Challenges possible in police chief firing appeal
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 9 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | June 16, 2021 1:00 AM
MATTAWA — Attorneys for the city of Mattawa and former Mattawa Police Chief Joe Harris have until June 21 to file requests to disqualify Mattawa Civil Service commissioners who are scheduled to hear an appeal of Harris’ firing.
The three commissioners, Jesse Chiprez, Amanda Perez and Olga Sanchez, declined to disqualify themselves during a June 1 commission meeting.
Harris was fired by Mattawa Mayor Maria Celaya April 10. He filed an appeal, and the first step in the appeal is a hearing before the city’s civil service commission. How the appeal will proceed was discussed during the June 1 meeting.
Harris’ attorney Bill Gilbert said in a previous interview he planned to file an appeal to disqualify two of the commissioners for conflicts of interest. During the hearing, Seann Mumford, representing the city, said he, too, planned to file an appeal to disqualify commissioners, but he didn’t specify who or how many.
Mumford did not return phone calls asking for more information.
Gilbert said during the June 1 meeting commissioners should be asked if they thought they should disqualify themselves. Mumford said he thought that was a reasonable request.
In response, Chiprez said he thought he was completely unbiased, and that it was appropriate for him to be included. Perez said she, too, was unbiased, and thought she should be part of the process. Sanchez also said she was unbiased.
If two of the three commissioners are removed, the case couldn’t be heard due to the lack of a quorum. Replacements would have to be appointed by the Mattawa City Council or the Grant County Superior Court.
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