Leadership vacuum at Burien City Hall raises questions about what’s happening behind closed doors

Burien residents may have noticed something unusual recently – the faces at the top of city government have changed, and no one at City Hall is saying much about why.

City Attorney Garmon Newsom II is no longer with the city, a move reportedly confirmed by removed City Manager Adolfo Bailon following a special executive session earlier this month. However, in a narrow 4–3 vote after that same closed-door meeting, the City Council placed Bailon on paid administrative leave and directed Interim City Attorney Ann Marie Soto to begin the search for an interim city manager, who was announced at the April 20 meeting.

Newsom, who joined Burien in 2020 and brought nearly three decades of municipal law experience to the role, had been a fixture at council meetings and a consistent legal presence across some of the city’s most contentious decisions in recent years. In his place is a contract interim city attorney, Ann Marie Soto, brought in from outside Burien. 

According to PubliCola – which cited unnamed sources – Bailon summarily fired Newsom earlier this month. Notably, Newsom would have been the person providing legal advice to the council as they deliberated over whether and how to remove Bailon himself. That detail has not been confirmed on the record by any city official.

The city clerk, members of the council, and other city contacts have declined to provide information, citing the confidential nature of employment matters. The council has not yet offered a public reason for placing Bailon on paid administrative leave, and executive sessions are closed to the public and considered attorney-client privileged.

What is clear is the sequence: Newsom is gone, Bailon is gone, and the city now has an interim attorney and an interim City Manager. Recent council sessions were notably missing an experienced parliamentarian, a role typically filled by attorney Newsom.

The city also finds itself with newer leadership at the council level. A recently selected Mayor, Sarah Moore, and Deputy Mayor, Hugo Garcia, are the officials who initiated the move to place Bailon on leave, and are now presiding over a city hall in transition.

For residents, the practical concern is continuity. The interim city attorney is unfamiliar with Burien’s ongoing legal matters, ongoing contracts, and pending litigation. How long the city will operate in this interim state remains unknown.

This publication reached out to city officials and received no substantive response. Garmon Newsom could not be reached for comment. Anyone with direct knowledge of these events is encouraged to contact The B-Town Blog at scott@southkingmedia.com.