# FAILURES OF DUTY
## Specific Derelictions by City of Redmond Officials and Departments
### Case Reference: OFH-2025-001 | April 2026

---

## MAYOR ANGELA BIRNEY

### Failure 1: Concealment of Pre-Planned Closure
- **Duty**: Transparent governance; public trust
- **Failure**: The closure was planned internally for 24+ months (January 2023 "Alternate Facilities Plan" on staff agendas) while the Mayor publicly maintained no decision had been made
- **Evidence**: OFH Team Meeting Agendas (Jan 2023 - Aug 2024); PRA production timeline

### Failure 2: Undisclosed Conflict of Interest
- **Duty**: RCW 42.23 — Code of Ethics for Municipal Officers requires disclosure of potential conflicts
- **Failure**: Sat on the OneRedmond board alongside three NLG-affiliated members while making decisions affecting NLG-adjacent property. Did not recuse from any OFH-related decision.
- **Evidence**: OneRedmond board listings; PDC campaign finance records ($12,200+ from NLG bloc); `FOLLOW_THE_MONEY.md`

### Failure 3: Surgical Removal of Email Correspondence from PRA Production
- **Duty**: RCW 42.56 — ensure complete production of public records
- **Failure**: 8 unique outgoing emails produced vs. 1,838 mentions of her name in the corpus. 82 reply-to proofs of her responses, 54 sent emails produced. The ratio is incompatible with normal email behavior and indicates selective removal of executive communications.
- **Evidence**: Ghost probe analysis; `PRA_SUPPRESSION_REPORT.md`

### Failure 4: Authorization of Surveillance and Retaliation
- **Duty**: Protect First Amendment rights of constituents
- **Failure**: The Watson surveillance report was escalated to the Mayor within 13.5 hours. The Code of Conduct weaponization memo followed the next day. The escalation chain terminated at the Mayor — she was the final decision authority.
- **Evidence**: Email thread `0fc164f66ff00055`; email thread `31c21ebda2d23656`

---

## DEPUTY CITY ADMINISTRATOR LOREEN HAMILTON

### Failure 5: Documented False Statement to Community Member
- **Duty**: Honest communication with the public
- **Failure**: On March 4, 2025 — seven days before the public announcement — told RYPAC member Freya Reiger: "There has been no such decision made about the Old Firehouse Teen Center." At the time: 110+ internal coordination emails were active, the PR firm had been working for 6+ weeks, the engagement plan was in version 2, and the press release was 3 business days away.
- **Evidence**: Email thread `652c1dabfad4ad64`, Email IDs 3750/3753

### Failure 6: Pattern of Building Neglect Leading to Closure
- **Duty**: Proper stewardship of public facilities as Parks Director
- **Failure**: Same Parks Director oversaw both the Senior Center closure (2019) and the OFH closure (2025). Both facilities experienced deferred maintenance leading to deterioration, followed by closure without public vote, followed by demolition. $94,370 in OFH capital requests were denied over 8 years under her administration.
- **Evidence**: Capital Equipment Requests 2018-2025; Senior Center timeline; `OFH_SUPPLEMENTAL_ANALYSIS.md`

---

## PARKS DEPARTMENT STAFF

### Failure 7: Surveillance of Community Advocate (Tory Watson)
- **Duty**: Serve the public, not monitor them
- **Failure**: On March 20, 2025, Program Coordinator Tory Watson filed a 5-point surveillance report documenting community advocate Sasha Glenn's visit to OFH ("Teen Center Observations 3/20"), including her statements, activities, and interactions.
- **Evidence**: Email thread `0fc164f66ff00055`, ID 943

### Failure 8: Confiscation of Advocacy Materials from Teens
- **Duty**: Protect the free expression of youth in a public facility
- **Failure**: Teens at OFH were reportedly prevented from making "save the teen center" signs — suppressing protected First Amendment activity within a public facility designated for youth expression.
- **Evidence**: Community testimony; `FORENSIC_REPORT_COMPLETE.md`

### Failure 9: Code of Conduct Weaponization (Erica Chua)
- **Duty**: Fair and non-retaliatory treatment of community members
- **Failure**: The day after the surveillance report, Erica Chua circulated a "Code of Conduct" reminder establishing a three-strike escalation: "Verbal Warning → Suspension → Permanent Expulsion." The timing — one day after a surveillance report on a specific advocate — creates an inference of targeted retaliation.
- **Evidence**: Email thread `31c21ebda2d23656`, IDs 907-911

---

## CITY RECORDS DEPARTMENT

### Failure 10: Massive PRA Non-Compliance
- **Duty**: RCW 42.56 — produce all responsive records in full and without undue delay
- **Failure**: Produced 7,573 documents of which 68.4% were duplicates. Withheld 911+ emails proven to exist. Produced zero of 35,455 referenced attachments. Created a 5-month production blackout during the critical decision period. Provided no privilege log.
- **Evidence**: `duplicate_analysis.json`; `PRA_SUPPRESSION_REPORT.md`; `AFFIDAVIT_EXHIBITS.md`

