‘Unfounded.’ Sunnyside investigation claims no official harassment, misconduct
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- City released a 29-page report cited in the firing of former City Manager Mike Gonzalez.
- The Spokane attorney found that most of the accusations were “unfounded.”
- Multiple complaints and legal actions produced no sustained misconduct findings.
Public officials in Sunnyside have spent much of the past six months accusing each other of harassment and misconduct.
A newly released 29-page investigation by an outside law firm shows that while most of their behavior likely happened, it did not rise to the level of official misconduct or violate city policies.
Until this week the city refused to release the investigation, claiming it fell under attorney-client privilege. The Tri-City Herald and Yakima Herald-Republic objected to it being kept from the public and sent a joint letter to the city demanding its release.
The council then voted Monday to release the investigation after it voted to finalize its firing of City Manager Mike Gonzalez.
Mayor Dean Broersma later told the Yakima Herald-Republic that since Gonzalez was terminated without cause, the investigation findings are moot.
He said the investigation revealed deficiencies in Gonzalez’s management, including improper hiring and failure to take proper disciplinary action against an employee.
While public discussion over the past few months gave the impression that Gonzalez was being investigated, the attorney wrote that he was actually investigating Gonzalez’s complaints against Hancock.
Thaddeus O’Sullivan, with the private Spokane firm hired to do the investigation, wrote in the report that Councilwoman Theresa Hancock repeatedly tried to manipulate the course and outcome of the investigation.
“Council member Hancock made clear her desired outcome ... Hancock contacted me multiple times seeking to direct, and make demands regarding, the investigation,” O’Sullivan wrote in the report.
Hancock told the Yakima Herald-Republic that she did not know that the investigation would venture into her actions as well.
“This investigation was supposed to be an investigation into Mike Gonzalez, but it became an investigation into his claims against me,” Hancock said.
The attorney ultimately found that most of the accusations from both parties were “unfounded” because they did not violate specific city policies or were based on accounts from people who were not directly involved.
The report redacts many names, though the context such as their job duties, makes clear who is being referred to.
Gonzalez told the Tri-City Herald on Wednesday evening that he and his attorney are evaluating the investigation and will comment at a later time.
Accusations and harassment
The Sunnyside City Council placed Gonzalez on paid leave at the beginning of June and then voted on Sept. 8 to terminate his contract without cause.
At that time, the council cited the findings of an internal investigation. The scope of the investigation focused on whether Gonzalez’s complaints against Hancock had merit and whether city policies were violated, not whether alleged behavior was illegal. It was not a criminal investigation.
Gonzalez previously said some members of the city council allegedly had been planning on firing him prior to the investigation and already had been communicating with a possible replacement, Jim Bridges. Bridges was later hired as interim city manager.
On Monday, after a required public hearing this week, the council voted 5-2 to finalize ending Gonzalez’s contract.
Gonzalez was hired as city manager in Sunnyside in July 2024 after serving as Franklin County’s administrator.
Hancock, a former city council member and liquor store owner, was appointed in March 2025 to fill a vacancy on the council.
Gonzalez and Hancock quickly became at odds with each other, with Gonzalez accusing Hancock of harassment and discrimination and Hancock accusing Gonzalez of misconduct.
One major point of tension was after Hancock made more than 60 detailed public records requests that required Sunnyside to close City Hall on May 16 so that city staff could complete the request.
Broersma agreed to the decision to close for the day after speaking to Gonzalez and the city attorney, according to the report.
The report states that one of Hancock’s requests contained 32 sub-requests requiring 40 hours of staff hours to respond, but “based on the records provided in response, the 40 staff hours estimate appears exaggerated.”
Gonzalez said that many of the requests targeted him and former Human Resources Director Irving Brown, a former Pasco City Council member.
‘Exonerated’
Broersma told the Yakima Herald-Republic that the purpose of the investigation was twofold — to attempt to answer questions the council had about Gonzalez’s actions as city manager and to investigate his harassment claims against Hancock.
“The council member was exonerated,” Broersma said of Hancock.
The investigation was conducted at the council’s request at a rate of $325 per hour.
O’Sullivan Legal billed the city close to $13,000 for work on the investigation in June and July, according to an Aug. 1 invoice obtained by a Yakima-Herald Republic records request.
Hiring issues and records
The hiring issues and record requests appear to be related.
Both were touched on in the investigation. One major issue seemed to center on whether a city attorney was officially representing Sunnyside at the time, and whether Gonzalez should have gone to the council for approval of a position described but never previously filled.
