I am the immediate past president of the Washington Municipal Clerks Association. I have my master municipal clerk certification. I have 22 years of municipal government experience, 10 of them as city clerk and much of the rest working with city councils, mayors and city managers. The Pacific City Council was ready to confirm me on March 25, and suddenly I am not qualified?

What changed? Am I too old? Too fat? Too gray? Too female? Too supportive of Mayor Cy Sun?

On March 25, Councilmember John Jones wanted to confirm me. Councilmember Leanne Guier said that confirmation was not necessary. The council’s attorney, Kenyon Luce, emailed them stating it was, indeed, necessary, to cast a confirming vote.

Why, suddenly, am I not confirmed?

I was acceptable by the council until I said I served at the pleasure of the mayor, as stated in their own Pacific Municipal Code, the law of their city.

I am more than qualified to do this job. I was illegally un-confirmed for political reasons.

The council is using their attorney to do work that city staff can do and are qualified to do, cost effectively. The council’s refusal to acknowledge and utilize existing staff or confirm staff is costing the citizens of Pacific exorbitant sums of money. The attorney does not work in the interest of the mayor or the larger city, and Mayor Sun finds himself without legal counsel.

Mayor Sun has tried to hire qualified people at a rate of pay lower than anywhere else and then having them wear several hats for that rate of pay. The council will not allow him to hire anyone who will not undermine him. He wants public servants to serve and not suck from the public purse. He wants to get public servants out of the bully pulpit and stop intimidating people. Mayor Sun is doing a lot of things right. It is not difficult to serve on his team.

The people of Pacific, the 6,580 who do not attend council meetings, should be very afraid of what their city council and the council’s attorney are doing to the City of Pacific. The legislative branch has silenced the executive branch. What the citizens have been led to believe they are getting, they are not getting at all.

The Pacific City Council has gone rogue and they have forgotten the oath they took to uphold the laws of the City of Pacific and the State of Washington.

This story is just beginning.

– Sandy Paul, former interim Pacific City Clerk