A Clark County Superior Court judge Friday denied former county Councilor David Madore’s request to compel Clark County to retroactively post sensitive contracts on the internet.
The determination, made by Judge Daniel Stahnke, is a postscript to a lawsuit filed by Madore in October of last year against County Chair Marc Boldt, Councilors Jeanne Stewart and Julie Olson, and County Manager Mark McCauley.
The lawsuit stems from ongoing battles Madore had with councilors and staff before he was voted out of office. It asked Stahnke for an order that Madore be allowed to view communications between McCauley and the prosecuting attorney’s office. Madore also sought to have his own legal counsel at public expense.
The lawsuit also sought an order requiring the county to comply with its own code and post on its website contracts with lawyers and firms hired to look into sensitive human resources investigations, some of which involved Madore.
Last month, Stahnke ruled in favor of Madore’s request to post the contracts, while denying Madore’s other requests. Nicholas Power, a Friday Harbor attorney representing Madore, argued that the judge’s order should apply retroactively, meaning that previously unpublicized contracts be posted on the county’s website.
“The public has a right to see these contracts and look at these contracts years from now when they’re evaluating how well their public servants did for them,” Power told Stahnke.
Jane Vetto, Clark County deputy prosecuting attorney, responded that Power’s request hadn’t been previously briefed or argued.
“The remedy for the petitioner in this particular matter is to file a public records request for any contract that was not posted, which he’s already done and we’re already gathering records on,” Vetto told Stahnke, who sided with her.
Public records requested by The Columbian for contracts the county entered into last year with outside companies to investigate human resources issues or complaints from county personnel turned up four contracts. All have been previously reported on.
Madore was subject to two outside investigations, one related to his squabbles with county staff and another concerning allegations he violated the state’s laws regarding public meetings and public records. Another outside investigator was hired to look into complaints about Children’s Justice Center Executive Director Mary Blanchette, who left the position last year, allegedly over an abrasive management style. A fourth investigator was hired for a whistleblower complaint against McCauley, who was cleared of wrongdoing.
