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.