Wayman pleads "nolo contendre" to Assault: Innapropriate Touch, as a Marine JROTC teacher in Granbury Texas. During the investagation a polygraph test revealed "deception on relevant questions pertaining to this case" by Mr. Wayman. He paid a $554 fine.
Wayman applies for a job as City Administrator of Selah, WA. CWPI is the organization that investigated Mr. Wayman's work history and criminal past. They failed to adequately investigate and disclosed no information about the "nolo contendre" plea in Granbury. Wayman is hired by the City of Selah as the City Administrator.
The City of Selah does not provide financial support for the community swimming pool. All property owners in the school district funded the construction and operation through a volunteer group (Selah Parks and Recreation Service Area Board). In spite of the City's complete lack of support, Wayman interfered with construction and operation.
Mayor Sherry Raymond attempts to increase Wayman's severance substantially in the case she is not re-elected.
Raymond sought to increase the severance option to “protect” him in the event she is not re-elected three years from now and the new mayor fires him. Raymond based her concern on "hostile online comments about Wayman."
Mayor Sherry Raymond attempts to fire a Parks Board member for comments he made during his free time. At first she mails him a letter dismissing him (violating the Parks Board protocol). She then attempted to rectify her error by bringing her termination request to City Council. She was rebuffed by them as they requested audience with the board to hear both sides of the story. After hearing from the board member and supporters, the Council had a motion to remove him but no second and no vote. the member remained on the Board. The City then cancelled all future meetings and let all current appointments expire and terminated each of them at the end of their terms with no further Parks Board meetings held to date.
The Mayor's plan to increase Wayman's severance was thwarted, making him accountable to any future Mayor elected.
Bearing in mind that City of Selah brought $0 to the pool's construction process, Wayman nonetheless insisted on a $1.3 million retractable glass cover. $1.3 million dollars out of a $6.2 million budget, months after suggesting that a cover may not be necessary. Many Selah citizens wonder why Wayman would change stance in such a way that consistently interferes with the project plans.
Rob Case is hired as Wayman's attorney in a private defamation lawsuit against a Selah senior citizen.
Rob Case is hired as the City of Selah's attorney. Many citizens have raised concerns, saying this constitutes a conflict of interest, especially since Case has repeatedly defended Mr. Wayman's actions while acting as City Administrator. If it were in the City's best interest to take disciplinary action against or fire Wayman, citizens worry that Case would not be able to provide impartial advice to do so.
Wayman goes on the air on KIT talkshow and lies, saying that Selah City playgrounds have been taped off, when, in fact, the tape had been removed and parks reopened a few days prior.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFLbTTU02Zc
Mr. Wayman speaks at a rally in Selah for a gubernatorial candidate. During his speech he encourages attendees to defy health guidelines despite the Coronavirus Pandemic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIjZqG199Q8
Wayman quoted in the local newspaper disparaging local protesters (who help pay his salary), BLM protesters across the nation and the entire BLM movement itself. He labeled all of them as “Communists” without inquiring or knowing the political affiliations of any of the local marchers let alone the other believers across the nation and world. Many claim his divisive language was dismissive of the protesters and their concerns. https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/selah-administrator-yakima-councilwoman-disagree-on-encounter-at-black-lives-matter-protest/article_04274417-5e2d-5634-854a-17bf1cd2a39f.html
One Councilperson - Kevin Wickenhagen and the Mayor - Sherry Raymond went on record defending Wayman’s comments as “free speech” ignoring the fact that he was in a city vehicle and introduced himself as the Selah City Administrator:
https://selahwa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Council-Member-Wickenhagen-letter.pdf
One Councilperson - Kevin Wickenhagen and the Mayor - Sherry Raymond went on record defending Wayman’s comments as “free speech” ignoring the fact that he was in a city vehicle and introduced himself as the Selah City Administrator:
https://selahwa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Council-Member-Wickenhagen-letter.pdf
https://selahwa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Proclamation-re-recent-political-rallies.pdf
Mayor’s comments in the news:
Wickenhagen cited Urban Dictionary as a source for reliable facts on BLM and the organization’s political stance earning him notoriety on the Upworthy website:
https://www.upworthy.com/city-council-cites-urban-dictionary-to-criticize-blm
City crews erase Black Lives Matter chalk art.
