Seattle Court Won’t Play Favorites

A supervisor at Seattle Municipal Court was suspended for a month for waiving late fees on parking tickets for herself and her nephew.

The unpaid suspension of clerical supervisor Cynthia Campbell has prompted the court to warn each of its 250 workers that they will be fired if they reduce parking ticket penalties for themselves or friends.

Municipal Judge Ron Kessler said Campbell was able to keep her job because she was a longtime and valued employee.

She was suspended for 30 days in June after she rescheduled the case for a $26 parking ticket and removed the $20 late-payment fee, Kessler said.

The city’s Ethics and Elections Commission is reviewing the case and may impose further penalties.

At a hearing Wednesday, the commission rejected a proposed settlement in Campbell’s case because commissioners felt it was too lenient, executive director Carolyn Van Noy said.

At the hearing, Campbell acknowledged she had dropped the late-payment penalties on several tickets for herself and her nephew.