Political Support Fallout

Island County, WA: (Mar-26-08) Former deputy prosecutor Amy Dempsey brought a lawsuit against Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks, over the 2006 election, at the time when former chief criminal deputy Steve Selby ran for prosecutor against Banks. Records state that Banks fired Selby, and employed Dempsey in the midst of the dispute. Dempsey eventually joined with the other deputy prosecutors and endorsed Selby in an ad in the News-Times. After Banks defeated Selby, sources say that Dempsey stopped coming to work, claiming she was sick. She was fired by Banks, following which she filed suit against the county, claiming damages. She alleged that Banks pressured her to publicly support him in the election, and that she was wrongly fired.

As part of a settlement reached, the Washington Counties Risk Pool, Island County's insurance company, agreed to pay Dempsey $300,000 to resolve the dispute. Banks said that the settlement was a business decision, made in order to avoid the high costs and risks associated with protracted litigation. Sources close to the case state that Amy Dempsey has threatened to sue Banks again, alleging that he has filed libelous declarations against her in Oak Harbor District Court, where she works as a judge pro tem. [WHIDBEY NEWS-TIMES: PROSECUTOR ACCUSED OF DEFAMATION]

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Published on Mar-31-08