Ombudsman Accuses Council Members Of Ducking Scrutiny

King County Council members are trying to avoid scrutiny by seeking the ouster of ombudsman David Krull, accused of sexual harassment of an employee in his office, his lawyer says.

Removing Krull, 32, would “muzzle the county ombudsman, the people’s watchdog,” attorney Miles Stanislaw said in a news conference Friday.

“Their concern is with their ability to control the ombudsman’s office … and to insulate themselves from the investigative powers the ombudsman has,” Stanislaw said.

Krull was reprimanded for investigating a sexual harassment charge against former council chief of staff Cliff Peterson and for answering a reporter’s question about campaign financing laws, and council members forced him to hire their political allies as staff, the lawyer asserted.

Council Chairwoman Jane Hague said those claims were spurious.

“He’s simply making every charge he can think of, mud-spattered as they may be, to cloud the real issue, which is his conduct,” she said.

Amy Calderwood, an assistant in the ombudsman’s office, said she received an offensive e-mail from Krull, chosen by the council in November for a five-year term in the $63,400 job. The council is set to vote Monday on whether to fire him.