The following is a release from Sen. Cyrus Habib, who represents Kirkland from the 48th District:

Sen. Cyrus Habib offered the following statement today calling for Troy Kelley’s resignation or impeachment as Washington State Auditor after it was announced that Kelley’s trial would be delayed for seven months, from June of 2015 to January of 2016.

“It’s unacceptable that Troy Kelley remain ‘on leave’ for the rest of the year and into 2016 while we wait for his trial to commence. Given the delay of his trial from June of this year to January of next, he should put the people of Washington first and resign from office this week. If he chooses not to do so, I would hope the House would immediately consider impeachment proceedings so that we can fill this important office.

“This concerns me both personally and professionally. As someone who grew up with a disability and relied on help from services like the Washington State School for the Blind to get where I am today, I personally counted on state services to be honest, efficient and effective, as do millions of Washingtonians. An effective auditor on the job helps make that happen. As an attorney and a member of the Senate Government Operations Committee, which oversees accountability for and operations of state officials, I’m proud to serve a state with a history of integrity and clean politics. Washington is not New Jersey, Illinois or New York – we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.

“The delay of Troy Kelley’s trial until next January means that, even if he’s found not guilty of any crime and this is all a misunderstanding, the state will still have gone for most of a year without its auditor, and that’s assuming there won’t be additional delays in the judicial process. The watchdog role of auditor is too important, and waiting the rest of the year is too long, for us to have an interim replacement named by Mr. Kelley. To go without an auditor for that long jeopardizes the work of that very important office.

“Mr. Kelley should resign this week. If he does not, the legislature can and should fulfill its constitutional duty and consider articles of impeachment.”