PORT ANGELES — A Seattle law firm is conducting a personnel investigation into the circumstances surrounding Clallam County Public Utility District Commissioner Hugh Haffner’s pending resignation.
The president of the PUD commission said he does not know of any investigation.
No one would talk on the record about the object of the investigation or how it related to Haffner.
Haffner, a lawyer and 24-year Port Angeles-area District 2 incumbent, said earlier in May that he will resign from his seat 2½ years before the end of his term.
He told Peninsula Daily News on May 6 that his likely quitting date is July 1, saying, “It’s time to get out of it and not have to deal with it anymore.”
The PDN submitted a public records request Monday for written complaints or reports on complaints about Haffner and for any corrective action taken in response to any complaints.
“Due to an active personnel investigation, no documents responsive to your request are available at this time,” Public Records Officer Carla Field said Thursday in an emailed response.
“When the investigation is complete, any non-exempt documents will become available to the public.”
The PUD has commissioned the Seattle law firm William Kastner to conduct the investigation.
Kastner is conducting it as part of its duties as the PUD’s legal counsel.
“There is an ongoing investigation covered by the attorney-client privilege,” Kastner labor and employment lawyer Jerry Rubin said last week. “We need to finish that.”
Rubin said he assumes there will be a report issued once the investigation is completed.
PUD spokeswoman Nicole Clark said in an email that the special taxing district had not received any billing statements from Kastner and won’t know the total cost until the investigation is complete.
Board President and West End-area District 3 PUD Commissioner Ted Simpson, who is running for re-election in Nov. 6, said Thursday he is not aware of the investigation.
“Our job, I’d guess you’d call it, our duties, are to set policy for the district, and we don’t really get involved in the day-to-day operations,” he said.
“Maybe [it’s going on] at a different level that I’m not aware of.”
Haffner did not return calls for comment Thursday and Friday.
His retirement was discussed in two executive sessions, according to PUD records.
PUD commissioners held an April 16 executive session that was exempt from being a public meeting under the state law exclusion that allows discussion of “litigation or potential litigation” without the public present.
An April 26 executive session was held to discuss Haffner’s retirement “to review the performance of a public employee” and “to discuss with legal counsel representing the agency litigation or potential litigation.”
Simpson said he would not talk about what commissioners discussed in the executive sessions.
“There are no written complaints that I am aware of” against Haffner, he said.
Simpson would not comment on if there were verbal complaints.
“That’s gossip, I guess,” he said.
“I’ve been listening to complaints about him for the last 20 years, just plain old gossip.
“When you talk about people complaining about people, I’ve heard people call him all kinds of things.”
Simpson said the commissioners did not reach an agreement on when Haffner will resign.
“That’s his decision,” Simpson said.
Haffner said in the earlier interview that there were no complaints against him.
He said he is resigning in July to take advantage of the district’s insurance plan through June.
Resigning by last week would have allowed the position to be up for election Nov. 6.
Candidates would have been able to file for the seat during the state-mandated candidate filing week, which is Monday-Friday.
________
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@ peninsuladailynews.com.
