SOAP LAKE - Gina Bernett is alleging she was coerced into resigning from her Soap Lake City Council seat a few months from the end of her term.

The former Position 2 councilwoman confirmed she released a letter giving her account of the events leading up to the decision to step down, but declined to provide additional comments.

Bernett states she was walking her dog Sept. 25 when she was allegedly approached by Mayor Wayne Hovde, who told her she had missed too many meetings and "was off the council."

Hovde reportedly took a prepared letter of resignation out of his car, dated Sept. 22, which she claims he asked her to sign on the spot.

"Not wanting to argue with him on the street, and somewhat shaken by the confrontation, I signed his statement and continued on my walk," Bernett stated. "I had always been excused without problems from certain meetings in the past when I couldn't attend. I always intended to serve out my term with only four more meetings to go, but the mayor wanted me off right away."

Hovde takes issue with Bernett's version of events, claiming she resigned after missing several meetings and telling him and others she was having a hard time handling the position.

"Everything she says is the truth, with the exception that I didn't tell her to sign it, I didn't tell her to resign," Hovde said. "I asked what her desires were and where she's been."

Councilmember JoAnn Rushton said Bernett approached her months ago, saying the pressures were too great and she didn't want to be on the council any longer.

"I don't know where she's coming from with this," Rushton said. "She's been talking about leaving for a long time and she told me, 'I don't want to go to any more meetings because I don't want to be there.'"

Rushton and Hovde both said Bernett's attendance at council meetings has been spotty - she recently missed three in a row - and the council needed someone dedicated to the role during the busy budget season.

They characterized Bernett as someone not likely to "make waves," and asserted the former councilmember is being used by a group of candidates running against them and other incumbents in the November election.

"They got a hold of a person here who they could make hay with for themselves and that's just what they're doing," Hovde said.

In her letter, Bernett stated she's had second thoughts about signing the resignation letter and claims Hovde's tactics were not fair to her or her constituents.

"On the council I always voted my conscience, although I was given little support from the other members if my vote did not reflect the mayor's desire," she wrote. "I understand that letters to replace me on the council were sent out before I was forced to sign the resignation. I do not appreciate being dumped from the council in this abrupt manner."

At last week's Soap Lake City Council meeting Hovde recommended position 2 candidate De Vaun Black be approved for the interim position, which expires at the end of the year. Hovde's motion was unanimously carried with no discussion by council, according to city clerk Karen Dillon.

The quick installation of Black to Bernett's position "reeked of maintaining the status quo," said Soap Lake resident Judith Tramayne, who was at Wednesday's council meeting.

"It was like a good old boys club up there," she said. "Almost like it was planned."

Tramayne questions why the council chose Black over Kat Sanderson, his opponent for Position 2 and the winner of August's primary vote.

Sanderson received approximately 54 percent of the vote while Black tied with Maynard Hagen for second place, each garnering about 21 percent of the vote. Black secured a spot on the Nov. 8 ballot when he won a draw with Hagen.

Sanderson said she was shocked by the decision to bring her opponent onto council, believing it overrides the will of city voters.

"Do the citizens of Soap Lake really have no voice in this whatsoever?" she asked.

Hovde asserted his recommendation to appoint Black came after carefully considering the letters of intent solicited from both candidates.

"Both Black and Sanderson submitted a letter and we looked at who is the most qualified," he said; adding Black has been on council previously and once served as mayor. "This will only be through the end of the year. (The position) is still up for election, that has not changed a bit."

Soap Lake Councilman Barney Berg said for him, voting to appoint Black was a logical choice.

"We've worked with him before. He has experience on council and he speaks his mind," he said.

Berg said Bernett had not approached him about any difficulty she'd had in handling the position before she resigned.

Other council members could not be reached for comment.

Grant County Elections Administrator Sue Ramaker said Black's appointment is unlikely to give him any undue advantage on the November ballot, which is already printed with Sanderson's name on top.

The situation isn't entirely unprecedented, Ramaker added, as Ephrata recently appointed William Coe to a position he's on the ballot for, although he is running unopposed.

For his part, Black said he understands why he was appointed to Bernett's seat rather than his opponent.

"It's about experience. Being able to step right into the position and not take three years to find the front door," he said.

Black said he also understands why the council chose not to leave the seat open until after the election.

"It's a busy time for the city," he said. "It's time to do the budget, it's time to do a lot of things right now."

But Tramayne believes the "ethical choice" would have been for the mayor and the council to leave the seat vacant, saying it would not dramatically affect the running of the city.

"Just let whoever wins the election go into the position," she said.