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MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: April 28, 2021
The Edmonds City Council debates the reimbursement during its March 9, 2021 meeting.
$337 is not a lot of money. But $337 is the flashpoint that ignited an inflammatory and seemingly endless debate in Edmonds City Council.
“I think this was a witch hunt.” Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas
–Councilmember Laura Johnson
“I’ve been slandered tonight, and I’ve been accused of bias and I just want that to be on the record.”
–Councilmember Vivian Olson
The $337 is not the real story. The story is the internal council battle that, for the last several months, has pitted members against one another; much of it focused on the debate over a new police chief.
MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: January 19, 2021
Councilmember Vivian Olson, bottom row at right, speaks during Tuesday’s council meeting.
The Edmonds City Council during its Tuesday night business meeting unanimously extended the appointment of Acting Police Chief Jim Lawless for an additional six months while the city conducts a new national search for a police chief.
A long-time assistant chief, Lawless was appointed acting chief a year ago. Without the council’s action, his appointment would have expired Jan. 22. During a previous search, Lawless was one of two finalists for the permanent chief position that Mayor Mike Nelson ultimately offered to another candidate Sauk Suiattle Tribal Chief Sherman Pruitt but that offer approved by the city council on a 4-3 vote was withdrawn after discrepancies were discovered. Lawless announced last Thursday, Jan. 14, that he wouldn’t be applying again.