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Benson appointed mayor after surprise resignation BY ERIC MANDEL AND DENNIS BOX emandel@covingtonreporter.com and dbox@soundpublishing.com
After 11 turbulent months on the job, Dave Gordon submitted his resignation as mayor of Black Diamond on Nov. 25. Six days later, at Monday’s special meeting, the Black Diamond City Council appointed councilwoman and mayor pro tempore Carol Benson as his replacement. The council chose not to advertise or request any applications for the position from the public. “We had the public’s input,” Benson told The Reporter after her unanimous appointment. “We all got elected by 70 percent.” Benson won City Council Position No. 4 receiving 1,047 votes, 66.90 percent to 516 votes and 32.97 percent for Shawn Oglesbee in the November 2013 general election. The turnout was 61 percent of the 2,752 registered voters.
The Reporter first learned of Gordon’s resignation through an email from City Clerk Brenda Martinez sent at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 25. The email included a revised notice Carol Benson and agenda for the special meeting, which included “discussion and appointment of mayor.” Gordon emailed a statement to The Reporter for the people of Black Diamond about 90 minutes later, saying he made “a very difficult decision” and that he was “very proud and happy to represent this city for the past year.” “However due to circumstance beyond my control, I feel I can’t serve the duties of mayor to the standard I set for myself,” wrote Gordon, who had three years remaining on his four-year term. “The current culture of City Hall is not in
the people’s best interest. I have worked hard to foster support from every political group and individual.” Gordon also thanked his supporters and those Dave Gordon who voted for him last November. “I firmly believe you are part of the solution or part of the problem,” he wrote. “I no longer feel I’m part of the solution. I must step aside to shine the light brightly on the problem. To that resolve I submit my letter of resignation with immediate effect.”
RESIGNATION When reached by phone following Martinez’s email, City Councilman Ron Taylor told The Reporter that he only heard about the resignation that day. “It’s a surprise to me, too,” Taylor said.
“I’m just learning about it like everybody else.” Benson could not be reached by phone at the time, but Taylor said it was too early to make any comments about who would step into the mayor’s role. “We’re just trying to figure out ourselves how do we go from here and have a smooth transition,” Taylor said. “We’ll certainly make sure things continue to operate and remain as stable as possible. Beyond that, I can’t say a whole lot because I don’t know a whole lot.” Councilwoman Ericka Morgan was contacted by phone Nov. 26 said she was “mystified” by the announcement and Gordon’s actions came out of the blue. Black Diamond was already without a city administrator, after Christy Todd resigned in May following a sexual harassment complaint against Gordon.
Covington moves past ‘drive-thru’ appearance
[ more MAYOR page 7]
Property levy hike, tax rate decrease
BY ERIC MANDEL
BY REBECCA GOURLEY
emandel@covingtonreporter.com
rgourley@maplevalleyreporter.com
The city of Covington’s identity remains under construction, but it’s being built with fewer drivethru windows. The city launched a new logo and slogan — “Growing Toward Greatness” — in July they hoped would help make the city more recognizable and to develop COVINGTON the idea that Covington is “a destination.” But the heavy lifting behind the conceptual facade came years ago, during the vision statement for its Downtown Plan that cut the clutter of more than a dozen different zoning classifications to four. Among those changes was language aimed at limiting drive-thru services, instead focusing on pedestrianfriendly businesses and walkable
The Maple Valley City Council approved a .94 percent property tax levy increase, effective Jan. 1, 2015. But, the tax rate has decreased from $1.46 per $1,000 of assessed value to $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed value due to an influx of commercial property, according to City MAPLE Manager David VALLEY Johnston. This means that residents can rest easy knowing their property taxes will most likely not increase, despite the increase in the levy amount that was approved at the Nov. 24 council meeting. However, the city is looking at potentially running a bond in the next year or so to fund capital projects for parks and recreation. New park facilities is argu-
[ more COVINGTON page 8 ]
Craft Fair
Cary Kemp watches as her nails are decorated at the Jamberry Nails booth Saturday during the Kentlake Craft Fair. Jenna Sagen and Becky Kinney sold Cancer Sucks T-Shirts. DENNIS BOX, The Reporter
[ more TAX page 10 ]