First hearing in suit alleging open meeting act violations postponed a week

Letter from 100 citizens seeks state Attorney General investigation of council actions in Swanson's firing, Duscha's hiring

The opening hearing in a lawsuit alleging that four Longview City Council members broke the state open meetings law was put off a week Wednesday because a visiting judge could not make it to Cowlitz Superior Court.

The lawsuit alleges that council members Kalei LeFave, Erik Halvorson, Keith Young and Mayor Spencer Boudreau broke the law when they hired and negotiated a contract with Jim Duscha to become the city’s interim manager.

“These actions were done without public input and out of the public’s view, ” according to the suit, filed by former City Councilman Mike Wallin and Longview residents John Melink and Tom Samuels.

Because members of both parties are well known in the community, all Cowlitz Superior Court Judges recused themselves to avoid the appearance of bias. They tapped Pacific County Superior Court Judge Donald J. Richter to preside in their place.

Richter was scheduled to hold the first hearing the case at 2 p.m. Wednesday. But, with many of the parties already zoomed in, the court announced Richter couldn’t hear the case until 2 p.m. April 3. No reason was given for the delay.

The suit grows out of the council foursome’s March 13 firing of City Manager Kris Swanson and appointment at that same meeting of Duscha, the former Longview police chief, to serve as interim manager. The suit seeks Swanson’s reinstatement, fines against the four council members and a judicial referral to the county prosecutor’s office for further investigation.

The state Open Meetings Act prohibits elected officials from conferring to arrive at decisions in private, even through a “serial” progression of private, one-on-one meetings.

Wallin, Samuels and Melink are part of a bipartisan local group of about 100 people who have formed to contest the council’s recent action. Members of the group on March 19 sent multiple copies of a letter to County Prosecutor Ryan Jurvakainen and Cowlitz County Sheriff Brad Thurman urging them to seek a State Attorney General's investigation.

“These violations are so willful and intentional they show a complete disregard for state law,” the letter states.

The group consists of a diverse and prominent group of former Longview mayors, council members, city managers, state legislators, businesspeople, educators, union leaders and community volunteers.