Belkot sues over C-Tran board ouster

Clark County Councilor Michelle Belkot filed suit Friday in Skamania County Superior Court against the county and fellow Councilor Wil Fuentes over her removal from C-Tran’s board of directors in March.

“This removal was clearly based on her indication that she intended to vote on a C-Tran matter which could commit her constituency to paying millions of dollars for a transportation project,” the lawsuit states. “While the (county council) has the power to confirm or reject, it does not have the power to remove one from a lawful appointment, especially when there is no misfeasance or malfeasance.”

The Clark County Council on March 12 voted to remove Belkot from the C-Tran board. The day before, she broke ranks at a C-Tran board meeting when she objected to local taxpayer funding for light rail on the planned Interstate 5 Bridge replacement.

The C-Tran board vote was postponed until April at the urging of county council Chair Sue Marshall, who is also a C-Tran board member. (In addition to the two county councilors, representatives from the cities also serve on the C-Tran board.)

The issue at the center of Belkot’s ouster was whether a councilor can vote differently than the council majority when representing the county on another board when the council has taken a vote. In the case of the C-Tran vote, the county council voted 4-1 in February to support the funding. Marshall said Belkot, who was the lone dissenting vote, gave no indication she planned to vote contrary to the council majority. Marshall said Belkot’s vote should have reflected the entire council’s position, not her personal position.

Belkot has defended her vote, stating the council has no rules or policies in place restricting votes in such a manner.

Similar to a lawsuit filed last week in the same court by Ridgefield resident Rob Anderson, Belkot’s suit claims the council’s actions violated the state’s open meetings act and also violated her First Amendment and 14th Amendment rights.

In her suit, Belkot said the agenda for the March 12 council meeting “said nothing to indicate this decision was being considered in order to give members of the public an opportunity to prepare and comment on the decision.”

“The way in which the Clark County board undertook its decision is illegal — by not disclosing the possibility of removing Ms. Belkot on the meeting agenda, by not amending the agenda, and by limiting public comment to items on the agenda even though Ms. Belkot’s ouster was certainly scheduled for consideration, if not decided before the meeting,” the suit states.

During recent county council meetings, Belkot has said she believes the council possibly made its decision to remove her from the C-Tran board before a meeting was ever held.

“Fuentes read a prepared motion, evidencing prior non-public coordination of a plan to remove (Belkot) from the C-Tran board,” according to the lawsuit.

Belkot is seeking to be reinstated on the C-Tran board, as well as costs and attorneys’ fees.

No date has been set for the case to be heard.

Shari Phiel: [email protected]; 360-562-6317; @Shari_Phiel