By Alia Sinclair
Contention split the attendees of Tuesday night’s (Jan. 14, 2025) SeaTac City Council Meeting concerning comments made by Deputy Mayor Iris Guzman about the appointment of former councilmember Pam Fernald to the Community Services Advisory Committee.
Seven concerned SeaTac residents took to the podium to address the council directly, citing the comments made by Deputy Mayor Guzman were unprofessional, mean-spirited and baseless. Some residents called for an apology to be made by the Deputy Mayor and others called for her resignation.
The contentious comments occurred at the Dec. 10, 2024, regular city council meeting, in which Pam Fernald mentioned Deputy Mayor Guzman had made a “face” during her confirmation. For her closing comments to the meeting, Deputy Mayor Guzman addressed Fernald’s remark, stating:
“I just want to say that I was making a face earlier when we were talking about Pam Fernald joining and what not, and I’m going to not apologize for it because this person, when they were on [the] council caused harm. And I don’t care if I’m breaking protocol or if it’s unprofessional, but I just want to be clear on that I’m going to stick to my values and I’m not going to be fake or pretend that things are okay when they’re really not. So, I’m just going to leave it at that. I do not apologize, you all can come for me, I don’t care. I care about the community that has been harmed. And I have been working these past three years to try to repair some of that harm and move forward for the larger part of our community. So, I’m going to stick to that and come for me. I do not care.”
SeaTac resident Earl Gipson, a commenter who called for Deputy Mayor Guzman’s resignation, submitted a transcript of his full comment to the City, as seen below.
“Wow! Just wow!
“It wasn’t enough for this majority council to trash our City’s finances since they took office in 2021.
“It wasn’t enough for this majority council to force out a perfectly good City Manager earlier this year and perpetuated a cascade of Council failures thereafter.
“It wasn’t enough for Councilmember Simpson to send an email to me disparaging myself, seniors and any retirees for participation in our City. It also wasn’t enough for him to try and pick a fight with myself and Mr. D’arelli in front of City Hall. There is no audio on those cameras. I checked.
“It wasn’t enough for the Council to run off valued employees such as our City Attorney, Public Works Director, and now attempting to run off our Assistant City Manager and Human Resources Director.
“It wasn’t enough for the Interim City Manager, Kyle Moore now on Paid Administrative Leave to be under constant investigation for abusing staff and possibly our finances. Again perpetuated by the Majority Council.
“It wasn’t enough for the majority council to ignore the hardest working and knowledgeable Councilmember, Peter Kwon when selecting a mayor the past two times.
“I could just go on and on.
“Now, we have a Councilmember damage the reputation and disparage the good deeds of a 78-year-old and former Councilmember in Public using this dais to do so.
“The former Councilmember I speak of is Pam Fernald whom I met in 2008. She was the one who convinced me to stay involved with the City. She was the one who was the first to help fire victims in our City.
“She was the one that facilitated my helping others in this city anonymously. She was the one who drove my wife to work at the airport when I was in Chicago to handle my parent’s estate.
“Now this sitting Councilmember on December 10th publicly accused Pan Fernald of causing harm to this City offering no proof or substantiation and herself admitted her words were unprofessional and would not apologize. The Majority Council has taken no action for this outburst and continues to ignore its own Code of Ethics on this and other issues.
“This Councilmember’s own words are proof of someone who should not be sitting on the SeaTac City Council. Her meager attendance hasn’t offered any benefit to the City anyhow.
“I ask that Deputy Mayor Guzman resign from the Council immediately and spare our City any further harm that she in fact has caused to this City and its residents. She will not be missed.”
Two residents spoke in support of Deputy Mayor Guzman’s comments citing that they believed certain actions and language used by former councilmember Pam Fernald during her tenure were racist and derisive of minority communities in the city.
As the buzzer sounded indicating he was out of time, the final commenter pointed at Deputy Mayor Guzman and called out, “Deputy Mayor Guzman, we got your back anytime, anywhere! Anytime, anywhere!”
