{"id":2242771,"date":"2024-05-12T09:11:11","date_gmt":"2024-05-12T13:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/im-here-to-be-difficult-spokane-valley-closes-investigation-into-councilmember\/"},"modified":"2024-05-12T09:15:09","modified_gmt":"2024-05-12T13:15:09","slug":"im-here-to-be-difficult-spokane-valley-closes-investigation-into-councilmember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/im-here-to-be-difficult-spokane-valley-closes-investigation-into-councilmember\/","title":{"rendered":"Spokane Valley closes probe on councilmember known for being challenging"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fim-here-to-be-difficult-spokane-valley-closes-investigation-into-councilmember%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2242771&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The City of Spokane \u2063Valley concluded its investigation into Councilmember Al Merkel, finding he berated and belittled staff, causing fear.\u2062 Merkel disputed the allegations, claiming innocence. The investigation,\u2064 involving 22 witnesses, highlighted instances of hostile behavior and out-of-line \u200bconduct. Although found guilty of breaching governance rules, no evidence of gender bias was found. The investigation by the\u2063 City of\u200d Spokane Valley into Councilmember Al \u200bMerkel revealed instances where he mistreated staff, instilling fear \u2063among them. Merkel, \u2062however,\u2064 denied the accusations, asserting \u200dhis\u200d innocence. \u200cDespite breaching governance\u200d rules, the investigation did not uncover any \u2063evidence of gender bias. \u2062This probe involved testimonies from 22 witnesses and shed light on disruptive behavior.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 The City of Spokane Valley wrapped up its investigation into Councilmember Al Merkel on Thursday, saying he \u201cberated\u201d and \u201cbelittled\u201d staff, making them feel fearful at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/9-year-old-girl-pepper-sprayed-during-interaction-with-rochester-police\/\" title=\"9-Year-Old Girl Pepper Sprayed During Interaction With Rochester Police\">city hall<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation initially ensued in March following a city employee\u2019s complaint that Merkel had engaged in \u201cimproper\u201d communications and behavior, leading other employees to raise safety concerns over him, according to the investigation\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n<p>Merkel maintained throughout the process that he had done nothing wrong and that the city had not informed him of his alleged misconduct.<\/p>\n<p>In a self-led <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-whitmer-media-caught-in-another-lie-anarchist-arrested-for-plot-to-kidnap-and-kill-whitmer-hates-president-trump-trump-is-a-tyrant-video\/\" title=\"Gov. Whitmer, Media Caught in Another Lie - Anarchist Arrested For Plot to Kidnap and Kill Whitmer Hates President Trump, 'Trump is a Tyrant' (VIDEO)\">press conference<\/a> on Thursday, Merkel called the investigation an attempt to discredit him and punish voters for electing him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things in this document that are obviously designed to paint me as being a bad person or a bully or a disrupter,\u201d Merkel said in the press conference. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to say a lot without backing it up. The hard truth underneath all that fluff is that I\u2019ve been cleared of any legal wrongdoing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The investigation included interviews with 22 witnesses: 13 females and nine males. Each sitting councilmember agreed to participate except Merkel, who opted out after the investigator denied his attempt to bring a supporter and record video of the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>While the investigation found Merkel violated the city\u2019s governance manual by engaging in a pattern of hostile behavior, there was no evidence of gender discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWitnesses described interactions with Merkel in which he belittled or berated them,\u201d a city release stated. \u201cWhile the investigation found the instances credible, the report concluded that Merkel\u2019s actions did not constitute gender discrimination because his interactions with both male and female staff were similar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The investigation\u2019s findings highlighted several instances in which witnesses said Merkel was out of line, some of which occurred before Merkel was elected.<\/p>\n<p>While on the campaign trail in the fall of 2023, Merkel placed signs in a roundabout and median, which the city said was against the rules because the obstacles were traffic control devices. Following a disgruntled phone call, Merkel went to city hall.<\/p>\n<p>According to the investigation\u2019s findings, after being asked to remove the signs, Merkel \u201craised his voice and became irate.\u201d Witnesses described Merkel as yelling when one tried to defuse the situation before others came to help, pulling him into a nearby room where he was still heard from outside.<\/p>\n<p>Merkel became \u201cconfrontational\u201d and \u201cvery loud and boisterous,\u201d the witness alleged in the investigation\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n<p>After his election, Merkel\u2019s behavior continued to play out at City Hall. Witnesses said it\u2019s not uncommon for him to announce his presence when entering the building, often loudly stating that he was there to \u201ccause trouble,\u201d \u201ccause a fight,\u201d or \u201ccause chaos,\u201d according to the investigation\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n<p>Before entering one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mayor-of-charlottesville-pens-vulgar-poem-likening-city-to-rapist\/\" title=\"Mayor Of Charlottesville Pens Vulgar Poem Likening City To Rapist\">city council meeting<\/a>, Merkel declared, \u201cI\u2019m here to be difficult.\u201d While some witnesses noted the behavior as \u201cdisturbing and disrespectful,\u201d others gave Merkel the benefit of the doubt, stating he might have just been trying to be funny, according to the investigation\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n<p>During another instance, Merkel asked a fellow councilmember to stay after a meeting to talk with him, but after almost everyone had left, Merkel blocked the doorway and started yelling in her face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI tried to leave. [Merkel] would not let me leave,\u201d she said, according to the investigation\u2019s findings. \u201cHe blocked the door, continued to yell at me, and I just kind of shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The councilmember told the investigator that when she tried to move toward the door, Merkel would position himself between them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I would back up, he would back up with me, and then if I tried to go around him, he would move over to not let me,\u201d she continued, according to the investigation\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n<p>Following the incident, city hall employees began walking the councilmember to her car when leaving the building, as does her husband when he\u2019s there, according to the investigation\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with The Center Square on Friday, Merkel questioned the scope of the investigation. He said that if the inquiry was over a potential violation of the city\u2019s harassment policy, then the investigation should have stopped when it found none.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Merkel said, the process went on to investigate violations of the governance manual\u2019s expectation of respect and decorum, despite City Manager John Hohman previously telling Merkel that it\u2019s not the staff\u2019s role to enforce the governance manual.<\/p>\n<p>Merkel said he plans to provide a written response to the investigation by the May 16 deadline.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is clearer than ever that this entire investigation has been nothing more than an ineffective councilmember and city bureaucrat who have been plotting since before I came to office to fight my valid questions about how the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-anaheim-mayor-to-plead-guilty-to-stadium-sale-corruption-charges-city-considers-reform-options\/\" title=\"Former Anaheim Mayor to Admit Guilt in Stadium Sale Corruption Case, City Weighs Reform Choices.\">city conducts business<\/a> with a conspiracy to besmirch me in order to protect their jobs at elected positions,\u201d Merkel said on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>According to the city\u2019s news release, Merkel will continue to work in a separate area from other staff while at city hall.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The City of Spokane Valley concluded its probe on Councilmember Al Merkel, finding he &#8220;berated&#8221; and &#8220;belittled&#8221; staff, causing fear at city hall. The investigation began in March after a complaint about his &#8220;improper&#8221; conduct and communication<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2242772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iStock-1483489085-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2242771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/iStock-1483489085-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2242771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2242772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2242771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2242771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2242771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}