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closeKnutsen’s comments seen as offensive
Council meeting experiences interruption of business over comments about city manager
Chris Albert
Tempers flared at the March 17 Puyallup City Council meeting when Mayor Don Malloy found comments by Councilmember John Knutsen in regards to City Manager Gary McLean to be offensive.
“I am committed to the city manager’s success because his success is the city’s success,” Malloy said.
Malloy took issue with Knutsen’s comment that the council has spent four meetings discussing a bandstand but took one meeting to decide to make McLean city manager.
McLean was approved as city manager by a 4-3 vote at a February meeting. Knutsen, Councilmember Rick Hansen and Deputy Mayor George Dill voted against the hiring.
Knutsen said he doesn’t have a problem with McLean as city manager but does have a problem with the process in which he was appointed.
Malloy said bringing the issue up over and over again undermines McLean’s authority and is detrimental to the city’s success.
“The process is behind us,” Malloy said.
If Knutsen feels something illegal took place then he should take legal action, Malloy said.
Approval of McLean as city manager came at a specially scheduled meeting. After an executive session the council emerged and approved his hiring.
Knutsen said he didn’t feel anything illegal took place, but felt a more public process should have occurred and he will keep bringing it up because he feels he owes it to his constituents.
“You did us wrong,” he said, of the councilmembers who voted to approve McLean as city manager.
It wasn’t the outcome of the vote, it was the process, Knutsen echoed several times.
Knutsen pointed out that he is often out-voted, but he won’t back down when it comes to how the hiring process took place.
“I deal with that for me, but I can’t deal with that for the people I represent.”
Malloy reiterated that if Knutsen has issue with the city manager position he should take legal action or make a motion for his firing.
If he doesn’t then it is time to move on, Malloy said.
Councilmember Mike Deal said it is time to put bickering behind them if the council is to be effective.
“We can’t have this continued sniping all the time,” he said.