EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story referred to “a vote of no confidence from Burien police employees in 2024.” As previously reported by The B-Town Blog, the vote of no confidence was expressed in a petition signed by deputies assigned to Burien through the King County Sheriff’s Office, who operate under the Burien Police Department name as part of the city’s contract for police services.
This story has also been updated to clarify that Burien City Manager Adolfo Bailon was placed on paid administrative leave, not terminated, following the City Council’s April 13, 2026 vote.
After over two hours in executive session at its special meeting on Monday, April 13, 2026, the Burien City Council voted 4-3 to place City Manager Adolfo Bailon on paid administrative leave.
Voting “yes” were Mayor Sarah Moore, Deputy Mayor Hugo Garcia, and councilmembers Sam Mendez and Rocco DeVito. Voting “no” were councilmembers Kevin Schilling, Alex Andrade and Linda Akey.
According to language displayed during the meeting, the council’s action was outlined as a “motion to place the City Manager on paid administrative leave and authorize the Mayor to identify an interim City Manager prior to the next Regular Council meeting.” That language was later amended to “replace Mayor with interim City Attorney,” with the amendment noted as having “passed unanimously.”
The reason for the decision was not publicly announced.
In Washington state, a city manager in a council/manager form of government typically serves as an “at will” employee, meaning the city council may remove them at any time, with or without cause, subject to the terms of the employment contract.
Bailon was unanimously appointed city manager by the council on June 30, 2022, after a national search that drew more than 50 applicants. His first day on the job was Aug. 8, 2022.
At the time of his hiring, Bailon became Burien’s first person of color and first Latino to serve as city manager.
His hiring contract in 2022 indicated a base salary of $215,000, according to earlier reporting and city records.
Bailon’s tenure drew some scrutiny as tensions rose inside Burien city government. In recent months, council discussions had included the possibility of changing city leadership, and the city had scheduled this special meeting for Monday with an executive session.
In March 2025, Bailon was honored by local nonprofit Discover Burien at its annual “Best of Burien” awards event.
He had also been a central figure in several high profile controversies, including a 2024 conflict with the King County Sheriff’s Office over then-Burien Police Chief Ted Boe, as well as a vote of no confidence via petition from Burien Police officers in 2024.
Video
Below is video of the April 13 vote after council returned from its executive session (NOTE: segments of “dead air” where nothing happened for over :03 seconds were removed from this video, which runs 7-minutes, 47-seconds):
Those four activists are just following the directives of the outside interests that funded their elections, this is nothing but vengeance at a City Manager who didn’t bow down to King County or the Homeless Industrial Complex. Where will they find a willing candidate to take his place after showing how they want to run Burien into the ground and throw away all the positive that has happened. What’s next, unhindered public camping and the dissolution of the Police department and shack villages in every neighborhood with massive tax increases to pay for it all? They messed up, and let emotions make decisions instead of looking out for Burien which they supposedly represent and have now failed.
Obviously, competent people are not appreciated in Burien. These people on the council are pandering to radical ideas and do not care about the citizens. This is what happens when outside groups and troublemakers influence a local election. It is a sad day for our city and a great city manager who cared about safety and small business owners as well as residents. Let the crime and mayhem begin.
Adolpho isn’t any where near competent at this job! He had zero experience in city management, has created a hostile work environment, and thought his crap didn’t stink but we are finding out it sure does! C Ya Adolfo!
Stop spreading falsehoods, dude. Get your facts straight……Adolfo Bailon served as the Town Manager for the Town of Randolph, Vermont, before becoming the City Manager of Burien, Washington, in 2022. He held this position from August 2017 to May 2021. Before his time in Vermont, he worked as a director for the City of Providence, Rhode Island.
It’s pretty clear, these four are here to serve only their own narrow interests, and exact their pound of flesh for the dismissal of committee members a few years ago that led to the exodus of others in support of him.
Does this mean we are going to spend more $ we don’t have to hire a consultant to find a new City Manager, or do the “smartest ones in the room” already have a candidate of their choice waiting in the wings?
of course they do … all well planned, coordinated, and executed. They have stacked the citizen committees with their friends, and will now await orders from the external funders that wrote the checks that funded their campaigns. Dark days are coming.
I hope the newly elected city council members have their HR bases covered…. I sense a wrongful termination lawsuit right around the corner. Burien tax payers, get out your wallets. And this is just prologue for what is coming. Just what a city needs that cant fund itself.
And all of this bad isn’t even the worst with this guy….! He violated the reporter IAMFREE”s rights by not allowing him access to a public building minus a crime, and unlawfully trespassing him. Bailon is a douche from Day 1 and actually had zero city managerial experience. C Ya Adolfo!
