Spokane Prosecutor Larry Haskell did not renew contract of deputy prosecutor who ran against him in primary election
Stefanie Collins, a deputy Spokane County prosecutor who lost an election bid last year to unseat her boss, Larry Haskell, is out of a job.
Haskell told Collins in mid-December he would not renew her contract, Collins said.
Collins ran against Haskell in the August primary for Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney along with two other candidates. Haskell won the primary and, later, re-election for what he said would be his third and final term.
While Collins declined to directly answer questions about whether she believes her candidacy led to her contract not being renewed, she did note during her decadeslong career at the prosecutor’s office she was never written up.
“I never had any write-ups or any sort of issues with my employment prior to that,” Collins said.
Haskell declined to comment on Collins, writing in an email that personnel matters are confidential. He referred all questions to the county’s human resources department. A representative from human resources said a public record request is required to obtain information.
Since Haskell won re-election, Collins has had struggles within the prosecutor’s office, including a September court hearing ahead of the re-trial of Richard Aguirre, a former Pasco police officer accused in the cold-case killing of Ruby Doss in 1986.
At the hearing, Collins told the judge she had received conflicting direction from her managers at the prosecutor’s office. She then passed what appeared to be court files to Chief Criminal Prosecuting Attorney Larry Steinmetz before leaving the courtroom.
A different deputy prosecutor was then assigned to the case.
Collins also was given a new office following the primary in what formerly was a storage closet, she said in a Facebook post.
Despite the sudden end to her longtime employment with the county, Collins said Thursday she is excited about her future. She has started a new job in the Spokane office of Seattle-based personal injury firm Driggs, Bills and Day.
“I’m very, very excited,” she said of her new role.