LYNNWOOD — An outside investigation has found a longtime member of the Lynnwood City Council discriminated against a woman of color employed by the city.
And the report asserts Councilmember Jim Smith’s behavior “makes people of color and other minorities frustrated and uncomfortable.”
The report released Friday afternoon is a result of complaints filed by two Black city employees against Smith, who is white, on May 9. That same day, City Council members — including Smith — voted to launch the investigation.
“I knew it was me,” Smith said Friday. “I knew I had not done anything wrong.”
The report paints a much different picture, portraying Smith, 71, as someone who doesn’t understand how his words and actions are upsetting, angering and hurtful to people of color and the LGBTQ community.
Smith “has demonstrated underinformed views on race and social justice issues, along with a lack of willingness to educate himself or develop true empathy for these causes,” the investigation concludes.
In their complaints, Leah Jensen, executive assistant to the mayor, and Douglas Raiford, race and social justice coordinator, each accused Smith of repeatedly saying and doing things they said were discriminatory and racially insensitive.
Jensen reported the council member tried to direct her work, sought information he was “not entitled to,” and obstructed confirmation of a woman of color to the city’s diversity commission. She said she felt he was trying to intimidate her, according to the report.
In a series of emails Smith “behaved as if he was entitled” to have Jensen provide a list of applicants for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, the investigator wrote.
He also claimed Jensen took his choice for the position off the list. At multiple council meetings, Smith publicly scolded staff for doing so as well.
Jensen “experienced Smith’s directiveness and public criticism at the same time she witnessed him displaying underinformed perspectives on racism.”
The investigator found Jensen’s claim was substantiated by the preponderance of evidence.
“Smith, a white man, treated Jensen, a Black woman, as if she must answer to him, then publicly criticized her when she did not comply,” wrote Kathleen Haggard, an attorney for Haggard & Ganson.
In his complaint, Raiford reported Smith made “dismissive comments” about race and equity work, and attempted to change the city code to eliminate applicants of color from commissions, according to the report. But the investigator did not reach the same conclusion on his claims.
“I was not presented with sufficient evidence that Smith treated Raiford in the same dismissive, disrespectful manner that he treated Jensen,” she wrote in the 19-page report.
Smith was elected in 2019. This is his second stint on council after serving from 1989 to 2011.
Those who were interviewed told the investigator Smith often claims his childhood residency in Hawaii or the Philippines “gave him an understanding of what it is like to be a minority.”
This is “widely seen as tone deaf.” One witness said it “makes people of color angry.”
Smith denied the allegations in an interview with the investigator. He said “he came of age during the Civil Rights era of the 1960s and learned that ‘you don’t see color.’”
In a statement released Friday, he said he was “pleased to see that there was not any merit to the discrimination claims by two City employees.”
“All communication protocols were followed and all emails were polite, succinct, and were appropriate,” he said. “Our service to our community is the responsibility of not only our employees, but our elected officials as well.”
It it unclear what will be the next step.
The council is on recess until Sept. 6, but the report may not be discussed in detail until Sept. 12, said City Council President George Hurst. The city attorney won’t be at the earlier meeting, he explained.
“I don’t want to make too many comments,” Smith said in an interview. “The council should take everything into consideration before reaching any decisions.”
Asked if he might apologize to the employees, attend diversity training or even resign, Smith reiterated that “there was nothing that was done improperly. I’d be letting down my constituents if I decided to quit representing them because someone is accusing me of something I don’t think I did.”
Hurst said in May that he anticipated a quick turnaround for the investigation report, maybe a month. As the inquiry dragged on, he, other council members and the mayor repeatedly declined to identify who was the subject or what prompted the investigation.
With the report’s release, they had more to say.
“I personally stand with the staff members,” Councilmember Josh Binda said. “I personally don’t condone the actions by the councilmember.”
He called for an apology from Smith and floated the idea of training for City Council members on diversity, equity and inclusion issues.
“What needs to happen is accountability,” Binda said.
Councilmember Shannon Sessions said nobody’s perfect.
“Every word we say in public is on the record,” Sessions said. If she was to say or do something that was perceived as wrong, she said she would apologize.
Sessions said she has “some strong opinions” on the findings but will first share them with the council when it meets next month. She said she disagreed with the public release of the investigation before councilmembers could discuss it in executive session.
“There are some disturbing and serious findings in here,” Hurst said.
In conducting the investigation, Haggard interviewed nine people including Smith, Mayor Christine Frizzell and past and present members of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission. Emails were reviewed and eight council meeting recordings watched.
Smith was first interviewed July 21. He submitted written responses to the complaints Aug. 1.
Much of the report centers on Smith’s interactions with the commission, his attempts to get his choice appointed and persistent requests of Jensen for documents, including ones with information on the residency of applicants that was not provided to the public.
Interviews revealed dissatisfaction with Smith’s brief stint as council liaison on the commission in early 2021.
“In several meetings he has had agitated and disordered reactions,” someone alleged in an email to Hurst. “… He does not see a systematic issue about race and outcomes and therefore no need to take any action, certainly oblivious to systematic and individualized racism.”
Hurst removed Smith as liaison in early 2021, but he kept attending meetings, which are open to the public. Those interviewed said they thought his motivation was to “watch and intimidate.”
Jensen’s claims stem from Smith’s questions, concerns and requests surrounding the nomination process that resulted in the appointment of Arra Rael, an LGBTQ Asian American woman, to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission.
Michael Miller, a friend of Smith’s, also applied for the position, but did not get nominated by the mayor. Miller also tried to get on the panel in 2021, though the former mayor didn’t put forth his name either.
When Smith didn’t see Miller’s name on applicants’ list this year, he wanted to know why and contended Jensen took him off. He also repeatedly requested the unredacted applications, saying he wanted to know which hopefuls lived in the city and were registered voters and which were not. Smith is among councilmembers who have wanted to revisit the city’s rules that allow nonresidents and unregistered voters to serve.
Ultimately, Smith was one of two votes against Rael’s appointment in late May.
He opposed creation of the Race and Social Justice Coordinator position, the job that Raiford now holds. Smith said his stance was based on a concern about cost not philosophy.
While Smith wasn’t a lone voice on many of the issues, his demeanor toward the Black employees stood out, the investigator noted.
“It is important to note that Smith was not the only councilmember to question or challenge the DEIC’s actions. He was not the only councilmember who opposed the creation of Raiford’s position. He was not alone in voting to delay Arra Rael’s confirmation or in voting against her confirmation. Smith was not the only councilmember who has supported municipal code amendments that some see as discriminatory barriers,” Haggard concluded. “However, Smith is the only councilmember to combine those actions with the disrespectful treatment of a female employee of color.”
Isabella Breda: 425-339-3192; isabella.breda@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @BredaIsabella.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623;
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