The political stakes in Auburn just went up!

Auburn City Council member and potential mayoral candidate Virginia Haugen was found “not guilty” of the charge of “obstructing a police officer.” This seemingly unlikely verdict has given a whole new twist to Auburn politics.

Several months ago, Haugen purchased a sign for a couple of local businessmen that said, “Would the last person leaving Auburn please turn out the lights?” The unnamed businessmen then hung the sign on the Burlington Northern railroad tracks. The political prank appeared to be aimed at incumbent Mayor Pete Lewis, who has been at odds with activist Haugen and her supporters over the mayor’s emphasis on downtown projects.

Apparently, the mayor wasn’t amused and directed that the sign be removed. Initially, Haugen denied any involvement. However, the police investigation determined that Haugen had purchased the sign. Confronted with evidence, Haugen admitted her role. The police then charged Haugen with obstruction and a trial date was set.

The legal issue appeared pretty clear. However, Haugen claimed the whole issue was political retaliation by the mayor. Haugen has been on the city council for two years and has made no secret of her dissatisfaction with the current administration. Further, she had been openly discussing running against Lewis, whose term expires this year. To avoid any appearance of conflict, the Auburn City Attorney’s office contracted the case out to Tacoma, and a visiting judge was retained by the Auburn Municipal Court. Visiting Judge Glen Phillips heard the case himself without a jury. At the conclusion, Phillips offered that Haugen had probably lied to the police; however, he ruled that the Tacoma prosecutor did not prove an obstruction case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Phillips seemed to suggest that the police and prosecutor had charged Haugen with the wrong crime, “obstruction of an investigation” rather than “lying to a police officer.” So he ruled in Haugen’s favor. Haugen cannot be charged again as that would constitute double jeopardy.

There’s little doubt that Haugen was dishonest in her statements. And if she does decide to run against Lewis, the public will take that into account. However, since Lewis lost the case, the political motivation will get some negative play as well, and that won’t help Lewis.

Some longtime City Hall watchers recall that a similar prank occurred in the 1989 mayor’s race. The mayor and police chief at that time decided to pretty much ignore the whole episode and use police resources elsewhere. Some in Auburn think that might have been a good strategy for this year.