Seattleites still may not recognize the name, but Dale Washam has become big enough news in Tacoma to now rate his own special section on the News Tribune’s web site. He’s the public official who doesn’t give interviews but tells employees when and where they can speak. He’s also facing a recall effort for gross mismanagement and unlawful retaliation against his staff. To his opponents, it’s a fine turnabout: Between 1994 and 2005, he tried and failed five times to recall opponents who defeated him in elections.It harkens to the real, enduring aroma of Tacoma–politics–where you can be arrested for talking too long at City Council meetings. Over the decades, a sheriff was busted for child porn, another for taking payoffs, an auditor was jailed for soliciting bribes, and a judge was tossed from the bench for accepting a free Cadillac. The police chief murdered his wife and shot himself. More recently, Superior Court Judge Michael Hecht was forced to resign after he solicited a male prostitute.Washam, Pierce County’s assessor-treasurer, has now worked his way into that pantheon. As the TNT described him in a recent series:He’s the gadfly in charge, the rebel turned boss, the back-seat driver handed the keys and a full tank. His office is a well of awkward silence, apart from the metallic whine of a paper shredder that runs at length. Employees don’t know what he shreds. He rarely speaks to anyone but a few favored assistants.Washam also designated office locations as the only places where employees were allowed to speak to one another, marked by “work discussion area” signs. On the campaign trail, Washam insisted “I believe in truth and justice.” But in voter pamphlets and public statements, he has inflated his rAcsumAc–exaggerating his academic credentials and claiming professional experience he doesn’t have. He’s run up more than $100,000 in legal bills, faces more than $4.5 million in damages from lawsuits, and since taking office in 2004 has spawned five investigations of his office. A court hearing at which he will challenge the pending recall is slated for this month. It may be one of those rare Washam speaking occasions: Though he’s been told to get counsel, he is acting as his own attorney.