Sweetser Pledge At Issue In Court Fired Workers Say Prosecutor Shattered Campaign Promise
Spokane County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser sat at a defense table Tuesday as a string of witnesses indicated he broke a campaign promise not to fire people for backing his opponent.
A political rival, a union leader and two journalists testified that Sweetser pledged during the campaign to protect office employees from on-the-spot firings.
Sweetser maintains he never made such promises.
The new prosecutor has fired six employees since taking power in January. Two ousted deputy prosecutors filed a civil suit against Sweetser, claiming wrongful termination.
In a preliminary hearing this week, Adams County Superior Court Judge Richard Miller will decide if former deputy prosecutors Jennifer Boharski and Michelle Solinsky should immediately get their jobs back.
The hearing could hinge on whether the judge finds that the prosecutors were fired for exercising their right to free speech in supporting Sweetser’s opponent.
Sweetser has said he fired the two attorneys because they weren’t “team players.”
Tuesday’s testimony included first-hand recollections of statements Sweetser made during the heated 1994 race to replace Don Brockett.
Bill Keenan, president of county workers Local 1553, said the union backed Sweetser because he promised to only fire employees for “just cause,” such as incompetence.
Keenan said Sweetser voiced his position at a union gathering. Keenan said the union thought it had an agreement that would lead to a labor contract with the office, which the union has sought for years.
With the union and Sweetser now clashing, a contract agreement in the near future seems unlikely.
Sweetser’s campaign opponent, Steve Matthews, testified that the prosecutor made repeated campaign promises regarding “just cause” firings.
“It came up on a regular basis throughout the campaign,” Matthews said. “On numerous occasions he promised the employees they’d be treated fairly.”
“I didn’t think it was prudent because I thought people might rely on that,” Matthews said.
John Allison, KXLY reporter, said Sweetser told him during a pre-election interview that employees supporting his opponent in the sharply divided prosecutor’s office would get “a clean slate.”
“He said he believed (they) deserved a policy of `just cause’ termination,” Allison said, noting he told Sweetser some people feared for their jobs.
“He responded to me that if he was elected (these people) would be given a clean slate. I remember those words specifically.”
Sweetser’s attorney, Terrence Lackie, asked Allison if that portion of the interview ran on television. Allison said he didn’t know. He also said there is no longer any record of the full interview.
Similar issues surfaced during the questioning of William Miller, a reporter for The Spokesman-Review.
Miller told the court that during campaign interviews Sweetser repeatedly said he favored a policy of allowing only “just cause” firings, as well as protecting employees with a grievance procedure.
“Getting the union contract issue settled was a key to Jim Sweetser,” Miller said.
Asked to respond to Sweetser’s contention in court documents that he never told Miller he supported the “just cause” policy, Miller said, “That’s not an accurate statement.”
Attorney Carl Maxey, representing Boharski and Solinsky, asked Miller if he was certain. “Remember you’re under oath,” Maxey said.
“There’s not the slightest doubt in my mind,” Miller said.
Lackie asked Miller to produce notes from the interview. Miller said he believed the notes were protected under reporter’s privilege as confidential materials.
Lackie asked the court to strike Miller’s testimony from the record unless the notes were entered into the record.
“We ought to be able to look at the basis of what his testimony is,” Lackie said. “He waived any privilege he would have had by testifying today.”
Carl Maxey sharply disagreed. Judge Miller agreed to let the reporter discuss the issue with the newspaper’s attorney.
The hearing is expected to last through Thursday.