Rachel Rosen reports from the Oak Harbor City Council meeting of Wed., Aug. 3, 2022:
On June 8, [Mayor Pro Tem Beth] Munns was in City Administrator Blaine Oborn’s office and told him that he and Human Resources Director Emma House would be hit or slapped if they attended the memorial service of a city employee who died unexpectedly, according to a police investigation and Munns herself. Munns sent a letter to Oborn on June 22 in which she apologized for her choice of words.
On Wednesday, city council members reviewed the mayor pro tem position in response to the incident and, after some confusion, voted to replace Munns with Councilmember Tara Hizon.
According to the Revised Code of Washington, the mayor pro tem, in case of the absence of the mayor, will “perform any duties of mayor except that he or she shall not have the power to appoint or remove any officer or to veto any ordinance.” Additionally, the mayor pro tem has power to administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and certify them and can sign all conveyances made by the city and all instruments which require the seal of the city.
They Said It
“It is clear to the outsider there’s a huge division within the city and it breaks my heart,” [Councilwoman Beth] Munns said.
She said an outside expert should have investigated the allegations and the fact that it was done by the human resources department was a “gross conflict of interest.”
Munns described the event, saying she asked Oborn if he and House were going to attend a city employee’s memorial service. When he said that he was, Munns said she suggested he reconsider due to “all the stuff that he and Emma had directed toward” the employee in the past years.
Munns said she was concerned that their presence would cause a scene and advised Oborn to sit in the back because she was “afraid that someone may come up to you and slap you. I’d hate to see that happen.” She said that she did not expect Oborn to misinterpret this comment as a threat or that the private conversation would be exposed to the mayor, city council and public to “fuel his retaliation against” her.
[Mayor Bob] Severns gave a statement in which he apologized to staff and the community for the “subject matter creating a distraction.” He said he appreciated Munns’ service to the city but that the recent incident is not the first time she acted inappropriately.
