Timeline: the ongoing controversy over the firing of Dr. Bob Lutz
Spokane Regional Health District Administrator Amelia Clark forced out then-health-officer Doctor Bob Lutz in October of 2020. In 2021, the saga remains unresolved. Author: Casey Decker Updated: 9:53 PM PDT June 1, 2021
SPOKANE, Wash. On Tuesday, the Washington State Board of Health voted to move forward with a hearing into the conduct of Spokane Regional Health District Administrator Amelia Clark in her controversial ouster of former health officer Dr. Bob Lutz in fall of 2020.
The controversy has had some serious twists and turns over the last year. They can be easy to lose track of. Here s a timeline of some of the key events.
SPR s Doug Nadvornick reports.
An Idaho House committee voted Friday to make it illegal for protestors to picket in front of someone’s home.
The so-called “targeted picketing” bill is a response to two recent Covid-related protests in the Boise area. In one case, protesters targeted a police officer who had arrested a woman for trespassing in a closed city park. In the second, people gathered outside the home of a health district board member while the board was meeting. She rushed home to protect her children. That case is similar to a protest last July outside the home of former Spokane County Health Officer Bob Lutz.
Emails between Dr. Bob Lutz and Spokane Mayor Woodward show tense, but not dysfunctional relationship By Adam Shanks, The Spokesman-Review
Published: January 28, 2021, 11:01am
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SPOKANE Exchanges between Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward and former Spokane County Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz were dotted by moments of friction months before Lutz’s ouster in November.
But emails between the two that were released last week don’t show an all-out breakdown in their relationship in the months leading to Lutz’s controversial firing.
After helming the county’s pandemic response, Lutz’s dismissal and the subsequent change in leadership received Woodward’s ringing endorsement.
Bill to change composition of public health boards receives strong support in public hearing By Laurel Demkovich, The Spokesman-Review
Published: January 26, 2021, 9:18am
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Jan. 26–OLYMPIA Local public health boards may become a little less political if a bill sponsored by Spokane Rep. Marcus Riccelli passes the state Legislature.
A bill that would require local public health boards to include a majority of nonelected members received its first public hearing on Monday, with many supporters of the bill citing the firing of former Spokane County Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz as the reason for needing a change.
“When politics affects public health, we have problems,” Riccelli told the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.
From staff reports
Protesters gathered outside the Spokane County courthouse Tuesday afternoon to take aim at coronavirus restrictions, newly approved vaccines to stop the virus and former Spokane County Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz, KHQ reported.
The people who gathered voiced concerns about the safety of coronavirus vaccines and also expressed support for businesses impacted by Gov. Jay Inslee’s closures meant to halt infection, the station reported. At least one man also was pictured with items criticizing Lutz, whose firing last month spurred controversy throughout the community, with some believing his efforts to control the virus led to political clashes.