Bucoda mayor may quit

BUCODA – Mayor Kathy Martin is scheduled to make an announcement next week as rumors swirl around this small south Thurston County town that she will resign.

Councilman Paul Davis said Martin notified the council during Monday’s meeting about her pending announcement but didn’t provide details. Another council meeting is tentatively set for this Monday.

Martin did not return phone messages seeking comment left at the town hall or her home Wednesday.

Davis, who has served on the council for more than a year, said he had heard the rumblings that Martin was going to quit. He said both the mayor and her husband have been dealing with health issues.

Public records also show Thurston County has begun foreclosure proceedings on their home because of a failure to pay property taxes.

Martin, 55, has been a divisive figure in Bucoda since voters elected her to the unpaid office in November 2005. She previously worked as the deputy city clerk.

After her election but before she took office, all but one of the town firefighters announced they would resign when she became mayor. They said Martin spread vicious rumors about the town’s employees and had a vendetta against the former fire chief, Kay Hughes. The firefighters subsequently agreed to stay on until April to allow for a transition.

Martin fired Hughes in February because of a misunderstanding about fire coverage so Bucoda firefighters could attend a funeral for one of their colleagues. Martin blamed the former city clerk, Ken Walling, for the uproar and rescinded his council-approved pay raise, which led to the resignation of a council member. Walling eventually received the money, but Martin fired him.

After three months in office, Martin faced an unsuccessful recall effort by some residents and a no-confidence vote by council members. In the document filed with the auditor’s office, Martin’s opponents call her a “one-person wrecking crew” responsible for the upheaval in Bucoda since she took office. A judge later ruled that the accusations by opponents were insufficient to warrant a recall election. A council member, William Brower, who supported the recall resigned afterward.

Bucoda has four employees who serve at the will of the mayor: the full-time city clerk-treasurer, a part-time deputy clerk, a full-time public works director and a seasonal maintenance worker.

The latest development comes after the resignation about a month ago of former city clerk and treasurer Jennifer Goss. She couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday. Davis said Goss said she couldn’t work with Martin any longer.

Davis said Martin has had issues while mayor but also noted: “She’s done a lot of good things for the town. She’s put a lot of time in it.”

Asked about Martin’s job performance, Councilman Steve Purcell, who didn’t attend Monday’s meeting and was unaware of her plans, declined to comment. Purcell, a retired Army master sergeant, said he judged leadership abilities with a tougher standard and that there would be “military bias in any answer I give you.”

The three other council members were unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Martin did not seek re-election and will be replaced by Councilman Alan Carr, the incumbent she defeated by five votes to win the post in 2005. Carr was the only candidate to file for Bucoda mayor and will return to the post in January unless a strong write-in candidate seeks the office.

Online records from the county treasurer’s office show Martin and her husband have not paid property taxes on their Bucoda home since 2005. They owe $6,615 over three years, including interest and penalties. Property with at least three years of unpaid property taxes are subject to foreclosure.

Steve Larson, the treasury systems manager for the Thurston County Treasurer’s Office, said the Martins have been notified that foreclosure proceedings have begun, and a notice of delinquency has been filed in the clerk’s office.

They have until the Friday before the foreclosure sale in January 2010 to pay the back taxes for those years to stop their home from being sold to the highest bidder, he said.

Christian Hill: 360-754-5427

chill@theolympian.com