Four Burien Serial Activists join Olympia Activist in Harassing Burien City Council Members

Katie Kresly

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August 20, 2024

Arthur West, referred to as a "public records gadfly" by the Associated Press in 2015, is now joined by Burien activists in their latest attempts to unsettle the Burien City Council.

On April 26, 2024, Arthur West, an Olympia activist, filed a complaint alleging that a Burien press conference on April 25, 2024 violated the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA). West alleged that "Burien City Council members Kevin Schilling, Alex Andrede, Linda Akey, and Stephanie Moras [sic]... knowingly conducted an unlawful meeting and deliberated and took 'action' and 'final action' outside the context of a properly scheduled and noticed open public meeting..."

On August 16, 2024, four of Burien's most prominent activists joined with Plaintiff Arthur West in his lawsuit as signatories on a "Motion to Intervene" against these same City Council members. Of those four signers, two lost their bids for re-election by a landslide in 2023, and one signer was removed from an advisory position by the City Council in 2023.

The event in question occurred on April 25th, when Mayor Schilling called a press conference to allow business owners to speak about their concerns with the growing homeless population in Burien, especially regarding the commercial district economic detriment caused by the tents in front of businesses on the main street of Burien.

Four councilmembers were present, but they did not conduct any Council business.

Over the course of 25 years, Mr. West has filed similar complaints and records requests against multiple agencies. As noted in the Spokesman-Review article, in some cases, he "wins" and receives his settlement fees, just so an agency can get rid of him.

Closer to home, Charles Schaefer, Former Burien Planning Commission Chair, stated on his Facebook page, "I want them [Burien City Council majority] to be as miserable as they are trying to make the homeless in Burien."

Here is the MOTION TO INTERVENE: (LINK)

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