PORT ANGELES — An accusation of perjury against Port Angeles Deputy Mayor Cherie Kidd based on her testimony at a March 29 city ethics board hearing has led to an investigation by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols will refer the results to the state Attorney General’s Office criminal division to avoid a potential conflict of interest, Nichols said.
In an April 8 complaint to the Port Angeles Police Department, Port Angeles resident Dale Wilson accused Kidd of falsely claiming that Councilman Lee Whetham inflamed residents who attended a Feb. 2 City Council meeting.
Kidd later adjourned the meeting abruptly over what she testified were concerns for public safety.
Jefferson County agency
Interim Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith said this week that the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was asked to investigate the complaint to avoid a conflict of interest that might arise from the city police department looking into an allegation against a City Council member.
The Sheriff’s Office accepted it April 12.
Undersheriff Joe Nole said Thursday the report by part-time Special Investigator Bob Gebo could be completed by next week.
Nole said Gebo, who was in Port Angeles on Thursday conducting interviews in the case, had been working on other cases and was unable until recently to concentrate on the investigation.
In the complaint, Wilson alleges that Kidd “gave false testimony under oath when she testified before the ethics committee about events happening February 2nd, 2016.”
Kidd testified under oath for 55 minutes at the March 29 city ethics board hearing. A video of it was produced by Clallam Public Eye and is available on YouTube at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-kiddtestimony.
The board composed of Frank Prince Jr., Grant Meiner and Danetta Rutten was reviewing a complaint filed by Port Angeles resident Marolee Smith over Kidd’s actions while Kidd chaired the Feb. 2 meeting in place of Mayor Patrick Downie, who was ill but participated by phone.
Public comment speakers criticized four council members, including Kidd, who had voted in December to continue fluoridation of city water.
After Kidd told speaker Robert Flood that “name calling” was out of order, Whetham jumped to his feet to raise his arms and urge the crowd “to be boisterous,” Kidd told the committee.
“We had a council member with an orange, anti-fluoride signage on his chest stand and urge, egg on the audience, and the crescendo of the noise in here went through the roof,” she said.
She abruptly adjourned the meeting.
“It’s up to the chair to keep decorum and order,” Kidd said.
“For public safety purposes, it was not safe.”
She told the ethics board that what she saw was not contained on the Clallam Public Eye video that was reviewed by the committee.
Wilson said Tuesday that Kidd perjured herself at the March 29 hearing in her testimony about Whetham.
“I made a report of a crime to the police,” Wilson said Tuesday.
Wilson said in his complaint that City Attorney Bill Bloor “has video evidence showing that Kidd gave false testimony under oath.”
Bloor said he was sent the link to the video by Wilson as well as Edna Willadsen of the anti-fluoridation group Our Water, Our Choice! It can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-adjournment.
Most of the video consists of the proceedings after the meeting was adjourned.
In the five seconds leading up to Kidd’s call for adjournment, it shows Whetham seated while she tells a speaker, referring to the speaker’s comments, “Those are inappropriate. This meeting is adjourned.”
Whetham would not comment Thursday.
“This is a potential legal thing, and I don’t want to talk about it or have it in print or circulation,” he said.
“It’s out of character for me to stand during a council meeting.”
Kidd did not return calls for comment Thursday.
Ethics board decision
The ethics board unanimously decided that Kidd brought “disrepute” on the City Council for interrupting a speaker during the second Feb. 2 public comment session and for abruptly adjourning the meeting without taking a less onerous course of action, such as calling a recess, clearing the council chambers or adjourning and reconvening elsewhere.
The board also unanimously recommended that Kidd be verbally admonished for violating the city ethics code.
The City Council has not acted on the board’s recommendation.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
