EDMONDS—Libertarian State Representative candidate for the 21st Legislative District, Bruce Guthrie, who was arrested for gathering signatures during an event in a City of Edmonds park on Friday, June 14, will be entering into a letter of representation with high-profile attorney Mark Lamb of Carney, Bradley, Spellman law firm in Seattle.
“Of all the attorneys I talked to and all who were recommended, I feel Mark is the best choice because of his experience, his calm demeanor (which I can really relate to), and his track record of fiercely fighting for his clients,” Guthrie wrote in a statement adding, “I am proud that I will be represented by such a principled, courageous attorney who will fight to protect my right — and everyone’s right — to peacefully petition in Washington state.”
On June 14, Guthrie was arrested by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Edmonds Police in the Frances Anderson Play Field during the Edmonds Arts Festival for refusing to leave the premises as he collected signatures to qualify Libertarian Presidential Candidate Chase Oliver for the Washington state ballot.
Guthrie was accompanied by two others on Friday at the Gaugin and O’Keefe streets (the streets were renamed after artists for the Edmonds Arts Festival, in this case Paul Gaugin and Georgia O’Keefe) when he was first approached by the Art Festival Manager who informed him he could not petition on Arts Festival grounds, requesting that he relocate to a nearby sidewalk. Guthrie politely declined, he informed the Lynnwood Times, arguing his First Amendment rights to petition on public property.
After Guthrie refused to relocate his petition efforts, officers working with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office promptly arrived again asking that Guthrie relocate to a nearby sidewalk.
At this point the two others accompanying Guthrie had listened to the officers and relocated across the street, but Guthrie remained. He was subsequently arrested, strip searched, and spent six hours in jail, four of which were in solitary confinement he said.
Guthrie stated in his statement this week that The Arts Festival signed a contract which acknowledged and recognized and guaranteed that the park was a public forum and that First Amendment activities would not be hindered or infringed.
He is now seeking legal action against the Edmonds Arts Festival, Edmonds Police Department, and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
“It was an experience that was embarrassing, demeaning, scary, and painful both physically and emotionally,” Guthrie wrote. “Our first step is to try to convince the prosecutor to not pursue these unjustified criminal charges against me — I have no criminal record. Our second step is a lawsuit against those responsible that is sizable enough so this kind of travesty of justice never happens to anyone else ever again.”
Who is Mark Lamb?
Below is a short bio of Mark Lamb posted to his LinkedIn account:
Attorney and Mediator with extensive experience in complex litigation, corporate transactions, real estate, land use, government affairs and election law.
Mark is an effective and sought after advocate who has practiced law for 26 years in both Washington and California. He represents clients in transactional and litigation matters in the corporate, public policy and real estate sectors. He serves as counsel to some of the most respected individuals, elected officials, family-owned businesses and trade associations in the Pacific Northwest. He is a frequent speaker on, and serves as a mediator in, public policy litigation, land use matters, public-private partnerships and real estate litigation and transactions. Mark has also served as a government special counsel in connection with investigations and complaints.
Mark served in the leadership of the City of Bothell as Mayor for four terms and was a member of the Bothell City Council from 2004-2015. He worked with his colleagues on the City Council and city staff to develop Washington State’s largest downtown revitalization project which spurred over $300 million in private investment. The centerpiece of this effort was the purchase, restoration and repurposing of an 80 year old school that created McMenamins Anderson School in Bothell: a family owned hotel, movie theater, restaurants and a pool with free use for Bothell residents https://www.mcmenamins.com/anderson-school. Under his leadership as Mayor, the City of Bothell won three statewide awards for fiscal stewardship and had its credit rating upgraded twice.
Mark is currently President of the Puget Sound chapter of the Federalist Society. He is a past Chairman of the Snohomish Health District, a post he was unanimously elected to by a bi-partisan group of local elected officials from across Snohomish County. From 2014-2023 he served on the Advisory Board for the University of Washington Bothell.
Mark is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court, the federal and state courts of Washington and California and is an honors graduate of Duke University and the UCLA School of Law.
One Response
I hope this goes somewhere. Snohomish county officers abuse their power and continuously cause harm to its residence including children. This ridiculous legal system and its components have destroyed so many lives and families. They continue to kill inmates and do not follow protocol or care about the safety of the accused. They also lead and pressure members of the community into making false statements and telling them what to say or write. It wastes our resources and tax payer money as well as destroying all trust in our police and courts.