The local residents get school district permission and support to host a chalk art event on school grounds to protect it from the city crew.
In a call with local TV news, Wayman is recorded saying, "We don't believe City property is the appropriate place for expressing your... political speech". This is an extremely unconstitutional stance, as government property that is open to the public is almost always a public forum available for all free speech, political or not. This s
In a call with local TV news, Wayman is recorded saying, "We don't believe City property is the appropriate place for expressing your... political speech". This is an extremely unconstitutional stance, as government property that is open to the public is almost always a public forum available for all free speech, political or not. This stance is evidence that Wayman does not believe in the Constitution of the United States and wishes it did not apply to citizens.
https://www.yaktrinews.com/city-of-selah-repeatedly-erased-childrens-black-lives-matter-chalk-art/
Please note that Mr. Wayman doesn't believe this rule applies to him, as his political speech on May 24 occured at Wixson park, which is city property.
Selah City Council held a “Special Session” to discuss appropriate discipline for Mr. Wayman’s incendiary speech. It was decided to take no personnel action and to write a Code of Conduct for all Selah staff and elected officials and for everyone to take some “sensitivity training”.
News article: https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/s
Selah City Council held a “Special Session” to discuss appropriate discipline for Mr. Wayman’s incendiary speech. It was decided to take no personnel action and to write a Code of Conduct for all Selah staff and elected officials and for everyone to take some “sensitivity training”.
To finish the meeting Wayman asked for the floor and then stated the following:
Please note that large swaths of this tirade are “borrowed” (without acknowledgement) from a column by Ben Shapiro:
Wayman claims that the BLM protest
To finish the meeting Wayman asked for the floor and then stated the following:
Please note that large swaths of this tirade are “borrowed” (without acknowledgement) from a column by Ben Shapiro:
Wayman claims that the BLM protesters are “Devoid of intellect and reason", in an official government meeting which will be a matter of public record for posterity.
A coalition of legal aid coalesces to assist local residents to defend their First Amendment rights to free speech via peaceful chalk art protests.
The city threatens the local family who drew BLM chalk art with prosecution. City attorney Rob Case says they could face up to a year in jail or a $5000 fine.
City Attorney Rob Case bragged that on this day, the patriotic 4th of July holiday, a chalk tribute dedicated to a fallen soldier was destroyed by the City. Many community members who support the military see this as an extremely disrespectful and anti-american action, especially given the date such actions were taken.
https://mynorthwest.com/2034290/selah-chalk-black-lives-matter/?
A peaceful group of teenage and young adult protesters draw BLM and anti-Wayman messages on the sidewalk in front of City Hall. They are ordered to stop by SPD and are nearly pressure washed by a City employee.
Though at the last council meeting a motion was passed to have a rough draft of a city employee code of conduct (largely because of Wayman's conduct in an effort to hold him accountable), Rob Case (Wayman's personal attorney) failed to produce one. He had nothing to present to the council, claiming that constitutional issues prevented hi
Though at the last council meeting a motion was passed to have a rough draft of a city employee code of conduct (largely because of Wayman's conduct in an effort to hold him accountable), Rob Case (Wayman's personal attorney) failed to produce one. He had nothing to present to the council, claiming that constitutional issues prevented him from writing any portion of a handbook or code for employees, despite the existence of a code of conduct for other cities in the area, for the Selah City Council and numerous online corporate examples.
Mayor Sherry Raymond gives a speech at the City Council meeting. She says that her ears are deaf to anyone expressing concerns about accusations against Wayman from his time in Granbury, Texas. She says this despite the growing online petition with 3000 signatures calling for Wayman's removal. She also specifically called out 5 community
Mayor Sherry Raymond gives a speech at the City Council meeting. She says that her ears are deaf to anyone expressing concerns about accusations against Wayman from his time in Granbury, Texas. She says this despite the growing online petition with 3000 signatures calling for Wayman's removal. She also specifically called out 5 community members as "Bad Actors" and said their comments were "evil". All 5 residents were hispanic or had hispanic families, leading many to believe she was specifically targeting minorities in the community.
