Illegal flier wrongly accuses Mankin

An illegally anonymous flier bearing false allegations against a mayoral candidate in Millwood arrived in mailboxes one week before the Nov. 8 general election.

The flier, mailed to homes in the community of 1,700, attacks candidate Robert Mankin as a “convicted felon.” The cover of the two-sided flier advises residents of an “Urgent!!! Neighborhood convicted felon alert.”

The flip side alleges that Mankin, a 65-year-old retired boilermaker making his first run at public office, was convicted of a sex crime in the early 1980s. The flier cites Superior Court and state Corrections Department records as proof of the conviction. It also cites an Aug. 5 article in The Spokesman-Review, which erroneously stated the same.

Mankin said Thursday that he has never been convicted of a felony sex crime, a claim verified by Superior Court records for Spokane County.

In 1982 prosecutors did charge Mankin with “attempted indecent liberties,” a felony, alleging that the Millwood resident, by forcible compulsion, touched the breast of his teenage daughter, Mary Lyn Mankin. The girl later died from unrelated circumstances while in a foster home.

Mankin pleaded guilty to the charge because, he now says, he wanted to spare his family the pain of a trial. According to a pre-sentencing document, Mankin wrote, “I was drinking a lot and I felt Mary’s breast.”

But the plea came with a deferred sentence – the kind that’s not imposed unless a defendant violates probation terms set by the court. The court ruled Mankin would be allowed to change his plea to “not guilty” and the charge would go away, provided he met probation requirements for three years.

Mankin met the requirements. Therefore, his final plea – the one that counts in the eyes of the court – was changed to “not guilty.” And the threat of a full-fledged sentencing for the sex crime – a sentence that could have landed Mankin in prison – went away.

The reoccurring mention of the charge throughout Mankin’s campaign for mayor has hurt his wife and grandchildren, the candidate said.

The source of the flier is unknown.

Mankin’s opponent, Councilman Dan Mork, has throughout his campaign largely ignored allegations by Mankin that Mork brought an abortion clinic to town, held alcohol parties at Town Hall and funneled town construction materials to family members – charges Mork denies.

Mankin blamed the flier on Millwood Mayor Jeannie Batson and town Clerk Eva Colomb. Batson, who is not seeking reelection, and Colomb said they’d seen the flier – a handful of town residents called Millwood Town Hall to see if the women were responsible – but had nothing to do with it.

“I knew nothing about it until a citizen brought it in here,” Colomb said.

Circulating a campaign flier without identifying the sender by name and address violates Washington campaign law, said Lori Anderson, spokeswoman for the Public Disclosure Commission in Olympia. “It’s hard for us, and frustrating, because if it’s truly done anonymously it’s hard to track down,” Anderson said.

Anonymous campaign fliers are fairly common in Washington politics, Anderson said. Typically the cases are solved by tracking down the sender through the bulk mailing number posted on the outside of the letter. If the offending flier isn’t bulk mailed, cracking the case becomes nearly impossible.

The flier attacking Mankin, which also cited two confirmed negligent and reckless driving charges, was mailed using first-class stamps, not bulk mail status.

Mankin’s suspicion of Town Hall is fueled by his tussles with local government.

On occasion, he’s been removed from Town Council meetings. The town installed bulletproof glass at its Town Hall public counter and a panic button several months ago to shield employees from Mankin, who outgoing Mayor Jeanne Batson says is dangerous. At one point last fall, the city locked down Town Hall to keep Mankin out of the building, denying access to everyone else in the process.