PORT ANGELES — At Clallam County commissioners’ request, a Superior Court judge has dismissed a county lawsuit against Treasurer Selinda Barkhuis.
The complaint for declaratory relief and petition for writ of mandamus, which also names the Peninsula Daily News, was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled in Clallam County Superior Court.
“I’m not inclined to ever take legal action against an elected official,” Commissioner Mike Chapman said in Tuesday’s board meeting.
The civil action — Clallam County vs. Selinda Barkhuis and PDN — asked a judge to determine whether the county complied with its statutory obligations under the Public Records Act when it processed a Nov. 25 request from the PDN for certain emails from Barkhuis’ work and personal accounts.
Barkhuis had notified the county that she did not intend to provide the county with any records, according to Kristina Nelson-Gross, civil deputy prosecuting attorney, in a document filed with the court.
If a judge found that the county could not comply with the law until Barkhuis provided the requested documents, the county would have asked the court to order the elected treasurer to “show cause as to why a writ of mandamus compelling Ms. Barkhuis to provide all requested documentation to the county should not issue in this matter,” according to a legal memorandum.
The action was filed Thursday by the county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
“This is not a circumstance of either prosecutor vs. treasurer or county vs. treasurer,” Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols told commissioners Tuesday.
“In reality, this is an action that was filed to seek guidance from an esteemed Superior Court judge regarding what the law requires.”
Barkhuis disagreed.
“This is very much county vs. treasurer, and there [are] many other alternative avenues for finding this guidance,” Barkhuis said.
“This is an extremely aggressive course of action,” she said.
Barkhuis complained Tuesday that the original order for voluntary dismissal was made without prejudice, meaning the case could be refiled.
“If this cause number is not dismissed with prejudice, I will renew my request and insist on having appointed to me a lawyer at taxpayer expense, which I find utterly insulting on behalf of the taxpayers,” Barkhuis told commissioners.
“The message will remain clear, which is ‘do as the prosecutor told me to do or else.’ ”
Commissioners Chapman and Mark Ozias voted Tuesday to pass an amended resolution to dismiss the case with prejudice.
Commissioner Bill Peach was absent Tuesday because he was at a state Board of Natural Resources meeting in Olympia.
Chapman said it was in the best interest of county taxpayers to close the case permanently.
“If we don’t do that today, this begins a snowball which potentially has no end for months or years,” Chapman said.
“The very best course of action is to get this issue behind us and really get back to the issue at hand, which is resolving the differences between the treasurer and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with regards to complying with Open Public Meetings Act.”
The Monday order for voluntary dismissal was amended Tuesday to say “with prejudice,” Superior Court documents show.
Meanwhile, Barkhuis, Nichols and Ozias have agreed to meet this week to try to resolve the lingering public records compliance issue.
“We’ll work it out,” Ozias said.
“I do not believe that there has been any malfeasance. What I do believe is that we need to find a way to build trust,” he said.
“It’s my sincere hope that by taking this action today, that is a small step in that direction,” he added.
“And I hope that that step opens up the door to turn the corner that all of us desperately want to turn.”
Barkhuis told commissioners in their Monday work session that she was served with court papers by a Clallam County sheriff’s deputy Thursday.
A hearing was scheduled for April 26 in Clallam County Superior Court.
Barkhuis asked for permission to hire her own attorney.
“This is a new low,” Barkhuis said Monday.
Chapman said the board never authorized the lawsuit or discussed it in an open session.
“I personally am offended that another elected official was sued by the prosecutor without the board’s concurrence,” Chapman told Barkhuis.
“So I believe that the board has to take this action [to dismiss]. There’s no reason for you to be sued.”
Later in the work session, Nichols said the case was filed at the direction of a majority of the board of county commissioners.
Ozias said he, too, was surprised by the court filing.
“At the very least, I would have appreciated hearing from the prosecuting attorney beforehand,” Ozias said.
Both Chapman and Ozias said Nichols may have misunderstood them.
Peach on Monday said he would not vote to dismiss the case until he was briefed by the prosecuting attorney.
“There’s an issue with regard to the county’s liability here, and that’s what I don’t understand,” Peach said.
“And so if Mark [Nichols] says that we can relieve our liability through sitting down or whatever it is, I’m into it.
“I like the idea of a peaceful resolution,” he added.
Nichols suggested an executive session to discuss potential liability with the board.
Chapman, board chairman, said he would not allow an executive session on a public dispute between two elected officials.
“Incredibly disappointing,” Chapman added.
Barkhuis said the county faced “significant potential liability” for acting in what she described as “intimidating and retaliatory ways.”
“I think the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for treating an elected official at this new low, yet another act against me that’s pure retaliatory, pure harassment, pure intimidation,” Barkhuis said.
“And the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for that potentially. I don’t want that. I just want to do my job.”
Barkhuis added: “I think the county, or some people here, want me to sue.”
“No. No,” Chapman said.
“Nobody wants that.”
Chapman on Monday apologized to Barkhuis on behalf of the county for the legal action filed against her.
“Once we start taking legal action against elected officials, I do wonder where that would stop,” Chapman said.
“There’s a Pandora’s box here that could be opened and render county government dysfunctional for years.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