As Tuesday night’s meeting concluded, Deputy Mayor Guzman said in her closing statement:
“I do want to apologize for lowering myself to a standard that is not becoming of my own values, but I would also like to apologize to the FURS residents who lost their homes and were displaced back in 2016-17 when I was a social worker helping these families. I’m also really sorry to the people who lost their businesses in the Bakaro Mall. Many of those were immigrant refugees and small business owners who have not been able to come back or recover. I also want to apologize to the students who during the pandemic did not receive support for hot spots and as a result lost out in valuable learning and academic time. […] I’m also really sorry to our Muslim siblings who were targeted by a previous City Manager who wanted to create a map of their addresses for really no good reason other than just to do it. And lastly, I’m sorry to all of our community member who have been impacted by a lot of these previous votes that have harmed them personally and directly.”
Mayor Egal also closed the meeting with an apology.
“I just want to apologize to Pam Fernald who has served this community a very long time. Even if I [don’t agree] with everything as she [does not agree] with everything I did.”
Video
Watch full video of the meeting here:
keep in one of those who spoke in behalf of her was her HUSBAND and the other is no more than a hired gun that shows up to speak when they need an outside voice then leaves when she’s done.
Wow. Her husband? OMG what a joke. Of course he did. She needs to resign. Of course they didn’t show ALL the comments AGAINST her. What a joke this city has become.
The deputy mayor spoke out of personal disdain for a citizen whom formerly held the seat she now occupies. The bias is clear. The deputy mayor was unprofessional, as she herself proclaimed, and admitted she does not care that she acted contrary to the expectations and requirements of her office. If you are going to make the claim then be prepared to show the receipts, but she has none. She is just hating on a public servant who she ran against. The deputy mayor is an elitist, divisive, self-important bully. The fact that she refuses to take responsibility for his misconduct, to own it, to apologize for her wrongdoings speaks volumes! She is a blight on the council, a negative role model for our youths, and a terrible representative of our city and its residents. I regret voting for her. Absolutely undeserving of holding public office. She has done nothing in her tenure to serve us the residents; she is only trying to serve herself to a bigger political position. The mayor and other councilpersons should also be held accountable for failing or refusing to adhere to protocol and decorum. Shame shame shame
The person who said “Deputy Mayor Guzman, we got your back anytime, anywhere! Anytime, anywhere!” was her husband, Luis Escamilla
LOL What a joke. Unbelievable.
it was very obvious the Guzman supporters were just her friends and family. it is obviously not in the interest of the council to attack citizens over comments taken out of context
Wow only one of those who spoke against her is listed here. I know there were many more. Then the one you quote for her is her husband? Too funny. I wish I could have attended and I too would have called for her resignation. To have someone speak like this in our council chambers is unconscionable. What ever happened to being a professional to do this job? An apology from the mayor is not sufficient. She needs to apologize. She also needs to tell us what harm Pam did. What she is still trying to clean up. She can’t because there is nothing she can say. And her closing statements are an absolute joke. There was nothing she could do about the trailer park. If an owner wants to sell they can. There was nothing she could do about the Bakora Mall. They owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent and, again, if an owner wants to sell they can and will. Everything she says is just a joke. This woman does not belong on our council. If she can’t be fired she needs to be voted out.
And you think her husband supporting her is a joke! Well shame on you! ALL OF YOU! Her husband is a very well educated man with his Masters in a top field level that may surpass any of you that have posted anything him or Mayor Iris. All I see is community of racist that didn’t like the idea of the Hispanic girl and her Hispanic husband speaking up against someone who has served only those of her choice in her community, such as Ferdinand! and the only apology that is needed is to the minorities who’s needs had been overlooked by so many in the decades before Mayor Iris took office……YES, IRIS, YOUR HUSBAND AND YOUR SIS-IN-LAW HAS YOUR BACK!
On behalf of her husband’s SISTER!
well you’ve showed how uninformed you are much like those in your family you chose to defend. first she is the deputy mayor, not the mayor. second just because you have some kind of degree doesn’t mean your smart. third the council position is suppose to be nonpartisan of which iris has never acknowledged always claiming she is only there to serve her community. now if you want to play the racist card maybe you and they should start with a mirror.