City Council meeting erupts in acrimony

The Christmas season brought no peace and good will to the Spokane City Council on Thursday.

A meeting that was acrimonious from gavel to gavel ended with an angry outburst in which Councilman Brad Stark slammed his portfolio on the floor and repeatedly shouted a sexual obscenity.

“Definitely not the way I was hoping to go out,” Stark said later.

Stark was unseated in last month’s general election by Richard Rush.

Much of Thursday’s heated debate focused on how to fill the council vacancy created by last month’s election of Mary Verner as mayor.

But a discussion of whether Spokane police chaplains should give up shoulder patches with crosses on them led Stark to behavior he acknowledged was “not Christ-like.”

“I lost my temper,” Stark said. “I acknowledge that, and I will seek atonement for that.”

Stark was irritated when Alliance Defense Fund attorneys Matthew Shea and Jeffrey Smith, at Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin’s invitation, suggested the city moved too quickly to settle an atheist Spokane police chaplain’s lawsuit against Christian symbols on chaplain uniforms.

“Clean up your own house before you clean up mine,” Stark told Shea when the meeting ended.

Stark was offended by a meeting last June in which McLaughlin sought to reconcile Stark with critic Matt Monroe, using Shea as a mediator.

Monroe had been publicly critical of Stark on issues that included Stark’s support of legislation recognizing domestic partners.

Stark, whose wife, Katie, is a youth minister at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church, said he was offended when Shea said his council voting record was “less than Christian.”

Shea acknowledged discussing Stark’s votes, but denied casting aspersions on Stark’s faith.

Stark said he believes Shea is complicit in what he said has been harassment in which Monroe has obtained his unlisted telephone number and a copy of a Christmas card he sent to someone else, and has repeatedly driven past his house.

Monroe said in an interview that he respects Shea but has no ties to him.

Monroe said he drives past Stark’s house because it’s on an arterial Monroe travels to go to his mother-in-law’s home.

Monroe said someone gave him a copy of the Christmas card, and he got Stark’s phone number from an invitation to a fundraiser. He said he used the number only once, while recruiting guests for the now-defunct Mark Fuhrman radio show.

Stark’s outburst followed a session in which Council President Joe Shogan gave Shea and Smith such hostile treatment that Councilman Steve Corker apologized to them.

“Thank you, Mr. Corker, but I don’t need you to apologize for my questions,” Shogan retorted.

After the meeting, Shogan read Shea and Smith an e-mail calling council members “secular, leftwing subhumans” and wishing them to “suffer painfully and soon,” including having to watch the decapitation of their children.

“Gentlemen, he’s talking about me and my family,” Shogan told Shea and Smith. “In all my time on the City Council, I have never ever gotten an e-mail like this. And this is somebody that supports keeping the cross.”

Assistant City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi said a settlement that sacrificed shoulder patches blending the Christian cross with references to the city government actually was a victory that preserved the city-funded chaplaincy program and allowed chaplains to continue wearing religious symbols on their collars.

Treppiedi said head chaplain Ron Alter and the chaplaincy board agreed the important thing was to preserve chaplains’ right to display purely religious symbols.

During the earlier debate over replacing Verner on the council, Shogan stridently called for more time to interview candidates before naming his choices for a list of finalists. He snapped at Stark, sneered at Corker and heatedly demanded an explanation from Councilman Al French.

“OK, the gloves are coming off,” Shogan said in the middle of what already resembled a bare-knuckle brawl.

“I’m really sick of this,” McLaughlin sighed when the debate resumed after a recess.

Shogan said he supported a timetable that called for a decision Monday night because Stark feared a 3-3 tie on the budget, but it was clear Thursday that there would be no tie.

“I would like to ask Mr. French why, what’s the justification now for doing this vote, set by a schedule that was premised on a 3-3 vote on the budget. Why are we doing it, Mr. French?” Shogan asked loudly. “I want Mr. French to answer my question.”

For his part, French apologized to Rush for accusing him last week of attempting to stack the deck by encouraging people to apply for the vacancy.

The culprit was someone associated with Rush’s campaign, not Rush, French said.

When French finished, Shogan insisted his question still hadn’t been answered, prompting Corker to intervene.

“With all due respect, that question has been asked and answered,” Corker said. “I would ask you to respect the response that Mr. French has made.”

“And Mr. Corker, the next time you tell me to let events play out so we can have a chance to modify them, I will take that with a grain of salt,” Shogan shot back.

Councilman Bob Apple joined Shogan on the losing side of a 4-2 vote to name finalists Thursday and make a selection Monday night.

Apple argued it was “fair and reasonable” for him to insist on interviewing all 26 applicants.

When the council members’ nominations for finalists were tallied, the list included nine with the support of two or more council members.

Only Eastern Washington University associate athletic director Michael Allen had three votes.

The others to be interviewed today and Monday include: Carrie Anderson, urban forest coordinator for The Lands Council; Jeffrey Bierman, Gonzaga University physics professor; Kenneth Garceau, Realtor with John L. Scott Real Estate; Lori Kinnear, former manager of the YWCA Opportunity Center; Dean Lynch, former Spokane city councilman; Dean Ozuna, audit and tax manager at Moss Adams LLP; John Prosser, president of Patriot Electric Inc.; and Rick Shulman, Realtor at John L. Scott Real Estate.

Stark said he will vote for the candidate of Rush’s choice, “within reason.”