Spokane City Attorney confirmed, ending fight over interim status

Spokane City Attorney Lynden Smithson is interim no more.

On Monday, the Spokane City Council voted 4-1 to approve Smithson as the permanent city attorney, ending a weekslong debate over whether Mayor Nadine Woodward violated city law by waiting until now to request a vote.

In May 2022, Woodward tapped Smithson, a longtime member of the City Prosecutor’s Office, to serve as interim city attorney to replace the retiring Mike Ormsby. In the year since, Smithson had not been put forward for approval by the City Council and continued to serve in an interim capacity.

According to the city charter, Spokane’s mayor has the power to appoint and remove the city attorney, but the appointment must be confirmed by the City Council. When someone is appointed to that position in an interim position, a permanent appointment must be presented to the City Council for approval within 30 days, according to city code. In any case, interim appointments expire after 180 days, unless the City Council approves a 180-day extension.

Just two weeks ago, the Council voted to rebuke Woodward for not putting forward an applicant for permanent city attorney and requesting the state auditor to investigate whether payments to Smithson were illegal. In an interview with The Spokesman-Review, Woodward argued that the Council left her no choice, and that former Council President Breean Beggs had assured her that she did not have the votes to approve Smithson.

Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson was the sole vote against approving Smithson on Monday, though she did not articulate any objections to Smithson himself. Earlier in the afternoon, Wilkerson had voted against placing the item on the evening agenda for an immediate vote, saying that it did not give the public sufficient time to understand the topic. Two members of the public echoed those concerns Monday, saying they were not able to prepare educated comments on the issue in time for the vote.

Councilwoman Karen Stratton argued that conversations over Smithson’s tenuous interim status had gone on for weeks, and that the matter should be dealt with quickly.

“What wasn’t working here is that the mayor hasn’t brought it forward before and we’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting,” she said. “In the meantime, there’s the person who’s been doing the job, stuck in the middle and doesn’t know one day to the next if he has a job.”