MASON COUNTY, Wash. — Three Mason County fire commissioners have resigned ahead of next month’s recall election.
Voters who live in Mason County Fire District 12 are being asked if three commissioners, Brian Jutson, John Pais, and Albert ‘Buck’ Wilder should be recalled.
A state audit released last fall identified what investigators called an “overall disregard” for state laws, citing cases of conflict of interest and identifying more than $150,000 in funds spent deemed either misappropriated or questionable.
A spokesperson for the Mason County Sheriff’s Office said the fire department was under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
A spokesperson for the F.B.I. said he could neither confirm nor deny that claim.
Pais and Jutson resigned earlier this year, Wilder announced he was stepping down at the end of Tuesday’s commission meeting in Matlock.
”At the conclusion of this day, I am resigning as a commissioner,” said Wilder.
Amanda Gonzales, who lives in the fire district, was one of the organizers of the recall.
”We are glad that he’s [Wilder's] out, but I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” said Gonzales.
Gonzales said the community is still concerned because the outgoing commissioners have appointed friends and family to take over their positions.
”I think the community’s upset, the community is mad,” said Gonzales.
On Tuesday, July 11, a week before Wilder resigned, he voted to appoint his daughter, Kelli Walsworth, to the commission. Walsworth, a former fire chief at District 12, was also investigated for potential fraud as part of the state auditor investigation.
That audit also recommended the district come up with a nepotism policy, something the board discussed at Tuesday’s meeting.
Before he resigned, Wilder defended the appointment of his daughter.
”If you go back to when this fire department started, the chief’s son was a commissioner. There’s always been family,” said Wilder.
Wilder declined to comment after the meeting.
An investigation conducted by attorneys representing the former commissioners was critical of the state’s audit, citing a lack of evidence and unsubstantiated claims of fraud or misappropriation of funds.
Attorney Brian Snure said the commissioners have not been contacted by investigators from the F.B.I.
A spokesperson for the Washington State Auditor said a follow-up investigation into Mason County Fire District 12 is scheduled for this fall.