Suspended port exec claims commission retaliated to protect one of its own
An attorney representing Diahann Howard, who was suspended as executive director of the Port of Benton on Jan. 6, has asked for her to be reinstated with full authority to carry out her duties.
Howard’s attorney, Todd Wyatt of Issaquah-based Wyatt Gronski PLLC, made the request in a letter that contemplates future legal action and claims Howard is a victim of retaliation for bringing forth damaging complaints about one of the commission’s elected members, Scott Keller.
The board of commissioners next meets at 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 3250 Port of Benton Blvd., Richland. Meetings are open to the public and include an opportunity for visitors to briefly address the public officials.
Wyatt said Howard’s suspension put the port in breach of its contract with her.
“Director Howard has done her job. She has followed the law. We ask that the Port commissioners begin to do the same,” he wrote.
Howard was suspended in a unanimous 3-0 vote that followed a lengthy, closed-door executive session. In a series of related votes, it shifted her authority to do her job to the port’s newly elected commissioner and board president, Bill O’Neill.
The Port of Benton is a public agency that serves as the economic development entity serving much of Richland and western Benton County. It is overseen by a three-member board and managed by the executive director. O’Neill is currently filling that role.
Officially, Howard was suspended pending an investigation. Wyatt said she is barred from port property.
Port officials will not say what the investigation is about. They also had no response to Wyatt’s letter, which was obtained by the Tri-City Herald.
In it, Wyatt linked the suspension to ongoing complaints and investigations centered on Keller, the port’s one-time executive director and now an elected commissioner.
According to Wyatt’s timeline, Howard forwarded complaints about Keller to the commission in September. The port hired an outside law firm to investigate the complaints, leading to a series of reports in December 2025.
Wyatt said Howard was suspended three weeks after the outside investigator concluded there was sufficient evidence to indicate that Keller violated port rules and the Washington Constitution and two weeks after the same investigator advised that there should be an investigation to determine if Keller violated the state’s prohibition against gifts of public resources.
The report has not been publicly released.
Complaints validated?
The Tri-City Herald has requested a copy of the investigation under the Washington Public Records Act.
While it hasn’t been publicly released, Wyatt‘s letter indicates it validated the complaints that triggered the investigation of Keller.
Wyatt wrote that the investigator concluded “that for some of the allegations, sufficient evidence existed to conclude Commissioner Keller had violated the law.” Further, he said the full report given to commissioners in December advised the port that it “should further investigate potentially illegal actions of Commissioner Keller.“
Wyatt said Howard was suspended and stripped of her authority in retaliation. He advised that a lawsuit is likely and reminded it of its obligation to preserve all communications both public and private as potential evidence.
“That Director Howard’s adherence to the rules and statutes led to multiple embarrassing revelations regarding Commissioner Keller is no fault of hers. This ill-considered suspension by the commissioners not only violates state law and Port rules, but constitutes a breach of Director Howard’s employment contract,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt also speculates the commission’s Jan. 6 votes were the result of private conversations conducted in violation of the Public Meetings Act, which requires that the public’s business be conducted in public.
“They obviously discussed the matter. They hid their discussions from the public in violation of law, which of course makes sense considering their illicit intent to punish Director Howard,” said the letter.
Tense history
Keller and Howard have a tense history that dates to Keller’s 30-year career as a port employee, including serving as its executive director with responsibility for hiring and firing staff and overseeing day-to-day management. The executive director answers to the elected commission.
Keller, as executive director, hired Howard to serve as director of economic development.
She remained his subordinate until she succeeded him as executive director after he retired abruptly in 2019.
Keller returned to the port when he ran for and won one of the three board seats in 2023. During his campaign, he pledged to support Howard, noting he was the one who hired her.
Complaint timeline
According to Wyatt:
- On Sept. 5, 2025, Howard and her attorney notified the commission it had received numerous reports from subordinates concerning Keller’s actions and statements.
- On Sept. 10, Howard forwarded a complaint received by then-Commissioner Roy Keck. As a result, the port hired an attorney to investigate two complaints. Keck, who was up for reelection at the time, would go on to lose his seat to Keller’s ally, Bill O’Neill, in the November 2025 general election.
- On an unspecified date in early December 2025, Howard received another complaint from Keck, now a lame-duck commissioner, which she forwarded to the commission for review.
- On Dec. 17, the investigator issued findings, concluding that for some of the allegations, there was “sufficient evidence to conclude Commissioner Keller had violated law.”
- On Dec. 29, a subsequent report “concluded that the Port should further investigate potentially illegal actions of Commissioner Keller.”
Illegal water connections
As a commissioner, Keller came under public scrutiny in 2025 over an unmetered water connection at his private hangar at the Richland Airport. The port owns and operates the airport but leases sites for hangars to tenants, including Keller.
The city of Richland discovered unmetered water connections during a routine inspection of its fire hydrant system.
The port hired a utility surveyor to map out known and unknown underground lines. Howard publicly disclosed the investigation by reading a statement about the matter during a May 2025 commission meeting.
The survey revealed the hangar, which Keller purchased in 2017, had an unpermitted and unmetered water connection. Keller acknowledged he knew about the unmetered water connection at the time, but claimed he’d delegated the job of addressing the problem to subordinates.
Port staff advised Keller privately to get a water meter in June.
Richland confirmed it is still working on the matter. It did not answer questions about potential legal action against those who benefitted from city water without paying for it.
“The few remaining affected property owners are currently in the permit process and are being guided through the steps necessary to bring all connections into compliance with city codes and regulations,” a spokesperson told the Herald.