Mayor Sun Fires New City Clerk

We don't have many details yet, but Mayor Cy Sun has fired the new city clerk. The clerk was given a letter regarding her termination with no justification provided. The mayor continues his destructive pattern, even with the employees he hires. Meanwhile, the recall languishes in the court system - not allowing the people of Pacific to vote to continue on this path or not. We will post more details as soon as we can.

Auburn Reporter Story Link
Tacoma News Tribune Link
Q13 Fox Link
KING 5 Link 

Mayor Sun Wrong AGAIN: No Corruption In Pacific

The state auditor has reviewed the City of Pacific's finances and operations for 2011 and once again found no corruption or any other problems. The city complied with both state and local laws during the entire year, up until the day Mayor Cy Sun took office.

The report summarized:
"In the areas we examined, the City's internal controls were adequate to safeguard public assets."

In fact, the last eight years of independent audits by the State of Washington have shown no problems whatsoever. There were significant problems noted in the audits under former mayor Howard Erickson. Erickson is very close to Mayor Sun, with Sun repeatedly attempting to appoint him to the civil service board and using Erickson as an unqualified building inspector.

The full report is available on the state auditor's web site here...

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!