The investigator came to the conclusion that the reimbursement of moving costs offered to the new hire pushed the employee’s annual salary over budgeted limits.
That position was for an assistant water department supervisor. The city ultimately declared a state of emergency over concerns about critical repairs needed at its wastewater plant.
Brown’s salary also appears to have been slightly over the approved pay range. There also was a question over whether Brown was entitled to a stipend for a vehicle.
Apparent questions about a third position were raised, but the job title was redacted in the documents and no other detail was included about it.
The investigator wrote that raising these issues fell under Hancock’s oversight authority as a member of the city council.
Most of the record requests are related to those two issues. The investigator wrote that the number of requests were actually much lower, though it details only the number of responsive documents the city sent to Hancock, not how many were made.
Surveillance and misconduct
Parts of the investigation highlight that Hancock took photos of Gonzalez’s city-owned car and that he was filmed without his consent.
Hancock acknowledged that she took photos of his car at City Hall in May because she believed it did not have decals required under state law.
The report says that Hancock’s identification and documentation of a violation of state law — lack of markings on a city-owned vehicle — does not substantiate a harassment and hostile conduct claim. It’s unclear how long the city had owned the vehicle or if it ever had the markings.
Gonzalez also had a conversation with a former city employee who told him that “one of Hancock’s ‘operatives’ had been filming you.” But the investigation states there is insufficient evidence to support the allegation of being filmed.
Hancock was also accused of “trying to dig up dirt” on Gonzalez.
The investigator wrote that the claims were not corroborated. It is unclear if the attorney reached out to the people named. The Tri-City Herald previously reported that Hancock did contact a Pasco city council member about Gonzalez.
Several other people also allegedly made comments to Gonzalez about Hancock going after him. One of the community members allegedly told Gonzalez that a friend of Hancock’s told him “you are spending money like a drunken sailor, hiring people without authority, having an affair with (a member of city council),” said the report.
Bad blood
The report also alleges that Gonzalez forgot the passcode for his city-issued phone and could not provide it when turning the device in. He also allegedly refused to hand over documents that someone spotted in the passenger seat of his car, when bringing the phone to be turned in.
The documents are described as city ordinances and other documents from the council meeting. The report does not imply in any way that the documents contained any sensitive or privileged information.
It is unclear why the person, who was not identified, would have demanded Gonzalez hand them over.
The investigator also wrote that he had reason to believe cease-and-desist orders allegedly sent by Gonzalez’s former Seattle-based attorney were not authentic because they were sent via certified mail from a Pasco post office.
The attorney also refused to discuss whether he wrote them, but did say they were sent prematurely as a result of a miscommunication and should be discarded.
The letters were directed at the Sunnyside City Council and one of the people accused of involving themselves in the dispute on Hancock’s behalf, according to the documents.
Like many Hispanics, Gonzalez has a dual last name, though he has only used Gonzalez professionally.
The investigator concluded that Hancock’s allegedly frequent refusal to refer to Gonzalez by his preferred last name does not meet the city policy’s definition of harassment, because it is on his city paperwork, such as his contract.
Investigation into former HR manager
The report also states that at a city leadership meeting April 29, Brown allegedly said, “If the old hag keeps sneaking up on people, someone’s gonna shoot her between the eyes,” referring to Hancock.
Brown said his comments were taken out of context, and what he was saying was that as a former city councilman, if he had behaved the way Hancock did, someone would have “taken him out back and shot him.”
The reports said Gonzalez set up a meeting with him the following day and had a “corrective conversation,” though the report did not verify whether that actually happened.
Brown filed a temporary protection order against Hancock on May 30, accusing her of harassment and racism.
Yakima County Superior Court Judge Kevin Naught ruled on Aug. 27 that the temporary protection order would not be made permanent and was no longer necessary.
Brown was fired on Sept. 15. Brown’s attorney Ben York said the termination was treated as “not for cause.”
But York said that the firing was in clear retaliation for seeking protection from Councilwoman Theresa Hancock and her “ongoing targeted harassment and unlawful conduct.
While each of the three involved parties filed legal complaints, ultimately none of them panned out.
Gonzalez chose not to accept a severance package. That means he still has the option to later file a lawsuit against the city.
Questen Inghram of the Yakima Herald-Republic contributed to this article.
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 2:04 PM with the headline "‘Unfounded.’ Sunnyside investigation claims no official harassment, misconduct."
