Dear Mayor Nelson and Edmonds City Council,
I, like so many others, am so saddened to see what’s been going on in Edmonds. I’m sure you didn’t plan on being in this embarassing mess, but the very poor decisions and public comments made by the Mayor and a majority of the council could’ve been completely avoided.
You owe it to your precious community to turn this around as quickly as possible and reinstate Chief Jim Lawless. You need to apologize publicly to him, the police department staff and your community for not doing your due diligence in a serious hiring process and dragging Lawless and the rest of them through it all.
Please listen to a majority of your community when they’re telling you to choose and keep Jim Lawless as your Police Chief. Unfortunately, there’s so much damage done now, you may lose him and other great helpers of your community.
As a longtime active member of the public safety community and very involved in South Snohomish County for many years, I can tell you Chief Lawless has far and wide respect. He is more than qualified and capable to continue leading your critical, caring police department into the future well and continue building positive regional relationships.
He has worked harder than many this past Covid-19 year, even as a transistioning acting chief, dealing with all the new challenges all of our jurisdictions and agencies have had to deal with — Covid-19, changes to police policies, safety procedures, public communications, riots, protests, more changes in COVID protocols, budget decreases and others — and he’s been inclusive, gracious, open, available, wise and a consummate professional through it all. He deserves your highest respect and loyalty.
Please do the right thing,
Shannon Sessions
Executive Director, Support 7/ ICM
Lynnwood City Council Vice President
I second Shannon’s request. What a great opportunity to settle the community and reinforce listening to the people of Edmonds.
I will support the current acting chief to run for Mayor during the next election if the council and the mayor do anything otherwise.
Great letter from an informed observer. Will anyone listen? All I hear are crickets from Edmonds City Hall. So sad for my home town.
Thank you, Shannon! I hope your words will be taken seriously.
Ms. Sessions, thank you for your nicely written letter supporting many citizens of Edmonds along with the many letters of support for Jim Lawless and the EPD. I am deeply troubled and concerned by the damage done to our city and the ongoing potential future damage to our community by the mayor and 4 council members.
One word: RECALL
Second word: Recall!
Thank you for this letter to the editor. It speaks calmly and knowledgably to the problem we now face here in Edmonds. I hope the Mayor and 4 Councilmembers will hear you and the majority of the city as we voice our support Jim Lawless.
To date, that has not been the case, so am hopeful your approach brings forth the best in our City government.
Well said, Shannon. Thank you!
Will the mayor and his 4 followers read this letter from Shannon Sessions? She certainly speaks for our household. Mayor and his council members who seem to have a problem articulating facts need to “Resign” now. Nothing they could do will re-build our trust. Good bye to the 5 of you!
I strongly disagree with this letter. I won’t go in to details about Lawless, but will say I completely agree with the city council in terms of choosing a new leader.
Citizens of Edmonds need to stop trying to control the decisions of the leaders they voted into office. Is it possible there are things you don’t know about Lawless?
Trust the process and understand that there is a greater plan than the person you believe to be right for the job,
I can’t even find you in this state. Where do you reside? Thanks.
transparent
[transˈperənt]
ADJECTIVE
(of an organization or its activities) open to public scrutiny.
“if you had transparent government procurement, corruption would go away”
When applying for public office there is no privacy. Knowing why Pruitt was picked over Lawless is the epitome of transparency, the right of the citizenry to know and discouragement of corruption.
Dorian Leigh
Please don’t point fingers and less you’re prepared to back them up. If you have something to share please tell us this is a miserable situation For Jim and the rest of our supportive community
Let’s break this down:
“Citizens of Edmonds need to stop trying to control the decisions of the leaders they voted into office. Is it possible there are things you don’t know about Lawless?”
*Our governmental system is set up to hear from the people. Those who are elected represent the people. When they do not communicate or make questionable decisions, it is the people who hold them accountable.
*Yes. It is possible we don’t know things about Lawless. That is a question that leads the answer. So, what is it we should know?
