Union Says Sweetser Double-Crossed Them Promises Of Support Called ‘Vilest Form Of Fraud’

Credited with electing Jim Sweetser as Spokane County prosecutor, organized labor now says it was duped by a paranoid, immature and vindictive politician whose first year in office has been a “reign of terror.”

The Washington State Council of County and City Employees is preparing to file three more unfair labor practice charges against Sweetser, bringing the total to eight.

Not only has Sweetser fired six employees without cause and demoted and “terrorized” others, the union and some employees say, but he also has reneged on several campaign promises.

The president of one union local goes so far as to demand that the Democrat repay $12,000 in campaign donations for committing the “vilest form of fraud upon us.”

Sweetser, 37, called the charges a “political ploy” orchestrated by the union and a “few disgruntled employees” who refuse to embrace his team-based philosophy.

“Most of the employees are happy,” he said. “That’s what they tell me. The union is the one terrorizing employees by spreading discontent.”

Several of his deputy prosecutors agree, including a couple who worked under Sweetser’s predecessor, Don Brockett, who held the job for a quarter century.

Under Sweetser, they said, fewer cases are plea-bargained, and criminals are sent to prison for longer terms.

Criminal filings are up nearly 20 percent this year over last, while criminal trials are up from 102 in 1994 to 130 in 1995.

Mark Lindsey, who leads the property theft division, said Sweetser’s administration compared to Brockett’s is like “night and day, bad to good.

“I worked under the prior administration,” said Lindsey, one of a half-dozen deputy prosecutors who called The Spokesman-Review at Sweetser’s urging. “I had to keep my head down to keep it from being lopped off. I don’t have to do that anymore.”

For years, the prosecutor’s office has been divided into two camps - Brockett supporters vs. the union.

Now organized labor, which despised Brockett, is singing his praises and saying Sweetser has sold them out.

Bill Keenan, who represents nearly half the county’s 1,600 employees, said he remembers only one unfair labor practice charge targeting Brockett.

“Brockett is a saint compared to Sweetser,” Keenan said. “Sweetser has created the worst nightmare in this union’s history.”

Shortly after announcing his candidacy, Sweetser staked his campaign on organized labor, Keenan said. His first commitment was to be the state’s first prosecutor to sign a labor contract that allows only “just-cause” firings. It was a concept that labor officials said Sweetser had advocated when he was a member of the union’s negotiating committee.

Sweetser denied making the pledge. He said the law prohibits him from giving up his authority to fire deputies if, in his view, they don’t have the “integrity, honesty and good moral character” required of the job.

Labor officials said Sweetser also courted them in the summer of 1994 by vowing to sign the union contract - which expired three years ago - within two weeks after taking office. There still is no contract. And he assured the union he would “drive fear from the workplace,” Keenan said.

Labor’s response was “unprecedented,” Keenan said.

The state’s top union official, Chris Dugovich, flew in four times from Seattle to rally for Sweetser.

Union members scoured neighborhoods, erecting yard signs, handing out fliers and ringing doorbells. They donated $12,000 of Sweetser’s estimated $54,000 in campaign cash.

Sweetser defeated Steve Matthews, a Brockett lieutenant, by 6,000 votes.

“I’ve been doing this 15 years,” Dugovich said. “I’ve never seen a politician make an about-face like this.”

Said Keenan: “He double-crossed everybody. He misled and lied to all of our executive boards. Nobody knew this guy. We put our credibility on the line. We all feel like idiots.”

In five existing unfair labor practice charges, Keenan accuses Sweetser of trying to bust the union, retaliating against members and promoting non-union employees.

The charges are pending before the Washington Public Employment Relations Commission. If he loses, Sweetser will have to restore any demoted or fired employees and bargain in good faith.

Three employees, who requested anonymity because they feared being fired, said Sweetser is now reinterviewing all deputy prosecutors for their jobs to create the “perfect” team.

By Feb. 1, Sweetser has vowed to have in place a cohesive office free of insubordination, they said.

“We were told if we say anything negative about him we’ll be fired,” said one employee. “He’s just like (Joseph) McCarthy.”

Other employees use terms like “Nixon” and “Politburo” to describe Sweetser and his administration.

“He’s trying to become a little dictator,” one worker said. “All he’s concerned about is people talking about him behind his back.”

A three-page memorandum Sweetser wrote in September about insubordination defines it in such terms as disobedience, defiance, unruliness, rebelliousness, obstinacy and stubbornness.

“Insubordination cannot be tolerated by managers and supervisors,” Sweetser wrote. “If tolerated of even one person, anarchy is the inevitable result.”

Keenan said Sweetser’s office speeches and correspondence befit a king more than a prosecutor.

Deputy prosecutors Kathryn Lee and Tim O’Brien - both new Sweetser recruits - said the tumultuous atmosphere in the office is caused by the fear of change and strong leadership.

Dave Hearrean, a deputy prosecutor who quit under Brockett and returned under Sweetser, said Spokane County soon will boast the best prosecutor’s office in the state.

“The change I see is that we as prosecutors have more respect and more pride in what we do,” he said. “We’ve gone to trial more than ever’s been done and we’re proud of it.”

Even so, Sweetser is losing some supporters in the legal community.

On Dec. 15, private labor attorney William Powell attacked Sweetser for what he said was potentially illegal treatment of a disabled deputy prosecutor.

Garald Gesinger has worked for Spokane County for 26 years while suffering from the neurological disorder Tourette’s syndrome. He has accepted a $30,000 pay cut rather than be laid off Jan. 1 amid what Sweetser called tight budget times.

“By this stupid action you have created animosity in the Bar (association) as well as generated potential liability to the county,” Powell wrote. “I am hard pressed to understand why I ever supported you in your election campaign.”

Two weeks ago, anti-Sweetser leaflets began showing up at Democratic hangouts. On Thursday, the same leaflets blanketed the courthouse.

After the flier was discovered, Keenan and Sweetser employees said the prosecutor launched a “witch hunt” to discover its authors. They said Sweetser also is obsessed about ferreting out the sources of any negative information published in the newspaper.

One employee said Sweetser and his lieutenants have inquired about who is socializing with whom.

“We are in absolute fear for our jobs,” another worker said. “If we say anything that’s perceived as negative, we will be out of a job.”

Brockett, who supported Republican Matthews in last year’s election, said Sweetser’s first year has been what he expected.

“I always thought Jim was immature,” he said. “He’s paranoid. As bosses, we all know that people talk about us. Like Harry Truman said, ‘If you can’t take the heat, then get out of the kitchen.”’

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo