Burien Mayor and Council Face Lawsuit Over Alleged Public Meeting Violation

by Lauryn Bray

A lawsuit filed on April 26 in King County Superior Court against the City of Burien and the Burien City Council accuses three councilmembers — Alex Andrade, Linda Akey, and Stephanie Mora — and Mayor Kevin Schilling of "knowingly conduct[ing] an unlawful meeting."

The lawsuit alleges that the councilmembers and the City of Burien violated the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), State law codified in chapter 42.30 Revised Code of Washington (RCW), that requires that all meetings of governing bodies of public agencies, including cities, counties, and special purpose districts, be open to the public.

The complaint states that on April 25, Councilmembers Andrade, Akey, and Mora, along with Schilling, "knowingly conducted an unlawful meeting and deliberated and took 'action' and 'final action' outside the context of a properly scheduled and noticed open public meeting or executive session."

The lawsuit was filed by Arthur West, an open government activist living in Olympia who has acquired a reputation for being a "gadfly." In November 2023, West won a $7,000 lawsuit against the Washington State Senate in which he accused some Senate members of withholding public records.

On Aug. 15, a Motion to Intervene was filed by former Burien City Councilmembers Stephen Lamphear, Krystal Marx, Cydney Moore, and Charles Schaefer, former chair of the Burien Planning Commission.

During a City Council meeting on Aug. 19, Schaefer approached the dais to "serve" councilmembers with the Motion to Intervene, leading Schilling to call for a five-minute recess after repeatedly telling Schaefer, "Please do not approach the dais." Footage of the incident is available on YouTube. The full City Council meeting is available to watch on the City of Burien's CASTUS TV channel.

The City of Burien issued a statement following the incident:

"The City of Burien is committed to ensuring the safety of its staff, council members, and community members is prioritized during any public event or meeting.

"Unauthorized individuals may not approach the dais during the course of a city council meeting. Continuing to violate meeting rules of order and multiple direct warnings from the meeting chair constitutes disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor crime under the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 9A.84.030.

"The two individuals involved in the unlawful incident and violation of RCW 9A.84.030 that occurred during last night's Burien City Council meeting, Charles Schaefer and Stephen Lamphere (sic), have been referred to the Burien Police Department for further legal action."

The B-Town Blog reached out to Schilling for comment on the lawsuit. According to an article published on Aug. 14, Schilling referred to previous comments he made regarding the April 25 meeting in response.

"This was a press conference organized by myself and the businesses, and we didn't discuss council business. So that was noticed as such. But also once we saw there [were] 4 [councilmembers], one was removed from the room to make sure there wasn't an issue. Couldn't control who shows up to something I put out there either," said Schilling.

The Emerald reached out to Marx for comment on the Motion to Intervene and to Adolfo Bailon, Burien City Manager, for comment on the lawsuit against the City of Burien on Aug. 21. Neither has responded to interview requests as of Aug. 28.

Featured Image: The exterior of Burien City Hall, where Mayor Kevin Schilling and three Burien City Councilmembers face allegations of violating the Open Public Meetings Act, sparking a lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court. (Photo: Phil Manzano)