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LYNNWOOD—When former Lynnwood Parks & Recreation Director Lynn Sordel officially retired from his position on March 15, he was disappointed by Mayor Christine Frizzell’s decision to place Joel Faber as interim Director instead of his, and his staff’s, recommendation to transition Deputy Director Sarah Olson into the role of Director.

Now, some city staff members, and former city staff members, are drawing comparisons to another decision Mayor Frizzell made in recent years regarding the Assistant City Administration position that is currently filled by Julie Moore.

Transitioning Olson into the role of Parks Director was just one of several proposed changes Sordel maps out in a succession plan he delivered to the mayor last November. To view that plan in its entirety click here.

What’s more, a few city council members were confused that Mayor Frizzell abruptly cancelled an Executive Session to interview candidates for the Parks Director position just 30-minutes before the City Council meeting was to begin—proceeding with her decision without the council’s involvement. 

Mayor Frizzell responded to the Lynnwood Times’ question why the interview process had been cancelled by citing the Lynnwood Municipal Code, which states there must be at least three candidates presented to the council. However, further research by the Lynnwood Times revealed there were at least three candidates for the position, Sarah Olson, Joel Faber, and another candidate from out-of-town.

Still, even if there weren’t, it wouldn’t be the first time the city of Lynnwood held interviews with less than three candidates—Human Resource Director, and Police Chief positions are just two examples as of late.

Also, what wasn’t included in the Mayor’s response to the Times is another section of the Lynnwood Municipal Code which allows the interview process to continue with only two candidates so long as the council approves. It was revealed to the Lynnwood Times that the City Council was not allowed a vote.

Previous Mayor Nicola Smith did this in the past when Tom Davis, Police Chief, left the City without much notice, replacing him with Jim Nelson without three candidates.

Making appointments to executive leadership positions without an external application process seems to be a pattern of Mayor Frizzell who, in addition to appointing Faber as interim Parks Director without an interview or application process, also appointed an Executive Assistant replacing Leah Jensen, as well as appointing Julie Moore as Assistant City Administrator following Art Ceniza’s retirement.

“The city of Lynnwood has been really good over many years to not politicize appointments in key positions, they’ve always followed a process and that wasn’t followed in my replacement,” Art Ceniza told the Lynnwood Times. “If Julie had gone through the normal process, she would not have met the minimum requirements for the position.”

Back in 2022, former City Administrator Art Ceniza announced his retirement for that December after serving with the city of Lynnwood for 12 years, and 27 years in public administration in total. Ceniza ended up retiring several months prior, in July, due to concerns he had about Mayor Frizzell’s leadership and the direction the city was going, he told the Lynnwood Times.

Some of the concerns Ceniza voiced about Mayor Frizzell’s leadership approach involve not having a comprehensive “vision” for the city, and her lack of cooperation with the city council on certain decisions.

“She really didn’t seem like she was very concerned with leading the city as its chief CEO,” Ceniza told the Lynnwood Times. “It seems she was more interested in the trappings of being Mayor, having a big office, having a nice big salary, having her own parking space. What I did not see is much interest in sharing her vision for the city.”

When Mayor Frizzell replaced former Lynnwood Mayor Nicola Smith, Mayor Smith left a five-year vision for the city with expectations that the succeeding Mayor would update. To this day the last update to the city’s community vision was on 2009 with a council-approved reaffirming on 2015.

“I find it really hard to set goals without a vision,” said Ceniza. “It makes it hard to run an organization when those vision and goals aren’t set by the head of that organization, or without cooperation or communication with council and Departments because we make up the budget. How can we have meetings and an agenda on goals when there are no goals?”

Ceniza informed the Lynnwood Times the decision to retire early was his but, in an email, obtained by the Lynnwood Times, sent June 10, 2022, it appears as if Mayor Frizzell was the one to expedite Ceniza’s retirement.

“Every time I think about what I heard from the Mayor at my meeting with you and her this past Monday afternoon about speeding up my retirement from next year to right now makes me boiling mad. The notion that the Mayor wants me to retire on her terms and not mine is tremendously disrespectful,” Ceniza wrote to former Human Resource Director Chinn.

The letter continued to state that comments Mayor Frizzell’s made toward Ceniza did not make him feel “safe” nor “welcome,” nor did he feel as if he was treated “equitably.”

“The way I was spoken to by the Mayor Monday flies in the face of the city’s resolution that calls for Lynnwood to be a safe, welcome and equitable city,” Ceniza’s email to Chinn stated, which Mayor Frizzell was copied. “The Mayor’s comments did not make feel safe. Did not make me feel welcome. And did not make me feel I was treated equitably.”

Ceniza informed the Lynnwood Times that according to staff members he has kept in touch with after retiring, it was unanimously understood that Sarah Olson would become Lynnwood’s new Parks Director after Sordel’s retirement. He added that, without a doubt, he would have voted for Olson for the position.

“It was a surprise to everybody that it happened so quickly,” Lynnwood City Council President George Hurst told the Lynnwood Times. “Ceniza was one of the standup guys, he did his job well and I didn’t understand why he was forced to retire early.”

Hurst added that in all his years with the city, he has never seen a process quite like this.