The union representing the Selah Police Department sends a letter to the City claiming that BLM chalk art was being targeted, and that chalk art had been ignored prior to the 2020 protests. The letter describes the PD's concerns with enforcing unconstitutional orders.
The Selah Alliance For Equality, or S.A.F.E., hold a press conference to address their goals and respond to Mayor Raymond's remarks at the last City Council meeting.
The Yakima Herald publishes an article that goes into details about a June 30th incident. On this day Donald Wayman gave unconstitutional orders to the Selah Police Department to arrest chalk artists. This is further proof that Mr. Wayman does not fully understand or support the Constitution or Bill of Rights.
KIMA reports that one SPD officer has resigned and several others are looking for jobs outside of Selah. The Chief of Police has also sent notice that he will retire early. Union attorney Dave Simmons says he believes the chalk art issue is a "significant contributing" factor. Simmons went on to say that the controversy was straining the relationship between officers and residents.
During the City Council meeting, Wayman announces that Chief of Police Richard Hayes is retiring at the end of the month. He also announce that the City has already begun interviewing candidates for the new Chief of Police. This is despite the fact that at that time, the job listing had not yet been posted on the official City website. This leads many to question how these "candidates" were selected. For some reason, the City is also taking a completely different approach to finding a new chief for the police department than for the fire department.
https://yakimaviewpoint.blogspot.com/2020/08/selah-gobsters.html
Several small signs were removed from a strip of public grass along First Street in Selah, less than a day after being placed. They were in support of BLM or critical of Wayman. It was later revealed that the City's department of Public Works had removed them. This same area often hosts political signs during campaign seasons.
The Selah city council voted on whether or not to give City Attorney Rob Case a $1,000/month raise. The vote was split, and the Mayor broke the tie, granting Case the raise. Right before the vote, Donald Wayman (Case's private client) spent about 8 minutes justifying the raise.
Between the council meeting on this date and the previous council meeting, 10 public comments were censored from being read. All 10 comments were critical of Wayman or city leadership. No comments that supported city leadership were censored. Censoring public comments because they were critical of city leaders would become commonplace.
It is revealed that Donald Wayman gave at least one community member permission to remove BLM/Fire Wayman signs from the public right-of-way. Removal of these signs is unlawful as proven by the "Reed vs. Town of Gilbert" Supreme Court case. Charles Lantz told an officer "He spoke with City Administrator Don Wayman personally and Don told him he could remove the signs...".
The police report can be found in the important files section of the homepage.
Police Chief Hayes sends a letter to Mayor Raymond and City Council discussing why he and Officer Singletary left the police department. He puts the blame on Wayman, whom he says micro manages, treats city employees disrespectfully, and is pushing the new police chief hiring process forward way too fast. Hayes says other department heads have the same concerns, and that some Selah officer's wives are telling them to leave the department. This letter can be seen in the important files section of the website home page titled "Exit Interview- Wayman Concerns"
The Yakima Herald and KIMA both do stories on Chief Hayes' letter. Mayor Raymond and Donald Wayman are interviewed. At the end of the Yakima Herald article, Wayman says "The best thing that could of happened to the city, is for him to retire". Many who support Selah's police department or know of Hayes' 27 years of service to the community were shocked at this statement.
https://kimatv.com/news/local/former-selah-pd-chief-letter-calls-for-city-administrator-to-be-fired
Mayor Raymond and Wayman both admit to removing non-political signs while allowing political signs to remain in place. Raymond even admits that they had not dealt with signs in the same manner in the past. Both insisted that these signs are illegal. This is untrue as a result of the "Reed vs. Town of Gilbert" supreme court case. Raymond and Wayman effectively admitted to violating the First and Fifth Amendment by stealing these signs in accordance with an unlawful municipal code. This is further evidence than neither understand or support the Constitution of the United States.
Lawyers representing S.A.F.E. write a letter to the City detailing exactly how their sign removal actions are unconstitutional. The letter includes a list of demands that in part require the City to cease their theft of the lawfully placed signs, and update the municipal code to bring it to a state of constitutionality. the Yakima Herald and KIMA both report on this development.
