Kirkland city leader admits wrongdoing
KIRKLAND, Wash. -- City officials have launched an investigation into one of their own, who is accused of sending racy messages from his city e-mail account.
Kirkland City Council member Bob Sternoff has admitted to using his city e-mail account for personal and occasionally lewd conversations with his girlfriend.
Sternoff apologized at last week's city council meeting when some of his e-mails were made public.
"The use of my city e-mail as it was used in this case was inappropriate. I apologize for that and the embarrassment that my actions have caused myself and the ones I love," he said.
Conservative watchdog group Evergreen Freedom Foundation uncovered thousands of pages of Sternoff's e-mail the group claims violate city and state law.
In July foundation employee Scott St. Clair requested for the release of city council e-mails, which are public record. The foundation's aim was to make sure elected officials weren't cutting back-room deals.
Days later, St. Clair said he received a call from Sternoff, who told him some of his e-mails might be embarrassing.
"I had no clue what I would find until it actually showed up," said St. Clair. "The conversation goes on to talk about the Kirkland citizen, her work and her sexual preference."
St. Clair said the content of the e-mails grabbed his attention, but he was more concerned with their timing. He said Sternoff's e-mails had been sent while the city council was in session. The time stamps on the e-mails reflect times when city council meetings and study sessions were being held, he said.
"The time spent creating them was time not spent conducting the public's business or paying attention," he said. "My interest isn't in him, per se. It's in watch-dogging for the public to find out what's happening on their time with their public resources."
With a 4-to-3 vote, the Kirkland City Council voted to hire a law firm to investigate those e-mails. Sternoff claims the vote tally shows the divide on the city council, and the "vendetta" some of the members have against him.
Kirkland City Council member Bob Sternoff has admitted to using his city e-mail account for personal and occasionally lewd conversations with his girlfriend.
Sternoff apologized at last week's city council meeting when some of his e-mails were made public.
"The use of my city e-mail as it was used in this case was inappropriate. I apologize for that and the embarrassment that my actions have caused myself and the ones I love," he said.
Conservative watchdog group Evergreen Freedom Foundation uncovered thousands of pages of Sternoff's e-mail the group claims violate city and state law.
In July foundation employee Scott St. Clair requested for the release of city council e-mails, which are public record. The foundation's aim was to make sure elected officials weren't cutting back-room deals.
Days later, St. Clair said he received a call from Sternoff, who told him some of his e-mails might be embarrassing.
"I had no clue what I would find until it actually showed up," said St. Clair. "The conversation goes on to talk about the Kirkland citizen, her work and her sexual preference."
St. Clair said the content of the e-mails grabbed his attention, but he was more concerned with their timing. He said Sternoff's e-mails had been sent while the city council was in session. The time stamps on the e-mails reflect times when city council meetings and study sessions were being held, he said.
"The time spent creating them was time not spent conducting the public's business or paying attention," he said. "My interest isn't in him, per se. It's in watch-dogging for the public to find out what's happening on their time with their public resources."
With a 4-to-3 vote, the Kirkland City Council voted to hire a law firm to investigate those e-mails. Sternoff claims the vote tally shows the divide on the city council, and the "vendetta" some of the members have against him.