Clark County Councilor Tom Mielke is appealing his failed attempt at a recall petition against three fellow councilors to the Washington State Supreme Court.
Mielke’s Seattle attorney, Michele Earl-Hubbard, filed the notice of expedited emergency appeal Monday in Clark County Superior Court. The state Supreme Court is required to hear the appeal and rule within 30 days of the trial court’s decision, which was filed Aug. 22, according to Earl-Hubbard’s notice.
Visiting Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Stephen Warning on July 29 dismissed several allegations by the Republican councilor against council Chair Marc Boldt, no party preference, and Republican councilors Julie Olson and Jeanne Stewart. Republican Councilor David Madore is not named as a party in the filings, but his attorney, Nick Power, told The Columbian on Tuesday that he’s assisting in the appeal.
Mielke has accused his fellow councilors of violating the Open Public Meetings Act, conspiring to dissolve the Department of Environmental Services and firing its director, state Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, and limiting his and Madore’s access to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Warning ruled that none of the allegations met the legal or factual requirements for a recall petition. He only had to determine whether the charges were legally sufficient to go before voters.
“From our perspective, the trial court’s decision was well-reasoned and based on the law, but Councilor Mielke has the right to appeal,” said Kristin Asai, one of the attorneys from Markowitz Herbold who’s representing the other councilors.
It’s unclear if Markowitz Herbold will be representing the councilors on the appeal. Asai said she suspects the council will make that decision in the next few days.
Mielke claimed that the three councilors violated the Open Public Meetings Act when they met behind closed doors to grant a contract to Seattle attorney Rebecca Dean, who was hired to investigate Madore’s accusations that county staff lied about details of the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update.
County Manager Mark McCauley signed the contract, he said, after the councilors indicated in meetings that they were interested in investigating the matter.
Warning ruled that McCauley has full authority to execute contracts under the county charter, though McCauley did violate a county ordinance that requires contracts be posted on the county website and given to councilors a week before he signs them. Still, the violation was not grounds for a recall, Warning said.
The judge additionally found that it was within McCauley’s authority to dissolve the environmental services department, as long as he didn’t increase county spending.
In Mielke’s third claim, he cited changes to the county’s rules of procedure earlier this year that requires requests for formal legal opinions be presented to the board in writing and approved by the county manager, board chair or a majority of the council.
Warning found that the council only made grammatical changes to that portion of the rules of practice, which doesn’t limit Madore or Mielke’s ability to ask county attorneys for legal advice.
