SEATTLE — Controversy over how John Koster was abruptly ousted in 2014 as Snohomish County’s first ombudsman has now blossomed into a federal civil rights lawsuit.
Lawyers for Koster this week filed the case in U.S. District Court in Seattle. They allege he was wrongfully terminated and his First Amendment rights trampled when John Lovick, then the county executive, convinced a majority on the county council to not support Koster’s continued employment.
Koster, a Republican, was hired as ombudsman by Lovick, a Democrat, in January 2014. He lost his county job roughly a year after opening the office when Lovick took issue with Koster signing on to a fundraising letter for the Freedom Foundation, a conservative Olympia think tank.
The letter was critical of union leaders. Some unionized county employees complained to Lovick’s office.
Before being appointed to the ombudsman job, Koster represented north Snohomish County for roughly 20 years, first as a state legislator and then for three terms as a county councilman.
Koster was within his rights when he signed the Freedom Foundation letter in his personal capacity as a private citizen, wrote lawyers Harry Korrell and Joseph Hoag of the Seattle law firm Davis Wright Tremaine.
Not only was Koster personally harmed by the way he lost his job, what happened “undermines and chills the right of public employees in this state and especially in Snohomish County to speak on matters of public importance, to associate freely with others and to participate in the political process.”
County attorneys plan to review the complaint with elected officials and will proceed accordingly, said Jason Cummings, the county’s chief civil deputy prosecutor.
The lawsuit names the county and Lovick as defendants. Also listed are council members Brian Sullivan, Stephanie Wright and Terry Ryan.
Koster needed three votes to keep his job. He got two during a December 2014 hearing where he pleaded with his former council colleagues to let him continue to serve the community.
Sullivan voted against Koster. Ryan abstained. Wright was absent from the meeting.
Not named in the case are the two members of the council who voted in support of Koster: Ken Klein and Dave Somers.
Klein remains on the council as its lone Republican. Somers is now county executive, a job he earned by defeating Lovick in November’s election.
During his tenure as ombudsman, Koster addressed 133 complaints from people who encountered problems with county government.
“Koster excelled in his work as Ombudsman,” the lawsuit says. “During his time in this position, Koster successfully responded and resolved numerous citizen concerns and complaints and improved the operation and capacity of the Ombudsman’s office. He also provided significant services in connection with the Oso mudslide tragedy.”
No complaints were ever made about his performance, the attorneys wrote.
The letter that cost Koster his job was circulated in October 2014. It sought funds for the Freedom Foundation, urging “committed patriots across Washington” for support in “taking on the union machine.”
The lawsuit points to an email Lovick sent then-Deputy Executive Mark Ericks, instructing him to “take the necessary steps to insure that (Koster) is not reappointed to this position when his term expires on December 31, 2014.” Ericks forwarded the message to the County Council.
The lawsuit describes Lovick’s actions as “retaliation for political expression.” Among other things, it says Koster is entitled to lost wages and recompense for emotional distress, humiliation and mental anguish, with amounts to be proven at trial. Koster in August filed a claim for damages with the county seeking $950,000.
Jill McKinnie, a staffer from Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen’s Everett office, was appointed ombudsman after Koster’s ouster.
Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews.
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