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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Huckleberries Hears 3 …

... that Coeur d'Alene Councilman Steve Adams sent a letter to City Attorney Mike Gridley (pictured) on April 12 asking Gridley to quit rebutting him during council meetings. Apparently, Gridley had corrected statements by Adams twice. Adams wrote that he didn't think that Gridley meant to be disrespectful when he rebutted Adams but he was coming across that way to "other parties (mayor & council, staff and especially the public.) " Adams requested that Gridley address him privately after the council meetings, if Gridley thought something needed to be corrected. Gridley responded that he, as city attorney, has "a duty to correct any inaccurate statements of law or fact made by you or anyone else regarding the legality of city actions." As an example, Gridley said, he would not express an opinion if someone expresses the opinion that 15th Street is rough and should be repaved. However, he wrote, if someone says 15th Street needs to be repaved because the city is violating the law "then I have a duty to express my legal opinion on the matter. It would be malpractice and a dereliction of duty if I didn't." HucksOnline didn't get this information from Gridley, who refused to provide it, citing attorney-client privilege.

Question: Should Mike Gridley correct misstatements of fact by Coeur d'Alene council members that involve possible legal issues?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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