Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind struck back at claims he tried to muzzle and remove Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Lorna Smith.
Susewind filed a motion June 22 asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Smith alleging Susewind targeted her for aligning with animal advocates and opposing his pro-hunter agenda.
The motion argues Smith doesn’t have standing to sue because she has not been harmed. She has not been removed from the commission or silenced, according to the motion.
“She remains a commissioner today, with the same vote, the same voice, and same authority she always had — including the authority to hire and fire the director she now accuses of retaliating against her,” the motion reads.
Smith and Washington Wildlife First founder Claire Loebs Davis filed the lawsuit against Susewind and Deputy Director Amy Windrope in April in U.S. District Court for Western Washington.
Smith and Davis allege the defendants tried to chill their First Amendment right to free association.
Smith and Davis objected to Susewind and Windrope asking a state attorney, Thomas Knoll Jr., to review records related to commissioners’ contacts with Davis, whose organization frequently sues Fish and Wildlife.
Knoll concluded Smith’s close relationship with Davis called into question her ability to be discreet with confidential information. The governor’s office later hired an investigator to look into the allegations.
Susewind’s attorney, Scott Ferron, argues Knoll’s memo and the investigation aren’t enough for Smith or Davis to claim they were harmed. “After nearly a year, the ongoing investigation has produced no consequence of any kind,” Ferron wrote.
Smith and Davis contend in the lawsuit that Knoll’s memo was intended to damage their reputations and was the starting point for the investigation. Smith alleges the memo impugned her character and increased hostility toward her from hunters’ groups.