What a nasty comment……. Wow. Obviously you’re aligned with the 4 on the City Council that just did this two of them Holding a grudge. from years ago, and you must be aligned with Crystal Marks and Cynthia Moore. who ran this city into the ground? …………… Adolfo had no city managerial experience. Oh my God, dude, do your homework. Before you spew. Nonsense…… Get your facts straight……. Speak the truth…………………………Adolfo Bailon served as the Town Manager for the Town of Randolph, Vermont, before becoming the City Manager of Burien, Washington, in 2022. He held this position from August 2017 to May 2021. Before his time in Vermont, he worked as a director for the City of Providence, Rhode Island.
There are some great comments here. Michael, where did you get your false claims? Adolfo has an impressive resume of city management. I encourage the rest of you to write to the council. I did and asked about where the money is coming from. Let’s act before it is too late. This is a cult just as dangerous as those on the other side. They just care about their policies. When did moderation become a nasty word?
Managing a town of 2200 or less people is not experience. I’m sorry to have to tell you that! And he has done more harm then good in Burien. Town stinks and he is the manager. The majority welcome this change.
What a bunch of crap! I have so much to say but it won’t be posted because there’s to much swearing in it!
I have lived here my whole life and just can’t believe what this city has become…this is disgraceful. We all know this “administrative leave” is just to weed him out and bring in one of their “Stepford” followers. DISGUSTING!
I love this move by the Council. Bailon should have been removed long ago. His corruption is clear, and I hope he never gets another city mangement job for the rest of his life.
So far, this city council is doing wonderful work, and hopefully we can finally break this city of it’s corrupt, anti-working class leadership at all levels. Starting with Bailon is a great plan.
For all the talk from right wingers about the how outside groups are influencing Burien, yet they openly embrace a city manager with zero ties to the city or region, and zero demonstration of wanting to conform to the local culture.
Herein lies the problem… you seem to think anyone who disagrees with the current state of affairs is a right-winger. You have no idea what you’re talking about. I have never, and will never consider voting for a Republican. I am someone who values critical thinking and common sense. I also believe in fiscal responsibility, and that a council member should do things for the greater good. We are a city of more than 50,000 people, who currently has a majority of council members who cater to less than 10% of our citizens. Their seats were funded by outside special interests, and now they’re in payback mode. Just because we don’t believe the same thing doesn’t mean I’m automatically your enemy. You don’t get to define what I am.
When a city has a budget shortfall, you don’t continue to ask your local businesses to bail you out. Burien has doubled their B and O tax multiple times. You look at your current expenditures and figure out where to cut them. I’ve seen the outgoing $ they spend. If you want to spend some $ that will benefit us all, how about hiring an auditor?
Amen this. Well stated,,…….. It never, never stops in Burien. It just never stops…….. Holding on to grudges and going after people is insane. But. Goes right to the top of our government these days. ……..And I just saw a huge post about. The four elected Progressives. Also known as Regressives…….. Going back. Instead of forward……….. I don’t see a ton of critical thinking on their parts. …………..Here we go again. Ayah yahya ayah yahya ay….. As always, Burien. For all of you that can vote, elections do have consequences…………………… And what a pitiful turn out this that last election was.
Where did I say that he is a right-winger. Focus on what I say, not on what you think I’m saying.
This council IS doing things for the greater good. That just isn’t always business interests, and you need to understand that.
You seem to not understand how the budgeting process works, but definitely have all the answers, huh?
This council is not merely “governing” this city; but continuing to preside over its slow, deliberate dismantling. Willful obliviousness
Maybe now his performance evaluation will finally be made public. Very suspicious that it was withheld.
It may be time for a calming deep breath, in Burien, as in other council-manager cities, the only direct hire, or fire, employee is the manager. Whenever a council can’t get along with a manager it is their prerogative to make a change.
The reason doesn’t matter, but a dishonest reason can lead to litigation. Honesty, and little explanation, besides “it was time for a change”, is the best medicine.
Unfortunately, often a manager and a council member or two will engage in a blame game and that’s when the best interest of the city, the manager, and the council is not well-served.
And, of course, little is gained by the citizen bystander who insults the manager or the council. The goal, after all, is to have a good working council-manager relationship that fosters a good manager-staff environment that serves the citizenry competently, honestly and efficiently.
Elections have consequences.
Yes, Burien should be ashamed of their low voting numbers. In the Midwest people get off their you know whats and vote. Shameful and look at what we got. Did you watch the video of the meeting? These 4 people would be embarrassing at a middle school student council meeting. This is the best you have? They seemed unsure of what they were saying.
M
I watched the video and was embarrassed to be a resident of the City of Burien. The Mayor was constantly fumbling her words, Mendez kept rubbing his forehead and seemed to not even want to be there…or wait it looked as if he wasn’t, he was at home, and Hugo put it on mute and began speaking and had to be told he was muted! 🤦🏻♀️
All this shows is they were an easy mark to be bought out for the outlying areas and agendas and for them to speak at another council meeting of lawsuits…how many have they themselves done!
