President Barack Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) told Senator David Vitter (R-La.) last week during a confirmation hearing that he could not comment about his role in an on-going legal battle over a Seattle sport stadium.
“With regard to the litigation involving Qwest Field, since the matter is involved in active litigation, I am regrettably unable to comment upon that case,” said Ronald Sims, the King County Executive in Washington State.
However, when he was interviewed by a television crew the next day about a $120,000 fine, Sims denied concealing any records or having any personal involvement in the case. He also claimed no records linked him with the case.
“I didn’t conceal anything, so you’re absolutely wrong on that,” he said. “I was not fined $120,000. As a matter of fact, it’s interesting because there is nothing in the court record at all involving me personally. I never was involved in that at all. There’s nothing—nothing regarding my conduct. I didn’t conceal a thing. I did order the release of documents after they were discovered, but I never concealed anything.”
But Washington state court records flatly contradict Sims.
“The office of Ron Sims, King County Executive” was listed as the respondent in a January court ruling. Writing for the majority in Yousoufian v. Sims, Justice Richard Sanders said requested information was withheld from the plaintiff and fines should be levied.
“The unchallenged findings of fact demonstrate King County repeatedly deceived and misinformed Yousoufian for years. King County told Yousoufian it produced all the requested documents, when in fact it had not,” the opinion said.
“King County told Yousoufian the information was located elsewhere, when in fact it was not. After years of delay, mispresentation, and ineptitude on the part of King County, Yousoufian filed suit; nevertheless, it would still take another year for King County to completely and accurately respond to Yousoufian’s original request, well past the purpose of his request, the referendum on public financing of a sports stadium.”
The ruling also noted that “the trial court found King County could have complied with Yousoufian’s PRA [Public Records Act] request within ‘five business days’ following Yousoufian’s initial request.”
Armen Yousoufian, the plaintiff, asked for records of government studies that examined costs connected with the proposed Seattle Seahawks stadium. This request was made a few weeks before King County residents voted on a referendum to raise taxes by $300 million to help finance the new stadium, according to Americans for Limited Government (ALG), a conservative activist group opposed to the Sims HUD nomination.
King County was ordered to pay Yousoufian $120,000, the largest fine in state history, ALG said.
There is no question that Sims is the main defendant in this case, despite what he told the television crew, said Carter Clews, ALG’s communications director.
The records could have been released in a timely fashion that would help serve the public interest but instead this took years, costing millions of dollars in litigation, he said.
“He’s being Clintonesque in his words,” said Richard McCarty, an ALG researcher. “He’s trying to say it’s his office that has been fined but not him personally, but he’s the one responsible here.”
Kevin Mooney is an investigative writer on the Examiner’s commentary staff.
