Councilmember Harris formally censured at Thursday night’s Des Moines City Council meeting

By Mellow DeTray

Here’s our recap of the Des Moines City Council meeting held on Thursday night, Feb. 2, 2023:

Councilmember Harris Formally Censured

After a recent incident involving Councilmember JC Harris allegedly intimidating and swearing at an isolated female staff member, the Des Moines City Council voted to formally censure him. This does not block his ability to perform his duties as an elected official, but it is a formal statement of disapproval of his conduct. In the discussion preceding this decision, many councilmembers shared their experiences of improper or rude conduct by Harris, including failure to follow protocol and use of inappropriate language and sexual innuendo. Harris denied the recent incident was inappropriate, and did not apologize. He said there was nothing more than anecdotal evidence of misconduct, and that this was all an overreaction.

Councilmember Vic Pennington argued that elected officials need to hold themselves to a higher standard of behavior, and that no one should be berated or made to fear for their safety at work.

Councilmember Jeremy Nutting said that many of the ways Harris has acted and treated people over the years would have gotten him fired in a corporate setting.

Council voted 5–2 for this censure, with Harris and Councilmember Gene Achziger voting against it for lack of evidence.

The last City Councilmember to be formally censured was Anthony Martinelli, in 2021, after he was arrested on charges of domestic violence.

Pediatric Interim Care Update

The Pediatric Interim Care Center (PICC) provides care for vulnerable newborns born to drug addicted mothers. These infants are often born premature, hypersensitive to stimuli including eye contact, and need dedicated trained care. They also sadly are born into the world with drug addictions of their own, and they can experience dangerous withdrawals after birth. Many must be carefully weaned from the drugs their mother had used during pregnancy, and each drug comes with a suite of issues. For example, infants born addicted to methamphetamines will have no hunger instinct, and often fail to thrive. 

Babies at this center, located in Kent, come from hospitals across Washington State, but mostly in the western region. They receive specialized care for 37 days, and then are able to be rehomed either to their parents or family members, or to foster care. The rehoming decision is made by the State. Many of the mothers are in drug treatment by the time their child is born, and about half the babies are able to be with their birth families after the intensive care period. These families receive training on care of their infants, as well as follow-up visits by a social worker. 

With this level of appropriate and specialized care available at PICC, these babies are able to grow into happy and thriving children and adults. Many will continue to be hypersensitive to stimuli, and this can often be misread as ADHD, but recognizing and dealing with this is part of the training their caregivers receive. The Center has seen over 3300 babies since its founding, and one is a mother now living in Des Moines. Another did an internship at PICC, providing the same care she received in her own infancy.

Traffic Cams Coming to Expanded Redondo Beach Park

Council voted unanimously to expand the borders of Redondo Beach Park to include the Boardwalk, in order to take advantage of a new State Law allowing traffic cams around parks. They hope to get through the preliminary study period and get cameras up and running before the weather warms and more people are using the park. This move aims to address speeding problems along the Boulevard which have been a priority for the area since Redondo was annexed 25 years ago.

Feasibility Studies on Public Marina Redevelopment

Council voted 5:2 to allow City Staff to assess costs of projects pertaining to landslide development along the Des Moines Marina. This includes the stairs and walkway from Downtown to the Marina, in the plan discussed during last week’s meeting dedicated to the topic.

Watch video of the full meeting below:

Mellow DeTray is a Seattle native who has spent the last 16 years raising her family in Burien. She has volunteered at many local establishments over the years, including the Burien Library, Burien Actors Theatre, and Hot Feet Fitness. After working for ten years at Burien Community Center, she moved on to teaching fitness classes and to work the front desk of a Burien yoga studio. For many years Mellow kept a moderately popular cooking & lifestyle blog, and she had a brief stint in political journalism during a local election. Clear and informative writing has always been a side hobby of Mellow’s and she looks forward to bringing you unbiased coverage of City Council meetings.