Controversy arises over oath for incoming Lind council members

LIND — Administering the oath of office to new members of the Lind Town Council dissolved into controversy during the Nov. 25 council meeting and led Adams County Auditor Heidi Hunt to say her staff will not return to Lind.

“I was super disgusted at the disrespect shown by the Lind Town Council,” Hunt said.

Three seats on the council were up for election in 2025. The terms of two of the three included the period of time between election certification and year’s end, as well as their full elected term, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s office. Because the third contested seat was empty before the election, the term for that seat will begin in January. In that case, the candidates who won those seats would be sworn in after the election was certified. Certification occurred Nov. 25.

Lind had a town council meeting that night, and Adams County Elections Deputy Jacque Laird said she attended the meeting at the request of current Mayor Paula Bell, who asked her to administer the oath of office to the new council members prior to the meeting. Bell filed for reelection but lost in the primary.

Two council members, Jamie Schmunk and Jim Weidemann, objected to the swearing-in of the new council members, Laird said. Schmunk’s and Weidemann’s seats were not among those up for election.

Weidemann said he objected because the two council members who were being replaced had not been notified that they would be replaced that night.

“They received no letter. No information. They were blindsided,” Weidemann said. “There was nothing.”

Administering the oaths of office was scheduled for early in the meeting, and Weidemann said he suggested that it be rescheduled to the end. Laird said she then asked for guidance from Hunt.

Hunt said that since Laird was attending the meeting after work hours and at the request of Bell, she didn’t think Laird needed to stay.

“Very disrespectful,” Hunt said. “Very disrespectful. Jacque was doing this on her own time.”

One person was sworn in the next day in Lind, Laird said.

But Hunt said no one from the ACAO staff will be going back to Lind.

“I have been working in elections since 1996 and in all that time I have never had my staff so disrespected by a district,” Hunt said.

Because the new council members were supposed to take office immediately after election certification, the outgoing council members no longer held office as of Nov. 25. Washington law requires that elected officials be administered the oath of office, Hunt said, but it’s not required that it be done by the auditor or her staff.

“That’s why we left, and we’re not worried about it,” she said.