Washington: Cowlitz Public Utilties District Commissioner suing to collect $50K against petitioners who led "bad faith" recall effort

Cowlitz PUD Commissioner Ned Piper is suing to get back the $50,000 that the PUD's insurance company spent defending the recall effort against him. This follows a State Supreme Court decision last week which upheld a long court ruling that the lead petitioners pay the attorney fees due to running a frivolous recall. The claim was that Piper improperly disclosed confidential utility information, intimated employees and acted without the board's authority. The petition was apparently almost an exact copy of a censure resolution that two other board members passed against Piper in 2013.