Franklin Commissioner Didier should follow the rules and leave the room | Editorial

Franklin County Commissioner Clint Didier may not agree with state rules that limit gatherings, but that’s no excuse for knowingly disobeying them.

As an elected official, he should be setting a better example. Average citizens can’t pick which laws they like and which ones they will follow, and exceptions should not be made because someone is in a position of authority.

For three straight weeks, Didier has challenged requests that he leave the commission meeting room and instead participate by phone like fellow commissioners Brad Peck and Bob Koch.

The July 21 meeting was especially tense, with voices raised and Peck saying he would hang up the phone if Didier didn’t leave, and Didier telling him to go ahead and hang up. Didier eventually left the room to use a phone in isolation so the meeting could proceed legally.

And the Herald has learned he’s not the only public official bucking the meeting rule, intentionally or not.

Since the coronoavirus invaded, Gov. Jay Inslee has laid out restrictions on gatherings in order to slow the spread of the disease.

Those restrictions include public meetings, and Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant told the commissioners that if they are physically present in the chamber, the meeting would be illegal.

Didier has balked at this requirement, and said he has been told by many people who watch the meetings online that they appreciate he has been trying to stay in the room.

But what citizens appreciate is beside the point.

According to the county’s lawyer, the validity of any commission action is at risk if Didier remains in the chamber.

While this situation has become more contentious in Franklin County, we are aware that some of our other Tri-City governing bodies have met with at least one elected official in the room and a limited number of staff.

So we checked with state officials. From what we were told, it appears Sant has got it right.

Kathryn Leathers, general counsel for the governor, told the Tri-City Herald in an email that, “Only public agencies/bodies that are located in Phase 3 counties are permitted to provide an in-person attendance component (in addition to providing remote attendance). Public agencies/bodies that are located in Phase 1/Modified Phase 1 and Phase 2 counties are not permitted to meet in person at this time.”

Benton and Franklin counties are in a modified Phase 1, so those agencies who have been allowing elected officials in the meeting room with staff should re-think what they are doing.

Kennewick City Manager Marie Mosely said city officials are aware of the gathering rule, and Kennewick Mayor Don Britain is the only person in the chamber during council meetings.

She said while it may appear online that others are in the room, they are not. They are at home and are using a virtual background that makes it look like they are at Kennewick City Hall.

Richland Mayor Ryan Lukson has been in the Richland City Hall chambers with others, and said they were under the impression that the five-person gathering rule applied.

We’ve seen Benton County and Pasco City Council meetings also held with more than one person in the room — all social distancing and wearing masks — and they have been under the same impression as Richland.

Pasco City Manager Dave Zabell said they thought the language in the governor’s proclamation allowed a maximum of five people to be in the room if they were needed to run the meeting.

And while these apparent missteps are unfortunate, they are not the same as willfully ignoring advice from your own legal counsel, which is what has been going on in Franklin County.

As Didier exited the commission meeting July 21, he said, “I am a persistent person and I will be coming back every meeting until we see the light because this is truly a travesty in Franklin County when we don’t have the nerve — and he’s locked us back down again — to meet in person and show our constituents that we’re going to conduct business as usual in Franklin County, and it’s a sad day because right now people are going to lose everything they’ve got if they haven’t already done that.”

We understand Didier is frustrated, but continuing to demonstrate a blatant disregard for the county’s legal counsel is appalling, not to mention it’s a waste of everybody else’s time.

At the past three meetings, Koch had to call a recess to give Didier time to leave the chamber and connect by phone from another county office. Protesting at every meeting is tiresome and unproductive.

Since managing COVID-19 has taken over our lives, there have been many rules laid out by Gov. Jay Inslee that people would like to ignore.

But the only way to slow the spread of the virus is to limit the contact with others. No one should be the exception to that rule — especially not an elected official.

This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 1:27 PM.