“Trust the process and understand that there is a greater plan than the person you believe to be right for the job.”
*Herein lies the challenge. Many did trust the process – until it didn’t make sense. So, people asked questions and were stone-walled – and essentially told to stand down and if they didn’t agree that made them racist. Not a smart approach to governing. That is a dictatorship. Trust but verify.
And please explain this “greater plan.” How can we support a bigger vision when we don’t know what it is?
Trust the process? What process? The council and mayor couldn’t even agree on a process to begin with, which created chaos instead of decision in a timely manner and put the two applicants and the city thru unnecessary Hell, wasted time and wasted money. What kind of weasel casts aspersions on a man and then says “I won’t go into details.” This is just blatant character assassination without any verifiable “details.” Enough of this is enough.
I have attempted to post details on this platform and my comments weren’t published. I’m guessing the only reason I was allowed to post this is because I didn’t list any details.
Don’t you find it suspicious that the only citizens posting on here are of the same opinion?
Clearly, if someone has some has negative details about the mayor, city council or Pruitt, this site welcomes it. Yet, try to include negative details about Lawless and it isn’t published?
Before you attack the messenger, I encourage you to confront the censorship of “myedmondsnews.”
There was a comment pending quite some time ago that I just discovered had never been approved, as I was awaiting your name verification. It is approved now,
I am still waiting to read the details that you’ve attempted to post. And you did not answer my question about where you live.
A reminder that no one is required to disclose where they live to post.
I’ve checked and see no location based posting requirement here. Can we stop searching people’s names on the web and demanding to know where they live? Frankly it’s quite creepy.
Sarah, your have a point, but at the same time we ought to be able to distinguish between comments from local people vs. those from afar who feel compelled to chime in. Perhaps there’s a more elegant way to ask the question when the answer is not clear in the comment.
Sarah:
Place of residence is not a requirement for posting on this site. Perhaps I should have been more specific with my question; I really would only like to know community of residence. For me it’s a test for how much credence I should place in the remarks. When the remarks come from non-residents of Edmonds I don’t place as much credence in them. I suspect you do not live in Edmonds.
Ron,
I think it best to go easy on the details and where folks live. We have surrounding communities that are impacted by our decisions as a City (for instance, we import most of our labor from surrounding areas – I would love to see their input on how we make Edmonds a great place to LIVE & WORK, and be able to both affordably).
We are obviously a City of 40K residents give or take, but outside advice from the greater local community that we work and live in is of value. We can take it or leave it, but isolating ourselves from generally local folks and alienating those who want to be involved is probably not very inclusive.
At the end of the day, we can all google where folks are, and decide to take their advice or leave it without making them feel like we are attacking their commentary.
George:
I want to know that I’m hearing from the people who live, who are enduring the consequences of the actions of our elected officials, and are paying the taxes.
Ron,
I totally get the motives, I just do not know what the expected outcome will be. Take Federal Taxes for instance, the top 25% paid 86% of the total income tax in the US. The bottom 40% paid no income tax. I am bothered by this tax burden, but that does not mean I am going to mute their voice in the process. Considering that much of our City budget comes from State and Federal sources, I would also want to know what they are thinking (so we can better prepare to get more of those dollars instead of less of them).
At the end of the day, if they want to speak, they should speak. How we decide to use it is up to us. (I personally do the same thing you are doing – endorsements from folks who have no skin in the game are just that, and again, understand the motives for wanting to know where they are from) but I am not going to publicly out where folks live.
A few years ago, there were a huge number of ramblings about our local folks being backed by Chicago Real Estate money. Who cares?
Ron, I live in Lynnwood and spend a lot of time and money in Edmonds. I’m sure this is the case for many.
Thank you for the response, Sarah.
George,
You stated:
“A few years ago, there were a huge number of ramblings about our local folks being backed by Chicago Real Estate money. Who cares?:
FACTS, George, are not “Ramblings”. Look it up.
Exactly right Clint. If someone throws out wild accusations against someone, but has no evidence whatsoever even circumstantial to back it up, that is just baseless slander.
