The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
Four years ago, when attempting to sum up a 21-candidate field for Seattle mayor, I wrote the following caution about front-runner, Jenny Durkan:
“One worry I have is that she’ll run a top-down shop at City Hall — as suggested by her own favored hashtag, ‘#bosslady.’ ”
That turned out to be quite the understatement. Bosslady, in the final year of her one term as Seattle mayor, has ended up presiding over such a closed shop that it took two whistleblowers to tell some stunning news: The mayor’s text messages for the period when the city was erupting in protest and violence last summer have inexplicably gone missing.
The police chief’s, too. And the fire chief’s.
“It’s a bit Nixonian, isn’t it?” says David Perez, a lawyer at Perkins Coie and one of many around town who is seeking city records to shed light on what really happened during last year’s protests. “What we’re talking about here is a monthslong attempt at a cover-up, about one of the most volatile and important periods in city history.”
The reason this matters goes beyond just the mishandling of public records. It puts Seattle at increased legal risk in a slew of court cases, where judges tend to frown when one side isn’t straight with the evidence.
The emerging explanation from City Hall is that the mayor’s phone was mistakenly set to delete text messages after 30 days. She thought the messages were being saved somehow, such as in a data cloud. But it was discovered, last August, that 10 months of messages were missing — including during June 2020, when protesters took over Capitol Hill, the police abandoned their precinct and all hell broke loose.
As an investigation summed up, Durkan’s office had engaged in “efforts to keep from public view” that the texts no longer exist.
According to the investigation, Durkan’s office went to almost comical lengths to hide it. One public records request sought “all communications from the Mayor’s office since June 6, 2020 that mention the East Precinct,” but it was not fulfilled because it didn’t specify that the “Mayor’s office” actually meant Durkan.
The report concluded that Durkan’s people had stooped to this level of hyperliteral parsing precisely to cover over that the texts were lost.
These records are highly sought after by protesters suing the city over allegations of police brutality during the standoffs last summer; by the families of those killed in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone who contend the city failed to provide rescue aid; and by scores of businesses on Capitol Hill that accuse the city of “deliberate indifference” in ceding city blocks to what at times became anarchy.
The key questions: Who ordered it? Who authorized the use of tear gas and other police tactics at various protests? Who, if anyone, told the police to abandon the area’s East Precinct building? It’s important for history and transparency and democracy, of course, but it also matters legally.
With the records deleted, and then this alleged cover-up, it’s possible the courts could now simply presume the missing evidence weighs against the city. That’s an outcome that could cost Seattle millions of dollars in settlement or judgment costs.
Again, it’s only due to two whistleblowers that we’re talking about this at all. As often happens, one is currently out of a job, the other on unpaid leave, over fears about retaliation. In a just world they would be welcomed back to #bosslady’s City Hall and given some sort of sunlight democracy award.
As for the text messages, lawyers may be forced to try to depose Durkan and other city officials. That would be a sorry and sad but maybe fitting end.
With the pandemic, the protests and the ongoing crisis at the city’s Police Department, this has been an extremely difficult time to be a Seattle official. I have tried to avoid harsh or knee-jerk judgments, as I don’t feel there was one obvious “right” decision to be made last summer on Capitol Hill.
But now? Once they start hiding stuff, it’s hard to conclude much but that they seriously screwed it up. And they know it.
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