UPDATE JUNE 17, 2023: By late Friday afternoon, June 16, 2023, ten members of Burien’s volunteer boards/commissions – including all but one Planning Commissioners – resigned as a protest of the removal of Chair Charles Schaefer by the Burien City Council on Thursday night.
By late Friday afternoon, five more had joined in, making it a total of ten volunteers resigning from Burien advisory boards/commissions, for a total of 11, including Schaefer’s removal.
The most recent resignations came from Leit Motif, Chair, and Jennifer Fichamba, Vice Chair of the Burien Parks and Recreation Board.
Signing the first resignation letter were these Planning Commissioners:
Vice-Chair Commissioner Rocco DeVito
Commissioner August Hahn
Commissioner Lena Pace
Commissioner Ryan Davis
Commissioner Joe Hauser
The three others volunteer members of various City of Burien boards and commissions who resigned are:
Planning Commissioner Rebecca Gobeille
Crystal German – Arts Commission (served as an alternate)
Kellie Bassen – Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
Kelsey Vanhee – Burien Airport Committee
“We are grateful for their work and the City of Burien thanks them for their service,” Emily Inlow-Hood, Communications and Public Engagement Manager for the City of Burien told The B-Town Blog. “City staff are discussing next steps for recruitment of new members for the Planning Commission.”
The Planning Commission is one of five advisory boards and one ad-hoc committee for the City of Burien. Appointments are made by the City Council, and terms of service are four years. It is unknown yet as to how or when the city will replace these volunteer commissioners.
“We have lost confidence in our city council’s ability to lead,” reads the resignation letter. “Over the past several months, it has become clear to us that there is a majority on the council, specifically, Mayor Aragon, Deputy Mayor Schilling, and Council Members Matta and Mora, who are unwilling to address issues of affordable housing, homelessness, and poverty in Burien. Instead, they have spent valuable time and resources seeking someone to blame for their lack of action and the missteps of the new city manager.”
The letter also claims that Planning Commission Chair Schaefer fulfilled the council’s “need for a scapegoat, and they removed him from his position last night while still refusing to take action to address the homelessness crisis that impacts Burien as much as any other city in our region/state/country.”
“In addition to being unproductive, this action raises significant concerns for us all about our own constitutional rights as individuals serving our city.”
Of the eight volunteers on the city’s Planning Commission, the sole remaining members after Schaefer’s removal and this mass resignation are Rebecca Gobeille and David Gould (who is an alternate).
Below is full text of the letter, which was emailed to the council as well as Susan McLain on Friday morning, June 16, 2023:
“Dear Burien City Council,
“We, the undersigned, are resigning from the Burien Planning Commission effective immediately.
We have lost confidence in our city council’s ability to lead. Over the past several months, it has become clear to us that there is a majority on the council, specifically, Mayor Aragon, Deputy Mayor Schilling, and Council Members Matta and Mora, who are unwilling to address issues of affordable housing, homelessness, and poverty in Burien. Instead, they have spent valuable time and resources seeking someone to blame for their lack of action and the missteps of the new city manager. Planning Commission Chair Charles Schaefer fulfilled their need for a scapegoat, and they removed him from his position last night while still refusing to take action to address the homelessness crisis that impacts Burien as much as any other city in our region/state/country. In addition to being unproductive, this action raises significant concerns for us all about our own constitutional rights as individuals serving our city.
“Sincerely, Commissioner Rocco DeVito Vice-Chair Commissioner August Hahn Commissioner Lena Pace Commissioner Ryan Davis Commissioner Joe Hauser“
This morning I resigned from the Burien Planning Commission along with many of my colleagues. The special meeting of the Burien City Council last night was an appalling display to punish our chair for helping our unhoused neighbors, while they do absolutely nothing.
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5 replies on “UPDATE: Total of 11 commissioners, advisory board members resign en masse in protest of Charles Schaefer’s removal”
Good
Why would anyone willingly volunteer for council, subjecting themselves to abuse and the denial of their constitutional rights?
Leadership is not a job for quitters. I am glad that their positions are now open and I hope there are conservative candidates that will step up to solve Burien’s problems.
Finally, the trash has taken it self out. Burien is so lucky to be able to start fresh. These old ideas, that coddle drug use, violence, and theft in our communities isn’t working. I’m sure these positions will be filled quickly.
Homelessness, drug use, theft, etc need to be addressed with solutions. I moved to Dayton OH 5years ago. City leadership should look to recruit the people that transformed Dayton. Apparently it used to be worse than Burien. I hate going “home” now. It’s trash and am glad people are calling out so called leadership and refusing to confine themselves to be part of the problem.
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Home » Politics » UPDATE: Total of 11 commissioners, advisory board members resign en masse in protest of Charles Schaefer’s removal
Good
Why would anyone willingly volunteer for council, subjecting themselves to abuse and the denial of their constitutional rights?
Leadership is not a job for quitters. I am glad that their positions are now open and I hope there are conservative candidates that will step up to solve Burien’s problems.
Finally, the trash has taken it self out. Burien is so lucky to be able to start fresh. These old ideas, that coddle drug use, violence, and theft in our communities isn’t working. I’m sure these positions will be filled quickly.
Homelessness, drug use, theft, etc need to be addressed with solutions. I moved to Dayton OH 5years ago. City leadership should look to recruit the people that transformed Dayton. Apparently it used to be worse than Burien. I hate going “home” now. It’s trash and am glad people are calling out so called leadership and refusing to confine themselves to be part of the problem.