Does the Spokane City Council majority have a “Trifecta” staff infection?
Carlos & Gunn currently facing ethics charges, is Thomas next?
POSTED 12 August 2023
Spokane taxpayers are forced to fund Kelly Thomas’ six-figure salary through the City Council that hired her to be their second “Manager of Sustainability Initiatives.” While it is unclear what services she is supposed to provide, it is clear how she chose to serve one particular citizen on Friday morning 8/11/23.
Yesterday morning, Thomas wrote a nasty-gram email to the editorial page editor of The Spokesman-Review titled “Recent Guest Opinion Inaccuracy” on behalf of the City Council. Thomas claimed,
“ … our concern is that the Spokesman-Review should have attempted to do some fact-checking before publishing such a statement.”
City Council manager Thomas continues,
“We hope there will be an opportunity for a correction and/or rebuttal.”
What was the “Inaccuracy” that Thomas accuses the Spokesman-Review of not attempting to “do some fact-checking” and therefore demands “opportunity for a correction and/or rebuttal”?
Thomas begins her email to the Spokesman-Review yesterday with,
“I am writing to inquire about a recent guest editorial by Larry Andrews that you published on Friday, August 4, 2023. There was a claim made by Mr. Andrews that he had applied for a position on our Sustainability Action Subcommittee Steering Committee back in February, and never heard back. Our Council office does not have a record of that application, nor have I personally heard from Mr. Andrews, as I am the current Sustainability Initiatives Manager. If Mr. Andrews had applied and not heard, our office would be interested to hear where he sent the application.”
To repeat and emphasize, City Council manager and taxpayer-funded Thomas wrote yesterday, “Our Council office does not have a record of that application …” She also asserts, “if Mr. Andrews had applied and not heard, our office would be interested to hear where he sent the application.”
This should be of critical concern to all Spokane citizens, as on February 9, 2023, Council President Breean Beggs wrote in response to Mr. Andrews’ emailed application to all City Council Members,
“Thanks Larry. I have reviewed your attached letter. As you know, the staff position supporting this group is currently open and we are conducting a search to fill it. Once they are in place, I will consult with them and the SAS Steering Committee Chair and Vice-Chairs to see how they want to proceed in filling any vacancies. I will let you know what the process looks like once it is established.
Best,
Breean Beggs”
A Couple Critical Questions Include:
Does the City Council really have “NO” record of the Larry Andrews application which was emailed to all City Council Members and acknowledged by Council President Beggs last February? If so, why is this the case, and does that violate state and local record-keeping laws?
As Legislative Assistant to Council Member Karen Stratton from July 2022 to July 2023 stated on her resume, wouldn’t Council employee Thomas have received Andrews’ application, or at least easily been able to find the application? Again, Stratton and all Council Members were emailed the application.
What is more than worrisome is that Kelly Thomas, on behalf of the City Council, accuses the Spokesman-Review of incompetence through a false claim of failure to fact-check, when she herself is guilty of her own charges. Is this what we are paying six-figure salaries for?
What is driving this behavior that can righteously be described as a malicious laboring to commit libel against a citizen – Mr. Andrews, who is merely offering his volunteer time to a City Council subcommittee? Could it be a “staff infection” commitment to the political “trifecta” power plan that has seeped into civic servants working for the City Council supermajority? This is worth exploring. Manager Thomas is certainly a fan of the “Trifecta.”
Two current staffers, Andrew Mark Carlos (aide to Council Member Betsty Wilkerson) and Jeff Gunn (aide to Council Member Zack Zappone) are currently under investigation by the Spokane Ethics Commission for political promotions during work hours. Council supermajority staffer Kelly Thomas looks likely to join them soon creating their own “trifecta” of Council staff under investigation.
Will Kelly Thomas abscond, like her predecessor in the position of City Council Manager of Sustainability Initiatives Kara Odegard? Or will she face the music?
EDITOR’S NOTE: While City Council manager Kelly Thomas has acted more than irresponsibly, her supervisors must be those to demonstrate leadership and finally use this latest teachable moment to take corrective action and establish a culture of true civil service at Council. We should expect Council President Lori Kinnear to issue a public apology to the Spokesman-Review and especially Mr. Larry Andrews, a person who pays his taxes and is an often forgotten first-responder, responding to service calls when the heat in our homes is out and our cooling systems are down.