E-mails reveal issues, antipathy and turmoil inside Port Angeles City Hall
Departing Port Angeles City Manager Mark Madsen displays a large going-away card presented to him by Edna Petersen at last week's City council meeting. Petersen, a former City Council member, is owner of downtown's Necessities and Temptations gift shop. -- Photo by Teresa Pierce/City of Port Angeles
By Paul Gottlieb, Peninsula Daily News
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They depict the emotional, sometimes angry, undercurrent that preceded and followed Madsen's July 9 letter to Mayor Gary Braun, when he told Braun he was resigning effective Sept. 1.
Madsen, 51, cited the "untenable, hostile work environment" he said was created by "certain individual council members toward each other, him, his City Hall staff and the community," though at the time he didn't name the council members.
City Hall e-mails — released to the Peninsula Daily News after it filed a freedom of information request — reveal particular tensions between Madsen and three City Council members — Cherie Kidd, Don Perry and Deputy Mayor Betsy Wharton — and among the City Council members themselves.
Clashes occurred through the year between the "new" and "old" council members and with Madsen — but escalated and reached a high in late June.
Kidd, Perry and Dan Di Guilio had been elected to the council the previous November and took office Jan. 1.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want to spend that much time being stressed out and going nowhere," Wharton wrote in an e-mail after a closed-door executive session in June
Wharton suggested that the council get a facilitator for "teambuilding" and "goal setting."
And from Madsen in another e-mail:
"All I heard from most of the council was 'feel good platitudes' that gloss over the underlying problems.
"NO ONE confronted the fact that the work of staff is being undermined."
Miscommunication at times
The City Hall-mails also seem to reflect miscommunication and misinterpretation of words and intent about some of the issues that Madsen had with Kidd, Perry and Wharton.
On July 22, the seven City Council members unanimously voted to approve a 435-word "mea culpa" statement in response to Madsen's complaints.
"We pledge to this community — as one body — to immediately and radically alter the current situation and state of affairs . . . and build a better system of [City Council] accountability," it said.
But while there were obviously clashes between the council members over various issues, for a July 27 PDN article a majority of the council — Braun, Di Guilio, Perry, Wharton and Kidd — disputed Madsen's sharply worded July 1 memos about "actions and attitudes of concern" that led to his resignation, suggesting his complaints were exaggerated.
Mayor should resign?
Last Sunday's PDN Clallam County edition included a front-page article in which City Councilman Larry Williams, 62, said he believed Braun, 72, should resign as mayor for the sake of "good, clear new leadership" — and possibly be replaced as mayor by Di Guilio, former general manager of Clallam Transit.
A package of stories in last Sunday's PDN also included a lengthy article, based on e-mails and PDN interviews, about what led to what Madsen called "a train wreck."
That article quoted Madsen as saying in an e-mail, "The role and function of 'mayor' at a very practical level has been unfulfilled."
The article also noted there were never any meetings by the full City Council to discuss Madsen's complaints made in the two July 1 memos before he resigned.
Williams and City Council member Karen Rogers implied this was the fault of Braun.
Braun disputed the allegations and told the PDN he did not intend to step down as mayor.
Last days for Madsen
This is Madsen's last week of work at City Hall, and he said it will be a busy one.
His employment contract calls for at least $37,000 in severance.
He may also work on pending city projects "as needed" after Sept. 1 if he and the City Council agree to a contract.
Madsen said he will move to Spokane to be a consultant working mostly in the areas of community and economic development.
In Spokane, he will be closer to where his children go to school, with an airport "that will take me anywhere" and high-speed Internet connections, he told the PDN in an article published last Sunday.
In an interview with the PDN last week, Public Works Director Glenn Cutler, a nine-year department head with the second longest tenure at City Hall, said Friday the present council "is more challenging than the other councils that I've worked with."
But he wouldn't comment on whether some council members created a "hostile" environment.
Cutler is mentioned in several of the City Hall e-mails, including one in which Madsen accuses Kidd of trying to 'kiss up to Glenn."
Police misunderstanding?
On July 1, nine days before he resigned, Madsen gave the council a heads-up on his concerns in his two memos that were later made public.
In the July 1 memo titled "Specific council actions and attitudes of concern," he included the example, "Interference with personnel and labor matters, including a pending candidate selection for a new Deputy Chief of Police."
That may be related to the earliest e-mail supplied to the PDN.
The March 25 communication is from Police Chief Terry Gallagher to Madsen about Perry.
In the March 25 e-mail, Gallagher says, "Mark, FYI — Don Perry has asked to meet with this morning. I do not know the subject matter but can make an educated guess.
"I will let you know how things go. . . . We are meeting at 9:30."
The meeting never occurred, Perry and Gallagher said last week in separate interviews with the PDN.
But they differed on why they were going to meet.
