Recall proponent can still appeal<\/b><\/p>\n
King County Superior Court Judge Michael Trickey ruled last week that Chris Clifford\u2019s recall petition of Valley Medical Center\/Hospital District 1 Commissioner Don Jacobson isn\u2019t sufficient.<\/p>\n
The decision means Clifford\u2019s efforts to have Jacobson removed from office by recall election have come screeching to a halt, although he has the opportunity to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Clifford, a Renton resident and open-government crusader, argued the merits of his recall petition during a sufficiency hearing in court April 3, claiming that Jacobson had violated the state\u2019s Open Public Meetings Act and abused his power as president of the board of commissioners by circumventing its bylaws.<\/p>\n
Jacobson\u2019s attorney, Scott Johnson, argued that the recall petition was without merit and not worth wasting the court\u2019s time.<\/p>\n
David Burman, an attorney from the firm of Perkins Cooie retained to represent the hospital, was granted a motion to intervene on behalf of Valley Medical but was limited to a narrow scope of argument.<\/p>\n
Clifford pointed to the discussion of an ethics code at the commissioners\u2019 education retreat in December. He argued that though the meeting was properly noticed, it was held 150 miles outside of the district, and that the meeting agenda that was published never mentioned discussion of a proposed ethics code.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no notice of a business meeting in this notice,\u201d Clifford said. \u201cEven if it was part of the education seminar, it wasn\u2019t part of the minutes, not part of the notice. They didn\u2019t even put it on the agenda that they were going to talk about (the ethics code). This is an absolutely egregious violation of the open meetings act.\u201d<\/p>\n
He argued that it was a violation because they had a business discussion and created new policy which was later passed without discussion at the commissioners\u2019 Dec. 17 meeting.<\/p>\n
Valley Medical\u2019s attorney disputed that point.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear that it was an open public meeting,\u201d Burman said. \u201cThere\u2019s no substantive violation, much less an intentional violation by Mr. Jacobson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burman, in representing the hospital, said there are concerns this recall petition could discourage other qualified candidates from running for the hospital board.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would deter people from serving,\u201d Burman said. \u201cIt would cause them to second-guess others and it would cause administrative workings to grind to a halt.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also asserted that Clifford\u2019s suggestion that the open meetings act be strictly interpreted wasn\u2019t meeting with the spirit and intent of the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing in the bylaws or the Open Public Meeting Act that states they should be interpreted strictly,\u201d Berman said.<\/p>\n
Clifford also took issue with Jacobson\u2019s alleged unauthorized unilateral creation of a subcommittee, as well as statements made regarding a closed-door review of the state Public Disclosure Commission\u2019s investigation into campaign-finance violations in 2005 and 2006, for which Valley Medical chief executive officer Rich Roodman later agreed to pay fines.<\/p>\n
Jacobson, the hospital board\u2019s president, \u201chas served on school boards,\u201d Clifford said. \u201cHe\u2019s served on this (hospital) board for many years. He knows the open meetings law. It is a duty of the president to know his powers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Berman refuted Clifford\u2019s arguments, saying \u201cthere is nothing in the facts presented by Mr. Clifford that shows\u201d malicious intent.<\/p>\n
Clifford said he was disappointed by the judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I find most frustrating is that factually, I proved three of\u201d the allegations, he said. \u201cI have problems when I\u2019ve shown three factually sufficient grounds and then get told, \u2018It just wasn\u2019t enough bad stuff.\u2019 How much bad stuff is he supposed to do? I\u2019m not really sure that is the standard of recall in this state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trickey\u2019s written ruling will be available April 23. Clifford said he\u2019ll decide after that whether to appeal it.<\/p>\n
Hospital officials felt vindicated by the judge\u2019s decision, according to Valley Medical spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hospital itself was a party to this proceeding \u2014 not just Commissioner Jacobson \u2014 because many of the allegations were really criticisms of our long-standing management committee structure, and the judge acknowledged that we were an appropriate party,\u201d Vander Houwen said. \u201cThe judge found all nine of the allegations either factually or legally insufficient to sustain a recall petition. He also found that our hospital committee structure that has been in place for years is appropriate and not at odds with the Open Public Meetings Act. We are very pleased with the judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vander Houwen said that \u201cfrom the beginning,\u201d hospital officials believed that Clifford\u2019s claims \u201cwere ill-founded, politically motivated acts, and we hope that he takes a serious look at what (he) is actually doing: Distracting management from what they are here to do \u2013 provide comprehensive, quality health care to residents of the hospital district and the many others we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff writer Kris Hill can be reached at (425) 432-1209 (ext. 5054) and khill@reporternews<\/p>\n
papers.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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