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Burien mayor says she did not take official action after council questions timing of city manager discussion
Summary
Mayor Sarah Moore told the Burien City Council she "was not taking an official action" after colleagues pressed her about a statement to the city manager implying majority support for changing leadership; the council moved into executive session to consult legal counsel on related litigation and personnel issues.
Mayor Sarah Moore said she "was not taking an official action" after several councilmembers raised concerns that she and the deputy mayor had privately signaled a majority to move on city manager leadership without a public council vote.
The exchange unfolded just before the council recessed into an executive session under Washington's open-meetings law, RCW 42.30.110, to consult legal counsel about matters related to litigation or potential litigation and personnel. Councilmember Kevin Schilling said he was "concerned" after a social-media post suggested council members had shared information with campaign committees and after what he called a "pseudo official action" by city leaders.
Councilmember Linda Akey pressed the mayor for specifics, asking why a statement was read to the city manager without first bringing the matter to the full council and when the mayor believed there were votes to change leadership. Mayor Moore responded that she had acted on a belief and intended to address the matter in executive session.
The council recessed for a timed executive session and later reconvened in open session at 6:43 p.m. Mayor Moore told the council the executive session might be extended and that the body "may or may not take further action" afterward.
The discussion culminated in a request by Councilmember Akey to place a future planning-calendar item about a potential breach of executive-session procedure.
No formal disciplinary action or vote on city-manager leadership was recorded in the meeting minutes; the mayor explicitly characterized her prior contact with the city manager as a human-resources conversation rather than an official council action.
