SeaTac public commenters urge council action after disputed remarks about former council member

Several residents used the Jan. 13 public-comment period to press the SeaTac City Council to discipline or remove Deputy Mayor Yaris Guzman for remarks made on Dec. 10 about former councilmember and longtime community volunteer Pam Fernald.

Chuck Darioli opened the public comments with a broad critique of the current council majority and listed a string of recent personnel changes in city management and the attorney's office. Speakers who followed—Susan Constable, Donna Thomas, Errol Gibson, Damiana Meriwether, Mary Kunis and others—explicitly criticized a councilmember's December remarks calling them slanderous and racially offensive, and several called for ethics training, disciplinary action or resignation. Damiana Meriwether and others cited public records and prior public statements by the appointee to the Community Services Advisory Committee as context for their concerns.

Speakers framed the issue as about civility, representation and whether volunteers and appointees reflect the city's values. Some commenters identified Pam Fernald by name as the former councilmember they said had been disparaged; others avoided naming individuals but described the conduct they had observed. Speakers requested that the council enforce its code of ethics and take action; multiple commenters said the council's response so far was insufficient.

Mayor Mohammed Igal and councilmembers did not take immediate disciplinary action during the meeting; later in the meeting the mayor offered remarks asking for civility. The public-comments speakers were explicit in urging follow-up actions including ethics training, formal discipline or resignation, and several said they would continue to press the council on the matter.