Claudia Balducci, a Democrat Bellevue City Council member and King County Council candidate, has raised quite a few eyebrows due to her questionable behavior during her time as the Director of the King County Jails. Indeed, it appears that Seattle liberals are rushing to cover the tracks of their far-Left favorite.
As Shift reported, Balducci served as a member of Sound Transit Board of Directors, the Sound Transit Capital Committee, and as Chair of the Puget Sound Regional Council’s (PSRC) Transportation Policy Board. Balducci served in these roles as a representative of the Bellevue City Council. During this time, Balducci maintained a full time job as jail director. Balducci charged King County taxpayers for a full day of work as jail director even on the days when she spent part of her day in meetings representing the City of Bellevue.
Cross checking the time sheets of her official pay history as jail director with official Sound Transit and PSRC meeting minutes reveal that Balducci charged taxpayers for work she did not do at least 49 times. Because she was paid by King County while also acting in the capacity of a representative of the Bellevue City Council, Balducci may have violated the King County Employee Code of Ethics.
KCC 3.04.030 (9) considers it a conflict of interest when a county employee “engages in or accepts compensation, employment or renders services for any person or a governmental entity other than the county when such employment or service is incompatible with the proper discharge of official duties or would impair independence of judgment or action in the performance of official duties.”
Balducci’s questionable behavior was enough to warrant an official ethics complaint filed last Thursday with King County. It’s not surprising, given that Balducci is the favorite of the Left, that the complaint was dismissed the next day after a call from Democrat King County Executive Dow Constantine. However, the dismissal does not change that Balducci crossed an ethical line.
Whether or not the services rendered as representative of the Bellevue City Council during time she claimed to be working for King County on official time sheets are “incompatible with the proper discharge of official duties” is less certain. Given that Balducci began to be honest with her time sheets following an investigative report by King 5, there are questions that deserve answers.
Balducci brushes off her sketchy behavior by explaining she has “no doubt” that she “worked more than enough” to earn her hours. That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that she filled out incorrect time sheets.
Balducci describes her role as jails director as a “big, serious job.” That description in itself warrants a second look at why she would falsify time sheets for a job she admits is important.
Certainly, as jails director, Balducci set a poor example for jail employees. As a King 5 investigation found in 2013, under Balducci’s watch, a whopping 2,153 jail employees received overtime pay on a day they were also using vacation or comp time. And, a total of 378 employees did it at least once during the time period.
Balducci appears to have led by example, breaking rules and cheating taxpayers.
