‘I’m here to be difficult’: Spokane Valley drops investigation into council member

(The Center Square) – The city of Spokane Valley concluded its investigation into Councilman Al Merkel on Thursday, saying he had “abused” and “belittled” staff members, leaving them frightened at City Hall.

The investigation initially began in March after a city government employee complained that Merkel had exhibited “inappropriate” communication and behavior, prompting other employees to raise safety concerns about him, according to the investigation’s findings emerges.

Merkel maintained throughout the trial that he had done nothing wrong and that the city had not informed him of his alleged misconduct.

In a self-directed press conference on Thursday, Merkel described the investigation as an attempt to discredit him and punish voters for voting for him.

“There are many things in this document that are obviously aimed at portraying me as a bad person, a tyrant or a troublemaker,” Merkel said in the press conference. “It’s very easy to say a lot without backing it up. The harsh truth behind all this nonsense is that I have been cleared of any legal wrongdoing.”

The investigation included interviews with 22 witnesses: 13 women and nine men. All sitting council members agreed to attend except Merkel, who withdrew after the investigator rejected his attempt to bring a supporter and record video of the meeting.

While the investigation found that Merkel violated the city’s governance manual through hostile behavior, there was no evidence of gender discrimination.

“Witnesses described interactions with Merkel in which he belittled or insulted her,” the city said in a press release. “While the investigation found the incidents credible, the report concluded that Merkel’s actions did not constitute gender discrimination because his interactions with male and female staff were similar.”

The investigation’s findings highlighted several cases in which witnesses said Merkel behaved out of line, some of which occurred before Merkel’s election.

During her election campaign in the fall of 2023, Merkel placed signs in a roundabout and a median that the city said violated the rules because the obstacles were traffic control devices. After an angry phone call, Merkel went to the town hall.

According to the results of the investigation, Merkel “raised his voice and became angry” after being asked to remove the signs. Witnesses described Merkel screaming as one tried to defuse the situation before others came to help, pulling him into a nearby room where he could still be heard from outside.

Merkel became “confrontational” and “very loud and boisterous,” the witness claimed in the investigation.

Even after his election, Merkel’s behavior in the town hall continued to have an impact. Witnesses said it was not unusual for him to announce his presence as he entered the building, often loudly declaring that he was there to “cause trouble,” “start a fight” or “cause chaos,” according to the investigation .

Before entering a city council meeting, Merkel declared, “I’m here to be difficult.” While some witnesses described the behavior as “disturbing and disrespectful,” others gave Merkel the benefit of the doubt and said he might, according to the investigation’s findings I was just trying to be funny.

In another case, Merkel asked a fellow council member to stay after a meeting to talk to him, but after almost everyone had left, Merkel blocked the door and started screaming in her face.

“I tried to leave. “(Merkel) didn’t let me go,” she said after the investigation results. “He blocked the door, kept yelling at me, and I just fell silent.”

The council member told the investigator that Merkel would position herself between them when she tried to approach the door.

“If I backed away, he would go back with me, and then when I tried to go around him, he would walk towards me so as not to let me,” she continued, according to the inquest’s findings.

After the incident, City Hall staff began accompanying the councilwoman to her car as she left the building, as did her husband when he is there, according to the investigation’s findings.

In an interview with The Center Square on Friday, Merkel questioned the scope of the investigation. He said if the investigation was about a possible violation of the city’s harassment policy, the investigation should have been closed if no such violation was found.

Instead, Merkel said, the process continued to investigate violations of the expectations of respect and civility contained in the governance manual, even though City Manager John Hohman had previously told Merkel that it was not the staff’s job to enforce the governance manual .

Merkel said she wanted to provide a written statement on the investigation by May 16.

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“It is clearer than ever that this entire investigation was nothing more than an ineffective City Council member and a city bureaucrat plotting, even before I took office, to combat my legitimate questions about how the city conducts its business with a conspiracy that “To protect their jobs in elected positions,” Merkel said on Thursday.

According to the city’s press release, Merkel will continue to work in a separate area from other staff during her stay at city hall.