"I believe Don was interested in the deputy chief promotion selection process," Gallagher said in the PDN interview.
"I know Don had an interest in the deputy chief selection process.
"Don and I never did [have] that meeting. I can't tell you today why that is."
But Perry said in his interview that he didn't want to meet with Gallagher about the process of selecting a new deputy chief.
"It was about the [city] health and safety committee," Perry told the PDN.
"There were things that had come up in there that I had questions about. I got them answered."
No contact for months
Madsen has consistently refused to name the specific council members he had problems with, except for Perry and Kidd.
He said in an interview for last Sunday's PDN article that Perry did not speak to him from Feb. 8 to July 3.
Perry responded that a Feb. 8 meeting he, Kidd and Braun had with Madsen — at which Madsen reacted strongly to questions regarding his participation in an upcoming economic seminar — had made Perry skittish.
But the lack of communication was mostly coincidental because there was little need to discuss issues with Madsen outside of council meetings, Perry said in the interview.
As for Kidd, Madsen said in a July 12 e-mail, three days after he resigned, that a council member had questioned and undermined him from her first day in office, in January.
In this case, Madsen in the interview for last Sunday's article identified Kidd as that council member.
A June 24 e-mail also ties Kidd to an incident that sparked his anger.
The June 24 e-mail was written by City Hall spokeswoman Teresa Pierce to Madsen.
Pierce, also Madsen's assistant, told Madsen in her e-mail that Kidd had called City Hall asking for Gallagher's phone number and police officer Duane Benedict's extension.
Benedict is a policeman assigned to patrol the downtown.
'My regrets'
Just an hour after Pierce's e-mail to Madsen, Madsen e-mailed Mayor Braun and City Attorney Bill Bloor and forwarded the message to Kidd.
"I can think of NO situation where it is appropriate for a Council member to need to directly contact a police officer, or for that matter a fireman, or any other line staff of the City," Madsen said in the e-mail.
"This is especially true of public safety officers.
"Regardless of how innocent the intent. This is wrong, and I intend to address this in executive session tonight."
He signed off the e-mail with "My regrets."
Madsen had never said publicly which council member or members he was referring to as interfering in personnel matters, and apparently at least some council members did not know.
But they did speculate, and publicly.
In her prepared statement for the July 27 PDN article, Kidd said Madsen's assertion might be related to two things she did:
"He may have misunderstood that I called an officer directly. I did not. I was being a proactive member of our community," she said in the statement.
Other police issues
In his July 1 memo, Madsen also cited an action he took issue with that concerned "intrusion into police investigations."'
He cited two instances.
The first was "a criminal complaint case in which a citation had been issued, but which had not yet come before the court."
Again, Madsen never made clear which council member he was referring to.
He said as a matter of principle he would not name those who, in his eyes, were at fault.
Kidd did speculate, though, pointing to herself.
She said in her July 27 statement to the PDN that she had asked Police Chief Gallagher "about the logistics of animal control" in response to a city resident's concerns over a pit bull running loose in the neighborhood.
In the second instance of "intrusion into police investigations," Madsen cited the following:
"A case where Police responded to a disturbance call from an eatery/pub when the bar management ejected a patron from their establishment."
One memo in particular that was supplied to the PDN as part of the public records request helps flesh out that incident.
It involved Wharton.
In a statement for the July 27 article, Wharton speculated that she may be the one at fault.
Wharton said that she would pass along the concerns of a Port Angeles resident involved in the incident to Madsen.
"I called the city manager's office and left a message describing the call I had received," she said in her statement.
Differing versions
That call is recounted by Pierce in a June 30 memo to Madsen titled, "Telephone conversation — Deputy Mayor Wharton/Police."
But those in each end of the telephone line have different versions of what was said.
Pierce said in her June 30 memo that Wharton called Pierce to get transferred to Gallagher "because she did not know his direct number."
Pierce told Wharton that Gallagher was out of the office and suggested Wharton talk to Deputy Chief Epps, Pierce said in the memo.
"She directly proceeded to tell me that a citizen (who she knew personally) had contacted her over the weekend regarding an incident where he had been thrown to the ground outside of a local establishment and was complaining that when police responded to the incident they did nothing to help him," Pierce said in the memo.
Pierce also said Wharton told her "she was concerned that our Police Department was not being sensitive enough to this individual and others that might 'look a little bit different' than others."
Pierce said in her memo that she told Wharton she would pass the information on to Gallagher, which she said she did.
Wharton's response?
"That's erroneous," Wharton said in an interview Friday.
"I do not think I called to get [Gallagher's] number," Wharton said.
"I called to get a message to Mark. I remember specific things about that conversation and they didn't get translated exactly right," Wharton said.
"I made a mistake and should have left it on a voice mail and not given it to an individual. I don't mean that as a criticism to Teresa Pierce."
