Two applicants interview for Spokane Ethics Commission; council seeks study session on complaint process

Rockwell Rudder and Dennis Looney interviewed with the Spokane City Council on June 2 as applicants for the Ethics Commission, describing different professional backgrounds and a desire to support accountability and fair process.

Rockwell Rudder said he has been a Spokane resident his whole life and described ethics as the city’s foundation: “As a public organization, like a city, we owe it to the citizens to be accountable and fair and open and transparent,” he said. Rudder said his business is an education service for craft distillery startups and that he wants to give back to the community.

Dennis Looney described roughly three-and-a-half years of residency in Spokane and a background in human resources across higher-education and private-sector roles, saying he has handled complex intake and confidentiality issues and would rely on context and existing Spokane Municipal Code provisions when assessing complaints.

Council members focused questions on how the commission should balance transparency with the risk that complaint intake could be “weaponized.” Council member Dylan asked applicants how they would “balance ... a little bit of that transparency with also ... the potential for complaints that are going to the ethics commission to be potentially weaponized,” and both applicants responded that the commission should evaluate the context of complaints, consult HR or other bodies when appropriate, and consider timeliness and conflict of interest carefully.

Council member McClitzky (transcript: McCad Hart) requested a study session to explore these concerns; the council agreed to work with staff to schedule that session. No appointments or votes were taken on June 2; both applicants were told they would hear from the administration about next steps.