City Attorney Julie Norton
SUNNYSIDE, WA. – A deep divide inside Sunnyside City Hall spilled into public view when Mayor Vicky Frausto moved to terminate the city’s legal services agreement with Ogden Murphy Wallace, the firm serving as Sunnyside’s city attorney.
Frausto made the motion to terminate the contract for cause, effective immediately, citing what she described as a breakdown in communication and a loss of confidence in the firm’s ability to properly support the council. Councilmember Leticia Zesati seconded the motion.
Mayor Vicki Frausto
The motion drew support from Frausto, Zesati, and Councilmember Ramon Chavez. Councilmembers Keren Vazquez, Jorge Galvan, and Tom Dolan voted no. Councilmember Julia Hart abstained. With no majority, the motion failed.
Even so, the failed vote exposed serious dissatisfaction with Julie Norton, a senior partner at Ogden Murphy Wallace, and raised new questions about whether the council’s relationship with its top legal adviser is nearing a breaking point.
Opponents of the motion argued that firing Norton and her firm would only deepen the city’s turmoil. Galvan called it “a big mistake,” warning the council could be digging Sunnyside into a deeper hole. Vazquez said the city has already lost too many key people and argued the firm has been helping keep the city afloat amid ongoing legal and administrative problems.
City Manager Pat Haley stresses during discussion
During the discussion, Dolan asked whether someone else from the firm could step into Norton’s role. Norton responded that Sunnyside’s legal problems are too complex to hand off easily and suggested the city’s needs require someone with her level of experience. City Manager Pat Haley also warned that replacing the firm would be expensive and disruptive, saying a new law firm would have to be brought up to speed on a long list of ongoing matters.
But sources who spoke with La Voz Hispanic Newspaper say the push to remove Norton did not come out of nowhere.
According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, several councilmembers have grown increasingly unhappy with how Norton handled negotiations involving former City Manager Mike Gonzalez. Those sources said frustration intensified after settlement discussions with Gonzalez’s attorney, Zach Hummer, appeared to collapse quickly. Emails reviewed by La Voz Hispanic Newspaper appear to show that Norton’s communications with Hummer were short, sharp, and confrontational in tone. La Voz has also learned that several councilmembers believe Norton did not accurately convey how those discussions were unfolding, a concern that appears to have further eroded trust inside City Hall.
That issue was not fully aired in open session, but it clearly hung over the meeting.
HART TELLS LA VOZ SHE MADE A MISTAKE AND WILL BE CHANGING HER VOTE
After the vote, Councilmember Julia Hart told La Voz editor David Cortinas that she believed she made a mistake in not backing the motion. Hart said that if the matter comes back before the council, she plans to vote in favor of removing Norton and her firm. If that happens, the failed vote may prove to be less a defeat than a warning shot.
For now, Ogden Murphy Wallace remains under contract. But the public debate made one thing clear: a significant bloc of the council appears to have lost confidence in Julie Norton, and the fight over Sunnyside’s legal direction is far from over.
