Story and Photos by Michael Brunk
Wednesday afternoon (May 20th), Tai Oh of Burien (right, below) and Terry Torbet of Kent (left) stood on SW 148th near First Avenue South holding a large banner protesting City Manager Mike Martin’s recent DUI incident, as seen in these pictures by Michael Brunk:
“The City of Burien deserves better than a DUI felon,” said Oh, the organizer (picture above). “Residents of Burien should demand and expect more for their tax dollars.”
When asked if they planned to protest again, Torbet (pictured above) said “We’ll keep coming back until he’s gone!”
Tai Oh says he’s protesting because he contacted the city council as a body and each member individually via e-mail and voicemail and not a single councilmember responded to him.
His position is that he looked to his city leaders to take action and they did nothing.
I say, hold their feet to the fire! Something smells like cronyism at Burien City Hall.
dooode… its really bothersome to me that not even 1 person contacted tai when he called. this reeks of rotten politics & double standards. i'm so over this kind of deciet & trickery. c'mon burien (meaning the 'powers that be') clean your act up. you're giving the rest of us (the residents) a bad name & the brand spankin' new burien is gonna be tarnished before it's completely finished. bad timing. shame on him. not only for doing the deed, but lying about the deed.. & then not being reprimanded in the least & frankly, acting very indignent about the whole matter. what'a bunch of bs.
btw.. what's the city council's limit? does someone have to die (or /gasp.. crash into a NEW street pole) before anything is done about this? BS.
Something to consider… Mr. Martin has been _caught_ twice. How many other times has this person put the lives and well-being of citizens at risk?
My position is this: If you drive while knowingly under chemical influence, then your actions are tantamount to attempted murder. (Akin to randomly discharging a firearm while blindfolded; you are eventually going to hit someone, possibly killing them.)
And this is the SECOND TIME HE WAS _CAUGHT_ which shows the potential start of a pattern.
(Maybe 'attempted manslaughter'… but still…)
Every time Mr. Martin cashes his paycheck, he cashes a little of Buriens soul too. He should not hold a position of authority. He is unworthy of the public's trust. Are the other members of the council, or the Mayor worthy of the public's trust? The next election cycle will tell. We haven't heard from professional politician Michael Lamphere yet, whats his view?
Wow I think it strange that grown people have nothing else to do for an entire day but hold up a sign for anything. Not that I support Mr. Martin or how the city is (or is not) handling the matter. But hey dudes, go make a difference – voluneueer at the food bank or a school rather than spreading negativity and causing traffic jams (possibly accidents) with a sign too small for drivers to read without stopping.
Hi Julie,
Once again thank you for your input good or not feedback means you care. I know we are all busy working and trying to make ends meat in this lean times but sometimes a wrong needs to be fixed. Burien City manager Mike Martin was charged with his 2nd dui on April 19 2009. To me that is two times too many. I wouldnt be able to sleep at nights had I kept my mouth shut. This monster will kill someone you love or I love one day. Who knows maybe I might even save Mike Martins life and he doesnt even know it.
thank you for your time
Tai Oh
34 year Burien resident and I do love my city Burien
I have a question for Michael Brunk or Tai Oh: the sign has a number that I can't read. "Demand __ Time DUI Felon…" What does it say? It almost looks like an 8. If Martin has 8 DUIs, I would be interested to know the details.
Hi Jim,____I had to tape up the number 2 because Dui felon Mike Martin has been charged with his 2nd dui but the low life put in a plea of not guilty at his pretrial even though he refused to take a breathalyger test when arrested for the second time for dui in april 19 2009. Once Mike Martin is convicted of his 2nd dui on June 23 2009 i will take the tape off the sign.____thank you for your time____Tai Oh__
Mr. Oh's story should be of interest to everyone who will vote on the annexation issue- become part of Burien so your voice and concerns can be IGNORED by your elected leaders! I can understand the City Manager wanting to save his job, but I cannot think of any good reason that Council members would agree to yet another chance for him and, more importantly, ignore concerns of voters who contact them.
Hi Tai, I agree DUI is serious, dangerous and should not be tolerated period for anyone or any reason.
I just thought it was dangerous to be slowing traffic at that intersection and negative when there are so many positive things we can do.
Why not a sign everyday for every second time DUI offender? Now THAT I would help with!
Yes, DUI is serious. But he's not a felon.
RCW 46.61.502 says a DUI conviction — and Mr. Martin has only one to date — is a gross misdemeanor. How do you have any credibility with a sign as erroneous as that?
I don't live in Burien, I live in Renton but saw it. This type of vigilante justice is just wrong. Perhaps he should resign. Or even better, vote him out. But he is not a two-time convicted felon, and your sign is a lie.
Hi LR,
Rebranding or renaming something doesnt make it better. I wholeheartedly agree with you about my having to action. It is the elected Burien Council with there lack of response and lack of action that spurred me to action. I wrote and left voicemails to the entire Burien City Council and not one of them ever responded. I looked to my city leadership and they did nothing. I wish I didnt had to spend 100 dollars for the banner and 40 dollars for the pole. I wish I didnt had to stand out in the sun for 5 hours holding that darn banner. I wish the good people didnt had to see me and my friend holding that banner. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I am now awaiting the Burien Council or even Mike Martin to do the right thing.
thank you
Tai OH
Hi LR,
Rebranding or renaming something doesnt make it better. I wholeheartedly agree with you about my having to action. It is the elected Burien Council with there lack of response and lack of action that spurred me to action. I wrote and left voicemails to the entire Burien City Council and not one of them ever responded. I looked to my city leadership and they did nothing. I wish I didnt had to spend 100 dollars for the banner and 40 dollars for the pole. I wish I didnt had to stand out in the sun for 5 hours holding that darn banner. I wish the good people didnt had to see me and my friend holding that banner. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I am now awaiting the Burien Council or even Mike Martin to do the right thing.
thank you
Tai OH
LR How do you vote out someone who is not elected to office? HE is an employee of the city of Burien.