Incident follow-up
Wharton said in the interview that when she called Pierce, she was on the verge of leaving town and was anxious to do what she'd promised regarding the eatery/pub incident.
"I don't have any particular concern that our police department can't be sensitive. I don't mean to raise speculation we have a problem in that way."
Gallagher said in his interview last week that the situation outside the eatery/pub had been resolved.
"We had already addressed the situation and had met personally with the individual involved and resolved it to his satisfaction," Gallagher said.
The PDN on Friday asked Gallagher who that person was.
Gallagher, saying he was unsure whether he could make the name public, asked the person to call the PDN.
The person involved in the incident was John De Bey, 65, a retired high school math teacher.
Was the situation resolved?
"At that time I felt it was," De Bey said Friday in an interview.
But De Bey said he still has unresolved issues with the police department over what happened.
City Council relations
Even before Wharton contacted City Hall, though, Madsen had issues with certain City Council members.
The City Council held an executive session on June 24, the same day that Kidd called City Hall for Police Chief Gallagher's phone number and the same day that Madsen declared in an e-mail that he could think of "NO situation" in which such contact was "appropriate."
The session was behind closed doors.
But Wharton recounted the tone of that meeting in an e-mail the following morning that she copied to council members and to Madsen, Cutler, Bloor and Finance Director Yvonne Ziomkowski, Wharton recounted the tone of the discussion.
Wharton said she was "appalled last night as our working relationship reached an all-time low," adding, "I am as much a part of the problem as anyone else . . .
"We are not going to get it together by just shouting at each other or by back room bad mouthing.
"We could just endure and hope the next election or staff change corrects the situation.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want to spend that much time being stressed out and going nowhere."
Wharton suggests hiring "a trained facilitator" for "teambuilding" and "goal setting."
Critical of PDN falldown
Just four days later, on June 28, Madsen phoned Mayor Braun and told him he was considering resigning.
Then on June 30, the City Council held another executive session to discuss Madsen's concerns.
The following day — the same day he wrote his memos outline his concerns and said the City Council needed to answer whether he could continue as city manager or not — Madsen e-mailed Williams.
It was 7:30 a.m., and Madsen was incensed.
"NOTHING in the newspaper!" Madsen wrote.
"NOTHING! Cherie got a free hall pass to continue as before."
Responded Williams: "I see it as her having been given a little more rope with which she will hang herself."
Williams, who e-mailed Madsen back with comments appended to many of Madsen's assertions, said Madsen was referring to Kidd's behavior at a June 24 City Council public hearing on the city's capital facilities plan/transportation improvement program.
At that meeting, Loren Olsen of Port Angeles "reminded council of the need to have the south side of Highland Avenue paved," according to the council minutes.
"Councilmember Kidd held up a piece of asphalt, asking Mr. Olsen if it looked familiar," say the minutes.
"Councilmember Williams objected to the demonstration, feeling it was out of order. Mayor Braun agreed."
Williams, a three-term member of the City Council and, after Braun, its senior member in years served, said in an interview that it was the first time he could recall seeing another council member called out of order by a mayor.
Kidd's "demonstration" was witnessed by a reporter who no longer works for Peninsula Daily News, Managing Editor/News Leah Leach said.
He never wrote about it.
"It happened, and we should have reported it," Leach said.
"Right or wrong, it was a dramatic display at a public meeting by an elected official, and the public has the right to know about it."
'Kiss up to Glenn'
But Madsen has more to say in his July 1 e-mail about Kidd.
"And then there are these clinchers," he writes.
"The only words out of Cherie Kidd was to kiss up to Glenn," Madsen said, referring to Public Works Director Cutler.
"She never owned up to her behavior."
Cutler was at the executive session.
"During the meeting, she made a comment about my performance and the complexity of it," Cutler recalled last Friday in a PDN interview.
"I considered it a comment that was not necessarily germane to the topic of what was going on at the time. I can't comment about what we were talking about in executive session, specifically."
As to Kidd not owning up to her behavior, Williams responds in his July 1 e-mail to Madsen: "She never will . . .and she will defend herself to the death."
Williams' relationship with Kidd is "overtly cordial," Williams said in a subsequent interview.
"There's not a good relationship there."
Kidd said last week in an interview that she apologized for the asphalt incident to Braun and Williams at the next council meeting, on June 30.
"That's part of being a responsible council person, if you make a mistake and apologize," Kidd said in her interview with the PDN.
She would not respond to Madsen's comment about "kissing up" to Cutler.
But an apology by Kidd to Braun and Williams was not recorded in the minutes of the June 30 meeting, a special session called by Braun "to discuss the implications of the actions of the City Council and personnel," according to the minutes.
Minutes are not recorded for executive sessions.