It is a shame to have to detour against such a nice letter that Lynnwood CM Shannon Sessions wrote, but sometimes you just have to do what is right and stand up to online bullying.
Chief Lawless by all accounts has been a selfless dedicated public servant that we have been lucky to have as Chief of police in our city. If someone wants to advocate for someone who would be better in that role, baseless slander neither helps their case nor their credibility.
The one thing that is clear from this is that Mayor Nelson has not been able to make a calm and rational decision on this without pointlessly attacking his staff, council members, and his constituents. At the very least he needs to recuse himself from this decision as he is clearly not able to handle it.
And now to confound our chief situation even more the assistant police chief has written his letter of resignation. He has been in the department 32 years. That is almost as long as I have lived in Edmonds, Mukilteo and Lake Forest Park.
It would seem that the five do not value continuity so they will not mind being voted out at the next opportunity.
Off subject a bit, but needs to be said. In my experience Teresa Wippel only censors bad taste, vulgarity, and some comments made only from anger and not based at least somewhat on reason. She has censored me on occasion and I thank her for that. Mr. Leigh, first you engage in undocumented, indeed unspecified, attacks on a person and then accuse MEN of censoring you based on disagreement. T.W. would have absolutely nothing to gain from discouraging disagreement in this venue which makes your position absurd.
Clinton, read the above posts to see that “myedmondsnews” admittedly “just discovered” my previous post that had not been published.
George Bennett, well said and I completely agree!
For the record, I am local and have lived here for decades. When we are discussing the police chief, keep in mind that he is a public servant and the public includes any person visiting Edmonds.
Comments were made at the council meeting by people who were mistreated in Edmonds, due to their race. The reputation of Edmonds is hugely affected by the manner in which it’s public servants treat the public.
It was also stated in the council meeting that many Edmonds citizens are ignorant about the racism in this city, because they haven’t experienced it themselves. We can’t turn a blind eye just because it isn’t happening to us.
I grew up in Edmonds and there was only one person of color in my whole high school and they were mixed race. We could greatly benefit from a new police chief who is equipped to heal the racial issues which have plagued Edmonds for decades. I believe the racial issues are mostly due to ignorance rather than deliberate discrimination.
I encourage everyone to open our minds to a greater plan and that is my prayer for Edmonds.
To ensure full transparency, I am pasting Dorian’s comment below. That’s because these comments show up at the time they were submitted (in this case, Dec. 8), no matter when they are approved, and I don’t want anyone to think it is being purposely buried:
How many of the people commenting on here have actually spoken to people who have had to interact with Mr. Lawless when he had the upper hand. Is it possible that he has created an image for himself which manipulates law abiding citizens into believing something about him which may be false? It is suspicious how all these comments seem to place him on a pedestal.
The mayor does not have the power to dictate who the chief will be so he can’t be manipulated by any candidate. The mayor was mistaken when he attempted to overpower the council and needs to own that behavior. This safeguard to include other candidates was put in place by the citizens to prevent what the mayor tried to do.
Perhaps Lawless in fact IS racist? Trust the process and the truth will be exposed.
I’m a law abiding citizen and he wouldn’t even speak with me on the phone. I’ve seen his true colors and I’m not talking about the color of his skin.
Well said, Dorian. I appreciate your comments.
Dorian – please explain -“We could greatly benefit from a new police chief who is equipped to heal the racial issues which have plagued Edmonds for decades.”
*Data doesn’t support that we have “racial issues” – however, there certainly could be an under-current of unspoken issues. So – what do you mean “equipped”? What qualifies as equipped? Edmonds certainly wants the best-qualified and best-fit Chief who can handle all the issues…just not a small sector.
The emerging issues in Edmonds are property crimes and drugs – and domestic violence. So, what problem are we attempting to solve?
“I encourage everyone to open our minds to a greater plan and that is my prayer for Edmonds.”
This is the second time I’ve heard of a “greater plan” – who’s plan is this? How is it funded? Who signed off on it? And truly, did I miss a town meeting talking about the great plan for Edmonds?
