City Council to take action on selection at Jan. 4 meeting
Julie Happy, 509.625.7773, jhappy@spokanecity.org
Monday, December 28, 2015 at 10:34 a.m.
Mayor David Condon and City Council President Ben Stuckart have selected a principal in a Seattle investigative consulting firm to conduct the independent inquiry into recent personnel matters.
Kris Cappel has experience in employment law investigations and is a former federal prosecutor. Condon and Stuckart will submit her name to the City Council for approval during its next meeting on Jan. 4. If approved, Cappel would begin an independent inquiry into the process, policy, and timelines associated with recent Spokane Police Division personnel movement and release of public records. The inquiry will also include an evaluation of the processes for all employee complaints and investigations.
A joint committee of Councilmember Karen Stratton, City Council attorney Brian McClatchey, private attorney Laura McAloon and City Utility Director Rick Romero vetted seven candidates and recommended that Condon and Stuckart consider three of them. Janice Corbin, a human resources training and consultant from Mukilteo, Wash., and Robert Westinghouse, a Seattle lawyer and former federal prosecutor, were the other two considered.
The joint committee is also finalizing the scope of the work, which will focus on the process, policy, and timelines as requested in the City Council letter on Nov. 30. Complaints filed with the citizen Ethics Commission will be handled through the normal process.
Any further communication will come from the joint committee.
