Q: Mr. Federal Way, a couple of Saturdays ago, I was doing my grocery shopping at Fred Meyer in the middle of the day. I noticed someone else doing their grocery shopping there too and they were in a big, brand new Ford vehicle with a sticker on the window that said “City of Federal Way — for official use only.” Come to find out, the mayor was using the vehicle. Now, I know sometimes officials feel entitled to some extra perks for being in that kind of position, but why not use his own car to do his weekly grocery shopping?
A: Mr. Federal Way is disallowed to use an official vehicle for personal business, but that’s mostly because the Mirror didn’t supply this columnist with a Mirror-mobile. So first, Mr. Federal Way will present his own question: Mr. Publisher, may Mr. Federal Way please have a shiny new vehicle for official and non-official use? Pretty please?
If you see Mr. Federal Way still driving around in his 2006 anonymous-make SUV, you’ll know the publisher is economical to say the least. At least it has air conditioning.
But it turns out Mayor Jim Ferrell does indeed drive around a fancy Ford vehicle — for official use and, Mr. Federal Way would argue, briefly for play.
Mr. Federal Way sent the mayor an email (the Mirror publisher was at least kind enough to set this columnist up with his own email account now, though Mr. Federal Way hears that email is free).
“I only use this vehicle for official business, when I am working as mayor,” he replied.
And that was no different when he was out driving on Saturday, Aug. 29, to the Trellis Apartment complex, where a 10-year-old girl was tragically killed by a fallen tree branch. The mayor said police Chief Andy Hwang notified him personally and told him where the accident occurred.
Mr. Federal Way is truly sorry for this girl and her family and he wishes the family peace and comfort during this extremely difficult time.
“After hearing about this tragedy and knowing that the strong winds were continuing, I personally got in my city-issued vehicle in the mid-afternoon and drove to the location of the fatality and then drove around that area to survey any other damage,” the mayor continued. “I did so as I was concerned about that tragedy and wanted to personally see if there were any other hazards in that immediate area. I told the chief I would be doing so.”
Mr. Federal Way supposes it’s not unheard of for a mayor to be concerned about his city, and Mr. Federal Way applauds Ferrell for showing such regard to his constituents.
But Mr. Federal Way won’t let you off the hook that easily, Mr. Mayor.
“After surveying the scene and the immediate area, I did make a stop, on my way home, at a local grocery store,” Ferrell said. “I was not simply driving this car for recreational purposes. I am allowed to use the vehicle for brief personal reasons coming and going to work. It is my hope that you would understand this was fully within my role as mayor.”
So the mayor did use his official vehicle to shop at Fred Meyer, which in Ferrell’s defense, is on the mayor’s way home. Yes, Mr. Federal Way mapped out the apartment complex, Fred Meyer and Ferrell’s home address (Mr. Federal Way is privy to such information as a newspaper columnist).
So the mayor did not deviate from his route going back home. The mayor could have driven his official vehicle to WinCo Foods, which would have been out of his way. But as a mayor known for spending money on expensive things such as downtown parks, Ferrell most likely wouldn’t shop somewhere such as WinCo to save a few pennies.
So Mr. Federal Way won’t criticize the mayor too harshly for stopping at Fred Meyer, unless he spent our taxpayer dollars on triple-ply toilet paper or hummus.
Q: Mr. Federal Way, I recently saw a Federal Way police vehicle that said “K-9 Unit” parked in a handicapped parking spot at Costco. The female cop stayed with the vehicle and it didn’t look like she was conducting police business. The Costco employees were even laughing about it. Not funny! Wouldn’t the rest of us get a ticket?
A: Mr. Federal Way would first like to thank whoever you are that asked this question for sending a photo of the said vehicle to this columnist. Had the person in the previous question taken a photo of the mayor shopping at Fred Meyer, we would know what Ferrell was piling into his cart and what was so important to pick up on his way home.
Nevertheless, the photo depicts a very dark parking lot and a mysterious black vehicle that does indeed say “K-9 Unit” on the side. Mr. Federal Way sent the photo to the Federal Way Police Department (though the police chief wouldn’t book it into evidence).
“A picture says a thousand words!” Said Cathy Schrock, the department’s public information officer. “The vehicle pictured is not a Federal Way police vehicle. The make/model and markings (specifically wheel rims) are not consistent with Federal Way police cars. This vehicle is likely a private security company.”
She did note the vehicle was “clearly” parked in a handicap spot. And if the driver did not have a Department of Licensing-issued placard displayed in plain view, “that would certainly be a parking violation. The amount of this violation would be $450.”
Mr. Federal Way is unsure which private security companies offer a K-9 service, but the idea of a canine sniffing the grounds of Panera Bread looking for a would-be bread thief sure sounds strange to Mr. Federal Way.
Schrock said a police officer may also legally park in a handicap parking stall to conduct official police business “but certainly only as operationally necessary. Federal Way Police Department members respect the use of handicap parking stalls, and will enforce violators when witnesses.”
Mr. Federal Way wonders what constitutes “official police business.” Is there a list of said instances that are outlined in a city code somewhere?
Mr. Federal Way proposes a Proposition 1 citizen’s initiative, which shall state: “The only official police business that Federal Way police officers are allowed to conduct while parked in a handicapped parking stall is to cite elected officials for using their official city vehicles for grocery shopping.”
Q: Mr. Federal Way, have you ever done personal shopping on company time?
A: None of your business.
Got a question for Mr. Federal Way? Email mrfederalway@federalwaymirror.com
