YAKIMA, Wash. – The Yakima County Republican Party has issued a letter to Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice, asking for his immediate resignation.
The letter, which was signed by an attorney at Hummer Boyd PLLC, emphasizes the need for a functioning and qualified coroner, which it claims Curtice no longer is.
The letter instructs Curtice to submit a signed resignation letter to the county and the attorney’s office by 3:00 p.m. on Dec. 16. If he fails to do so, a recall will be filed against him. It also states that his coworkers have agreed to quit if he returns to work.
Marshall Slight, the Chief Deputy Coroner for Yakima County, confirmed that he’d leave if Curtis comes back. “If he comes back to work… I’ll take a nice long vacation because I have vacation time and yeah, I won’t work with him,” said Slight.
In October, the Yakima County Board of Commissioners also requested Curtice’s resignation, which went unanswered. LaDon Linde, Yakima County’s District Three Commissioner, says Curtice can only leave under three circumstances: resignation, losing an election, or being recalled.
“That’s a little tough for people to swallow when they understand, you know, how he’s been… performing in that office,” said Linde. “So that’s why we’d really like to see, I think the most honorable thing for him would be to to come clean, to admit his mistakes, apologize and step down.”
NonStop Local has reached out to Jim Curtice for comment but has not received a response.