Approximately 30 more legally placed S.A.F.E. signs are stolen overnight. This occurred around 24 hours after Perkins Coie's letter was sent, demanding the City cease and desist their theft, and put out a proclamation discouraging all citizens from committing sign theft. To date no such proclamation has been issued.
It is announced by Wayman that City Attorney Rob Case will be taking over the HR position responsibilities in the wake of Andrew Potter's resignation. This is despite the fact that Case is Wayman's private attorney, and complaints against Wayman have recently been made to HR. Many citizens are concerned that Wayman's private attorney will not be able to objectively handle HR complaints made about his client.
The City of Selah is sued by a private citizen for allegedly voting illegally while in executive session. The suit alleges that the vote is a violation of state open public meeting laws.
A federal lawsuit is filed by SAFE against the City of Selah, arguing that the Selah municipal code violates the constitution, and Wayman and Raymond's actions removing SAFE signs is selective enforcement. Several lawyers from Perkins Coie, along with the ACLU, are representing SAFE.
https://www.aclu-wa.org/docs/complaint-selah-alliance-equality-et-al-v-city-selah
During the city council meeting, Wayman insulted local restauraunt workers, barbers and hairdressers with his comments. He stated, "We're not talking about waitresses or hairdressers or barbers....bartenders. But we're talking about skilled individuals" when discussing raises for municipal employees. This caused backlash from many in Selah, especially citizens working those jobs.
The city of Selah is again sued for violating state law (the Open Public Records act). To date this is the 4th piece of litigation the City is currently involved in.
Judge Gayle Harthcock refuses to allow Selah to conceal an e-mail from Suzanne Vargas to the Mayor and the rest of City Council. Harthcock orders that the e-mail be turned over to Trent Wilkinson's attorney Tim Hall as part of discovery in his Open Public Meetings Act lawsuit against Selah.
Selah City Council decides to settle the Open Public Meetings Act and Public Records violations. All Council members vote in favor of using $45, 000.00 of taxpayer funds to resolve the suit.
Donald Wayman is quoted in open Council session on 2/27/2021 as saying; "We had two council members vote against cleaning it up, but there were five that voted for it...". He later repeatedly denied that any vote was taken in Executive Session.
Selah City Council decides to hire attorney D.R. "Rob" Case as a full time employee less than two years after they refused a less lucrative position to long-time attorney Bob Noe. The proposal to hire was brought by Donald Wayman. Donald Wayman is represented by D.R. "Rob" Case in a defamation suit against a Selah resident.
Selah council rejects proposal to make city attorney a full-time job | Local |
Selah OKs contract for full-time city attorney | Local | yakimaherald.com
An e-mail that Selah attempted to conceal from City residents and plaintiff Wilkinson reveals that one council member, Suzanne Vargas, believed a "straw poll" vote taken in Executive Session violated the Open Public Meetings Act. She asked for an investigation. To date Selah has produced no evidence that her concerns were investigated or addressed.
Selah Council member's email alleges open-meetings violation | Local | yakimaherald.com
The City of Selah is again sued for an alleged violation of the Open Public Meetings Act. Despite settling the previous lawsuit for $45,000, the City failed to admit any liability and left itself vulnerable to being sued over the same issue.
Donald Wayman is officially fired, He is fired without cause, despite the many controversies he has caused and the number of times he has violated the United States and Washington State Constitutions.
SAFE is granted their motion for a preliminary injunction against the City of Selah. This means that the court found that SAFE, " would likely succeed in proving its claims that the provisions are unconstitutional as currently written". This serves as further proof that Donald Wayman and his accomplice Mayor Raymond violated the Constitution.
https://www.aclu-wa.org/news/statement-ruling-safe-v-city-selah-case
It is revealed by the organization Yakima Valley Trolleys that Donald Wayman ordered the cutting of the trolley rails that accommodate trips from Selah to Yakima each summer. He did not contact the organization ahead of time and refused to cooperate with them to repair the lines. This was the reason the trolley rides, a fun family-oriented activity, ceased for multiple years.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/314849969043156/user/100063528792650/
Donald Wayman takes about $350,000 from the taxpayers of Selah after alleging he was fired for being a whistleblower. He claimed he was fired in retaliation for investigating police department employees. This claim comes despite the fact that the officers in question were still investigated by the City after his firing. This begs the question, if Wayman was fired because people did not want the allegations to be investigated, why were they still investigated?
