Fired police chief back on the job in Pacific

Fired police chief back on the job in Pacific »Play Video
Bob Calkins
PACIFIC, Wash. -- The embattled mayor of the town of Pacific is getting a one-week reprieve before he has to prove to a judge he's making progress on hiring new department heads.

At the same time, the police chief that he fired has gotten his job back.

Chief John Calkins has been on paid administrative leave for seven months after newly elected mayor Cy Sun told the chief to take a hike. But the Civil Service Commission ruled the mayor shouldn't have done that -- just one of the many legal issues the mayor faces.

"It feels great (to be back)," Calkins said. "Pretty much because of the guys that work here."

The guys that work there are the ones who recently arrested Mayor Cy Sun when he tried to force his way into the locked city clerk's office. The mayor tried firing those officers, but they remain on the job.

Calkins says his relationship with Sun has not been good. "I only talked to the guy only one time," he said.

The 80-year-old Sun won as a write-in candidate with the promise to clean up City Hall. Most department heads either quit or were fired.

Pacific's own city attorney said the mayor is going about it all wrong.

"We believe his intentions are well meaning, but we're not sure he has the understanding of how to carry out his duties or get accomplished what he wants," said City Attorney Kenyon Luce.

It had gotten so bad that the city attorney sought a writ of mandate against the mayor forcing him to start hiring department heads and police officers, or explain to a judge why he hasn't. Monday's deadline was pushed back a week.

"The mayor has agreed to start the process of posting, advertising and interviewing the candidates for certain city positions," Luce said.

But if the mayor can't prove that he's making progress in hiring those people, the judge could sanction him or even put him in jail, which would be the second time in his short stint as the city's top office holder.

Sun's staff said he was out of town and unable to comment. In the meantime, the recall effort to remove him from office goes before a judge soon to see if they'll be allowed to proceed with that effort.