Bernie Talmas...a legacy of bullying

Plenty of City Councils have spats or disagreements. Plenty of City Councils and Mayors get into heated discussions over issues critical to their community. But it is truly rare to see things devolve into the kind of personal vitriol that Woodinville citizens have witnessed from our Mayor over the past year.

As isolated incidents, we might forgive, forget and move on. But taken as a whole, as a pattern of behavior, it is easy to see why stricter rules are needed to keep Councilmembers (and Mayors!) with a strong personal agenda in check.

Let us review the pattern of bullying and abuse that Woodinville has witness from Bernie Talmas and his supporters over the past year alone.

1) On February 12, 2013, Talmas blind-sided a fellow Councilmember at a council meeting, demanding he resign. Talmas claimed to have proof that this Councilmember was no longer living in the city, citing one of his political supporters and minions who had been observing the home and the family’s comings and goings at night surreptitiously. Talmas even claimed to have read private “loan documents from Bank of America” that are not available without a court order. 

The Councilmember responded in a later statement that if Mr. Talmas’ claim is true that he saw Bank of America loan documents, "then these loan documents are private and could only have been obtained unethically, illegally, or both.”

This understandably left that Councilmember with a great deal of concern for his family’s privacy, and said in a tearful public plea: “It makes me nervous to think that someone is watching my wife and son’s home after dark when I am not around to protect them.”

2) On March 4, 2013, one of Talmas’ political lieutenants challenged a Council member’s voter registration with King County Elections. The challenge was dismissed, but at what cost to the council member in energy, hassle and attorney fees to prove it false?

3) On May 18, 2013, Councilmember Bounty-Sanders sent an email to a group of Talmas supporters about campaigning against another Councilmember. She said “Bernie and I recruited heavily” to find an opponent. The email, which seemed to be written by both Talmas and Boundy-Sanders (using “we” and “us” throughout to refer to herself and Talmas), referred to certain citizens that she and Talmas do not like as a “bitch” and “evil” and “mean cafeteria lady.” These are not exactly words used by civil-minded public servants working for the good of the community.

In response to the culture of bullying and nastiness that Talmas has allowed and even fostered at City Hall the City Council was forced to explore tougher standards for Council conduct.

5) On July 2, 2013, Talmas voted against having staff write up these new ethics rules and bring them to the City Council for a vote. He assumed they were targeting him. Given all that Bernie Talmas has done to bully and abuse other Council members and private citizens, he just might be right about that.

No trespassing. That means you, Mayor Talmas!

We received these photos through a public document request with the City of Woodinville.

When Talmas failed to bully an opposing Council member into resigning, his people set out to harass him into submission.

According to an email obtained by Ethical Woodinville: on March 10, 2013, the Talmas' agent went onto the Councilman's property while no one was home, and photographed what he claimed were "code violations" for repairs being made to his leased home.

The photos were sent to the Councilman in a threatening e-mail.

Wouldn't this make any person feel like they were being stalked and their privacy violated?

We need stronger ethics rules restricting bullying and harassment by a mayor or Council member toward their peers. We elect them to do a job for us, not fight and bully each other. And most definitely not to trespass and spy on each other.

Stop the name calling

Bernie Talmas and Bounty-Sanders call citizens and other council members “bitch,” “evil,” and “mean cafeteria lady.” 

Seriously?

On May 18, 2013, Councilmember Bounty-Sanders sent an email to a group of Talmas supporters about campaigning against another Councilmember. She said, “Bernie and I recruited heavily” to find an opponent. That’s fine if that is how they want to spend their time.

But the email, which was apparently from both Talmas and Boundy-Sanders (using “we” and “us” throughout to refer to herself and Talmas), referred to certain citizens that she and Talmas do not like as “bitch” and “evil” and “mean cafeteria lady.” 

These are not words used by civil-minded public servants working for the good of the community.

Is this junior high School and it’s all about them? Or are they our elected public servants working for Woodinville?

Call Bernie Talmas and Susan Bounty-Sanders today at 425-489-2700 or email them both at citycouncil@ci.woodinville.wa.us.

Ask them to stop the bullying and demand they vote yes on stricter ethics rules for Council conduct.

Why we need to keep pushing

If you read the Mayor's words in the Woodinville Weekly this week, you will see why we need to keep pushing for stronger ethics rules for City Council behavior.

Talmas' take on an ethics ordinance? "You can’t, as a Council, infringe on someone’s freedom of speech rights" he said.

How is it infringing on the Mayor's free speech to ask him to keep his operatives off the private property of his fellow Council members? How does it violate Talmas' rights to ask him to pull the secret late-night watchers from in front of other Council members' homes, watching the coming's and goings and reporting back to the Mayor?

How does it violate Talmas' rights to ask that, while they are in public, they conduct themselves in a manner of which Woodinville citizens can be proud?

Keep calling your Council members and the Mayor! You are having an impact, but we must keep up the pressure until the Council votes and passes it.

Threatening Letter with Needle Sent to City Hall

The Woodinville Weekly reported this week that a threatening letter with a sharp needle was sent to City Hall.

Inside the envelope was a page print-out of the EthicalWoodinville.com home page and the words scrawled:
" THE SIMPLEST SOLUTION WOULD BE TO SEW SHUT ASPEN'S MOUTH."

It is a sad event when these kind of things do not surprise us anymore.

Aspen's reply was spot on: "I am not sure if citizens think they can behave badly because some of the city leadership does or the city leadership behaves badly because some of our citizens do."

Maybe some Council members are starting to get it. We hope so.

Remember to contact your Council members and ask them to support stronger ethics rules for Council behavior. We might not be able to hold accountable every random crazy person who sends needles to City Hall, but we can hold our own elected officials to a higher standard.

It got so bad...

The lack of civility on the City Council reached such a low, that the City Council actually considered options for removing Bernie Talmas as Mayor.

Read the story here.

At the end of the discussion, the City Council:

“Directed staff to prepare an amendment to the Code of Ethics to require councilmembers to exercise proper decorum and not to engage in electronic workplace cyber-bullying."

“Directed staff to prepare an amendment to the Code of Ethics to make factually inaccurate communications by councilmembers, a violation of the Code of Ethics.”

Those important ethics changes are critical to Woodinville moving forward. Contact Bernie Talmas and the City Council today and ask them to please pass these new, stricter rules.

Call 425-489-2700 or email citycouncil@ci.woodinville.wa.us.

Did you get our phone call?

Many citizens in Woodinville recently received a phone call from us urging them to contact Bernie Talmas and ask him to vote for stricter ethics rules governing City Council behavior.

If you received a call, and you have found us here online, then welcome and thank you for your interest in an ethical Woodinville!

You can contact all the City Councilmen and women by sending one email to: citycouncil@ci.woodinville.wa.us

You can also call City Hall and make your voice heard to Mayor Talmas and the City Council by calling 425-489-2700.

Together we can make a difference for a higher ethical standard and more civility in Woodinville city government.

Ethical Woodinville

We elect city leaders because of what they tell us when they campaign. We should expect our city council members and mayor to work as a team for the good of the community and not get bogged down in the quicksand of playing politics. 

In other words, they should play nice in the sandbox…because it’s not about them, it’s about Woodinville.

That is why citizens of Woodinville have every reason to be embarrassed and frustrated at the legacy that some Council members and especially Mayor Bernie Talmas has left in their wake.

"Ethical Woodinville" is formed to promote civility in our city government and urge Bernie Talmas and the City Council to pass stronger ethics rules that prohibit the kind of bullying and uncivil behavior that has defined this year in Woodinville politics.