Seattle Forward

Thank you Richard Conlin

With the City Council going on recess for the holidays, today was the last day to say thank you and goodbye to my colleague Councilmember Richard Conlin. Richard has been the epitome of a public servant of this city for the last 16 years. We celebrated him this past Wednesday and below are some remarks I made at Richard’s final committee meeting last week.

Encouraging Whistleblowing, Discouraging Retaliation

This morning my committee passed legislation that encourages and affirms the important role of public employee whistleblowers.

The most important part of the bill moves the investigation of retaliation claims from the Mayor’s office to the independent Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC). The current whistleblower code directs an employee to report retaliation to the Mayor’s office, which can then ask the employee’s department—often the original alleged retaliator—to investigate. Shifting the investigatory responsibilities to the independent SEEC strengthens confidentiality protections and the integrity of the investigation.