To me there is just one question is it time for a recall election?
Next step: Let’s get support for a recall election. The sooner the better!
Dorian. I am not seeing the details you speak of in the original post that was found by My Edmonds News that have now been published on this site. Can you be specific in regards to the details you refer to please. Also you ask us to trust the process. Are you referring to the process that just happened where the council and mayor moved the vote up by 7 days because there was controversy? Are you talking about the process where on December 6th there was evidence that Mr. Pruitt had some issues with domestic violence, etc and the council still decided to vote while neglecting to review the file that contained Mr Pruitt’s past record? Are you talking about the process where after the council voted 4 to 3 to make Mr. Pruitt our Chief of Police while there were still unanswered questions about him? Are you talking about the process where on December 15th, 7 days after Mr Pruitt was named Chief of Police he was relieved of that role? I’m sorry Dorian but there is really nothing to trust here and therefore we are frustrated and angry about what just occurred in the town we live in. The process implemented by the Mayor and 4 council members to elect one of the most important roles in the city is flawed and therefore we don’t trust them anymore. Can you blame us???
Can you please tell us what we are supposed to trust and the negative details with evidence you have against Mr. Lawless? Accusations need to be backed by fact and evidence if they are to be believed.
By the way….Dorian Leigh was a famous model back in the day. Are you related to her? Just curious : )
While we all leap to condemn our Mayor for his really dumb mistake let us not forget that as citizens we share a greater blame for this goof-up. We elected a completely inferior individual to be our Mayor in the recent election. We chose the wildly macho one over the far more qualified one (and I have all ready forgotten his name – shame on me).
But we wont make that mistake again, will we? No, we will make a new one probably. But just maybe we could stick to the homegrown types and avoid selecting another flawed character.
Why don’t we file this away and allow ourselves, Chief Pruitt, Chief Lawless, Mayor Nelson and the ECC members time to enjoy the holidays? On January 2 nd the citizens can start recall procedures. I invite TW to share my email address with anyone organizing the process. This “progressive Edmonds voter” has deep regrets for supporting and voting for the Fab Four (Luke DIstelhorst was appointed). Thank you Mayor Nelson and AFM for uniting the right and the left.
Political correctness that permeates the mayor’s worldview and many of the city council members breeds contempt for the public safety of a community This level of arrogance breeds mistrust between the council and the mayor as well as the civic community. When reelection comes around boot these prigs out of office.
If you want a truly representative government you have to create it. Otherwise it’s, ” I hope the mayor or council member takes my call or responds to my email.” If you want a cheapo, crap government to save money, that’s what you will end up with. Hoping we luck out and get a good mayor isn’t much of a plan if you ask me.
Someone here said we don’t want a government like Seattle. Sorry folks, but with the exception of only two council people being elected at large, it is pretty much the same style of government as ours, from what I can tell with very limited research. The difference is that the people in seven different districts in Seattle have someone who must listen to their neighborhood concerns to keep his or her job. We have seven people elected at large who don’t have much of a need to talk to us unless they want to or we are important to their agenda for some reason. We have one person with the real power who answers to us all, or pretty much none of us if he so chooses. You pays your money and you takes your choice. I’ve reached the point where I pretty much don’t give a damn. I just enjoy living and having fun here.
Michael S., I’m not at all surprised that “data” does not reveal the issue of racism in Edmonds. Herein lies the problem. Why are citizens of color telling us that they are being mistreated due to the color of their skin and we aren’t listening? This, in and of itself speaks volumes! Are we so calloused that we refuse to validate their experiences? Silencing them through our denial (self deception) is not going to make this issue disappear. This is not a political issue, it is a human being division that has existed for many years.
In terms of a qualified police chief, it would begin with someone who is willing to document racial issues and therefore reflect them in our “data.” It would include someone who is not in denial about these issues and also someone who doesn’t manipulate the public to place them on a pedestal.
