Clark County Councilor David Madore’s recent accusations that the county’s own legal staff lied to the board could force the county to hire outside attorneys, county officials said Wednesday.
Deputy Prosecutors Chris Cook and Chris Horne may no longer be able to represent the board or the county’s Community Planning Department as the county proceeds with its Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update, Chair Marc Boldt said after an executive session Wednesday.
In recent weeks, Madore has accused the prosecutor’s office, along with community planning, of lying about the impact of the now-defunct Alternative 4, which the Republican councilor wrote for the growth plan update at the urging of some rural property owners.
“The Planning staff and complicit Prosecuting Attorney have gone to great lengths to adamantly explain that the software tool … that they covertly used to erroneously inflate the numbers that advocated against Alternative 4, does not exist,” Madore posted to his Facebook page Feb. 29.
Planning staff, as well as deputy prosecutors, have denied that they presented false information to the council.
Nonetheless, Madore’s accusations prompted Horne and Cook to consult the Washington State Bar Association, which advised them to recuse themselves from any issue dealing with the growth plan in order to avoid a potential conflict of interest, Boldt said.
“This may really change the comp plan,” said Boldt, no party preference. “We can’t even do a work session.”
Acting County Manager Mark McCauley said the county could end up hiring additional attorneys, likely from the Seattle area, to assist in the growth plan moving forward.
But that will come at a cost — easily in excess of $25,000, McCauley estimated.
“It would be best to bring in someone from Seattle with a highly regarded reputation,” McCauley said. “The comp plan process is fraught with risk.”
Prosecutor Tony Golik, a Democrat, said the prosecutor’s office will work in the coming days to determine whether there actually is a conflict of interest preventing Horne or Cook from representing the council or community planning.
Golik added that he is “confident” the prosecutor’s office will know how to move forward within the week.
Community Planning Director Oliver Orjiako declined to comment, saying he would defer to the direction of the council.
Ongoing challenges
Wednesday’s action is the latest in ongoing drama over Clark County’s Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update.
Madore, whose controversial Alternative 4 would have allowed smaller lot sizes in rural Clark County, has accused county staff in Facebook posts, from the dais and in a Jan. 27 op-ed piece in The Reflector newspaper of providing false data to the county council in order to promote an anti-rural growth agenda.
But county employees are pushing back against Madore’s accusations and his work on the comprehensive plan.
Most recently, Orjiako filed a whistleblower complaint against Madore, accusing him of violating the Growth Management Act in his development of Alternative 4. Orjiako, a dual Nigerian-United State citizen, also accused Madore of discrimination based on his race and accent.
“For me, I’m someone that will stand up for what is right, for my staff, for folks that I have worked with,” Orjiako told The Columbian last week. “There’s no reason for this to be hanging over my head and hanging over my staff’s heads.”
McCauley said the county already has hired an outside attorney to begin investigating Madore’s allegations against planning staff and the prosecuting attorney’s office, as well as Orjiako’s complaint.
“There’s a black cloud over a number of people because of the accusations made by Councilor Madore,” McCauley said.
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