A Warning and a Reprimand: Aberdeen Council President Elliott is Scolded in Ethics Violation

Updated with response from Council President Elliott

Nine months after it was filed, the results of an ethics investigation initiated by one Aberdeen City Council member against another are in and the ruling is that city councilwoman Ruth Elliott violated provisions of the City Code by divulging the contents of confidential internal emails to the city’s opponents in an ongoing lawsuit.

In short, Elliott, who broke ranks with the city’s former mayor and city council to oppose the proposal to annex the Wetlands Golf Course properties, appears to have forwarded a series of emails, which were originally sent from a city attorney to city manager Doug Miller relating to existing litigation between the city and a group of city taxpayers, to members of the group engaged in the lawsuit with Aberdeen.

The complaint was filed by former city councilman David Yensan in May, about six months before he lost his seat in the city’s November election, but the Aberdeen Ethics Commission didn’t reach its findings until late January. Elliott, who won her re-election bid and currently serves as Aberdeen City Council president, was particularly outraged that Yensan, in one of the privileged emails, refers to a “demented old woman.” Yensan later apologized for his statement, but clarified the comment was not directed toward Elliott. Continue reading A Warning and a Reprimand: Aberdeen Council President Elliott is Scolded in Ethics Violation