Since he was elected as Seattle’s new city attorney last November, Peter Holmes has cut a dozen staffers from the city’s law department. Although Holmes’ office has yet to comment on the firings, multiple sources confirmed the cuts, and the staffers are also no longer listed in the city’s directory.
From the criminal division:
- Bob Hood, head of the criminal division, had worked in the City Attorney since Sidran was in office. He recently handledd the Drug Market Initiative program in the East Precinct.
- Unit supervisor Robert Chung, and attorneys Mary Lynch, Robert Murashige, and Bill Ross, all longtime trial attorneys in criminal division.
- Attorney Derek Smith, infamous for aggressively prosecuting the 17 nightclub workers arrested following Operation Sobering Thought. The case turned out to be a disaster, and prosecutors were unable to win a conviction. Smith told later told me that “In the grand scheme of things,” seeking harsh sentences for the bartenders “was probably unwarranted under the circumstances.”
- Tienney Milnor, the controversial former East Precinct liaison.
- And Sharon Hayden, who ran the domestic violence unit.
Holmes also made a number of cuts to his office’s civil division:
- Division chief Susanne Skinner
- Phil Brenneman, a unit director in the civil division.
- Assistant City Attorney Ted Inkley, who once headed up the criminal division under Mark Sidran. Under Sidran, Inkley worked on crafting the Teen Dance Ordinance and was also smacked down by the Hearing Examiner in 1997 for threatening employees in Sidran’s office who were looking to unionize.
- Finally, former City Attorney Tom Carr’s assistant Ruth Bowman is also apparently no longer employed at the city attorney’s office.
Prior to taking office, Holmes met with a number of City Attorney’s office It’s not clear when the dozen city attorney staffers were terminated.
Holmes’ spokeswoman Kathy Mulady has not responded to a request for comment.
Holmes is obviously moving quickly to shake things up in his office. I’m interested to see whether Holmes will do anything about Stafford Frey Cooper’s controversial no-bid contract with the city. Stafford Frey Cooper represents the city in employment lawsuits and suits against the police department, and several prominent members of the firm held a fundraiser for Tom Carr during the election.
UPDATE: Holmes’ spokeswoman Kathy Mulady says the dozen law department staffers weren’t fired. They just weren’t “reappointed.” Mulady says there aren’t any more cuts non-reappointments planned in the City Attorney’s office.