Hi Rob,
He can do the descent thing for the city of Burien and resign. Our elected Burien Council also can fire him since they are the ones who voted to hire him in the first place. I really dont understand why they hired this dui low life in the first place?Thats another question i posed to the entire Burien Council and no answer or worse yet no response.
thanks
Tai
I work in the city almost everyday and have dealings with city hall on a regular basis. That being said, I recognize that while the city is spending millions and millions of dollars to rebuild the exterior to look nice and new the interior is still crumbling. Departments within city hall very rarely work together or even communicate about all of the different projects going on in Burien. This has been common for quite some time. It seems to me that these problems could be resolved by a city manager who is doing his job. The coucil is trying so hard to become the Bellvue of the south that they don't even know what is going on in thier own brand new, and expensive, facility. It seems that coucil member Krakowiak is the only one really looking out for the citizens of Burien. She is the only that has voted against Mike Martin since day one. I agree that the immediate resignation, firing, or removal of Mike Martin is the only course of action. By the way way, a little internet research indicates that this is actually DUI # 3, something about a conviction in California???
Could you link us to that California DUI?
Good for you tai. I'm glad to see someone standing up for Burien. I wish Matin would run away from Burien like he did in Kent!!
Hi Erin,
A big thank you it really helps.
Tai Oh
So this begs the question, were you looking to start a heated argument with councilmembers or were you looking to give them a well-thought out, respectful description of your feelings in this matter? If it's the later, I've watched the televised council meetings and it appears the council has a mechanism for that — the public comment period at the city council meetings. It's been my experience in the working world that no employer is going to engage in a lengthy debate about a personnel matter — especially one not related to the person's job performance to date (didn't the DUI occur on a weekend?) — with someone from outside the organization. There's a lot of federal employment laws that they can get hit with, or at least, that's my understanding.
Hi Pauline, my main goal is to inform the residents of Burien what is happening. I know 99 percent of us are far too busy working one or two jobs just to put food on the table for our familys and dont have time to keep an eye out on city hall. I normally dont get involved in politics but this really opened my eyes. I knew i had to do something to let my fellow Btowners know something just doesnt smell right in city hall. Mr Martin will soon be a 2 time convicted dui. He has pissed on his second chance and we need to give him is walking papers. I do hope Mr. Martin seeks help but he shouldnt be doing that at the expense of our tax dollars. DEMAND we deserve the best in our leadership not a 2 time public drunk. Yes i will take your advice into consideration of attending the burien council meeting but they probably ignore me there too.
thank you
Tai Oh
Well, another good thing about this great land of ours is that a person is innocent until proven guilty by a court of law, not the court of public opinion. Mr. Martin hasn't yet had his day in court for this DUI, whether or not it is inevitable that he will be found guilty.
According to your reasoning, that citizens deserve better than a person with a drinking problem running things, then Civil War general-turned-President Ulysses S. Grant, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the late Texas Governor Ann Richards, and President George W. Bush should not have been allowed to serve? Remember, an alcoholic is always an alcoholic, fortunately some have learned how to keep the disease at bay through continuous, difficult, personal vigilance.
On the issue of the City Council, haven't you learned that just because someone doesn't give you the reaction or response you want doesn't mean they are ignoring you? Speaking at the council meeting puts your concerns into the public record, and isn't that what you want? Or is it all about sensationalism for you?
Hi Pauline,
I have no issue with drinking. I have been known to enjoy my vodka and tequeila. However, If i drink i do the responsible thing and get a taxi or have a designated driver. I do not drive while intoxicated ever!! My beef is Mike Martin made a poor choice that day in April 19 2009 and he made couple of poor judgement in the past and have been convicted. This man is very ill and he needs time to get the help he needs. My tax dollar should pay $130,000 a year for a city manager that would not bring shame to the City of Burien.
thanks
Tai
I understand that DUI's are not to be taken lightly. And I understand that it is frustrating not to be contacted. If I invested in a sign and pole every time I didnt get a call back I would be broke and in debt.
Tai- I think it would be more productive to actually go to a city council meeting and voice your concern, rather than holding up a sign that is mis-informing the public of the actual crime. He is not a felon, he has a misdemeanor.
Should he resign? I personally dont think so. I think the city should reccomend treatment. But the street corner is not the place to have this debate.
Hi Wanker,
This is what is so awesome about our wonderful awesome country of mine. We can all voice our opinions and it is a beautiful thing. I respect your opinions but I ask you respect mine as well. I will tape out the felon part on my sign and thank you for letting me know. I am just one man unlike city hall i do not have an army of administrators and politicians to back me up. However, I do have the good people of Burien like you Wanker and everyone else to help out.
thanks
Tai OH
Tai-
I am just saying there are better ways to get your opinion heard, that will be more productive, such as going to the city council meetings and speaking during the public comments call.
I do however appreciate your concern for the community. Not everyone has the passion for their community to stand on a street corner. I really think if you guided that passion in a more productive direction you would yeild better results.
I am not saying I agree with your message, but that is what makes things interestesting, we can dissagree, and get along at the same time.
If you would really like to help every one out, you should go protest the drug dealers and thugs at the transit center 😉
Hi Wanker,
I do hear and acknowledge your opinion. My main goal is to let the average Burien resident know what is going on and to contact city hall. Unfortunately, not many people attend the city council meetings 🙁 :(. I have a suggestion about the drug dealer and thugs at the transit center take action Wanker and attend the council meeting and make a public comment!! If you are passionate about something dont wait for someone else to do it.
thanks
Tai Oh