Failing across the board.. we need real people running for the Burien City Council, not purchased stage puppets with outside interests.
Extremely happy with this news!! Go
Burien!
Wow. Would you mind telling us, Kim, why you are extremely happy with this news? And you’re celebrating Burien when you see so many people above you other than three people you might agree with. Most of us are very unhappy with this news. Give us your cheerleader. Cliff notes on it why you’re so happy.
Yup, down the toilet just like Seattle because those four activists worship it as an example of how to run things, except it’s into the ground.
It’s absolutely shameful that this City Council just ousted a competent City Manager to appease outside political interests. Adolfo Bailon brought actual, proven city management experience to this role. Instead of appreciating a leader who prioritized our city’s stability and stood up to King County overreach, these four council members decided to hold a grudge. They hid behind a closed-door executive session and a vague “paid administrative leave” excuse because they didn’t have the guts or the actual cause to fire him publicly. This wasn’t about his performance. It was pure political payback directed by the external activist groups that funded their campaigns. Burien is going to lose a massive amount of taxpayer money because this opaque 4-3 backroom maneuver will undoubtedly lead to heavy severance payouts and potential wrongful termination lawsuits.
Why don’t they resign if they feel they can’t work with a manager who has been here for almost 4 years? It would b a lot less costly for the city and they obviously don’t know what they are doing. Have you ever watched them? I know it is painful. They won’t tell you that it is payback to their benefactors. Do you know what this whim is going to cost Burien? A lot is the answer. We should spend money on sending them to Toastmasters so they can learn how to speak in public!
Because elected officials call the shots, not hired City Managers. And that is as it should be. I don’t get the whole “these people don’t represent anyone in Burien/were elected by outsiders” trope – the opinion of Burien voters clearly didn’t line up with the small and dedicated group of posters I see whining about “activists” here this time around – and there were similar results in Seattle.
Maybe a lot of your neighbors just don’t agree with you.
Despite the low voter turnout, 56% of those that voted, elected the current council members. Allegations of influence from outside entities are just that, allegations. I received more postcards large, glossy, spurious postcards, against some of those elected than I received in favor. So exactly who is doing the influencing? The mayor makes a low salary of under 15k and the council members equally low amounts. You have to be invested in and care about community to accept a position that pays pennies. I’ll support the decisions the majority has made.
Why then did an overwhelming amount of campaign donations come from outside the City of Burien for those four candidates? They received backing from plenty of outside entities who want to meddle in Burien’s future with those four serving as the mouthpiece, that’s not personal investment, that’s being bought.
You’re leaning hard on that “56%” like it proves broad support, but it really doesn’t, it just means a small slice of voters picked the winners. When turnout is low, that number says more about who showed up than what the whole community actually wants. ( I think you know the type of people who showed up)
And dismissing concerns about outside influence as “just allegations” doesn’t make it disappear, it just shows you’re not interested in questioning anything that doesn’t fit your narrative. Your personal mailbox isn’t evidence of anything beyond your own experience.
As for the pay, let’s not pretend low salaries automatically equal pure intentions. People run for office for all kinds of reasons: power, influence, agenda.. not just money. So that point doesn’t really hold the weight either
If you want to support the outcome, that’s fine and that’s your choice. But don’t dress it up as some overwhelming mandate or unquestionable moral high ground. It’s a narrow result in a low-turnout situation, and acting like it represents the full will of the community is 100% misleading and not true.
OK I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that City Manager Bailon wasn’t doing his job, for what was it, 4 yrs (?) that he was in that position and it took them this long to figure it out or maybe not, maybe they were just waiting for that exact moment to boot him. Some knew they needed the majority of the votes and look, they now have it. Who will be next?
I just hope having these “4” who voted him out don’t turn Burien into what it was a few years ago. And, Yes, I know it wasn’t just Bailon who kept Burien safe and clean but these “4” are out for themselves and will do anything and everything for their own selves. ($$$)
We need some new campaign finance laws here. I am sure that the 4 mentioned above don’t agree, but this is all too important to be swept under the rug. I looked at the glossy campaign flyers and most were paid for by a union. Do you know that each of those cost? About $200,000 to send. Look at what we got. Is this a good use of money when a lot of people need help? I am talking about middle class people, too, who work one or more jobs to make ends meet. They don’t say F the rich because they are busy taking care of their families. Frankly, I would never vote for
these people with a chip on their shoulder.
