Former City Council candidate Tyler LeMasters will not appeal judge’s decision to remove him from ballot
SPOKANE, Wash. — Former Spokane City Council candidate Tyler LeMasters does not appear to have plans to appeal a judge’s decision to remove him from the November ballot.
In August, Judge Annette Plese ruled LeMasters ineligible to run for office because he did not meet the city residency requirement.
Plese made the decision after a complaint was filed saying LeMasters had not lived in the city long enough to run.
The Spokane City Charters states “A person must be a qualified voter of the City of Spokane and have been a resident of the city, and of the appropriate council district, for the one year immediately preceding the time of filing as a candidate for… council member.”
The charter defines “residency” as “a person’s permanent address where he or she physically resides and maintains his or her abode.”
LeMasters filed to run on May 18, 2021, which means he would have had to be living in District 2 since May 2020. The petition shows that LeMasters lived in Virginia, not Spokane on and after May 18, 2020.
Public records also show LeMasters’ family bought their current home in District 2 on January 12, 2021. That means he had only lived in the district for four months before filing to run.
In a statement sent Wednesday, LeMasters expressed disappointment in the ruling.
“Spokane has been my home since 2005 and the five months I was out of town in question was when I working in the US House of Representatives in Washington DC,” he said.
LeMasters previously worked for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05).
“That job handled small business, and non-profit legislation for all Eastern Washington during the hardest part of the economic shutdowns,” LeMasters said.
He argued that this should “clearly be viewed as a Civil Service exemption under the city charter rules.”
LeMasters said filing an appeal would cost him more than $15,000 in legal fees. He instead plans to shift his focus to his real estate career and plans to spend more time with his first child due in October.
READ: Spokane City Council candidate Tyler LeMasters ineligible for November ballot
READ: Court strikes down Spokane Prop 1, removing it from November ballot
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