Ethics complaint against Kennewick councilman should move ahead, says ethics officer

An ethics complaint filed against Kennewick Councilman John Trumbo will proceed to a public hearing to decide if the city’s Code of Ethics was violated.

The city’s new ethics officer concluded there could be enough evidence to show a violation after an initial evaluation of the complaint filed by two fellow councilmen in November.

Retiring Councilman Paul Parish and Councilman Chuck Torelli accused Trumbo of a pattern of abusing his position.

The finding that the complaint should proceed “is not a determination that a violation has actually occurred or been established,” said the city’s ethics officer.

However, the initial review found that “the alleged violation is neither minor nor inadvertent,” he said, in a document released this week.

Minor and inadvertent violations may be resolved informally, but others may proceed to a public hearing to decide their validity.

The allegation against Trumbo cannot be considered minor because there was enough concern that two councilmen filed a complaint, attorney Thomas Atwood wrote in a two-page report to the council.

It was not inadvertent because “it is clear that Mr. Trumbo initiated and took part in the telephone conversation leading to the complaint,” he wrote.

The complaint was filed after Trumbo in October called the person who bought State Sen. Sharon Brown’s Canyon Lakes home in Kennewick.

Complaint: Trumbo undercuts public trust

Both Brown and the person who bought her house complained to the city about the call, saying they didn’t understand why a city councilman would have questions about a private home sale.

“Councilmember Trumbo has demonstrated a pattern of abusing his position as council member,” said the complaint later filed by Parish and Torelli. “His continued behavior of using is title to infer an official capacity in his ‘investigations’ undercuts public trust.”

Trumbo said at the Nov. 5 council meeting that he identified himself on the call as both a retired Tri-City Herald reporter and city councilman, but said it was to clarify why his name might sound familiar to a stranger.

When the person he called seemed confused, he again clarified that he was not representing the city, where he has served on the council for five years, nor the newspaper, where he retired seven years ago.

During the phone call, he asked questions about the house, repairs, a mechanic’s lien, the sale and the assessed value.

Brown said she was mystified about why Trumbo was asking about the sale of her home.

Trumbo declined to say at the council meeting why he was asking about a seemingly routine property sale.

Atwood said he reviewed emails between city employees submitted with the ethics complaint and the city council proceedings to make a determination of whether the complaint should proceed to a public hearing.

The city will give 30 days notice of the hearing, and Atwood will decide what witnesses should be called.

Within 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing, Atwood will make a recommendation to the city council.

Trumbo opposed ethics policy

The recommendation could range from dismissing the complaint, to reprimanding Trumbo, to assessing a civil fine of $1,000.

This is the first ethics complaint filed under the city of Kennewick’s new ethics policy.

Trumbo was censured by the council in April for representing himself as a councilman in an unauthorized investigation related to Mayor Pro Tem Steve Lee.

Trumbo was removed from board and committee assignments for the rest of 2019 for “misuse of office.”

A majority of the council also adopted an ethics policy, and the new complaint was filed just days after the council hired Atwood to serve as its $240-an-hour ethics officer on an as-needed basis.

This week, Trumbo had an excused absence from the council meeting Tuesday but when reached by phone by the Herald he said he had not had a chance to see the conclusions of the ethics officer.

However, in November he told the Herald he opposed the city’s new ethics code when it came before the council, saying the process was not sufficiently transparent and that it places too much power with too few people.

The new ethics policy requires two council members to formally request that the city’s new independent ethics officer look into a complaint.

He said the council should have been given more say in selecting the ethics officer, rather than just voting for or against Atwood, who was selected for consideration by city staff.

He also thinks that the council’s process should be to discuss and decide during a public meeting whether an ethics complaint should be made and sent to the ethics officer.