Probe finds nothing wrong in deputy exec’s behavior

EVERETT — Police detectives have found no evidence to support claims that Deputy Snohomish County Executive Mark Ericks illegally pressured planning staff to approve permits for developers.

Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe asked Lynnwood police to investigate after allegations surfaced in an earlier report that looked into Ericks’ workplace behavior.

In the recent investigation, authorities interviewed Ericks, county staff and developers. FBI agents assisted because of the suggestion of public corruption.

“There’s nothing that could remotely be considered criminal,” Roe said.

Ericks was a career police officer and former U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Washington before becoming County Executive John Lovick’s top administrator two years ago. The probe put him in the unfamiliar role of responding to detectives’ questions, rather than asking them.

“I did nothing wrong and somebody set out to wreck my character,” Ericks told The Daily Herald. “It’s what I said all along.”

The investigation highlights ongoing tension between Lovick’s administration and three of five County Council members. Council Chairman Dave Somers is one of four candidates challenging Lovick, a fellow Democrat, in next month’s primary election for the executive’s job.

Roe said he alone decided it was necessary have an outside police agency look into the allegations against Ericks.

Claims that the deputy executive had influenced county land-use decisions came up in the workplace investigation that a majority of the County Council authorized in December. The purpose of the earlier workplace review, conducted in January, was to determine whether Ericks had threatened council members in heat-of-the-moment comments during staff meetings. The council paid Seattle attorney Tom Fitzpatrick, who used to work for the county, $15,000 for the work.

Fitzpatrick concluded that Ericks broke no laws or workplace rules. The report, however, recommended following up on a “credible source” who claimed Ericks had meddled in land-use decisions.

The source was Tom Rowe, the manager who oversees permitting for the county’s planning department. Rowe reportedly said he felt pressured to produce favorable permit outcomes. Separately, the County Council received an anonymous letter raising similar questions.

One set of allegations was that Ericks had pushed for approvals of Gracie’s Place, a subdivision southwest of Mill Creek, whose developer happens to be Bothell Mayor Josh Freed. The County Council approved the development in October.

A second set of concerns involved making certain that water-district fees had been paid for a small development approved for the Clearview area. A third involved approvals for the Northshore School District’s future North Creek High School, on 35th Avenue north of Bothell.

In each case, Ericks had received complaints about the amount of time the county’s approvals were taking. The deputy executive told investigators he had a passing acquaintance with the developers overseeing each project but no personal interest. They sought him out with their frustrations, rather than going through planning department employees.

Ericks and Freed know each other from Bothell, where Ericks used to be the police chief and an assistant city administrator.

As for the Clearview developer, Ericks said he often ran into the man at a neighborhood coffee shop. He said he got to know the school district employee involved with the high-school construction during his time with the Bothell Police Department.

“It appears Ericks received complaints from frustrated PDS (Planning and Development Services) customers and looked into them in an effort to improve customer service,” Lynnwood police Cmdr. Steve Rider wrote in his report.

In each case, Ericks had a high-level manager in the executive’s office check to see why approvals were taking so long. One email Ericks sent to executive director Stephen Clifton caused anxiety among planners because it implied that heads could roll if they asked for more staff, rather than addressing the problem head-on.

“I’ve done nothing but do my job,” Ericks said. “Somebody apparently didn’t like the fact that on several different occasions I tried to encourage good customer service over here.”

The County Council launched the initial workplace investigation last year after Ericks made inappropriate comments at staff meetings and in one-on-one conversations. The deputy executive had referred to County Councilman Ken Klein as a “sandwich maker” and to Councilman Terry Ryan as a “terrorist.” In a fit of anger, he also talked of shooting someone, though no one who reported hearing the remark took it as a serious threat.

Somers said that hiring an outside attorney to investigate was his only option after Lovick appeared unwilling to take any action against Ericks, the executive’s top-ranking employee and long-time friend. Lovick said he conducted his own investigation and concluded that Ericks made no threats.

During interviews with detectives, Ericks admitted that he’s prone to salty language — and demonstrated as much. When a detective asked Ericks why someone would accuse him of pushing legally dubious permits, he chalked it up to politics. He lashed out at council members, Somers in particular.

“They’re out to destroy us,” Ericks said.

Roe said he never consulted with Somers or anyone else about the decision to investigate. He said he’s followed the same course for past accusations involving the previous county executive, law enforcement officers, and people from his own office.

“Whenever allegations like this are made about a public official, everybody deserves to know what did or didn’t happen,” Roe said. “Allegations like this can’t just be left to lie there. They need to be looked into and they were.”

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.