Prosecutor drops election sign case

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — The Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office decided not to pursue allegations that Councilwoman Angela Amundson allegedly destroyed the campaign sign of her opponent because of a lack of evidence, according to the office. No charges were filed.

A witness identified parts of an election sign at the scene as the one that Amundson allegedly tore up, Chief Criminal Deputy Mark Roe said. Investigators determined it was Amundson’s sign, and not the sign of her opponent.

The case was also difficult to pursue because the alleged incident occurred in mid-September and was reported on Oct. 10, he said.

“You have to prove without a reasonable doubt that she was destroying someone else’s property,” Roe said. “Those pieces were not from the sign of one of her opponents. For whatever reason, it calls into question the accuracy of what the witnesses saw. Often times, these are just innocent mistakes.”

Despite the accusations, Amundson defeated her opponent, Michael Jones, by earning 56 percent of the votes in the November election and won a second term in office.

“We deserve clean politics in the city of Mountlake Terrace and that is exactly what I did. I ran a clean campaign from beginning to end,” Amundson said. “I am thrilled that the citizens of Mountlake Terrace — being the quality individuals that they are — were able to see through this. And I thank them for it.”

The witness, Harold Ketzenbarger III, 48, of Mountlake Terrace expressed anger and disappointment with the prosecutor’s decision. He insists he saw Amundson tear up the sign and it was not her sign.

“I guess it is OK to break the law. If a government person can break the law, I guess everyone else can. There were two witnesses that saw this on two different occasions,” Ketzenbarger III said. “I feel that the prosecutor’s office has done wrong. I feel that she has done wrong”

Ketzenbarger III went on to say the incident has shaken his confidence in local government.

“I will not vote again,” he said. “If this is how local government is run, I want no part in it.”

Ketzenbarger III said he saw Amundson rip up a political sign in September that belonged to her opponent Michael Jones and replace it with her own. He said he did not file the police report until Oct. 10 because he did not recognize Amundson until he saw a political advertisement.

Ketzenbarger III also claims Lorayne Ham, who challenged Mayor Jerry Smith in the general election and lost, was in a blue pick-up truck with Amundson at the time.

Amundson seeks apology

After Ketzenbarger III brought his complaint to the council on Oct. 17, the council voted 5-2 to ask Amundson to resign. Amundson and Councilman Doug Wittinger cast the dissenting votes. She declined to resign.

“They all owe me an apology. What they did was totally out of line,” Amundson said. “They owe the citizens of Mountlake Terrace an apology too.”

Councilman John Zambrano, who made the motion to ask her to resign, disagreed.

“I think Angela (Amundson) owes the council a big thank you because up to that point her campaign was floundering,” said Zambrano. “Because of the action of the council on her behalf — asking for her resignation propelled her into a victim status. The American way is to support the underdog.”

Zambrano stands by his decision to ask Amundson to resign. Zambrano said it was an uncomfortable situation because council members made lofty remarks in August about holding city board and commission volunteers to the same high standards of conduct as the Council.

Last summer, residents accused Eric Teegarden, a council candidate and volunteer city board member, of making disparaging remarks about his opponent’s signs. Teegarden resigned from the city’s community policing advisory board before the council officially addressed the matter, Zambrano said.

Teegarden, with 44 percent, lost to his opponent, Michelle Angrick, with 49 percent. They were competing for Position 3 because Councilwoman Jamie Gravelle did not seek re-election.

“I was between a rock and a hard place because of Mr. Teegarden,” Zambrano said. “They were public officials and they had been observed misbehaving. The public has to know that the council will hold itself to the same standards it will hold the public.”