Reprimand for two fire commissioners unanimously passes during Tuesday meeting

David Chan
Bob Meador

Two Snohomish County Fire District 1 Commissioners accused of making racist statements during a break in a meeting on March 7 had an apparent change of heart Tuesday, voting in favor of a reprimand for themselves that they had voted against on Friday, March 17.

However, Commissioners David Chan and Bob Meador both said during the March 21 commissioners meeting they do not plan to resign—which several members of the public demanded.

The first such public member was Mike Cooper, a retired firefighter and former mayor of Edmonds.

“You are held to a higher standard, and the public deserves better,” he said. “Your demeaning remarks have been hurtful to all members of the department. Please do the honorable thing, resign tonight and leave the building so the healing can begin.”

Cooper said he doesn’t believe the two commissioners are racists, but that their comments have disgraced their office.

“When I heard the demeaning and insensitive remarks made by Commissioners Meador and Chan, I was deeply disappointed and troubled,” Cooper said. “When I heard the excuses, like blaming the union on television, I was embarrassed as a former firefighter and elected official.”

Josh Blake, of Edmonds, said if the commissioners were truly sorry, they would resign.

“It is careless to make racist comments, even in joke form,” Blake said. “The fact that a 15-second clip caused such outcry is proof that such attitudes are not accepted in our community.”

Ted Hikel, of Lynnwood, said it was “unethical” that the commissioners voted against a resolution brought forward Friday to reprimand themselves. He would have preferred to see them recuse themselves from the vote, or to support it.

“I think the remarks that were made were stupid, insensitive and disappointing,” Hikel said.

The comments in question happened during a conversation recorded on video during a break in the March 7 commission meeting. Chan and Meador did not know their microphones were on at the time and were discussing recruiting and hiring paramedics.

“Could we hire a Mexican paramedic?” Chan asked. “I dunno,” Meador replied, laughing. “It’s cheaper,” Chan responded, also laughing. “I don’t wanna,” Meador said. “I don’t want those immigrants. They can’t do the job.”

Before public comment began, the two commissioners were given a chance to speak. Chan thanked the audience for the opportunity because, he said, he had felt “blindsided” during Friday’s meeting. He went on to describe the comments he made, that hiring Mexican paramedics might be cheaper, as “neutral” terms.

“I should have said, ‘can we go recruit in Mexico,’” Chan said. “When I said it’s cheaper, I meant it’s cheaper than a private contract.”

He also said he knew immediately that the comments Meador made were meant to be taken as a joke.

“Meador has a dry sense of humor,” Chan said. “He does like a Colbert thing. I know he was kidding. He has five grandchildren that are Mexican.”

Chan admitted the comments were a mistake.

“I hope you come to the conclusion that this guy made a stupid mistake,” he said.

Meador kept his comments short.

“At this point, I take full responsibility for the words that have been recorded,” he said. “If there’s a reprimand in the wind, I will take it.”

He kept his word later in the evening, when a resolution to reprimand the two commissioners unanimously passed. Commissioner Jim Kenny was absent from Tuesday’s meeting, but voted in favor of a resolution on Friday, March 17.

  1. I respect Bob Meador and appreciate his contributions to our community. I do not condone his and David Chen behavior where these comments happened but I am grateful for them taking responsibility and admitting that they were wrong. It is political charged time and it is important for citizens to speak up and say this behavior is not acceptable. I myself have been having a very hard time with the Trump administration and have been disturbed with the concept of Make America Great Again, MAGA. I do use humor to cope with the new president and his administration. When I listened to Bob and David joking around, I interpreted it as joking about the absurdity of people racist’s perceptions of Mexicans just as I joke about the absurdity of MAGA. There is a difference between the two and there is a difference of joking around racism and being racist. Both are wrong and deserve different reprimands. During a time when the President of United States unapologetically makes racist statements, we should not discredit the honor and integrity when someone admits to being wrong. I agree with the reprimand and do not think it is warrants them to rescue themselves.

    1. The fact that we have a “president” who “unapologetically makes racist statements” is exactly why we cannot accept this type of behavior and disrespect from our local elected officials. Mr. Chan’s remarks, as reported above, indicate that he still does not accept responsibility for his remarks. Accepting their lame excuses, as Ms. Lunsford suggests, ultimately condones the same behavior that she is ‘disturbed” about on the national level. Just as I’m unwilling to condone the despicable behavior of the current administration, I’m unwilling to overlook such boorish comments when they are made by people who we have entrusted to represent us locally.

      1. I would agree with you, Terry if they only gave an excuse but Mr. Meador and Mr. Chan did accept responsibility and apologized. I can understand that when they explained themselves it could have sounded like an excuse but they had to explain their actions. I also won’t hold anyone up to a bar that is higher than the one I set for myself and I am not going to stop my boorish comments about MAGA.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.