### Failure 11: Selective Removal of Political Opponent's Records
- **Duty**: Non-partisan records production
- **Failure**: Council Member Steve Fields (the Mayor's 2019 election opponent): 325 emails received, 114 reply-chain proofs of outgoing emails, ZERO sent emails produced. This is the most extreme asymmetry in the entire corpus and suggests politically motivated records suppression.
- **Evidence**: Ghost probe analysis; `PRA_SUPPRESSION_REPORT.md`

---

## CITY COUNCIL (EXCEPT STEVE FIELDS)

### Failure 12: Rubber-Stamping Demolition Without Due Diligence
- **Duty**: Independent oversight; fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers
- **Failure**: Voted 6-0 on November 18, 2025 to demolish the building without: a funded replacement plan, architectural renderings, a budget allocation, a construction timeline, SEPA review, historic preservation evaluation, or an alternatives analysis. Both of Council Member Fields' amendments to keep renovation on the table were defeated 2-4.
- **Evidence**: Council meeting minutes, November 18, 2025; `OFH_SUPPLEMENTAL_ANALYSIS.md` (Fields section)

---

## OFH STAKEHOLDER GROUP

### Failure 13: Predetermined Outcome Dressed as Community Input
- **Duty**: Authentic community engagement
- **Failure**: 11-12 of 15 named adult members were sitting on city-appointed boards or were active city employees. Selected entirely by the same staff who planned the closure. Facilitated by the same PR firm (Stepherson & Associates) running the closure messaging. The scope explicitly excluded keeping the existing building open.
- **Key conflict**: Pat Vache — OneRedmond Foundation Treasurer (same board as Mayor Birney and NLG developers)
- **Evidence**: Stakeholder recommendation report; board appointment records; `OFH_SUPPLEMENTAL_ANALYSIS.md`

---

## PLANNING DEPARTMENT

### Failure 14: Rezoning OFH Site Without Public Process Connecting It to Closure
- **Duty**: Transparent planning connecting zoning changes to facility decisions
- **Failure**: On June 28, 2025 — three months after OFH closure — new zoning designated the site as a Transit-Oriented Development Focus Area: 144 feet height / FAR 8.0, enabling 300-400 luxury residential units. This was processed as a general downtown rezone rather than as a decision connected to OFH disposal, preventing public scrutiny of the connection.
- **Evidence**: City of Redmond zoning code amendments, June 28, 2025

### Failure 15: No SEPA Compliance for Demolition
- **Duty**: WAC 197-11 — conduct environmental review for non-exempt actions
- **Failure**: No SEPA checklist filed. No threshold determination made. No Historic Property Inventory submitted to DAHP. The demolition of a 74-year-old, 8,600 sq ft public building with documented historic significance cannot be categorically exempt under WAC 197-11-800(2)(g).
- **Evidence**: Absence of any SEPA filing in public records; KC Historic Preservation staff assessment

---

## REDMOND LANDMARK COMMISSION

### Failure 16: Inaction on Historically Significant Building
- **Duty**: RMC 4.33 — review and protect historically significant properties
- **Failure**: Despite having a professional assessment from King County Historic Preservation staff that OFH is "likely eligible for designation for historic and cultural significance," the Landmark Commission took no action to evaluate, nominate, or protect the building before the demolition decision.
- **Note**: The Commission currently has only one appointed member (Brian Rich). Whether the Commission's inaction reflects institutional capacity failure or deliberate avoidance is unclear.
- **Evidence**: Commission membership records; KC Historic Preservation assessment; Heritage Resource Register (OFH absent)

---

## SUMMARY

| # | Official/Body | Failure | Severity |
|---|--------------|---------|----------|
| 1 | Mayor Birney | Concealed pre-planned closure | Critical |
| 2 | Mayor Birney | Undisclosed conflict of interest | Critical |
| 3 | Mayor Birney | Surgical removal of email records | Critical |
| 4 | Mayor Birney | Authorized surveillance/retaliation | Critical |
| 5 | Loreen Hamilton | False statement to community member | Critical |
| 6 | Loreen Hamilton | Pattern of neglect-to-closure | Severe |
| 7 | Tory Watson | Surveillance of community advocate | Severe |
| 8 | Parks staff | Confiscated advocacy materials from teens | Severe |
| 9 | Erica Chua | Weaponized Code of Conduct | Severe |
| 10 | Records Dept | Massive PRA non-compliance | Critical |
| 11 | Records Dept | Politically targeted records suppression | Critical |
| 12 | City Council | Rubber-stamped demolition without due diligence | Severe |
| 13 | Stakeholder Group | Predetermined outcome, stacked composition | Moderate |
| 14 | Planning Dept | Rezoning without connecting to closure | Moderate |
| 15 | Planning Dept | No SEPA compliance for demolition | Critical |
| 16 | Landmark Commission | Inaction on historic building | Moderate |

**Total failures documented: 16**
**Critical severity: 8**
**Severe: 5**
**Moderate: 3**

---

*Based on publicly available records and documents obtained through the Washington Public Records Act.*
