Ethics panel clears Jeff Sax

Published 9:00 pm Friday, October 21, 2005

Snohomish County Councilman Jeff Sax may have bent county rules, but he didn’t break them when he leaked documents marked confidential to opponents of the Brightwater sewage treatment plant.

That was the ruling of the Snohomish County Ethics Commission on Friday.

The commission is a quasi-judicial panel of Snohomish County residents who rule on matters of potential ethical violations involving county employees and officials.

Sax did not appear before the commission, nor did he testify.

The commission’s 3-1 decision turned on the lack of clarity in county code over exactly what the word “confidential” means, commission chairman Bill Higgins said.

“He didn’t break the law, but he definitely broke the appearance of fairness doctrine,” Higgins said.

Sax said the commission’s ruling vindicates his decision to give Brightwater opponents details of a $70 million agreement between Snohomish and King counties to build Brightwater in Maltby. The documents were considered confidential under attorney-client privilege.

“I’m glad justice has been served,” Sax said after hearing the commission’s decision.

The State Patrol has not decided whether to move ahead with a separate investigation of Sax, said detective Craig Cardinal in an interview Friday. The patrol continues to investigate whether Sax violated state laws.

James Hill, an Everett attorney, alleged Sax violated two county rules that prohibit the release of documents that are protected as confidential.

Commission member Paul Stoot cast the lone vote against Sax. He said that the document was marked confidential should have been enough.

Sax said he leaked the details of the agreement with King County because he believed the rest of the County Council had made a decision to move forward with signing the agreement with King County without giving the public an adequate opportunity to comment.

“I needed to stand up for the people who voted me into office,” he said. “I made the right decision.”

Mark Lamb, Sax’s attorney, told the commission that the documents were improperly listed as confidential.

Lamb said the council’s plan to vote on the agreement should have required the council to make details of the agreement public.

Committee members asked Lamb why Sax didn’t raise that issue with the rest of the council instead of leaking the document to a Brightwater opponent.

Sax said he hopes the commission’s decision puts the issue behind him, and that his bid to be re-elected to the County Council can now again focus on the issues.

Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.