Political tensions boil over during Pacific City Council meeting
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PACIFIC, Wash. -- Long-simmering tensions boiled over Monday night inside Pacific City Hall, as angry residents confronted Mayor Cy Sun about what they see as his abuses of power.
The three-hour City Council meeting was so packed that spectators crowed the hallway to listen as speakers took to the podium to demand change.
The small town has been in turmoil for months, and Sun is at the center of the storm. After locking the city clerk out of her office two weeks ago, firing three other department heads and causing two more to quit, many Pacific residents say they've seen enough.
"This is a great little city," one speaker said. "I've lived here 40 years, and you have walked in here and literally torn it apart."
Others were even less diplomatic towards Sun.
"Your bullying, lying, intimidating and threats have destroyed the staff left at the city," another speaker said.
One after another, dissatisfied residents stood up to rail against Sun's leadership. Several called for the mayor to resign, while others spoke about what the ongoing controversy has done to the sleepy little city.
"We are the laughing stock of Western Washington," one resident said.
There was even a question of whether Pacific would lose its insurance because of the chaos and potential litigation.
"There have been some criminal conduct allegations made," said Pacific's city attorney.
Despite the allegations, the council announced Monday night that the insurance would not be canceled.
For his part, Sun refused to back down. He campaigned for the position on the platform of cleaning up city hall, and that's exactly what he believes he's doing.
"I wasn't overstepping my boundaries," he said. "The people were disgusted with the corruption that was going on. I came in to start to clean up the corruption."
During the meeting, Sun squared off with several other city council members. In one heated exchange, a councilman said the city is facing potential litigation because of comments Sun has made. He advised the mayor to stop talking about his performance, to which Sun responded simply, "Okay."
Sun admits he's moving too fast, but only because he's still learning state and city laws. Long time political insiders in the city fear Sun's actions have opened the city up to all sorts of liability.
The three-hour City Council meeting was so packed that spectators crowed the hallway to listen as speakers took to the podium to demand change.
The small town has been in turmoil for months, and Sun is at the center of the storm. After locking the city clerk out of her office two weeks ago, firing three other department heads and causing two more to quit, many Pacific residents say they've seen enough.
"This is a great little city," one speaker said. "I've lived here 40 years, and you have walked in here and literally torn it apart."
Others were even less diplomatic towards Sun.
"Your bullying, lying, intimidating and threats have destroyed the staff left at the city," another speaker said.
One after another, dissatisfied residents stood up to rail against Sun's leadership. Several called for the mayor to resign, while others spoke about what the ongoing controversy has done to the sleepy little city.
"We are the laughing stock of Western Washington," one resident said.
There was even a question of whether Pacific would lose its insurance because of the chaos and potential litigation.
"There have been some criminal conduct allegations made," said Pacific's city attorney.
Despite the allegations, the council announced Monday night that the insurance would not be canceled.
For his part, Sun refused to back down. He campaigned for the position on the platform of cleaning up city hall, and that's exactly what he believes he's doing.
"I wasn't overstepping my boundaries," he said. "The people were disgusted with the corruption that was going on. I came in to start to clean up the corruption."
During the meeting, Sun squared off with several other city council members. In one heated exchange, a councilman said the city is facing potential litigation because of comments Sun has made. He advised the mayor to stop talking about his performance, to which Sun responded simply, "Okay."
Sun admits he's moving too fast, but only because he's still learning state and city laws. Long time political insiders in the city fear Sun's actions have opened the city up to all sorts of liability.
http://www.kval.com/news/local/Convicted-of-murder-in-1979-elected-to-City-Council-in-2007-140801093.html
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/01/cy_sun_mayor_of_pacific_who_wo.php
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Here are some facts that are more current: Pacific Public Safety Director John Calkins was charged with drunk driving and intimidating the arresting officer; he testified in court that he doesnât drink beer, while I have seen a photograph of him doing just that; he is accused in a deposition of requiring employees to view porn; he also failed a polygraph examination on whether he threatened an individual with a hand gun, and he was investigated for tampering with a witness. He proposed writing more speeding tickets not for public safety, but to raise revenue. His department practiced racial profiling. When a house burned to the ground on his watch, he bellowed at a city council member for asking why. When I published the claim that he was related to then-Mayor Howard Erickson, he bellowed at me in a city council meeting, denying the allegation. But according to the people who disclosed the relationship, it was Mr. Erickson who made them aware of it. No-one ever hauled him up short for this and other rude behavior until Mr. Sun put him on administrative leave for bellowing at the cityâs treasurer about a month ago. By the way, Mr. Calkins testified in court under oath that he canât raise his voice, so he couldnât have yelled at the arresting officer at his DUI stop. Or at me, either. I must have imagined it.