Selah and Donald Wayman (now separate defendants as a result of his firing) settle the civil rights lawsuit with SAFE. SAFE is given $300,000 and the city agrees to refrain from enforcing unconstitutional city codes (in addition to plans to change the existing sign code), train all employees on diversity and inclusion, and post job listings on sites aimed at attracting applicants of minority and underprivileged communities.
I met with Don Wayman, Selah City Manager, on June 19, 2020. We met at Selah City Hall. The City lawyer was present during the meeting. I have a recording of the meeting and used it to generate this synopsis. What follows are my impressions of the meeting, with a few quotes. My conclusions and opinions are of course, my own, but the description of the meeting and conversation are factual.
Mr. Wayman and the City lawyer chose not to wear a mask during the meeting. The room was approximately 10’X30’. We were together for an hour. In fact, no one that I saw in the building wore a mask. My opinion is that these people put my health at risk intentionally. I mentioned to the employees after the meeting that it would be ‘good if you wore a mask”. There was no response from anyone.
At the beginning of the meeting, I made note that I did not expect to change any hearts or minds with this discussion, but I wanted to make Wayman aware of concerns I had, and to offer a different perspective.
First, I asked Wayman about his intentions by confronting the Yakima Assistant Mayor Holly Cousens during the BLM March on June 6. He said that he was ‘bidden’ to talk to Cousens, and that some of her description of the incident “was correct, and a lot of what was said was incorrect”. I tried to impress upon Wayman the importance of maintaining a good relationship with Yakima, and this exchange was unnecessarily confrontational. He said that Selah has a good relationship with Yakima, and “staff to staff” does a lot of work with Yakima. He mentioned that he has a right to express his personal opinion. I said that, if he was driving a City vehicle and identified himself as Selah City Manager, he was not operating as a private citizen. He was a representative of our city. He did not agree with that interpretation. He mentioned that he thought it was improper that Holly came to a Selah event, and that his presence at a Republican event at the racetrack a few weeks earlier was different because it was a private event. I told him that was a distinction without a difference.
The conversation moved to a discussion of his characterization of the Selah BLM march as one grounded in neo-Marxism and serving as indoctrination into Communism. I tried to communicate the Black Lives Matter movement is not Neo-Marxist, since it is a grass-roots and decentralized group. Although there may be some people who align with the BLM movement who adhere to that doctrine, the Selah students and community members certainly did not have that ideology in mind when they organized the march. They were, instead, interested in helping to save lives of black people in our country. Wayman referenced, among other things, his experience in the military where he had seen some terrible things. He said he had “spent his whole life fighting tyrants” and had “spent time in some of the most evil places on Earth”. He mentioned the Buddha statues in Bamyan in Afghanistan that had been destroyed by ISIS, and how children in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime had been indoctrinated into killing many people. I took his point to be that his experience has sensitized him to the dangers of social movements that can result in an evil ideology. We did not end up reaching any kind of mutual understanding on this topic.
The next topic had to do with people I had heard from who took issue to Wayman’s leadership. I told him that, subsequent to my upcoming meeting with him becoming public knowledge, I heard from several people who told me how difficult Wayman is to work with. Specific incidents included Wayman’s resistance to the remodel of Selah Pool, and the approval of a housing development close to the High School. He explained his position a little, and I told him I ‘took him at his word”, since I had no information or particular interest in the specific issues, except that a community pool and correctly-built housing helps our community grow in the correct way. My main concern is that a city manager should be able to work with many people and bring people together as opposed to dividing and alienating them. Our community has the chance to become a regional economic powerhouse, but not if city leadership pursues regressive policy.
The conversation was wide-ranging, and, on the whole, civil. There was only one more topic I should describe.