Mayor Frizzell quickly replaced Ceniza as Assistant City Administrator with her Community Engagement Manager Julie Moore, without an application or interview process.

“It was unusual that there was no in-house application it was just, here, Julie Moore is now my replacement, and it only took me two days to do it,” said Council President Hurst. “Just like the Lynn Sordel thing, which was also unusual, just the whole process not being really upfront with the council or the public that the Mayor had decided not to go forward with interviews.”

Art Ceniza added that he knew several qualified city staff members who were looking forward to applying to the Assistant City Administrator position after his retirement but were not given the opportunity through an open, fair, and vetted process.

A public records request by the Lynnwood Times revealed that the City of Lynnwood provided outgoing Assistant City Administrator, Art Ceniza, a massive $154,238.63 separation agreement payout for his “early retirement” in August of 2022. Multiple City council members informed the Lynnwood Times that they were unaware of such an agreement and had concerns on where the funds came from.

“The [separation] agreement was not brought to council for approval at any time,” Hurst told the Lynnwood Times.

The decision to separate with Ceniza came less than one month after Mayor Frizzell and Moore took a trip to Washington D.C. together to “advocate Lynnwood’s priorities with federal representatives,” travel request documents obtained by the Lynnwood Times states. Total expenses for that trip were $5,272.80 for airfare, lodging, and a $300 cash advance.

The decision shocked former Lynnwood City Council member Jim Smith who told the Lynnwood Times that Moore was “underqualified for the position.”

At the time of her appointment in 2022, Moore held a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Western Washington University and had been the Community Engagement Manager for the City of Lynnwood for roughly a year. Overall, Moore has been a with the city for the last 14 years. She has since completed her master’s degree program in Management and Leadership from Western Governor’s University.

Moore, in her new role, has been assisting the mayor in the overall management of the City, supporting internal and external operations, and implementing City policies, programs, and procedures. Moore’s salary falls between an hourly rate range of $74.97 to $96.51 ($155,937 to $200,740 per year), which was a 35% increase from a previous 20.94% pay grade increase in December of 2021 in her former role as Community Engagement Manager with an hourly rate range of $55.32 to $71.22 ($115,065 to $148,137 per year).

Mayor Frizzell disagreed with former Councilman Smith’s assessment, informing the Lynnwood Times that “experience counts in lieu of, or in combination with, education to meet the qualifications of many of our jobs, including the Assistant City Administrator position,” continuing to say, “counting practical experience toward preferred education qualifications is a best practice to encourage persons of diverse backgrounds to work for the City.”

“Julie is extremely well qualified for this role based on her experience and education. She has worked for 14 years for the City of Lynnwood and worked directly for Mayors Gough and Smith before me. In Julie’s last role as Communication [Specialist] and Community Engagement Manager she delved deeply into many issues on behalf of the Mayor’s office and across city departments. She also worked on Intergovernmental Relations and the City’s Legislative Agenda at the state and federal level.  Additionally, she holds a bachelor’s degree and is working towards master’s degree,” Mayor Christine Frizzell told the Lynnwood Times.

The decision was well within the authority of the mayor’s abilities, given the Lynnwood Municipal Code and Administrative Policy, and it wasn’t the first time a position in the Mayor’s leadership team was hired without a competitive process, former HR Director Evan Chinn said. Strategic Planner Corbitt Loch, DBS Director David Kleitsch, City Clerk/Procurement Manager Karen Fitzthum were all appointments by former Mayor Smith, and Lila Robinson Executive Assistant to Mayor Frizzell, are all just some examples Chinn gave.

According to the City of Lynnwood Administrative Policy HR-210: In those cases where a qualified candidate exists within the City, an internal appointment may be made without requirement for an internal job posting process. In such cases, a supervisor in consultation with his/her department head, the Human Resources Director, and the Mayor may elect to fill a position through internal appointment. Candidates for internal appointment must meet the minimum qualifications for the position for which they are being hired.

Despite council members feeling Mayor Frizzell’s lack of involving the public and council in her decision-making process, the Mayor did discuss her decision to appoint Moore with the city’s HR Director prior. She was informed that she could either go through an external hiring process or make an appointment. Based on these options and conversation she appointed Moore and stands by that decision to this day; she told the Times.

“Julie has historically done, and continues to do excellent work on my behalf, and for the people of Lynnwood,” said Mayor Frizzell.

While the Mayor may have acted within her authority, council members still believe their lack of involvement in decisions involving executive city staff position appointments to be concerning. They now plan to take it upon themselves to change the Lynnwood Municipal Code so a Mayor can no longer appoint leadership positions without a council vote.

Statement from Council Vice President Julieta Altamirano-Crosby about city transparency

“Over the past two years, I have encountered numerous constituents expressing concern about the lack of transparency in Lynnwood’s governance and there are several council members that feel the same way.  Several issues, including most recently, the non-transparent process of the appointment of the interim Director of Parks & Recreation.

“As a council member, it is my responsibility to address these concerns and ensure transparency to the extent allowed by law.

“Many of you are familiar with my advocacy through various campaigns, such as Let’s Talk Safety, which underscores my commitment to openness and accountability. Moving forward, transparency will continue to be a focal point of my efforts as we work together to build a more informed and engaged community in Lynnwood.”

Author: Kienan Briscoe