Investigation faults county council, manager for decision to remove Belkot from C-Tran board

The Clark County Council and County Manager Kathleen Otto violated the state’s Open Public Meetings Act when the council removed Councilor Michelle Belkot from C-Tran’s board in March, according to a report from the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office.

Following the council vote to remove Belkot, Ridgefield resident Rob Anderson of Reform Clark County filed a complaint with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, which was then referred to Skamania County for investigation.

“Council Chair Sue Marshall and council members (Wil) Fuentes, (Glen) Yung and (Matt) Little should be fined for violation of the OPMA,” Skamania County sheriff’s Detective Christian Lyle wrote in his August report, provided to The Columbian on Monday by Anderson.

Lyle said the council’s subsequent vote to replace Belkot on the C-Tran board with Fuentes without public notice or opportunity to comment violated open meetings law and the county’s charter.

“Based on the information regarding (a) criminal complaint submitted by Rob Anderson, county council member Fuentes should be removed from the C-Tran board immediately and council member Belkot should be reinstated to her position on the C-Tran board,” Lyle wrote.

The detective also said Otto should be charged with violation of the state’s official misconduct statute, a gross misdemeanor, “for failing to act” or be “sanctioned with an official letter of reprimand for not properly performing her duties as the county manager.”

The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office could not be reached for comment Monday.

According to Lyle’s report, the case has been turned over to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review.

On Monday, Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik said his office has an obvious conflict with prosecuting charges against the county. He said the case will be referred to another prosecutor in a county without an existing conflict.

The Clark County Council on March 12 voted to remove Belkot from the C-Tran board after Fuentes raised the issue. The day before, Belkot 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.

At issue was whether a councilor who is representing the county on another board can vote differently than the council majority. 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, who has defended her vote and stated the council has no rules or policies in place restricting votes in such a manner, filed suit against the county in Skamania County Superior Court. Her case was later moved to federal court and is scheduled for trial in July 2026, court records show.

Anderson also filed suit against the county over Belkot’s removal from the C-Tran board in Skamania County Superior Court, but the case was sent back to Clark County Superior Court.

Anderson’s motion for a temporary injunction filed in September was denied, and the case was dismissed in early October, court records show.