Council approves money for PR firm

When Spokane Deputy Mayor Jack Lynch took a controversial sick leave last September, his boss, Mayor Dennis Hession, hired a public relations firm to help explain Lynch’s absence to the public.

On Tuesday, the Spokane City Council unanimously approved a $1,400 bill to pay for the services of the Gallatin Group, a Pacific Northwest-based firm with an office in Spokane.

Also, the Gallatin Group lobbied council members on behalf of the mayor recently in Hession’s successful effort to win confirmation for a new solid waste director, according to Councilman Brad Stark. The mayor bypassed an internal city candidate in favor of Mollie Mangerich, operations supervisor for solid waste in Lawrence, Kan.

The Gallatin Group was also hired to help the mayor unveil a $260,000 efficiency study in coming days. That study is expected to call for sweeping changes in the way city government is run, and the Gallatin Group is expected to draft a press release when it’s made public on Monday.

On Tuesday, Hession defended the use of the public relations firm in an appearance before the City Council, saying that the company’s expertise will be valuable in getting accurate information to the public.

Stark asked the mayor if he was planning to use the Gallatin Group in his upcoming campaign for reelection later this year to the job he obtained through appointment in 2005.

“Where is the firewall between city business, taxpayer-funded city business and your campaign?” Stark asked.

Hession said that one of the principal members of the Gallatin Group is Chris Carlson. Hession said that Carlson is a supporter who is advising him on the campaign.

But the Gallatin Group itself “has not provided expertise to me on my campaign,” Hession said.

The Gallatin Group specializes in crisis communication. Among its clients, the firm helped BNSF Railway win approval of a controversial refueling depot above the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer in North Idaho.

It also worked for Metropolitan Mortgage and Securities when it filed for bankruptcy several years ago, and Gallatin has worked for Teck Cominco when it was fighting a U.S. Superfund designation for its smelter in Trail, B.C.

Lynch’s medical leave last September came after he suffered a black eye and other injuries which he blamed on a bicycle accident. The mishap followed two incidents at High Bridge Park in which officers identified vehicles registered to Lynch at the park known for illicit activity. Lynch told the mayor that he had driven through the area to check up on police efforts to curb problems there.

His leave was initially expected to last several weeks when it was announced Sept. 25, but Lynch returned the next Monday, Oct. 2.

Lynch went back on an unexplained sick leave at the start of the year, but is expected to return in February, Hession said.