An investigation has been underway for over a month by an "independent" attorney to understand how the top staff (below) were managed at the beginning of the crisis. The Mayor's office (Director of Human Resources) selected a Seattle-based attorney. If Council is unsatisfied they will conduct their own investigation. At last night's Regular meeting it was revealed that COO Maxine Whattam and Fire Chief Tommy Smith are on indefinite leave. Chief Smith is also Director of Emergency Preparedness. 6/3/2020
Background
Those who got coronavirus were Redmond Fire Chief Tommy Smith, emergency manager Pattijean Hooper, deputy fire chief Don Horton, program coordinator Janeen Olson, and battalion chief Tom Langton.
Councilmember Varisha Kahn said,"In a time of public crisis, our city leadership could have aspired to a higher bar by being transparent and honest, but instead decided to function behind closed doors and by lying," Khan said. "Disregard for the public and the truth is not governance."
Excerpts from--KUOW, NPR, 4/8 article
There's no need to list the potentially unverified names of the sick unless they approve it.
ReplyDeleteCOO Maxine and Chief Tommy are some of the greatest leaders I've ever encountered and worked under.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe these allegations in the slightest.
Unless you can verify with the City of Redmond that these employees are on "indefinite leave" and you can verify the reasons for their leave, I'd strongly suggest you remove this post.
ReplyDeleteSo what do you think of the Mayor? Unfortunately, preparation for this once in a lifetime crisis was thrust upon an inexperienced elected official. Where's the grace?
ReplyDeleteSo...Chief Smith didn't resign, he was pushed out? If he was the one instructed not to speak (but spoke out anyway), why is he being punished for doing the right thing? This is a deadly pandemic; info is critical. Sounds like COO Whattam should definitely be fired. Mayor Birney hiring an investigator for one penny under amt requiring council approval sounds dubious to control the narrative - which makes her sound corrupt. And why was experienced Emergency Mgr Hooper sidelined after recovering? What a fucking mess. And I thought I lived in a sane city, not one of those reality-denying backwater towns. I've been seeing non-masked people in downtown Redmond. Willfully ignorant people are a danger to others and need to just die. Once they're gone, they'll stop killing innocents with their reckless behavior.
ReplyDelete