Phillips out as county elections manager

COEUR d'ALENE — Carrie Phillips, who has worked for Kootenai County for nearly 18 years, including the past nine as elections manager, said she was asked to leave the agency effective immediately on Friday.

"Technically, I resigned, but that was based off of two choices," she told The Press. "They were either going to let me go or I could resign, so I resigned because I didn't fully agree with the reasons that were given."

Phillips declined to comment on the specific reasons she was given to end her employment, but added that they were not for doing anything illegal.

"I'd rather not go into (the reasons) because I really don't want this to be construed in a negative light," she said. "Obviously, it was not a positive thing that happened, but I do believe the community should know that a sudden change was made. Basically, it came down to not being the right fit."

Phillips, 41, said she was not offered a severance package.

Clerk Jim Brannon, who oversees Elections, declined to comment on specifics, saying it's a personnel issue.

"All I can say is that she's no longer employed at Kootenai County," he said Monday. "I won't discuss personnel matters because I can't. I'll make no further comment — that's advice (from attorneys)."

The shakeup comes a month after Brannon, a staunch Republican, was re-elected.

When asked if the move had anything to do with possible political differences, Phillips said, "That's possible."

Phillips said she has been unaffiliated with any political party.

"That's mostly due to my job to be neutral, but on a personal level I also try to vote for the person (regardless of their party)," she said.

Phillips admits there has been a strained working relationship between her and Brannon, so she wasn't overly surprised.

"There's just a personality conflict and we didn't always agree on things," she said. "I had a gut feeling it would happen — things have been building for some time — but it's still shocking. The timing right before Christmas sucks."

Phillips said Chief Deputy Clerk Jennifer Locke called her on Friday to meet with her, human resources staff and an attorney.

"I signed a one-sentence resignation that was drawn up," she said. "It was short (meeting) and bittersweet."

Phillips said she's proud of her effort at the county, which also included eight years as a title clerk in the Recorder's Office, and will hold her head high.

"Everything happens for a reason and this will turn into something good," she said.

Phillips said she believes she helped improve the public's trust in the Elections Office. She also secured a grant for ballot counting machines, helped streamline poll worker trainings and assisted with implementing an elections procedure manual to improve accountability.

"I worked my butt off to get that department where it is," she said. "My team and I worked hard to educate the public and candidates about the elections process and make sure we treated everyone the same. We had a lot of thank you notes given to us after the election from people appreciating how thorough we were, especially with all the junk going on around the country."

Phillips recalls having to testify as the custodian of record during a contentious court case stemming from Coeur d'Alene City Councilman Mike Kennedy's narrow 2009 election victory over his challenger — Jim Brannon.

"When Jim was appointed (as clerk) that was a difficult time for me personally because of what we went through," she said. "But I was able to look past that and continue doing my job."

Phillips, who made $25 an hour, oversaw four full-time workers and several part-timers during elections season.

She said it will be interesting to see who her replacement will be.

"Hopefully it will be someone who is nonpartisan who can carry on with the same work ethic and uphold the integrity of the office," she said.

Brannon said the search will start now for Phillips' replacement.

"Whenever the county has an opening, it's the clerk's policy to open it up immediately," he said. "We open it up to outside and internal applicants at the same time and, in this case, we'll do that as well."