent of each other… and people must file the right paperwork for each process.
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