I know there are many people residing in Edmonds and/or visiting Edmonds who disagree with the citizens on here, yet why don’t they feel safe enough to exercise their free speech? The manner in which people on here have spoken to me doesn’t feel inclusive or open minded. Instead, I’ve been called an “agent of the mayor, a weasel, and even questioned about where I live in order to discredit my perspectives. This should raise red flags for citizens of Edmonds. It appears that the people on here are only looking for those who will agree with them and that removes the ability to actually listen and learn. Building bridges and community are all about being willing to learn from each other rather than the bullying behavior of attacking those with diverse perspectives.
A “greater plan” is about collaborative rather than combative communication.
Dorian – I don’t believe this is about race. The pushback was the process – not Mr. Pruitt’s race. I, and many others, asked several key questions that went ignored. As I’ve mentioned before, those of us who have served in the military realize that experience, merit, character, and integrity stand above the color of someone’s skin.
If I’m understanding you correctly, are you suggesting Chief Lawless has suggested his diverse police force NOT document racial issues? As you know, the police force is much more diverse than city staff – and if this is the case, it would be interesting to see this proof. It would seem a bit ironic based on the Chief’s own family dynamics.
I couldn’t agree more with you that we need to learn from each other – pluralism runs deep and few want to have a conversation or pause to understand others’ concerns. This is what we saw with the elected individuals. They rushed when many were begging them to pause. There is proof that they had the information before the vote, yet still rushed forward. They seemed “bothered” by the community involvement.
Collaboration requires elects (leadership is earned in my book) to actually listen and respond. Not hide behind double speak, or simply hide – as the mayor has done.
Spot on Mr Schindler, as usual. You have an outstanding ability to make yourself understood and always offer clarity to the conversation. It is no surprise that you have a great following and are a sought after speaker. Appreciating what you do for the community and veterans.
Because “citizens of color” are not one hivemind with the same life experience
Rod S., It seems like you are very frustrated and angry with the current process? May I ask you some questions? How many city council meetings have you attended this past year or years? How many county council meetings have you attended? When Edmonds and/or Snohomish County hold public hearings about the budget or other issues do you attend and voice your perspectives? Or do you just remain passive until you see something you don’t like and then verbally express your displeasure on a website? Have you stayed in connection via email with the mayor and city council members since they have been in office? Have you attempted to build a relationship with them so they will trust you? What is you civic responsibility?
I’m sure I’ll probably be called some name for saying this, but I’m going to say it anyway. I’ve known so many citizens who have never stepped foot in any council meeting or made any attempt to build relationship with their leaders. These same people are the first ones to write negative reviews, scream recall and then decide to heap shame on their leaders when they don’t do what they think should be done.
Whenever I attend the Snohomish County Council public budget hearings, the citizens who show up can usually be counted on one hand. One year, I was the only citizen who voiced my perspective about how the millions of dollars should be spent.
If you were a leader, would you be inclined to listen to citizens who never bothered to get involved in their civic responsibilities until they were angry and insulting? That is not the way to motivate our leaders and will only bring the opposite results. Heaping shame on anyone will never be productive.
Dorian I’d be more than happy to answer your questions but I asked you a number of questions in my original post to you and you have not answered them. For us to have a good back-and-forth you can’t answer a question with a question. The amount of meetings I have attended at City Hall don’t have anything to do with what I’m asking you. I think that’s fantastic you have all the Time in the world to attend these meetings where is I don’t but nonetheless it doesn’t make you any more important of a citizen than me. And I have every right to be frustrated with this process whether I attend meetings or not. Or whether I reach out to my leaders or not. I expect them to lead and lead with integrity whether I am involved in the process or not and to date they have not shown that. Please do us all a favor and give us the evidence and documents you have regarding Mr. Lawless that you claim that you know about and please answer my questions that I’ve asked you in the previous post.
Thank you.
