Airway Heights mayor rejects calls to resign over posting

The embattled mayor of Airway Heights has refused to resign after the town’s City Council voted Monday to strip him of his official duties in the aftermath of a Facebook posting widely perceived as racist.

The resolution, passed 5-1 by the council, also levels sanctions against Patrick Rushing. He came under fire last week for comparing President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama to “monkeys.”

“I have the same right as every other American,” he said in an earlier interview. “I have the right to say stupid stuff. I said stupid stuff.”

Rushing voted against the sanctions and no-confidence resolution regarding his leadership. And he refused to forfeit his $2,000 monthly salary and called Facebook a tool of the devil, saying he’d deactivated his account.

“If the people of Airway Heights don’t want me as their mayor, they can recall me,” Rushing said.

The resolution, which was drafted by city attorney Stanley Schwartz, allows the city to review the mayor’s involvement on boards and commissions, his use of city equipment and his expenditures over the past year. It also requires Rushing to seek and receive council approval of any official travel or communication.

City Manager Albert Tripp said the city has received 740 complaints from people across the nation upset with Rushing’s comments.

“I would say the largest change is going to be who is identified as the representative of Airway Heights,” Tripp said regarding the effect of the resolution.

The sanctions remove most of the largely ceremonial duties of the mayor, Tripp said.

About 75 people packed into the second-floor room in the Airway Heights council chambers. Prior to the start of the meeting, Rushing walked around the room apologizing to people.

Several members of the Spokane branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People were present, including the Rev. Happy Watkins, who read from the NAACP’s formal response asking Rushing to resign.

Watkins said he would personally accept Rushing’s apology and asked him to attend an NAACP meeting. Rushing responded that he would like to.

“Mayor Rushing came up to me and apologized,” Watkins said. “I’m in the business of forgiving.”

However, many others didn’t accept Rushing’s apology.

“Saying I’m sorry to one individual is just not enough,” Airway Heights resident Elsie Patten said. “We don’t want you anymore. Going to church every week does not make you a good person.”

Public comments were roughly split between support and condemnation. Several speakers emphasized the good Rushing has done in his 1 1/2 years as mayor.

“I’ve seen many mayors come and go,” said Thelma Scott, Rushing’s sister. “I’ve seen improvements and lack of. And I will say, during Rushing’s six-plus years the improvements outweigh anything else he’s done.”

Most of Rushing’s supporters referenced his First Amendment rights to say or write what he wanted. Others spoke of how he aided them or helped the city.

Still, other supporters embraced and reiterated his controversial remarks, with one person saying Obama didn’t look that smart.

“Mayor Rushing is the finest mayor we’ve ever had,” one woman said. “As far as being a racist, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard out of anybody’s mouth.”

Others called for Rushing to resign, saying that he’d embarrassed them and the city.

“Maybe because of your age you don’t understand the power of social media and how big this thing can get,” said Thomas Finley, an Airway Heights resident. “You not stepping down makes you look like a child.”

Nicholas Messing said having Rushing’s sister and brother-in-law comment manipulated the perception of community opinion.

“I want people to understand that this is not an accurate representation of our community,” he said.

The council unanimously condemned Rushing’s actions.

“I will not accept anything less than your resignation,” council member Tanya Dashiell said.

Rushing refused and remained confident that he could continue to work effectively for the city.

“I want the chance to make things right,” he said after the meeting adjourned, before slipping out a back door. “I’ve done things on my own before. I can work by myself.”

Earlier this year,  Rushing resigned from his position as a school bus driver for the Medical Lake School District after he failed to immediately report that he had rear-ended another car on a foggy morning while driving an empty bus.