Ah, well. Win some, lose some. The Washington State Republican Party is wiping major egg of its face this a.m., with news that their challenger to erstwhile State Auditor Brian Sonntag has a long arrest record - and, if his voter's pamphlet statement is any indication - wears a big tin foil hat.

The Tacoma News Tribune reports:

They're not proud of it, but state Republican leaders are backing a candidate for statewide office who has been arrested at least 19 times since 1992, and last got out of jail less than two months ago.

Party chairman Chris Vance wishes he could take back his decision, but he can't. Now Republicans are stuck with Tacoma gadfly Will Baker as their official candidate for state auditor.

"We didn't check him out," Vance said Friday. "If I could, I would withdraw the letter putting him on the ballot as the Republican candidate - but it's too late."

His mouth keeps him in trouble.

Baker, 41, a roadside flower salesman and self-styled political activist, has been arrested numerous times for refusing to stop speaking at Tacoma City Council and Pierce County Council meetings. In June, he was sentenced to six months in jail for his behavior at three City Council meetings in September 2003. Pierce County Jail records show Baker was released June 24.

The situation began earlier this week, during the so-called overtime period for election filings that followed last week's regular filing period...No Republican emerged by the July 30 deadline.

Vance said Baker then called Republican leaders and volunteered to run. In their haste to fill vacancies on the ballot, Vance and his staff treated him as a committed volunteer without thoroughly examining his background.

...After sending the filing letter for Baker, Vance's staff got a look at his proposed statement for the state voter's pamphlet.

"It was very unusual," Vance said.

Baker's statement...says "the number one issue in the 2004 State Auditor election ought to be the attempts by FBI agents ... to cover up the events surrounding Crystal Brame's murder."

The 198-word statement includes several other references to Tacoma Police Chief David Brame's fatal shooting of his wife and himself on April 26, 2003. It closes by requesting readers to call the CBS news program "60 Minutes."

Democrat Sonntag is one of my favorite Washington elected officials: he does his job well and without partisan venom. (More here in a Seattle Times column I wrote, free reg. req.). His tireless staff has uncovered pilfering, fraud and shoddy accounting practices at local, regional and state government agencies throughout Washington.

However, if there is a "Number One issue" in the state auditor's race, as Baker suggests, it would be the lack of legislative authorization for comprehensive performance audits of state agencies and programs. This could provide voters and legislators with necessary information to build the case for a much-needed downsizing of state government.

Every year a performance audits bill is introduced in Olympia, with a Democratic lead sponsor. Every year, it gets talked up. Every year it dies.

A smarter GOP strategy in this admittedly down-ticket contest would have involved recruiting a credible candidate for State Auditor, who could have then used the campaign as a precursor to a citizens initiative: one authorizing comprehensive performance audits by the State Auditor's office. Assuming Republicans are really interested in that.