My experience with City and State government is that some Elected Officials and Staff are very willing to not respond or interact much with citizens who try to be involved. I have attended and spoken at many City Council Meetings over the years. I have submitted public comments for the majority of Council Meetings this year. I’ve attended and spoken at some Planning Board Meetings also. I also email City Officials regularly. On April 23rd, I emailed the City’s HR Director an email asking many questions about the illegal appointment made by the Mayor on April 9th. She did not respond.
I have gone to Olympia and made a presentation. I have interacted with the State Attorney General and State Auditor. I have spoken in front of the Puget Sound Regional Council.
I’ve met with Mario Liias. I offered to drive to Dayton, Washington and meet with State Representative Terry Nealey. I had informed Representative Nealey of the following:
“I have reviewed the Washington State Auditor’s Performance Audit: The Effect of Public Records Requests on State and Local Governments Report dated August 29, 2016.
I am a citizen of Edmonds and I have made many public records requests.
I believe I can provide valuable insight into this issue. I would be happy to discuss this issue with you and/or the related work group.”
I never was engaged with by State Officials so I could share my insight.
I believe all of us have a right to be heard, including those who may have been passive in the past.
Sadly, an argument can be made that even those who are not passive have a very hard time being really listened to.
Okay Mr. Leigh, I publicly apologize for saying “what kind of weasel” would accuse someone of being a “racist” but then saying he wouldn’t go into details about why he was a “racist.” I should have said, ” this is someone without credibility to back up what he was accusing someone of being.” I stand by that last characterization of you.
A guy educates himself, works hard to be good at what he does, and earns the admiration of lots of people who interact with him both professionally and privately and you suggest he was just trying to “manipulate the public to place him on a pedestal.” That’s just B.S. my friend and you are engaging in character assassination with no “proof” except what you suspect. If you can give MEN any one specific and verifiable incidence of where Chief Lawless himself treated someone based on perceived race rather than as just a person I will publicly apologize to you and give you $50.00 to by a meal for two from one of our hard pressed local eateries. (You will have to buy the drinks ’cause I’m cheap and $50.00 doesn’t go far). Merry Christmas.
Thank you for your civic service, Ken.
There are laws protecting citizens in Washington state who are seeking government transparency:
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56
http://mrsc.org/Home/Explore-Topics/Legal/Open-Government/Public-Records-Act-Court-Decisions.aspx
I agree with you in terms of the possibility of “not being listened to,” yet we don’t know for sure unless we try. I’ve encountered leaders who are open minded and those who don’t respond. When they don’t respond via email, I attend the council meetings and confront them in front of their peers. It is interesting to see how responsive they become when I attend their meetings and share that I’m being ignored. If this is done without anger or attempts to shame them, it can be a great motivator for their willingness to engage with citizens.
The citizens of Everett have done an awesome job of motivating their council members towards districts. See: https://www.heraldnet.com/news/city-council-everett-districts-now-may-merge-ballot-items/
We the people do have the power if we use it appropriately and productively. That is the only way we can truly make a difference!
I have attended a City Council meeting and confronted the former Mayor about not responding to my emails during audience comments. See such documented in the September 23, 2014 City Council Meeting Minutes. Nothing changed.
Despite this, I still have not given up hope that citizen involvement can help bring about improvements in City Government. One benefit of a massive mess like the Police Chief Appointment Process of 2020 is that it awakens and engages citizens. I hope that citizen involvement will continue out into the future.
We actually need some sort of venue where citizen input is routine and welcome. This 3 minute to sing at over loaded marathon council meetings is a total joke. In fact at least one of our past mayors liked to make unintended but, none the less irritating and condescending, jokes about members of the public being brief in these communications they were “allowed” at the meetings. This needs to change, somehow and someway so people can actually be heard and get real time responses to their concerns.
When particular concerns are repeatedly aired during public comments – four or five or twenty people at every council meeting for weeks – and do not get results, that’s when people now are resorting to showing up to picket private homes. I have serious problems with that on one level, but if elected officials refuse to even acknowledge citizen concerns and needs, and do so repeatedly, sometimes that’s the only way to get them to respond. I would seriously hope the mayor and council members respond to the continuing, growing concerns about this process – and practice their listening skills, until they get feedback that says the citizens feel heard – before anything like this occurs. And if anyone does protest like this, I would hope they do not resort to threats and menacing behavior.
