SPOKANE, Wash – The woman who served one term as Spokane’s mayor now wants the city and several council members to pay her $10 million in damages.
Woodward filed the federal lawsuit in federal court
She’s seeking $10 million in damages from the City of Spokane, Council President Betsy Wilkerson, Council Member Zack Zappone and former council members Lori Kinnear and Karen Stratton.
The lawsuit stems from an event Woodward attended in August 2023. She was nearing the end of her first term and running for re-election.
Spokane County was on fire, with two major wildfires burning in Elk and Medical Lake. Woodward attended an event put on by a religious group, featuring controversial right-wing pastor Sean Feucht.
During the event, Woodward appeared on stage with former Washington lawmaker Matt Shea, who was kicked off House committees during his service because of an investigation that said he engaged in domestic terrorism.
After the event, the city council passed a resolution denouncing Woodward’s actions.
Not long after, Woodward lost the election to Lisa Brown.
Woodward announced her intent to sue in 2024, but the lawsuit was just filed on July 23rd.
‘I was there to pray for my city’
In the lawsuit, Woodward said she attended the event to pray for the city and that she was acting as a private citizen.
She said the city and the council members who voted on the resolution to condemn her did so to “alienate her donors, supporters, staff and voters from her, and exhaust her financial resources.”
She said the resolution was timed to damage her chances of re-election, calling it “hateful and bigoted” and damaging to her candidacy and professional reputation.
Woodward says the resolution has led to “loss of professional and social standing, loss of reputation, loss of income, shunning, anxiety, fear, isolation, and distress” all of which she says continues today.
The city has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.
Before becoming mayor, Woodward was a news anchor in Spokane and 4 News Now and KREM-TV.
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