Prison chief draws criticism

TACOMA -- Some corrections officers have called for a no-confidence vote of the state's prison chief, saying he's in over his head.

The corrections policy committee of the Washington Federation of State Employees voted Saturday to ask the executive board of the 40,000-member union to hold a no-confidence vote in August. Union spokesman Tim Welch said the board will consider the request at its July 14 meeting in Bellingham.

The resolution calling for the vote said Harold Clarke is "perceived by staff at all levels as arrogant and prone to publicly humiliating those who speak in opposition" and "ill-prepared to manage an operation as large as the Department of Corrections in Washington state."

Clarke had been Nebraska's longtime prison chief before Gov. Chris Gregoire appointed him to head the Washington Department of Corrections in January 2005. Clarke said he was surprised by the allegations. He has been meeting monthly with employee focus groups and has implemented many of the changes they have suggested, he said.

He said that regardless of what happens, "we're going to keep on pushing in the direction we are to make sure we have the doors open and that they have what they need to get their jobs done."

Welch said any no-confidence vote would be held among the 1,448 prison system employees represented by the federation.

The vote comes as there are concerns about overcrowding, caseloads and high turnover in the agency. Also, the department is switching to a new computer system, and officers are dealing with new rules for supervising offenders after the deaths of three officers caused by ex-convicts in community supervision.