Franklin County commissioner resigning after 15 years, citing ‘cronyism’ and ‘bullying’

After years of a bitterly split Franklin County Commission, one member is resigning at the end of the year.

Commissioner Brad Peck, 64, who was first elected in 2009, will resign from his District 1 seat at midnight Jan. 1, 2024, he said in an announcement sent to the Tri-City Herald.

The seat is up for reelection next year.

The past three years have been marked by in-fighting on the commission, after Commissioners Clint Didier and Rocky Mullen were elected. Their tenure in office has seen the board draw a sharp 2-1 divide, with Peck often in the minority.

Meetings have erupted into shouting matches, seen Didier slamming his gavel to silence Peck and resulted constant barbs.

In his resignation announcement, Peck said that the county “has devolved into an arena of hyper-politization, cronyism, workplace bullying and personal acrimony. There are an unfortunate number of examples. Elected officials and numerous employees walking out of Franklin County, and armed bullhorn-toting protestors trespassing at my personal residence, are just two of many.”

All three commissioners ran as Republicans, but Peck is no longer involved with the county party.

Peck has significant knowledge of rules and procedures due to his lengthy tenure and service on state boards, and often found himself at odds with the other commissioners when trying to warn them that an action might be inappropriate or even illegal.

Wednesday’s commission meeting reinforced the instances Peck highlighted in his resignation letter.

A third attempt to separate the commissioners from the county’s other VEBA benefits group failed to pass when Mullen chose to abstain rather than support Didier’s motion to make the change.

“Today was worse, Commissioner Didier actually made a motion to approve a resolution when we had two county attorneys advising him not to do it, telling him it was not lawful and county commissioners could be held liable,” Peck told the Herald.

Franklin County instituted a policy in which VEBA money, which is typically unused healthcare dollars set aside in a trust, could be converted into taxable cash as an incentive to attract employees and remain competitive.

The amount allowed to be converted differs by bargaining group, but commissioners voted to make a change to allow the board members to take the full amount as cash if they declined health insurance.

The potential changes to this program have been a hot-button issue since Auditor Matt Beaton, who unsuccessfully challenged Peck for his seat in 2016, said his interpretation of a Municipal Research and Services Center review of the practice revealed it to be unconstitutional.

Didier and Mullen have been staunchly opposed to the practice, which was approved in 2016 and last adjusted for commissioners after the 2020 election, before either had taken office. The two believe it is an out of control cost at a time when the county is in a budget crunch.

They’ve proposed allowing a lesser amount for employees, but the discussions continue to devolve into personal back and forths about whether Peck should be allowed to receive the money, or if he and previous commissioners broke any laws.

Peck takes the VEBA benefits as cash because he is a retired Air Force officer and has VA healthcare because of his service. Peck has said that he will accept the AG’s determination, but Didier has attempted to continue moving on the issue despite not having received guidance from the state.

The county’s legal team advised commissioners not to attempt to make major changes before the Attorney General’s Office completes the requested review of whether converting VEBA benefits to cash counts as salary or a taxable fringe benefit, as previously thought.

Over the past several months Didier has attempted to push the change through, also making comments that Peck would be required to “pay back” the money. It’s unclear if that would be the case.

During Wednesday’s meeting Didier suggested the board could go ahead and make the changes, and it might prompt the AG’s office to act more quickly.

“Well maybe this might get the attorney general off the couch and make a decision,” Didier said.

Tipping the scales

Peck said that while he has considered resigning for some time, recently this fight over VEBA has tipped the scales.

“I’ve known for several months that this was likely to be the path that they’ll choose, what has I think tipped the scales has been an addition of a county administrator in whom I have no confidence in his ability to do the job combined by an increasingly antagonistic attitude from Chair Didier,” Peck told the Herald.

He said what solidified his decision was the belief that his district was going to be shortchanged due to the fighting.

“When it appears that the constituents I serve may be in some way paying a silent price for that acrimony, then the honorable thing for anyone to do is step out and resolve that so the constituents don’t pay a price for that utter nonsense,” he said.

With Peck set to resign in January, County Adminsitrator Mike Gonzalez said the Franklin County Republican Party will be responsible for providing a list of three candidates for the remaining commissioners to choose from to fill the rest of Peck’s term. If they don’t settle on an appointee within 90 days, state law says the governor then has the power to appoint a replacement to fill the term.

Potential appointees must live in District 1 and will still have to file for election next year if they wish to remain on the board.

Gonzalez expressed gratitude for Commissioner Peck’s service.

“I appreciate Commissioner Peck’s service. He is known for his acumen of policy. He always brings out the best in me personally, because I know I have to be prepared for every meeting,” Gonzalez said. “He’s given his life to public service in the military and Franklin County. I’m certain whatever chapter is next for Commissioner Peck will be a fruitful one. We all wish him the best.”

Peck told the Herald that after all the infighting he began to feel like his district was starting to pay the price for the personal attacks and feuding.

“The more I worked at it the more resistance I met,” Peck said. “It’s a personal disappointment because it’s not in my nature to walk out on anything prematurely.”

He said it was important work and he enjoyed it a great deal but he couldn’t be as effective anymore. He told the Herald that he’s 64 years old and he and his wife are fortunate enough that he doesn’t need to continue working.

He would “love to see someone with elected experience” or “meaningful county government experience” be chosen because it’s a far more complicated position than many people understand it to be.

The timing of his resignation is not accidental. He chose Jan. 1 in order to give whoever is interested in the position enough lead time to build a team and prepare a campaign before filing in May.

Peck said he will finish the next six weeks finishing work on the county’s budget and the legislative steering committee.

He noted that Sheriff Jim Raymond has expressed interest in running for the seat. Raymond has previously said this is his last term as sheriff.

Raymond could not be reached on Wednesday.