Opinion ID: 2461057
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Charge Five Destruction of Public Records

Text: ¶ 17 Charge Five alleges that Mayor Heiberg authorized the destruction of a resolution introduced at a town council meeting that called for a vote of no confidence in him. As with Charge One, Charge Five is factually insufficient. ¶ 18 Schwartz and Pearce have provided no factual basis for the proposition that Mayor Heiberg either destroyed or authorized the destruction of the resolution. The facts alleged merely establish that the mayor received a copy of the petition and that, sometime thereafter, the resolution was not included in response to a public records request filed with the city clerk for the council packet. There is no factual basis for the claim that the record was destroyed, much less that Mayor Heiberg destroyed it. Schwartz and Pearce contend that the mayor would be responsible for destruction by the city clerk by virtue of his supervisory capacity. However, this court has noted that there is `no authority for the proposition that a public official may be recalled for the act of a subordinate done without the official's knowledge or direction.' Reed, 156 Wash.2d at 58, 124 P.3d 279 (quoting In re Recall of Morrisette, 110 Wash.2d 933, 936, 756 P.2d 1318 (1988)). Schwartz and Pearce fail to allege knowledge of any facts supporting the charge that Mayor Heiberg has destroyed or authorized the destruction of the resolution. As such, this charge is not factually sufficient. Sandhaus, 134 Wash.2d at 668, 953 P.2d 82.