Kennewick mayor asks to negotiate a settlement of WA ethics complaint against him

Kennewick Mayor Don Britain has asked to enter settlement negotiations after the Washington state Executive Ethics Board found reasonable cause to believe he violated several sections of the Ethics in Public Service Act.

The board determined that the penalty could be more than $500, according to a state form that gives the option of a fine of either more or less than $500.

Certain violations are punishable with fines up to $5,000 and the board also can recover any damages to state taxpayers and the cost of the investigation.

Britain had the choice of settlement negotiations or requesting a hearing before the board.

If they can’t agree on a settlement, then he will request a hearing, according to documents the state provided the Tri-City Herald on Wednesday in response to a public records request earlier this month.

The board’s finding of reasonable cause, which followed an investigation by its staff, was for Britain’s conduct in his former job for the Washington state Department of Health and Social Services, rather than in his position as mayor.

He was fired from his job as a DSHS case manager in fall 2019 after a civil investigation by the Washington State Patrol.

WSP investigated allegations that Britain had an inappropriate relationship with a female DSHS client. No criminal activity was alleged or investigated by the state patrol.

Pasco activist Roger Lenk took the matter a step further in a state ethics board complaint against Britain, claiming that before the mayor was fired from his Washington state job he used state resources for city and other business.

The Executive Ethics Board found that Britain was the case manager of a DSHS client he was living with since January 2019, but failed to disclose his relationship with her to the state.

He provided additional money and benefits to the client in violation of state law, according to the board.

Britain also used state resources for his personal benefit and to benefit a campaign for a candidate for Washington state Senate, according to the board.

Britain did not respond to a Herald request for comment this week, but told the Herald editorial board recently that his political opponents have been attacking him over the issue for two years and questioned whether it was because his client was a Black woman.

The state ethics complaint was made as Britain was coming up for re-election to the city council on Nov. 2.

He maintains he did not issue any unlawful funds.

Britain’s computer files

The board based its findings on the state patrol investigation and on computer files from Britain’s former state computer hard drive, which Lenk obtained through a public records request.

When Lenk filed his complaint with the Washington state Executive Ethics Board, which enforces the state Ethics in Public Service Act, earlier this year, Britain told the Herald the new claims in Lenk’s complaint were unfounded.

Britain has long maintained that he did nothing inappropriate while employed with DSHS. The relationship with his client was not romantic and their living situation was intended to be short term, he said.

Lenk said earlier this year that just over half of the files on the computer were unrelated to Britain’s job and showed he was using the computer for city and other personal use during state work hours.

He said he found files related to city of Kennewick business and for managing the rent on his condominium in Hawaii, according to the complaint.

There were many photographs of him representing the city of Kennewick as a councilman or mayor, auto accidents, his Hawaii property and family photos, the complaint said.

Other information on the computer’s hard drive included car price reviews and information related to creating a home health care business. It also included a cover letter and resume for his son’s application for Kennewick city government job, Lenk said.

There also was a letter to the editor supporting the election of Washington state Sen. Sharon Brown.

Washington state employees are prohibited from using their work computers for personal matters other than infrequent or occasional use that results in little or no actual cost to the state and is not for private financial gain, according to guidance posted online by the state Executive Ethics Board.

The board found that Britain’s use of state resources did not meet the exception.

Britain told the Tri-City Herald when the complaint was filed that the files on the hard drive were left from nearly 10 years of computer use and he believed qualified as occasional use.

He said he never worked on city business while he was on the clock for the state, but did have two work breaks and an hour-long lunch period each work day.

When he needed to conduct city business, such as attend a meeting, he used his state vacation leave for as many hours as he was gone from the state office, he said.

Britain fired from DSHS

Britain lost his job with the state after an investigation over a matter that Britain said should have been handled as a policy violation.

According to the investigation report by the state patrol, Britain and one of his female DSHS clients signed a a lease for an apartment with Britain paying the rent.

Britain told the Herald earlier that he was trying to help a struggling mother.

The woman went on a vacation to Hawaii while Britain was vacationing there, but they did not stay together, according to the WSP report.

He signed off on state benefits for the client, including replacing a gas card and more than $1,500 of supplies for a welding class, according to the WSP investigation.

The WSP investigation did not accuse Britain of any criminal activity.

The notice of discharge from his job that Britain received said he failed to report his relationship with his client to his supervisors, according to Lenk’s ethics complaint.

A regional administrator wrote in Britain’s order for dismissal that “your blatant disregard for the policies in place to assure our citizens and communities that we administer state programs equitably, correctly and fairly is a condition that I cannot ignore.”

“Your behavior has irrevocably shattered my trust and confidence in you and I have concluded your actions require dismissal,” she wrote.

Britain also has faced a Kennewick city ethic’s investigation and a recall attempt, with the city ethics complaint dismissed and a judge throwing out the recall petition.

He has been on the council since 2010 and has served as mayor since January 2018. Council members choose the mayor and most recently voted for Britain as mayor in January 2020.