Mayor Sun's Attempt To Overturn Civil Service Dismissed

Mayor Cy Sun's continued antics have been thrown out of court this time. You may recall that Sun didn't like the civil service commission's reinstatement of Public Safety Director John Calkins. Sun had promised to fire Calkins as soon as he was elected, despite the requirement that he justify any firing under civil service rules. After firing the Public Safety Director, the civil service commission reversed Sun's decision and reinstated Calkins.

Sun decided he would appeal the reinstatement to Superior Court, without council approval as required by law. Judge White threw out Sun's appeal in his ruling today. The judge left room to consider in more detail the council's motion that Mayor Sun should pay attorney fees and court costs for what they call "frivolous" legal action.

Public Safety Director John Calkins is currently out on medical leave due to stress. Pacific Police ranks are seriously depleted right now, crime is on the rise and Mayor Sun refuses to hire new officers that the council has funded. Instead, Mayor Sun spends money on frivolous lawsuits. It is well past time to vote on this recall!

Recall Decsion Delayed Again

Mayor Cy Sun has successfully delayed the recall decision by the State Supreme Court once again. This time, one of his lawyers will not be available (even though other lawyers on his team are available). The earliest we can hope for a special election is sometime this summer now.

Remember, all the recall does is allow the people of Pacific to vote on retaining Mayor Sun or not. For those of us fighting in the trenches just to get this issue before the voters, the process is obscene. All the cards are stacked against the citizens. When an elected official like Mayor Sun can wreck havoc in office untouched for a year and half (if we are lucky) before the people of Pacific can vote, something is very wrong.

Mayor Sun said he welcomed a recall (link here). Now he fights and delays the effort at every turn. His pattern of saying one thing and doing the opposite is well known to those in Pacific who have deal with him. It's time that others outside Pacific understand how very one-sided and onerous our recall system is. Please tell your friends. Let them know about this injustice. And ask them to help us fight this battle. Find out how to help at ProtectPacificVotes.com.

MyNortwest.com has a good summary of the recall process to date (link here).

Donate Via New Web Site

The issue of recalling Pacific Mayor Cy Sun is important for so many reasons beyond the destruction he has brought to the city we love. The recall process, as it currently exists in this state, places an unfair burden on the citizens. It costs too much money, takes too long and gives all the power to the elected official to easily play legal games. If you have been following the saga in Pacific, you already know this.

Now its time to tell the world. Tyrants can abuse their power in other cities. The battle is much larger than the borders of Pacific, Washington. Visit our new web page - then email, post to Facebook, share our story with your friends. And ask them to  help us. We still need to raise thousands of dollars before we can even start the process of bringing the recall of Cy Sun to the voters. Thank you!

www.ProtectPacificVotes.com

Updates

Although things have been quiet on this blog for a few weeks, unfortunately things have not quieted down in Pacific. Here are just a few of the things going on:

• The Washington State Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the new material Mayor Sun's attorney tried to add to the recall appeal (the attorney's declaration) would not be allowed. The court upheld the committee's right to cross appeal and threw out Sun's attempt to deny that right. We are waiting for the court's ruling on Sun's appeal of the lower court's finding that there is justification to allow a vote on this recall. Once the recall recieves the high court's approval, we can collect signatures and put the recall out for a vote. All this legal action does not remove Cy Sun from office. It simply allows the voters of Pacific to decide his fate.
• Mayor Sun continues to vow to block any attempt to return the police force to minimum staffing levels.
• Sun has made one attempt and promises a second - to appoint his friend Howard Erickson to the civil service commission. Erickson is the same unqualified friend that Sun hired as building inspector, whom the council refused to pay. The civil service commission oversees certain aspects of the police department (hiring, firing, more).
• Sun has appealed the civil service commission's reinstatement of Public Safety Director John Calkins after Sun tried to wrongfully fire him. The city is required to pay for Calkins attorney as this battle continues, costing even more of our tax dollars.
• Public disclosure laws require that Sun register with the Public Disclosure Commission and disclose the source of the thousands of dollars he is spending. This is considered a political campaign and contributions are limited to $900 per person. The recall committee has carefully followed all PDC rules. To date, Sun has not filed or reported anything to the PDC.
• Our only goal is to bring the recall to a vote of the people. The recall process continues to be costly, complex and draining. Sun and his attorney's throw motions and delays into that process at every turn. We have hired expert attorneys in order navigate this legal maze.  The state constitution guarantees the right of the people to recall elected officials from office, but this burdensome system makes that nearly impossible. We continue to need your help to cover these costs. We have set up a PayPal account (link here) for on-line donations. We are required to collect donors names and other information (link to that form here). Or contributions can be made to the Columbia Bank at 41st and A Street. Thank you for your help!

Sun Appealing Calkins' Reinstatement

Mayor Cy Sun is out running on his own again, in the name of the City of Pacific this time. And its unclear who has to pay the bill. Sun and his attorneys have filed an appeal in King County Superior Court asking the court to overturn the civil service decision that reinstated Public Safety Director John Calkins. The appeal is made by "The City of Pacific, through its mayor Cy Sun." The city attorney Ken Luce is not listed on the documents. Instead, Tyler Firkins is the attorney representing the mayor (and presumably the city), even though he does not have a contract with Pacific. The city is forced to pay for an attorney to represent Director Calkins, but it is unclear if Firkins will try to collect from Pacific's dwindling coffers.

Sun contends that he was justified in firing Calkins on the first offense without any progressive discipline, despite the commission's findings to the contrary. You can read more about the firing and reinstatement by clicking on the Calkins label on the lower left. The Calkins appeal document is available here. The rest of the appeal paperwork is listed on the court's web page here.

The bills keep mounting. Sun tried on his own to get the courts to give him authority to fire city attorney Luce (which he lost). Sun forced the city council to get a court order requiring the mayor to do his job and hire qualified people to fill key administrative vacancies that had been left vacant for too long. Sun is soley responsible for millions of dollars in lawsuits filed against the city. He is the only reason the city lost insurance coverage and now is forced to pay much more for less coverage.

The financial cost only tell part of the story. There is the loss to our reputation and community peace of mind. It's time to return sanity to city hall and recall Cy Sun from office.  Please help with your donation today.

Childish Antics

Have you noticed that the recall campaign signs around town are missing? Of about 150 printed and posted in local yards, most have been stolen. Someone sneaks out at night and takes them under the cover of darkness. Since this campaign is facing enormous financial constraints under state law (which Cy Sun is ignoring), these childish thefts hurt more than they should.

The mayor and his supporters don't appear to be able to handle their neighbor's right to free speech. It would nice if these folks had the maturity to debate these issues as adults and let the citizens of Pacific state their opinion without this petty harassment.

If you want to help combat these kinds of immature antics, please contribute to this campaign. Donations can be made at the Columbia Bank at 41st and A Street. Even if you donated before, please consider helping us get this issue before the voters of Pacific.

Add $175,000 To Sun's Damage

Former city clerk Jane Montgomery has settled her claim against the City of Pacific for $175,000. $25,000 of that was paid by the city and $150,000 paid by the insurance company. That payment included any costs for Montgomery's attorney.

Montgomery expressed sorrow that things ended this way. She felt she had done her job to the best of her ability and only tried to advise Mayor Sun on his legal obligations to the city. She said the insurance company acknowledged they advised Sun not to fire her, but they were ignored.

Although Montgomery could have gone to trial and sued Mayor Sun personally (since he acted on his own against legal advice) - and likely won a much higher settlement - she said this was the best outcome for all involved. She wishes the City of Pacific only good things for the future.