Spokane Mayor
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City’s FAQ answers challenged
Spokane city leaders are continuing to mislead the public about the fatal Otto Zehm confrontation, new court documents suggest. Federal authorities say city officials provided “patently false” information in a “Frequently Asked Questions” handout distributed during a Sept. 9 news conference in which Mayor Mary Verner announced her intent to investigate the city’s handling of the controversial 2006 police encounter once all legal proceedings are complete. The false information is contained in several of the city’s responses in the FAQ, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Durkin wrote in a 12-page document filed this week in U.S. District Court.
Mayoral candidates focus on differences
One of the first debates between the two candidates for Spokane mayor – incumbent Mary Verner and challenger David Condon – focused on style. Condon promised to take charge of the bureaucracy.
Park budget restores center funds
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and a large group of seniors and youth advocates warned the Spokane Park Board on Tuesday to think twice before slashing the budgets of youth and senior centers. “Without this center I know where these kids end up. They end up on the streets,” said Knezovich, who visited the Northeast Youth Center in Hillyard over the weekend. “They end up in my jail. That’s not where we need our kids.”
Northeast Youth Center marks milestone
Michael Glatzmaier said the Northeast Youth Center in Hillyard changed his life. “Growing up I did not have a good influence or someone to look up to,” he said. “The people who were my inspirations were leading me down the wrong path.”
Consultant poised for Zehm case review
When Spokane Mayor Mary Verner promised this month that there will be an internal review examining the death of Otto Zehm, it wasn’t the first time a city leader has made such a pledge. Indeed, the city has had an open contract with a police consultant for more than five years to perform that review.
Condon ad takes aim at water rates
Fresh off the Spokane City Council’s decision to raise water rates for next year, Spokane mayoral candidate David Condon released a new commercial this week attacking that decision. The ad so far is running only on YouTube, but he said it likely will hit TV airwaves as the election draws closer.
City announces choice for planning director
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner has selected a new planning director, a position that has been empty for nearly two years.
Mayor visits first Sister City
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner last week rekindled the city’s relationship with its first sister city. This year officials from Nishinomiya, Japan, and Spokane celebrated the 50th anniversary of their sister city relationship in events on both sides of the Pacific. In May, Nishinomiya leaders, including Mayor Masahiro Kouno, visited Spokane and participated in the Lilac Festival’s Armed Forces Torch Light Parade. Officials from both cities signed a charter reaffirming the partnership.
Thompson wants trial moved
The attorney representing Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. filed a motion Thursday asking a federal judge to move the upcoming trial because of “intense” media coverage and because it has become a political issue in the city mayoral race. Carl Oreskovich acknowledged in his filing that the deadline for such motions passed on July 21. He wrote that he had been withholding his request for change of venue to see if attorneys had difficulty finding a jury to hear evidence about Thompson’s fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm.
Thompson attorney wants Zehm trial moved
The attorney representing Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. filed a motion today asking a federal judge to move the upcoming Oct. 11 trial because of “intense” media coverage and because it has become a political issue in the upcoming mayoral election.
Panel won’t overturn decision on police ombudsman’s powers
Efforts to expand the Spokane police ombudsman’s authority to conduct independent investigations into alleged officer misconduct have suffered another blow. The state Public Employment Relations Commission has not only rejected a request from the City Council to consider overturning an arbitrator’s decision blocking the expansion; it sent a letter highly critical of Spokane’s legal strategy, noting it was the city that opted for arbitration rather than a commission review.
Mayor’s FAQs on Zehm case short on real answers, again
It is sad that the Otto Zehm case is becoming a political spectacle. Sad, and absolutely appropriate. Because it’s hard to see what else – apart from insistent public pressure and repeated uncomfortable questions – might lead to an actual public accounting of how the leadership has led.
Mayor promises review of Zehm case
A hastily arranged briefing by Spokane Mayor Mary Verner on Friday announcing her desire for a complete internal and external review of the Otto Zehm controversy turned into a platform for Councilman Bob Apple to denounce what he called the city’s history of “sweeping incidents under the rug.” Apple, who was not invited to Verner’s announcement, said he agrees with Verner’s idea but believes it has come years too late.
Mayor promises ‘thorough’ review of Otto Zehm case
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner announced this morning that a “thorough internal and external review” of the five-year-old death of Otto Zehm would start when the legal cases are finished.