Seattle Forward

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.

Bellevue Gets It Wrong, Seattle Got It Right

Imagine my surprise this morning when I grabbed The Seattle Times off the front porch, opened it up, then read a story about the ethics dispute at the Bellevue City Council only to discover my name pulled into the fray.  Here's part of the story . . .

Unless the City Council approves the contract, [Bellevue Councilmember Kevin Wallace's attorney Mike] McKay said in his letter, the investigation would be "an impermissible interference of the executive branch with the legislative branch."

"How do you think the Seattle City Council would react if Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn commenced an investigation of Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess without the approval of its Council?" McKay wrote. "It would certainly be viewed as an inappropriate incursion on the legislative branch of Seattle's city government."

Well, that wouldn't happen in Seattle.  Period.  Why?  Because in the early 1970s the Seattle City Council established an independent, objective and well-resourced Ethics and Elections Commission and gave it all the necessary powers to conduct ethics investigations of all city employees, including our elected officials.