July 8, 2008 - Logan named county registrar-recorder despite protests

Paper: San Gabriel Valley Tribune ( West Covina, CA)
Title: Logan named county registrar-recorder despite protests
Date: July 8, 2008
Author: Troy Anderson, Staff Writer

Despite protests from election activists, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Dean Logan as Los Angeles County's registrar-recorder.

Logan, who will earn $195,000 annually, replaces former Registrar-Recorder Conny McCormack, who retired in January with a salary of $185,648 a year.

"Obviously, I'm pleased to be through the process and really honored to have the full support of the board and the recommendation of the CEO," Logan said. "The focus now is on the November election . That's the high-profile project at the moment."

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said Logan was the best of the candidates the board had to choose from.

"I think he handled the aftermath of the double-bubble situation well," Yaroslavsky said, referring to a voting problem in the February presidential primary.

"It was an unfortunate development, but I think he made the best out of a difficult situation. He also listens to the election integrity activists in our county who deserve to be heard and taken seriously."

But Judith B. Alter, a retired emeritus professor at UCLA and director of Protect California Ballots, a volunteer election justice organization, said she was stunned the supervisors chose Logan.

"He's one of the least qualified people in the country," Alter said. "There were (24) other candidates, and that they would actually appoint him over all the other qualified candidates is just unbelievable."

Last week, Alter and other election activists raised concerns about Logan, noting he lacks a college degree and was at the center of an election controversy in the state of Washington.

In 2004, when Logan was director of Records, Elections and Licensing Services in King County, a political firestorm erupted after the closest governor's race in state history between Republican Gov.-elect Dino Rossi and Democrat Christine Gregoire.

The initial count showed Rossi had won by 261 votes, triggering a mandatory machine recount. The recount ended with Rossi ahead by 42 votes.

A few days later, Logan's office found 336 more ballots not previously counted, prompting Washington state Democrats to call for a hand recount.

In the ensuing weeks, Logan's office said it found more uncounted ballots and ultimately Gregoire won by 129 votes.

Section: News
Record Number: 9823320
(c) 2008 San Gabriel Valley Tribune. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.