PORT ANGELES — An ethical conduct complaint has been filed against Port Angeles City Council members Brad Collins, Lee Whetham, Sissi Bruch and Michael Merideth.
Marie Wiggins alleges the four council members — a quorum of the seven-person council — violated the Code of Ethical Conduct by violating the state Open Public Meetings Act on Feb. 2.
The complaint is the fourth allegation of violations of the city’s code of ethical conduct filed against City Council members.
Prior complaints were against Deputy Mayor Cherie Kidd and Mayor Patrick Downey.
City Attorney Bill Bloor said Tuesday the City Council likely will consider naming a three-person ethics board to hear the complaint at its May 17 meeting.
Wiggins said that the transgression occurred after Kidd abruptly adjourned a Feb. 2 City Council meeting at which a large number of people were speaking, many of them opponents of water fluoridation.
Following the adjournment, Kidd and Councilman Dan Gase left the council chambers.
Mayor Patrick Downie was not present, as he participated by phone.
Whetham, Merideth and Bruch — who opposed water fluoridation — stayed at the dais and continued taking mostly anti-fluoridation public comments that had dominated the meeting.
Collins, who favors fluoridation, stood at the back of the council chambers to listen to the speakers.
The City Council’s 10-year contract with the Washington Dental Service Foundation to fluoridate the city’s municipal water supply ends in 15 days, on May 18.
Council members voted 4-3 in December to continue the much-disputed practice until June 2026. Kidd, Downie, Gase and Collins voted in favor.
Speakers at subsequent meetings criticized their vote.
Wiggins said in her complaint that on Feb. 2, the four council members who stayed after adjournment “continued to conduct city business by listening to comments from the public at an unauthorized gathering” in violation of state law.
State law “clearly defines the process required when a council meeting has been shut down by disorderly conduct,” Wiggins said.
“This requires a majority vote of the council in order to proceed, and this action did not occur.”
Kidd, who has been named in two ethics complaints over her actions at the Feb. 2 meeting, had adjourned the meeting after interrupting a speaker because of public safety concerns, she said at a March 29 ethics board hearing.
Wiggins, the wife of former Mayor Glenn Wiggins, said Tuesday the meeting should have ended when Kidd adjourned it.
“It seems to me that when the gavel comes down, the meeting is over,” she said.
“They should have just gone home instead of continuing to influence, anger and such.
“I just think maybe it’s time to get some of these things cleared up.”
For the council to actually conduct a meeting, “there has to be a collective intent,” Bloor said, adding he needs to do further research on the topic.
“From what I saw, there was not a collective intent by four council members to be conducting a council meeting.”
In addition, what constitutes the council taking action, and the calling of an official meeting, is “pretty broad,” Bloor said.
“It does include listening to testimony, but I’m not sure it includes passively listening to random comments and then making no response.”
Collins said Tuesday he was unsure if he did the right thing by staying in council chambers after the meeting adjourned.
Collins said he started doubting himself about a week ago.
“I became concerned about my own ethics,” he said.
Whetham, who urged residents to make comments Feb. 2 in council chambers after Kidd adjourned the meeting, said Tuesday he had no regrets or second thoughts.
“None whatsoever,” he said.
“I would have done it again tomorrow, tonight, even,” he added, referring to Tuesday night’s regular council meeting.
He also praised Wiggins.
“It shows this individual actually cares about our community, and that is what this is put in place for.”
He drew a distinction between himself and Kidd.
“This is the difference between me and Cherie Kidd,” Whetham said.
“I’m not going to announce my innocence or guilt until the ethics committee meets and goes through the process.”
Bruch and Merideth could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
An ethics board composed of Frank Prince Jr., Grant Meiner and Danetta Rutten ruled April 1 that Kidd violated the ethics code by interrupting a speaker and by abruptly adjourning the Feb. 2 meeting during a public comment session.
The panel, deciding on the complaint filed by fluoridation foe Marolee Smith, unanimously voted to recommend that the City Council verbally admonish Kidd.
Council members decided April 19 to delay action until a second ethics board chaired by Williams finishes hearing anti-fluoridation group Our Water, Our Choice!’s complaint against Kidd and until a third board rules on a similar complaint against Downie, also filed by Smith.
The Williams board April 21 cleared Kidd of an allegation of wrongdoing for chairing the Feb. 2 meeting while Downie participated by speakerphone.
But it delayed ruling on ethical charges over Kidd’s part in banning signs in the council chambers, on Kidd gaveling Whetham out of order when he asked for a legal opinion and on Kidd declaring a recess and adjournment without council input.
The Williams board, which includes Jerry Dean and William Yucha, asked Our Water, Our Choice! and Kidd to submit arguments on those allegations that the Williams panel will consider at an unspecified future date.
Williams, Rutten and Diana Tschimperle will consider a third complaint — the one against Downie alleging he acted unethically toward residents protesting fluoridation at Jan. 5 and Jan. 19 council meetings.
That meeting has not been scheduled.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