There is no reason to even suggest such intimidation at all. And should anyone do such a thing their credibility would be nil. Our Council are indeed playing possum on these issues, but any attempt to intimidate them is so inappropriate and Wrong. I am surprised you even raised this issue. Concerned folks can contact the State and raise concerns with the Auditor, the EEOC, the Snohomish County Council. But even a veiled threat to intimidate and bully them is just not helpful, which is how I read that posting. . Bullying and intimidation have no place in small town politics. Disagree with them or not. But each an every one of them including the Mayor (who would likely lead such a protest if it weren’t about him) deserve to be free to enjoy their private lives regardless.
That was not intended as a threat, one way or the other. If anything, I meant it as (1) encouragement to speak up at the public comment periods, whether or not those have historically been productive; (2) a suggestion that any home protests – which I have no doubt some were already considering regardless of anything I posted – should be tempered.
These tactics have been used in small towns, to protest mask mandates and other COVID restrictions. They have been used by the Black Lives Matter movement in Seattle and elsewhere. I would like to think they are a last, desperate effort by unheard citizens and communities to be heard, but they are not that, anymore. I am in complete agreement on the freedom to enjoy their private lives -it is why I called out mayoral candidates last summer for dragging other candidates’ personal lives into the fray. And sadly, I have no doubt you are right that the Mayor would likely be leading any home-protests if they were not about him.
Rod, first of all, I have every right to ask you questions and there is no requirement that I respond to your questions. It would benefit you greatly if you stopped trying to control the flow of information and discussion comments on here. You also have the freedom to ignore my questions and even ask more of your own. Freedom of speech is a beautiful right that we are all afforded in this country.
In terms of having “all the time in the world,” we are all given 24 hours and it is the great equalizer. Some of us choose to waste time and others use it productively. I find it interesting that some citizens claim they don’t have the time to attend meetings and build positive relationships with city leaders, but spend copious amounts of time posting on websites with negative complaints and attempts to dominate the narrative.
I’m not sure why you are implying that I was suggesting I was more “important” because I choose to invest my time in attending city council meetings? It seems like perhaps you are taking my choices as personal attacks?
Lastly, if you are frustrated and want transparency, I suggest you utilize the public records request avenue in terms of communications between the mayor, city council and even Mr. Lawless. Do your own research and find your own evidence instead of sitting passively by and attacking others who dare to disagree with your perspectives. There is plenty of evidence but you have to work for it.
I’m wondering if you have ever engaged with any people of color in Edmonds and asked them about their experiences.
Your comment that if people choose not to, or cannot, attend meetings it is because they are choosing instead to waste time is ridiculous and condescending.
In your response to Michael S you state your opinion that the council didn’t chose AC Lawless because of some sort of “information” they have on him. If there is documented evidence (“plenty of evidence” you imply you have) then please share it.
The reason people are under the impression that Chief Pruitt was chosen because he’s black is because mayor Nelson and the council president said it was the reason. Personally, I’m more concerned that he has had domestic violence issues and lied about those events; he doesn’t appear to know what defines domestic violence, and he omitted (“forgot”) pertinent information on his application.
Michael S., I’m not sure if you attended the city council meeting where this decision was voted on and decided? I highly recommend watching the recording and listening to the citizens who commented and for some reason don’t feel safe to post comments on here. They were highly enlightening.
The reason it seems to be about race is because the implication has been stated that Mr. Lawless was rejected because he is white. That would be racist if it were true and my point is that the city council has legitimate reasons for not wanting Mr. Lawless to be in that position and it has nothing to do with the color of his skin. (my opinion)
Perhaps the city council doesn’t want to embarrass Mr. Lawless in terms of whatever they know and instead are trying to help him save face while they search for a different candidate? Is that a possibility? Has anyone on here requested internal emails from city staff? We have that right as citizens.