Towards the end of the conversation, I mentioned that several people had forwarded some redacted documents to me concerning Wayman’s experience with ROTC in Texas. The lawyer joined the conversation here, asking “What redacted documents?” I will admit to losing my patience a little here, since he knew full well the documents to which I was referring. Wayman’s prior no contest plea to the charges made against him by a high school student in Texas was not the focus of my meeting. I only wanted him to understand that this was something he would probably have to deal with and explain to the Selah community. Wayman said that the documents, such as they were, were legitimate, but did not include his side of the story. He explained that the girl making the charges had “problems”. He said the charges were untrue, but he had decided to plea no contests because 1) he had another job offer, and, 2) his son was attending the high school, he did not want to drag his son through the ordeal that would accompany fighting the charges.
He did, however say something that really got my attention: at that time, he was a Marine, and in good physical shape. He said that people in the school had given him the nickname “Colonel Hotbody”. He said the girls at the high school “threw themselves at him”.
Here are my general observations and opinions about this meeting and this situation in general.
Don’s experience in the military and private military industry does not serve him well in this city administrative position. He has absolutely no educational or experiential background in municipal governance. He is used to dealing with issues in an oppositional way, and, instead of looking for ways to compromise and accommodate people with different opinions and needs, he takes a position and battles any opposition. His political outlook, influenced by working in “some of the most evil places on Earth”, has colored his view of local events to the point where his outlook is delusional. I choose that word carefully. His interpretation of a benign local march sponsored by local young people as a neo-Marxist event that will result in indoctrination into communism at the level of the Khmer Rouge is, by any rational evaluation, simply delusional. His personal style and approach has created unnecessary friction and division. His experience as an ROTC leader in Texas should have been a huge red flag during his vetting process. It is unbelievable to me that he was hired in the first place.
The part of the conversation that most alarmed me was his description of his experience in Texas when he pled no contest to the charges of being inappropriate with a student.
I have been an educator for nearly thirty years. A good portion of my career was at the high school level. I have had to deal with girls making false accusations against me, not of a sexual nature, but serious nonetheless. Any ethical teacher in that position knows that you 1) work to never allow yourself to be alone with a student where such a charge can be made; 2) if you find yourself alone with a student, you never engage in a personal conversation about sexuality or relationships. You always make sure there are other adults are present and the conversation is appropriate, respectful and ethical; 3) if your self-image comprises one where your physical condition attracts high school girls, and you perceive that they ‘throw themselves’ at you, then you should NOT be a teacher of high school students. Students of that age are not ready to make decisions about their sexuality as regards a relationship with an older person who has authority over them. It’s an inappropriate attitude to have. Don should never have been an ROTC teacher. His superiors made a huge error by putting him in that position.
In conclusion, I need to reiterate that the best course of action here is to fire Mr. Wayman from his position immediately. The damage to our community can be repaired. Hire someone who is professional, non-political, has a background in city government, and is temperamentally more suited to dealing with a community like ours. Don does not represent Selah’s diverse community well. He serves a small segment of the population that agrees with his political views and benefits from his cronyism. Selah can be a vibrant, growing, economically prosperous community, but not if City government continues to insist on hiring only people who adhere to a narrow political view where Governor Inslee is the enemy, cultural diversity is a danger, and alternate opinions are repressed. The City Council comprises a few members who are in disagreement with Wayman, the Mayor, and other ‘conservative’ city council members. Their voices are consistently repressed, ridiculed, and met with distain. It really is shameful to watch. I get communication from current and former residents of the Selah area who recognize that our city currently is a National laughing stock. Our reputation, economic future and community unity will be destroyed if you continue on your current course. Thanks for reading this.
Don Wayman's wife, Heather, teaches Belly Dance. When myself, my teen daughter and my preteen niece signed up for the class the first series we attended was at the dance studio kind behind by the bank and behind the post office.
The second series my daughter and I attended got moved to Don and Heather's home. While there we did see Don, he quietly waved from the kitchen area as we walked up to the in home studio.
I feel very off about having taken my child into home and presence of a man that was accused of sexual impurity with a minor. I think this information should have been disclosed prior to me being in this home with my child.
We have since stopped taking belly dance, which is a shame I enjoyed it, but I am not comfortable with being in the home of such a man.
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