The News Tribune looked into those questions, obtained documents through public records requests, and searched other available records for information on all four general election candidates.
The newspaper found:
• Karen Vialle has been a substitute teacher in Tacoma for 10 years, and early in that period she was involved in what she calls “an unfortunate incident” at Mount Tahoma High School. School district documents describe how Vialle and a female student got into a shoving match in November 2001, after Vialle reportedly told students they were misbehaving, compared their behavior to chimpanzees at a zoo and used profanity.
The student was unhurt, but Vialle suffered chest pains and went to a hospital for a checkup after the incident. A police report termed the confrontation a “mutual combatant situation.” The district ordered Vialle to take training in classroom management and barred her from substituting in middle or high schools.
Vialle said in an interview that she still feels bad about the episode: “I didn’t intend any harm, and the girl didn’t either.”
She said she learned that she should have asked for help sooner, before the situation escalated. But she said because she was new on the job, she didn’t realize that.
“I went back to work,” she said. “I have enjoyed working at the elementary schools.”
Her personnel file released by the district contains no other disciplinary actions since the Mount Tahoma incident.
Vialle said she will quit substitute teaching if elected to the board, but that she’ll miss working with kids.
• Kim Washington was arrested twice for DUI offenses, once in King County in 2004 and once in Thurston County in 2005, according to public documents. She admits she was at fault. But she said she was able to move past those mistakes and other personal problems in her life. She points out that she went on to earn a doctoral degree in education from Oregon State University in 2009.
“I’ve gone through things, but I have been able to recover from times of tragedy,” she said. “I am just as human as everyone. I am trying every day to make my life better.”
• Dexter Gordon’s voting record has been challenged in online discussions of his candidacy, with allegations that he is registered to vote in Gig Harbor and therefore ineligible to run for office in Tacoma.
He said he moved to Tacoma in 2002, then to Gig Harbor in 2003, where he lived until 2010. That’s when he moved back to Tacoma but failed to immediately switch his voter registration to his new address.
According to Pierce County elections records, he registered to vote in Tacoma before filing to run for office this year.
Gordon said that even while residing in Gig Harbor, he kept his daughter enrolled in Tacoma Public Schools.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635 debbie.cafazzo@ thenewstribune.com