In terms of the “data” my point was that citizens are expressing what they have experienced and allegedly this isn’t reflected in the data. Why is there a breakdown?
To conclude, I agree that many leaders send messages that they don’t welcome citizen engagement but we have to push past that. We the people have the power and they work for us. The problem is that most citizens don’t exercise that power and prefer to waste energy complaining which does absolutely nothing to hold leaders accountable.
One time, I spoke with the superintendent of a school district and he told me that parents have the power to change everything, but they don’t know it.
When we the people do nothing but complain, nothing changes.
Hey Dorian – I did watch. And I’ve followed this since APR – which is why I asked to see the scoring card and the process from which the decisions were made.
I think race factored in when the stone-walling began and the council president, as well as the mayor, both suggested it had to do with race. But for me (and I’m sure many others), it has everything to do with best-fit and best qualified.
Mr. Pruitt was put through the ringer – as I’m sure Mr. Lawless was in order to get to the top spot of consideration. We’ve only seen the shortcomings of Mr. Pruitt.
And yes – I do believe there are a number of requests the city is fielding. I also agree that nothing changes if the people don’t get involved.
“Edmonds, of course, is no hot bed of racism. It’s a place where wealthy white liberals suffer from the same delusions of grandeur as Nelson and the council. Rather than treat people of color as their equals, these politicians treat them as props so they can say they’re “allies” in their Twitter bios.” Jason Rantz. This current crop of politicians in the mayors office and city council reflects an arrogant, condescending, view that is poison to the civic community of Edmonds.
Nice thoughts by Shannon but a public apology?! I think a public flogging of the Mayor is more in line. As a region we have turned a blind eye as the actions of a few are having negative consequences for many, when the malfeasance of one harms another an apology at the least should be required. Mayor Nelson is turning out to be the best Edmond’s Mayor money could buy.
Annon,
Why are you referring to Mr. Pruitt as “black?” Where is your evidence of this? Where is your evidence to back up your claim that the mayor chose him because he is black?
In addition, you appear to be triggered by the statement about citizens who waste time complaining instead of being proactive and productive. Does the shoe fit and should you wear it?
Please remember it is more prudent to proactively pursue information about the mayor and city council PRIOR to voting for them. They have the position of power because the people gave it to them.
Wow. Way to deflect.
Evan,
Where is your evidence to back up your baseless claim that Mr. Lawless is “selfless?” Does he work for free? Clearly his alleged “dedication” is being compensated by all of his “followers” and “yes” men and women who are feeding his ego. He is also receiving a sizable paycheck for said dedication.
Please provide the evidence or your words are null and void.
“You owe it to your precious community to turn this around as quickly as possible and reinstate Chief Jim Lawless. You need to apologize publicly to him, the police department staff and your community for not doing your due diligence in a serious hiring process and dragging Lawless and the rest of them through it all.
Please listen to a majority of your community when they’re telling you to choose and keep Jim Lawless as your Police Chief.”
Very well written letter Shannon, thank you for taking the time and consideration to reach out and write this. The closest that we have come to an apology is for three of the four councilmembers who voted for confirmation to note their regret that they received blame, but they certainly did not offer an apology.
Ultimately I would say that the citizens of Edmonds just want to have confidence in their leaders again. For many that will not happen until Mayor Nelson and Councilmember Fraley-Monillas choose to resign, are voted out, or are recalled. Mayor Nelson certainly has made no effort whatsoever to connect with, listen, or work with the people of Edmonds to find a solution moving forward. It is a stark difference from the fun and folksy Mayor we had just a few years ago.
It is heartening to see so many caring people stand up for our city. In a time of chaos and dysfunction at the highest level of our city government, the people have really stepped up. Many people like myself were warned that Mayor Nelson would put politically motivated decisions ahead of the city, and yet I still voted for him in the hopes that his first responsibility would be to Edmonds. Our only hope now is in the dedication of our community.
After 60-plus comments on many aspects of this issue, I’m closing the thread.