The heated history behind Sultan's city elections

The city of Sultan is known for its spirited elections, particularly in the past two years.

Re-elect vs Never

In 2013, brouhaha ensued over the number of campaign signs positioned by candidates throughout the city, with several residents outraged. There was additional objection by Sultan resident Ray George over the content of the signs. George objected to former councilmember Ken Marshall using the term "re-elect,GÇ¥ on his "re-elect Ken MarshallGÇ¥ signs, since he was appointed to the position.

George created his own signs that said, "Never Elected,GÇ¥ with a question mark and an arrow, and positioned them next to Marshall's signs. When a few of his homemade signs went missing, he spoke out in protest during a council meeting.

He said removing or defacing political advertising is a criminal act under state law and Marshall's using "re-electGÇ¥ in his signs was misleading. Public Disclosure Commission guidelines allow using "re-electGÇ¥ when a candidate is seeking another term, whether they were elected or appointed.

George is now running against Mayor Carolyn Eslick, and his wife, Kay, is running against Sultan City Councilmember Jeffrey Beeler.-á

Sticky position

Last year, furor again broke out over campaign signs, when current city council candidate Al Wirta booby-trapped several anti-Carolyn Eslick signs directed at her campaign for county executive. When his initial sign went missing, he replaced it with a sign post smeared with honey and coated on the bottom with anti-seize; a greasy substance that is difficult to remove from the skin.

Wirta secretly positioned a motion-sensitive camera, and eventually caught city staff removing his signs. Staff reported that the signs were removed because Washington State Department of Transportation regulations.

Crossing the property line

Additionally in 2014, Ray George lodged a PDC complaint against Councilmember Rocky Walker and Mayor Eslick, for using city-owned property to assist her executive campaign. Ray alleged Walker illegally installed one of Eslick's signs on a piece of city-owned property, a violation of state code that prohibits the use of public facilities for campaigning.

In its Oct. 7, 2015 decision, the PDC agreed with Ray that there was a state-code violation, but it would not seek enforcement measures, since the violation was quickly remedied by Eslick.

Gang land?

This year, it's about more than just campaign signs. Walker recently penned a letter in a mass-mailer to the residents of Sultan, alleging Wirta, Bart Dalmasso and Ray and Kay George are running as a "gangGÇ¥ to try and take over the city of Sultan. It further alleges that Kay George approached councilmembers Joe Neigel and Jeffrey Beeler the night before the candidate filing deadline in May and "tried to blackmail them.GÇ¥-á

Wirta, Dalmasso and the Georges have a long-standing alliance, operating a website that reflects the unified goals of their campaigns. Wirta is the spokesman for the Sultan Utility Stakeholders' Group, which is currently suing the city for misappropriation of funds. Candidates Wirta and Dalmasso are both plaintiffs in the suit, along with Councilmember Bob McCarty, Harold Schlicker, former mayor C.H. Rowe and Dan Barmon.

The Georges are not named in the legal documents, but have openly proclaimed their support of the suit.

Dalmasso earned notoriety in 2010 when he spearheaded a campaign to disincorporate the city. The effort, he said, was not to "tear the city up and float it down the river,GÇ¥ but simply to reduce costs for Sultan residents.

"Vote Smart Sultan's preferred candidates will not agree on everything,GÇ¥ states the group's website. "However, all have extensive knowledge of the specific issues on this site and have all agreed to work to rectify these issues for the betterment of Sultan's future.GÇ¥

Walker's letter further accuses Kay George of "destruction of public records,GÇ¥ for allegedly deleting emails when she served on the council. Kay served on the city council for two years before losing a reelection bid to Walker by four votes in 2013. Despite the loss, the Georges have continued to attend nearly all council meetings, frequently providing comment on various issues.

Kay George said Walker's letter is just sour grapes, and that he did it out of retaliation for the PDC complaint.-á

George's emails

References to the alleged blackmail attempt and the missing emails have flared up several times since May. Councilmembers ' past and present ' are convinced that Kay George used her personal email to conduct city business, specifically to communicate with members of the Utility Stakeholders' Group about city affairs. Former councilmember Steve Slawson became concerned while he was still on the council in 2013, and eventually filed a public records request for all of Kay's emails.

The request encompassed all emails regarding city business, whether sent from her city or personal email accounts.

"People got city business emails from her, from her computer,GÇ¥ Slawson said. "I don't have them anymore, but we knew what she was doing the whole time she was on council.GÇ¥

The city sent Kay George a letter on Jan. 28, 2014, asking that she furnish all responsive records to the request. It also asked if she would agree to let the city's IT specialist review her personal computer in an attempt to recover any city emails she might have deleted. The letter stated "the city understands that you deleted some emails in your city account. When were the emails deleted?GÇ¥

Public records laws regarding an elected official accused of using their personal email account for public business are complex. Officials are expected to turn the records over willingly when asked for them, which, the city told Slawson, Kay George refused to do.

On April 11, 2014, a letter addressed to Slawson from Sultan Finance Director Laura Koenig stated, "The city sent a letter to Kay George requesting she produce all responsive emails from both her personal and city provided email accounts. Ms. George has advised the city that she will not comply with the request based on the advice of her attorney.GÇ¥

The Monroe Monitor submitted a similar records request, and received more than 300 pages of emails from November 2012 to December 2013, that were sent to and from Kay George's city of Sultan email account. Nothing from before November 2012 was received, and the batch of documents included several emails that had been forwarded to her personal email account.

The fact that Kay forwarded emails from her city email account to her personal account, said Slawson, is further evidence that she did indeed conduct city business on her personal email.

But Kay George says she never conducted city business on her personal email, and that any and all of her city-related emails are available on the city's server. She doesn't deny deleting emails from her city email account, and said she did so only because her inbox became full and she needed to make room for more emails to come n.

The alleged blackmail attempt occurred after the May 14 council meeting, which was the eve of Snohomish County's candidacy filing deadline. According to Beeler and Neigel, Kay George approached the two councilmembers about getting the lawsuit against them dismissed and not running against them in the election, if they would agree to privatize the city's garbage service.

Beeler declined and Neigel asked for the proposal in writing. Wirta sent him an email the next day outlining the deal. In exchange for agreeing to sell the city's new garbage truck and trashcans and transfer garbage service to a private carrier, the group would drop the ongoing lawsuit. The email further stated that if he were to comply, the group could spend its resources "elsewhere rather than running a candidate against you.GÇ¥-á

Neigel advised Wirta that he should run a candidate against him. Shortly after that, on Friday, May 15, Wirta, Dalmasso and the Georges all filed for candidacy.

Beeler referenced the incident during the recent candidate forum held in Sultan.

"Mrs. George and Mr. McCarty, who sits on council now, came out to me and said, "If you agree with us and vote with us, we won't run somebody against you,' GÇ¥ Beeler said. "I told her no.GÇ¥

Kay George said that the offer was never intended as blackmail.

"Most would consider this a further attempt at settlement negotiations, not blackmail,GÇ¥ wrote George on the Vote Smart Sultan website. "The only people approving the spending of this city's legal fees are the current mayor and council; no one else, and certainly not me.GÇ¥

Kay George stressed it's been nearly two years since her two-year stint on the council, and if she had really done something wrong, her accusers should have reported it by now.

"If there were really anything to all these allegations of wrongdoing, it is Mr. Walker's and his council friends' moral and legal obligation to have reported me to the proper authorities and to be certain complaints were properly filed,GÇ¥ Kay George said. "Unlike Mr. Walker and my former colleagues, none have been filed against me.GÇ¥