SUNNYSIDE, WA — The Sunnyside City Council voted to move forward with ending the City’s legal services contract with Ogden Murphy Wallace, the law firm represented at the meeting by City Attorney Julie Norton, after a previous vote on the matter failed because of an abstention. The issue returned to the Council after the April 21 meeting, when a motion related to the City’s contract with Ogden Murphy Wallace ended in a tie. Deputy Mayor Julia Hart had abstained from that vote, which caused the motion to fail.
At the following meeting, Hart said her abstention had unintentionally killed the motion and that she wanted to correct the record. “By voting to abstain, I basically killed the motion, which was not my intention,” Hart said. Hart then made a motion to rescind her abstention from the April 21 vote and change her vote to “yes” on the motion involving the Ogden Murphy Wallace contract. Councilmember Ramon Chavez seconded the motion. The discussion quickly became tense.
Councilmember Tom Dolan questioned whether Hart understood the consequences of changing her vote, warning that ending the contract could leave the City without legal counsel. Dolan argued that the City should slow down, review the issue in a workshop, and make sure another attorney or firm was ready before terminating the current legal services contract. Hart responded that her vote was her own and that she had concerns about how certain matters involving legal advice and City business had been handled.
Mayor Vicky Frausto also raised concerns about the cost of legal services, stating that the City had paid approximately $67,000 to Ogden Murphy Wallace since January. Frausto said she had reviewed the invoices line by line and noted that attorney rates had increased, including Norton’s hourly rate. Norton responded that a significant portion of the legal costs involved public records work, including review, redactions, responses to large records requests, and lengthy meetings. She also said the firm had been working with City staff to reduce costs.
Concerns surrounding Norton’s role reportedly extended beyond legal billing. According to sources close to the situation, some councilmembers were also concerned about how Norton handled negotiations involving former City Manager Mike Gonzalez and his potential return to the City. Gonzalez was reportedly offered his job back in February, but those negotiations quickly fizzled. Sources close to the matter believe Norton’s negotiation tactics may have blocked any realistic possibility of Gonzalez returning, and that her approach did not reflect what a majority of the Council expected or intended at the time.
Those concerns appeared to be part of broader questions about whether the City’s legal representation was carrying out the direction and expectations of the Council majority. Councilmembers also debated whether the City should have another firm lined up before ending the current contract. Some expressed concern that the decision could create instability, while others argued that the Council needed to act based on its concerns with the current legal representation.
After discussion, the Council proceeded to a roll-call vote. The motion passed 4-2. Voting yes were Ramon Chavez, Leticia Zesati, Julia Hart, and Mayor Vicky Frausto. Voting no were Jorge Galvan and Tom Dolan. Councilmember Keren Vazquez was not present. The vote marks a major shift for Sunnyside City government and signals the Council’s decision to move away from Ogden Murphy Wallace as its legal services provider. The decision came amid concerns about legal costs, public records processing, attorney-client alignment, and whether prior legal negotiations reflected the direction of the elected Council majority.
