CHEHALIS – After laying off four employees and eliminating a top position, Lewis County Prosecutor Michael Golden is now facing the departure of two more of his deputy prosecutors.
Elected prosecutor Golden announced Thursday the men will be will be leaving his office in the next two weeks to take positions with other local governments.
“There is never a good time to lose good people, but even when the economy isn’t cooperating, people have to pursue their dreams,” Golden said in a news release. “Good people do it every day, but we will miss them, just the same.”
Senior Civil Deputy Prosecutor Douglas Ruth has represented the county in nearly every facet of the civil division in an exemplary fashion over the past eight years, Golden stated. Ruth resigned with much sadness, according to Golden, to take a job with the city of Auburn so he can be closer to his Seattle-area family.
Deputy Prosecutor Jonathan Richardson has been working for Golden in a position funded by grant money which is set to run out this month, according to Golden.
Richardson has been with the office almost three years, assigned to drug court, juvenile cases and then since last July in superior court. Richardson will move to the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office in Bellingham, and is anxious to return to the community where he attended college, Golden said.
The prosecutor noted his previously announced intention to retain at least one position by using money from a new fund created from money seized from illegal online gambling in Lewis County. He stated that money can be used for prosecution and abatement of fraud and gambling.
The money to replace the civil deputy position does not exist, he said. It’s not clear from the news release if Golden will use the new fund to replace Richardson. Golden didn’t return requests for comment.
One of the cut backs was the elimination of his chief criminal deputy position. The time range of when that and the lay offs occurred wasn’t noted in the news release.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter