Mukilteo City Council’s ‘Twitter’ meeting considered a ‘mistake’

Published 10:39 pm Thursday, June 18, 2009

MUKILTEO — Council President Randy Lord said attending the “Twitter” gathering at Ivar’s this week was a mistake that should never have happened.

Appearances matter, and he and other Mukilteo officials sent the wrong message, Lord said.

“If I had to do it over, I would just turn around and go home,” said Lord, who said no improper conversations took place.

Mayor Joe Marine and a four-member council majority ate dinner together Tuesday night after a hearing in Everett.

One of the council members, Jennifer Gregerson, updated her Twitter account with a message indicating the group was “debriefing and relaxing.”

Gregerson said she sent her Tweet from her cell phone on her way to Ivar’s, and before she knew a quorum would be there.

Gregerson’s update was posted online at 10:41 p.m., which is after witnesses spotted the group at Ivar’s. Gregerson suggested her post was delayed by phone troubles.

While the meeting might have looked wrong, Lord insisted it was entirely legal.

State law forbids elected officials from discussing official business that is likely to come before the elected body if there is a quorum and if the meeting wasn’t properly advertised to the public, said Tim Ford, open government ombudsman for the state Attorney General’s Office.

No business was discussed, so no apology is necessary, some council members said.

The group that met for dinner was simply hungry, said Councilwoman Emily Vanderwielen. Everybody in the group had attended a four-hour hearing before the Snohomish County Boundary Review Board earlier in the evening. The fourth council member at the dinner was Linda Grafer.

“We talked about poker,” said Vanderwielen, who said the group was letting its hair down. “We have more things than work on our minds.”

Mayor Marine also defended the rights of elected officials to gather socially.

He also said that while nobody in the group would ever conduct illegal meetings, everybody there was too smart to do such a thing in a popular local restaurant. “People in there knew and recognized who we were,” Marine said.

Still, like Lord, Marine said he would do things differently next time.

“If I know that even that (type of gathering) is going to cause concern for people then, absolutely, given that situation again, I’d say, ‘Sorry, but who wants to (leave)?’ ” Marine said.

Already, the event is being exploited for political reasons, Marine said.

His challenger in this fall’s mayoral campaign is Pat Smith, who was also at Ivar’s Tuesday night.

On Thursday, Smith blamed Marine for what he called a clear violation of open meeting laws.

“The responsibility for leadership of the council, of protecting the city and having the vision, is clearly in the hands of the mayor,” Smith said. “I believe Jennifer spoke the truth, that her Twitter was accurate, and that misbehavior that broke the law did occur.”

Chris Fyall: 425-339-3447, cfyall@heraldnet.com.