A Seattle official who shouted angrily at the nomination of a convicted pedophile to a taxpayer-funded role is refusing to resign, despite a request for resignation from the head of his agency.
On May 3, Shanee Colston co-chaired a Zoom meeting of a King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) subcommittee to hear nominations to fill a vacant position on the board.
The meeting erupted into chaos when another council member spoke out against the appointment of registered sex offender Thomas Whitaker, prompting an outburst from Colston, who defended Whitaker and berated the member who opposed him.
Despite a call this week from KCRHA program director Peter Lynn for Colston to resign from the subcommittee, she refused to resign, an agency spokesperson said. KOMO TV Friday.
“KCRHA shares our community’s concerns regarding the appointment of a registered sex offender to the Continuum of Care Council and does not support this appointment,” the agency said in a public statement.
Shanee Colston, Co-Chair of the Continuum of Care Board of Directors – angrily shouted her opposition to the appointment of a convicted pedophile to a taxpayer-funded role
KCRHA said it opposes Whitaker’s appointment and asked Colston to resign, but so far she has yet to leave the subcommittee.
“We agree that the behavior of the current Board Co-Chair in yelling at the Board Member who identified the nominee as a registered sex offender was unacceptable, and we immediately called on the Co-Chair to resign,” the statement added.
“The KCRHA continues its actions to ensure the safety of the board, staff and members of the public.”
DailyMail.com contacted KCRHA on Friday evening for any update on the matter, but did not receive an immediate response.
Colston is a “peer advisor” and co-chair of a King County Regional Homelessness Authority subcommittee.
When Whitaker’s name popped up among the subcommittee nominees at the May 3 meeting, Colston enthusiastically threw his weight behind him, touting his “lived experience” as homeless.
Whitaker board appointment approved, despite Sawyckyj complaint
Whitaker, 38, also known as Raven Crowfoot, has been convicted of child rape three times. His victims include a 13-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl, with whom he was found sleeping in a tent.
After her name was put forward among the candidates, Navy veteran Kristina Sawyckyj, a sexual assault survivor who uses a wheelchair, expressed her deep concern.
‘Can I say something? We have a code of ethics within this council and Thomas Whitaker Raven Crowfoot is a sex offender, repeat sex offender and I had a bad experience with him.
She later alleged that Whitaker had “touched” her inappropriately.
Rather than listen to him, Colston snapped, unleashing a tirade directed at Sawyckyj.
“I’m going to interrupt you. We can’t divulge people’s personal affairs here, can we? Although this is a public disclosure, as if we have no right to release anyone in this space.
Sawyckyj, a mother in a wheelchair, retired.
‘OK, OK…I was just thinking…’ she fell silent.
Colston continued his offense, growing angrier with every word.
“It’s just not OK at all and I won’t put up with it as co-chairman. We are not here to discover people’s journeys. And in fact, if that’s the case, I’m glad he’s here because sex offenders are another population group that’s most vulnerable, that doesn’t have housing.
‘This is not the forum… stop! As co-chair, I tell you that you cannot talk like that in this meeting. I won’t have that here. If anyone wants to talk like that, you will be muted and then removed from this meeting. Administrator or public or not.
“This is about fairness and everyone, EVERYONE, deserves a home. I don’t care if he’s a sex offender. I don’t care if they’re black. I don’t care if they’re native. I don’t care if he’s a criminal. I don’t care if they get out of jail, out of jail.
“Everyone deserves a home! »
Colston is seen on Zoom yelling at a board member for raising objections to a sex offender joining their board
Kristina Sawyckyj, right, takes part in the May 3 Zoom meeting. She objected to Whitaker joining the board and was silenced by Colston and others
Sawyckyj, 53, served in the Marines but says she uses a wheelchair following injuries in a violent sex attack in the 1980s
THE the council is a subdivision of the King County Regional Homeless Authorityfunded by state taxpayers and federal grants.
In 2010, when Whitaker was 25, he was convicted of harboring a minor, a 13-year-old runaway with whom he had a sexual relationship, according to court records obtained by the Independent Seattle News Site. . Publicola.
In 2012, Whitaker was charged with raping a minor in a case involving a 15-year-old girl.
Sawyckyj, a mother in a wheelchair, retired
He pleaded guilty to communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, a criminal sex crime.
And in 2018, Seattle police found him living in a tent near the Seattle waterfront with a 17-year-old girl, whose mother picked her up and brought her home, records show. Seattle court records obtained through the site.
Sawyckyj, a 53-year-old former marine, was so badly injured in a sexual assault while in the armed forces that she ended up in a wheelchair, she said. The town planner in 2017.
She joined the United States Navy in 1987 and served as a member of the hospital corps until 1992.
She said she was raped while on the ward and suffered chronic physical injuries that put her in a wheelchair, she said King5 News. She then spent many years homeless, living in her van.
The day after the meeting, the program manager for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority wrote to the board and called for Colston’s resignation as co-chair, Publicola reported.
Colston, who works as a peer counselor at the downtown emergency services center, allegedly “yelled” Sawyckyj for her valid objections, Peter Lynn said.
Lynn said Colston “yelled to committee member Kristina Sawyckyj for identifying that one of the potential CA candidates was a registered sex offender, which is public information.”
‘SP. Sawyckyj was also shouted at by President Colston when she spoke about her experience of being touched inappropriately by the candidate.
The King County Regional Homeless Authority was created in 2018, and in 2022 applied for $14 million in federal funding for the next three years.
The funding would be spent on projects “that focus on investing in programs that reduce homelessness, improve service engagement, health outcomes and housing stability using coordinated principles of housing first and public health to serve homeless individuals and families”.
KCRHA is also funded by local taxpayers.
On Tuesday, the group announced that its founding CEO, Marc Dones, appointed in April 2021, was stepping down.
His resignation was not related to the dispute over Colston’s shares but rather to what some considered an impossible task.
In a letter to members of the Authority’s Implementation Council and Steering Committee, obtained by Seattle weatherDones cited burnout as the reason for his resignation.
“After five years, I’m tired,” Dones wrote, including the Authority’s creation in the timeline.
“I believe the time has come for me to pass on the baton.”
The KCRHA said the agency’s goal and function of “unifying and coordinating policy and funding across King County for a regional approach to getting more people indoors” will remain the same. after the departure of Dones.
