Rantz: Staffer who tweeted ‘F bomb’ at deputy mayor resigned, yet still works for Seattle

A Seattle City Council staffer, who resigned for tweeting an obscenity at the deputy mayor, is still on the job in what can only be described as a very bizarre and uncharacteristically long resignation.

The staffer is an active Twitter user and well-respected policy adviser for Coucilmember Teresa Mosqueda’s office. He apparently went too far when he directed a four-letter obscenity at Deputy Mayor Shefali Ranganathan, an Indian American, implying she is a sell out for “carrying water for rich white folks.” The staffer is white.

First reported by the C is for Crank, Mosqueda announced she “personally apologized” for the tweets, and after recognizing his tweet did not reflect the council member’s values, the staffer “is offering his resignation, which I am accepting.”

His resignation was announced on November 23, 2018. As we near the end of January, the staffer still works for the council member in a prominent role.

At a Housing, Health, Energy, and Workers’ Rights Committee on January 17, 2019, the staffer spoke alongside his boss, Councilmember Mosqueda. Indeed, she introduced the staffer who walked them through a recent memo he compiled on affordable housing investments.

Mosqueda’s office didn’t originally respond to requests for comments, perhaps due to the MLK Jr holiday weekend. On Tuesday, Mosqueda personally emailed her original statement about the tweets, along with some new details:

I apologize for not responding to your request earlier. This is a personnel matter, that is an accurate statement from my office.

It is known by everyone in this floor and the Mayor’s office that Michael has offered his resignation, and I have accepted it affective (sic) at the end of this month.

This is unusual. Resignations triggered by embarrassing, unprofessional conduct usually do not last this long. I asked Mosqueda if the original resignation letter indicated it would be effective over two months from the offending incident. I have not yet received a response.

For the record, I do not think the staffer should have tendered his resignation, nor do I think he should have been fired for his tweets (assuming that was on the table if he didn’t resign). They were, obviously, unprofessional and risk damaging his boss’ relationship with the mayor.

It’s silly to hire someone who routinely tweets similar, biting criticisms, then get mad at him for being consistent. Beyond that — particularly when it comes to political speech — it’s protected. Unless he has signed an agreement not to engage in this type of content. As a matter of principle, I don’t think staffers should lose their right to engage in political conversations, even if it’s unprofessional.

We’re adults and this is politics: we can handle it.

But this is a story if Mosqueda announced his resignation with the purpose of killing further exploration over whether the tweet impacted her relationship with the mayor’s office. Remember, the two had significant disagreements when Mosqueda tried to gut the Navigation Team.

Was Mosqueda publicly posturing in her original statement, in order to placate a justifiably angry mayor or deputy mayor who were upset over the tweet? The unusual resignation timeline makes it seem like it was already a planned departure and the resignation was just meant to placate an upset mayor’s office. And if she strives for “civility and dialogue in politics and policy making, no matter if there are disagreements” (as her statement indicates), why a two-month delay for this resignation?

*Because I don’t think the staffer should have had to resign, and he’s generally not a public face of Mosqueda’s office, I am choosing not to use his name in this report. Out of fairness to the original report of his resignation, I’m linking to a report where his name is used.

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