MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: February 9, 2021
Alicia Crank speaks to supporters Monday night via Zoom.
It may be early February, but Edmonds City Council election season is well underway, with Position 1 candidate Alicia Crank holding her campaign kickoff remotely Monday night to an enthusiastic audience gathered via Zoom and Facebook.
The event included several speakers from business owners to community leaders who offered their unqualified support for electing Crank to the council in November.
They included Andy and Kristen Cline, owners of downtown Edmonds’ Cline Jewelers. Kristen Cline said that Crank is “completely invested in our community,” and pointed to the range of efforts the candidate has immersed herself including the upcoming Edmonds International Women’s Day event, which Crank founded three years ago.
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candidate Sauk Suiattle Tribal Chief Sherman Pruitt but that offer approved by the city council on a 4-3 vote was withdrawn after discrepancies were discovered.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.
MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: January 15, 2021 2246
A My Edmonds News investigation has found that as early as mid-November, the city’s human resources director was told about a history of job and domestic concerns in former police chief candidate Sherman Pruitt’s background. The director was told of the information at least two weeks before Mayor Mike Nelson nominated Pruitt.
Mayor Nelson in his Thursday video address on Facebook Thursday.
This is the timeline in the weeks that led up to the police chief vote:
Mid-November: Human Resources Director Jessica Neill Hoyson is informed about career and domestic violence concerns in Pruitt’s past.
MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: January 6, 2021
Edmonds City Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas
The Edmonds mayor, human resources director and at least one city councilmember knew about domestic violence issues in police chief candidate Sherman Pruitt’s past before the council voted to confirm him on Dec. 8 as Edmonds’ new police chief.
My Edmonds News continues to investigate the police chief recruitment process, the confirmation and subsequent move by Mayor Mike Nelson to rescind the job offer. We have asked the mayor repeatedly to explain his actions; he has refused to be interviewed. Now, in response to new questions we wanted to ask Nelson, Human Resources Director Jessica Neill-Hoyson has issued a statement.
MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: December 23, 2020
Edmonds City Council President Adrienne Fraley-Monillas
What a year 2020 has been–starting right after the first of the year with four new councilmembers and a new mayor. With that, the mayor broke a tie during the council president election. All three veteran councilmembers were interested in leadership that would best move our city forward. I believed my long, extensive career in government supervision, HR, facilitation, leadership skills and how training would best fit our new members and Administration would be the best fit. The year did not start out well because of hurt feelings among senior councilmembers including the raw loss of a mayor’s race.