COEUR d’ALENE — After a heated City Council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Dan Gookin has formally requested that City Attorney Randy Adams resign.

It comes on the heels of a series of contested votes for the next Coeur d’Alene police chief. 

“Based on what happened at the meeting, he (Adams) undermined my authority,” Gookin said Thursday.

He said he believed Adams waited until the council meeting to bring up the legality of Gookin’s appointment of Dave Hagar, the current interim police chief, to embarrass him publicly. 

“In my opinion, that was not professional,” Gookin said.

Adams could not be reached for comment. He is scheduled to be out of the office until Friday, May 1. 

Greg Yeager, deputy chief for the Fort Collins police department in Colorado, received council approval in a 4-2 vote Tuesday. Yeager declined to comment on the details surrounding his approval or whether he planned to accept the job.

One City Council member was not shocked to hear Gookin was requesting Adams’ resignation. 

“Given the tenor of the meeting, I am not surprised to hear that,” Councilor Dan English said. 

During the meeting, attended by dozens of people, Adams stated that, in his opinion, the mayor did not have the authority to appoint Hagar as police chief. 

“Such an appointment would be in violation of the city’s own adopted policy,” Adams said.

According to the Coeur d’Alene City Council resolution, appointments are generally made by the city administrator, with the mayor making certain other appointments. 

However, because Ron Jacobson is the interim city administrator, his contract requires a council vote to approve or deny his appointments. This caveat opened the door for the difference in appointment.  

Jacobson appointed Yeager, and Gookin appointed Hagar.

During the meeting, Gookin said that Adams’ disagreement went beyond a mere difference in interpretation of the law. 

“It is my opinion that the city attorney and others have poisoned this council and biased them against me and against the police chief,” Gookin said. 

During the meeting, Gookin revealed that he had sought outside counsel due to a lack of trust between him and the city attorney. 

Tensions got so high that Gookin banged his gavel to bar an interruption from Adams.

The fiery meeting is what Gookin believes represents a larger issue within the city.

"I am trying to fix it, but I am getting pushback,” Gookin said. 

Councilmember Christie Wood is hoping cooler heads will prevail. 

“My hope is the council is able to move beyond our disagreements and continue our work in serving the citizens of Coeur d’Alene,” she said.  

City Councilors Amy Evans, Kenny Gabriel, Kiki Miller and Dan Sheckler could not be reached for comment.

    Adams