But apology or not, Madsen made it clear in his July 1 e-mail that the executive session did little to alleviate his concerns.
"All I heard from most of the council was 'feel good platitudes' that gloss over the underlying problems," Madsen said in the e-mail.
"NO ONE confronted the fact that the work of staff is being undermined."
'Never discussed'
Madsen says in the July 1 e-mail:
"The conditions that lead to my resignation were never discussed by Council. Hardly even acknowledged.
"Sorry, but from my perspective, this meeting accomplished nothing."
One way that Madsen's two July 1 memos became public was through Williams, who read them at a real estate association meeting, Williams said.
That upset Di Guilio.
Di Guilio said in a July 3 e-mail to Perry:
"It seems that Larry in his zeal to provide anything that will embarrass the new council members may have caused the one thing he wants to avoid. Mark leaving."
Di Guilio and Williams said in separate interviews that since July 3 they've patched up their differences.
Peninsula Daily News' July 4 story about Madsen's two July 1 memos, "Memos allege rifts on PA council," prompted Madsen to say he needed to resign, Madsen said in a July 9 e-mail to Braun, Di Giulio and Rogers.
Earlier on July 9, he'd e-mailed a draft of his resignation letter to Rogers, who responded, "send it."
Less than an hour later on July 9, he told Braun, Di Giulio and Rogers:
"Before something appears in the newspaper, I need to inform council of my pending resignation."
'A great team'
Madsen notified council members of his resignation later in the afternoon of July 9.
In notifying City Hall employees via e-mail that he was resigning, he shed a positive light on the June 24 executive session.
"Two weeks ago when I and other Department Heads met with Council we emphasized to them what a great team of City employees serve this community," he said.
"It is rewarding to see the results of our joint efforts as they shape and improve the community."
Several employees responded the following day, July 10.
An e-mail from employee Carol Hagar — "Thanks, you made me cry" — was characteristic of those responses.
Madsen also received many laudatory e-mails from leading members of the Port Angeles business community.
But so did Kidd.
In a July 16 e-mail, Port Angeles Downtown Association Board of Directors Executive Director Barbara Frederick, on behalf of the board of directors, told Kidd and Perry:
"We commend you for the job you have done" and "we appreciate that you have not wavered from your position."
But in the aftermath, Perry resigned from the Port Angeles Business Association, which supported Madsen in a letter the group drafted at a July 15 meeting.
In a July 15 e-mail to Gerald Hauxwell, Perry, the owner of Port Angeles Heritage Tours, said:
"I must admit I am greatly disappointed in the PABA and what it has become. Yes, I believe I have attended my last meeting."
Issues simmer
In his interview last week, Perry said the group at its July 15 meeting "decided to have a meeting and asked the city council and their supporters to leave the meeting."
"I was personally offended," Perry said in the interview, adding he intends to stick with his resignation.
Even two weeks after Madsen quit, e-mailed emotions were still simmering.
In a July 22 e-mail to Kidd, one of her supporters, Linda Nutter, wrote:
"My feeling is that Madsen has acted like a child and has tried to blame the city council instead of himself.
"I also find it amazing that he felt that there is too much meddling by the council when that was the method used to get him the job as city manager!"
Kidd responded: "Thank you. You are very astute. Best wishes."
In an interview last week, Kidd said:
"We are working on a new city manager.
"That's my focus, not to argue about what Mark was focused on. He's nothing but a fine fellow. He will be greatly missed.
"Now we are focused on the interim manager."
________
Paul Gottlieb, the PDN's Commentary page editor who wrote this article while on special assignment, can be reached at 360-417-3536, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
Council members to be questioned
PORT ANGELES CITY Council members will face questions from residents this week about City Manager Mark Madsen's allegations of a "untenable, hostile work environment" at City Hall caused by issues with council members.
The forum , which will be facilitated by the League of Women Voters, will be held in the council chambers at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St., beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Questions must be written.
They will be reviewed by City Attorney Bill Bloor to ensure that they do not deal with topics reserved for closed-door executive sessions.
Ray Gruver, an insurance broker and a past president of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, delivered to City Hall on July 25 a letter signed by 60 community and business leaders.
It asked the council to hold the public forum.
Interim city manager
On Thursday, the council will hold another special meeting at City Hall.
It begins at 12 noon.
After meeting with representatives of Waldron and Co., a Seattle-based executive recruitment firm, to begin the process to hire a new permanent city manager, the seven council members will interview the four finalists for the position of interim city manager.
The finalists for the interim job are expected to be interviewed between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Port Angeles Human Resources Director Bob Coons has not yet named the finalists, or their hometowns.
Those who confirm that they will be interviewed will be identified, probably on Monday, he said.
Thursday's special meeting could include an executive session to discuss the applicants for the interim job and possibly make an offer to one of them.
Last modified: August 23. 2008 9:00PM