Lacey council member at center of campaign sign controversy apologizes on social media
Lacey City Council member Ed Kunkel, who was captured on video last month removing a campaign sign belonging to a Thurston County Commission candidate, has apologized in a social media post.
The apology appeared Monday afternoon on Kunkel’s personal Facebook page.
“I’m human, I erred, I owned it and took the steps I thought were appropriate to make things right or at least amicable to those directly affected,” he said in his message. “I’m also truly sorry for disappointing my community with this incident.”
He also writes that he has written a letter of apology to county commission District 5 candidate Emily Clouse, with an offering of “compensation for the trouble.”
The video showed Kunkel removing Clouse’s sign from in front of an espresso stand in the 3000 block of Marvin Road Northeast in early July. Fellow council member Lenny Greenstein was with him at the time.
Clouse and Kunkel are not running against each other. Clouse is on Tuesday’s primary ballot, while Kunkel and Greenstein, both Lacey City Council incumbents, are not in the primary but will appear on November’s general election ballot.
Clouse said Monday she had yet to receive Kunkel’s letter, although if it was sent Monday it likely wouldn’t arrive for a few days. She also said she hasn’t received her sign that was removed.
She said it’s one sign, so it’s not a huge deal, but she remains disappointed in local politics.
“I feel like they should be committed to clean campaigns,” said Clouse, adding that the sign-removing incident gives people another reason not to trust the political process.
One reason she decided to run was to rebuild that trust between the community and elected officials, particularly among her generation. Clouse is 28.
“It possibly could sway people from running in the future,” she said about the incident.
Fallout from the video was swift. The Olympian received a letter to the editor condemning what Kunkel did from former Lacey mayor Mark Brown, and the council itself entertained a motion last week to censure Kunkel and Greenstein that ultimately did not pass. The motion was introduced by council member Robin Vazquez.
“Integrity is important,” Vazquez said in her own Facebook post. “Accountability is important. And I cannot in good conscience remain silent on a visible issue like this that undermines the public’s trust in their elected officials and damages the reputation of our city. We are (rightfully) held to a higher standard, and their actions were inappropriate.”
Immediately after the council meeting, council members could be seen interacting with the public, according to another video shot after the meeting and shared with The Olympian.
At one point Thurston County Commission District 5 candidate Terry Ballard confronts Kunkel, repeatedly saying, “I’m pissed.”
Ballard declined to comment Monday.
Later, Kunkel can be seen asking others in the audience, “Do you have something to say?”
This story was originally published August 1, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
