But there was no genuine competition when the state agency needed someone to examine its operations. It paid $65,000 to a retired state administrator, John M. King, with the blessing of Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office.
Investigators from State Auditor Brian Sonntag’s office looking into a complaint concluded the agency signed the no-bid contract with King Associates without giving serious consideration to potential competitors who might have been able to do the work cheaper.
The whistleblower described it as a special deal for a friend of the agency’s now-director, Cathy Canorro. Investigators found evidence to support that claim, saying Canorro told people she was interested in awarding the contract to King before notifying other potential bidders.
“A witness stated that when (Canorro) was being considered for acting director, she told the governor’s office that she would not accept that position unless she could bring on a particular individual as a consultant,” investigators wrote in their report.
Canorro told investigators “she may have said something like that, but it was taken out of context. She also stated she had first met the contractor more than 30 years ago and acknowledged participating in social activities with the contractor.”
Sonntag’s office, which released its findings last week, has sent the matter to the state’s Executive Ethics Board to decide whether ethics laws were violated.
HELP WITH TRANSITION
After the agency’s last director, Cynthia Cooper, resigned in October 2010, Gregoire’s office quickly promoted Canorro to acting director. Gregoire at that time was drawing up a plan to merge the agency with others into a new Office of Civil Rights.
“My request was that I have some assistance given the scope that was looming from all of these issues, so I made the request for assistance and the governor’s office understood that,” Canorro said in an interview. “So Mr. King’s name was identified because of his credentials.”
King had been an administrator at the Department of Corrections, the Department of Agriculture and the attorney general’s office before leading the Department of Veteran Affairs for former Gov. Gary Locke and Gregoire. Canorro said few people “had that kind of hands-on experience with the state.”
The governor’s budget office approved the sole-source, or no-bid, contract and signed off on an exemption to a freeze on service contracts.
The agency publicized the contract in a notice that gave other companies two days to submit bids – only one day was legally required, the agency said – and three companies expressed interest.
“The rules were followed,” Canorro said.
The agency went with King, who received the equivalent of a deputy director’s pay and less than his normal hourly rate, the agency said.
The Legislature ended up rejecting the proposed Civil Rights merger. That changed the consultant’s focus to “staff and organizational development,” according to a report by King on what he found.
DYSFUNCTION SEEN
Officials saw a need for changes on that front. King’s 12-page final report diagnosed dysfunction in the office, blaming a lack of communication between managers who didn’t work at the agency anymore.
The June 30 report said turnover had also left an inexperienced and demoralized staff that didn’t trust management.
“The interviews also clearly established that the office was rife with interpersonal conflict, deficient in basic knowledge of individual job requirements and faced with other distractions that have had a negative impact on overall performance,” according to King’s report.
But he said Canorro, now the permanent director, was turning it around.
Gregoire’s deputy chief of staff, Fred Olson, said the agency is running behind in certifying businesses to contract with the state. Its record-keeping system is outdated and records haven’t been digitized, he said.
“I think we’ve still got a ways to go,” he said.
Olson said King’s report helped him learn about the problems at the agency. He has been working with Canorro to implement a nine-step “action plan,” including adding staffers, implementing efficiencies and moving to a five-day work week from a four-day, 10-hours-a-day schedule.
Jordan Schrader: 360-786-1826
jordan.schrader@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/politics
Twitter: @Jordan_Schrader
