Handling of mayor's texts brings $5M claims against Seattle

SEATTLE (AP) — Two now-former public records officers who blew the whistle about Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's missing text messages have each filed $5 million claims against the city, saying they faced retaliation and felt compelled to resign.

Records officer Stacy Irwin, with support from colleague Kimberly Ferreiro, reported to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission that the mayor's office had broken the Public Records Act in responding to requests from journalists and others for Durkan's communications. The requests focused on decisions Durkan and other city officials made amid racial justice protests and unrest in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood last year.

The claims allege Irwin and Ferreiro were required to “perform illegal acts” and “subjected to scorn, ridicule, abuse and hostility" in retaliation for trying to comply with the law, The Seattle Times reported.

Durkan spokesperson Anthony Derrick said the mayor's office could not comment on pending legal claims or litigation.

In responding to the requests and to lawsuits filed against the city, the mayor's office discovered that months of Durkan's text messages had not been retained as required by law.

Michelle Chen, the mayor's legal counsel, directed the public records officers not to inform requesters of that fact, and instead the mayor's office tried to re-create the missing text messages with copies that had been stored on others' phones — with only partial success, an outside investigation conducted for the commission found.

Chen also engaged in “improper governmental action” by deciding to exclude Durkan’s missing texts from certain requests, the investigation found.

“I have knowingly broken the law following Michelle’s advice and while I tried to push back, ultimately she has proven her...