Nov. 8--YAKIMA, Wash. -- An unsuccessful recall effort targeting Yakima City Councilman Rick Ensey will cost taxpayers $16,400 in legal fees, according to Ensey.

A week ago, he predicted the bill would be nowhere near that amount. He made those comments in response to a Democrat Party blog that rumored the bill would be in the $15,000 range.

On Friday, Ensey sounded surprised the bill was as high as it was but defended the City Council's offer to pick up the tab at taxpayer expense.

"I don't have $16,000 hanging around," he said. "I would have had to ask my dad for a loan."

The bill, which was submitted to the city Friday, was the final detail in the recall saga, which was widely seen as the latest installment of a feud between Ensey and former Councilman Ron Bonlender.

Petitioners Charlotte Jones and Gene Rupel alleged that Ensey violated the state Open Public Meeting Act by trying to line up council votes in support of a new budget policy. They acknowledged that the documents they submitted as legal grounds for a recall -- a series of e-mails between Ensey, Councilwoman Kathy Coffey and Bruce Smith, editor and publisher of the Yakima Valley Business Times -- were provided by Bonlender.

A judge threw out the petition in September, ruling there was no proof of a quorum violation.

Shortly after the recall effort got under way, the City Council voted 4-2 to exercise its discretion under state law to pay Ensey's legal fees.

The offer was opposed by Mayor Dave Edler and Councilwoman Sonia Rodriguez, who argued the recall effort was the culmination of a partisan tit-for-tat between Democrats and Republicans.

On Friday, Councilman Micah Cawley said he also was surprised by the size of the bill, but he said the city has an obligation to pay Ensey's legal fees.

"The principle here is that he was acting in his official capacity," Cawley said, adding, "It's not a bill I'd like to pay, but compared to Walmart and other litigation, it's pretty small."

Though the petitioners and Ensey have agreed to drop the recall issue in court, the councilman is still peeved. He called the recall effort "baseless" and said he believes the petitioners were trying to force him to resign or into bankruptcy.

"I was sued because of my position with the city," Ensey said. "If it happened to any other council member, whether I agreed with them or not, the city has a responsibility to provide protection."

City Manager Dick Zais said the bill would be paid out of a $75,000 line item for small damage claims. The city has an annual risk management budget of $3 million.

--Chris Bristol can be reached at 509-577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com.

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