Lewis County officials are defending their recent decision to hire controversial interim manager David Anderson to continue leading Lewis County’s E911 Communications Center, despite continued concerns from law enforcement leaders and a vote of no-confidence from his own staff.
Lewis County Central Services Director Steve Walton summed the matter up as “old news” while confirming that the Centralia and Chehalis police departments were not involved in the process, despite pointed criticism of Anderson earlier this year.
“We are moving forward in a positive direction with that communications center,” Walton told The Chronicle Wednesday.
In May, Anderson said a list of concerns from law enforcement and fire chiefs about his leadership were “hogwash,” while Commissioner Bill Schulte dismissed them as “bullsh-t.” Walton on Wednesday continued to brush off criticism of Anderson as invalid.
Specifically, he said the dispatchers’ vote of no confidence was “meaningless.”