Two lawsuits target four of the five members of the Clark County Council. The legal complaints were filed after the removal of Councilor Michelle Belkot as an appointed representative on the regional transit board, C-TRAN.
At a March 11 C-TRAN meeting, Belkot indicated she would vote against the wishes of her fellow councilors on a contentious dispute about local funding for the Interstate Bridge Replacement. The other councilors have said they support the option of Clark County paying long-term operating costs for a light rail extension across a new bridge into downtown Vancouver. Belkot disagreed.
The conflict brings up the question of who Belkot should represent as a member of the transit board: the county council that appointed her or constituents who elected her who don’t support light rail expansion?
The C-TRAN agenda item focused on updating language in a bridge planning document that decides if the transit agency could share in maintenance and operations costs for light rail. C-TRAN is paid for by small cities in Clark County.
Belkot said she was against including language to fund light rail, despite her fellow county councilors supporting it. The transit board ultimately tabled a decision after hours of debate and public comment. The next day, the Clark County Council voted Belkot off the transit board.
In the suit filed March 31, Belkot argues the council didn’t have the right to remove her. Her complaint also claims the councilors broke Washington’s public meetings law by not announcing the vote ahead of time, thereby limiting public comment.
Belkot’s suit contends her removal was a violation of her constitutional rights.
“The First and Fourteenth Amendments protect people from removal from positions based on their plans to vote or viewpoint even if the position is not a paid position,” says Belkot’s complaint.
A similar lawsuit was filed March 25 by Clark County resident Robert Anderson, that echos Belkot’s claims. Both were filed in neighboring Skamania County Superior Court since the charges involve claims against the Clark County government.
The suits request that Belkot be reinstated to the board and that any decisions by the current C-TRAN board be considered void.
Clark County Councilors Wil Fuentes and Chair Sue Marshall declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
The C-TRAN board is set to meet April 15, when the tabled motion about potential light rail funding options will be revisited, according to a spokesperson for the transit agency.