Unless there were massive independent expenditures you have your numbers WAY wrong for the cost of doing a mailer for a city the size of Burien (it does not cost $200K to send a mailer to 30K voters, particularly since most campaigns only send mailings to the voters who turn out 3/4 and 4/4 of the last 4 elections, so probably more like 15K mail pieces). A quick look at the State PDC site shows that successful candidates spent about $25-40K in this election cycle (including the candidates who voted in the minority on the decision to put the City Manager on Administrative Leave – in fact these candidates tended to be a bit better funded), and the amount of donations from unions to the councilmembers you don’t like were about the same as the amount of business donations made to the electeds you apparently approve of (about 10% of total candidate campaign expenditures, give or take).
Sarah Moore (for one example) only shows independent expenditures of about $264 in her filings. Perhaps I’m reading this wrong, but if you click on the “Independent Expenditures” tab for the 2025 election and sort for Burien it appears most of the outside money not donated to candidate campaigns was spent by a group called “Enough is Enough”, and it looks like all of the candidates they supported for the Burien Council races lost. None of this adds up to the kind of sinister pay-to-play big money stuff most of the folks butthurt about this decision and the actions of the new progressive majority are implying is going on.
https://www.pdc.wa.gov/political-disclosure-reporting-data/browse-search-data/independent-expenditures/sponsors?election_year=2025
I did a quick scan of donor addresses for Moore and more than half were from Burien, and most of the ones from Seattle were from parts of SW Seattle that are basically right next door. The notion that they’d be able to control the city agenda in the manner you folks are suggesting is, to put it mildly, ludicrous. The union donations tended to be about $1200, so I’m assuming that’s the maximum, though I’m sure the Transit Riders Union definitely had high hopes for the $10 in-kind donation they gave. From what I can see in the data available, the rather paranoid conspiracy theories floating around here aren’t based in fact.
https://www.pdc.wa.gov/political-disclosure-reporting-data/browse-search-data/candidates/3321276#contributions
FWIW – I’m just some Seattle liberal (NOT a progressive – I was disappointed to see similar results in the Seattle Council and Mayoral races that also eroded a more centrist majority there, truth be told), and have been following this because I have watched the actions of the hopefully soon-to-be former City Manager with no small degree of consternation. That guy was way out of line on any number of issues – I thought threatening Council members for the way they voted was particularly outrageous, though the total camping ban was also of dubious legality as were his shenanigans with the King County Sheriff’s Office, and he clearly alienated lots of Burien’s partners in addition to any number of the Council Members with the power to hire and/or fire him.
So yeah, you’re durn tootin’ a new Council was almost certainly going to fire him, and if Moore had individual discussions with Council members on a one-on-one basis to engineer this that’s just how the world works, folks. No violation of quorum was necessary and a successful wrongful termination suit is not likely, though they may choose to buy him out of part of his contract if they decide it isn’t worth the hassle or cost to fight over it. As someone who worked as a City of Seattle Legislative Assistant and also ran citywide election campaigns years ago I have some experience in how this stuff actually works, and the level of paranoia and butt-hurtedness here really isn’t warranted.
Bailon is an at-will employee in a political job, and the fact that the previous Council majority chose to keep his job reviews confidential didn’t do much to inspire confidence in the guy, either.
The sky isn’t going to fall and Burien isn’t going to sink into Puget Sound and/or suffer economic collapse and/or some kind of homeless Armageddon – life will go on just fine.
OK we will hold your word to it on your last paragraph.
Hey Bubbleator, do a deepdive into Dow Constantine and where Huge Garcia first got his job, and then every other progressive cronnie in the last 10years thats grouped themselves into Burien’s city council, and then who and where Patti-Tindell Cole came from and why… Get hard data on each candidate and their supported affiliations, what they’ve accomplished in politics inside this state and who they have endorsed/speak about. The answers are very bold and very easy to see..
Connect the dots through the data. From general lawsuits against the city of Burien, minimum wage disagreements, to decriminalizing drugs, to the lack of support for the homelessness and drug issues, to educational changes, and even failure to police based on opinion (strong arming)… its all inner connected in a way and supported by the ones in power that were purchased from these outside “groups” – all of which support the established ring being described. ( The democrat ring of Seattle/King County, they hold the power to strong arm and shut down anyone opposing their ideas or laws) Please talk to some ex-employees of the surrounding cities and lightly describe whats being mentioned here – you’ll hear a lot more detailed statements…
( *IN THIS STATE* THIS IS HOW POLITICS HAS WORKED FOREVER)
I can go even further to describe in great detail how democrats (in this state) keep and groom candidates to stay in power (along with their supportive ring of power) but I believe you probably already know this as its done to certain levels in all states but in this one, its very well established and has been for years.
This frivolous action by some council members and the mayor is going to cost the city a lot of money. That money could have been used to fix crumbling sidewalks. The radicals want revenge and you are going to pay for it. Take action!!!