By Erica C. Barnett
A division manager at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority told union representatives that he witnessed former interim CEO Darrell Powell calling a staffer an “affirmative action ‘retard hire’” and “retarded” in the presence of other staff—one of several disturbing comments the manager described Powell making earlier this year in two written complaints to KCRHA’s human resources department and representatives from PROTEC17, the union the represents KCRHA staffers. PubliCola obtained the emails through a records request.
The staffer, who leads the KCRHA’s Housing Navigation and Stability division, wrote that after using the ableist slur, Powell informed the team that their entire division would shut down at the end of 2024, but said they would continue to have jobs until then “even if they were ‘sitting on the other side of the building just shuffling papers.’” Then, according to the staffer, Powell named specific agency leaders who he said “needed to lose their jobs too.’” (We have chosen not to identify the employee, who did not respond to calls, an email, or a text seeking comment, by name.) Then, he continued, Powell’s “conversation became more punctuated with the term, ‘Fuck,’” and he made “references to having ‘gangster’ friends to ‘take care of shit,” while cautiously adding that, ‘I’d never do that, but I have those type of friends.’”
“On a more personal level, it is impossible for me to separate the ‘alleged’ homophobic comments from the current issues I am experiencing with staff members in the program I direct and the Interim CEO. From the onset of their tenure, [Powell] has not only taken a special interest in the Housing Navigation & Stability Team, but in two instances has circumvented my leadership to directly intervene in staffing issues,” including one incident in which, according to the staffer, Powell overruled him on “necessary discipline.”
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Powell was the subject of at least two official HR complaints during his four months as interim CEO.
The KCRHA division leader said Powell fostered “an anti- 2SLGBTQ+ environment where other staff have felt empowered to create alternative pronouns (ex. My pronouns are I AM), inflaming and inferring that this is a war between the 2SLGBTQ+ community and POC’s without acknowledging the intersectionality of the two, and quite literally hell-bent on being … destructive to the KCRHA as an organization, KCRHA staff, and KCRHA leadership[.]”
In an earlier email to KCRHA’s interim HR director, the staffer brought up PubliCola’s May 2024 article about disparaging comments Powell reportedly made when he was interviewing to the permanent position. During an interview, Powell reportedly complained about the agency’s gender-neutral restrooms and said he didn’t understand “the LGBTQ stuff.”
Powell was Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s choice for the position, replacing former interim CEO Helen Howell; after his departure, he was repalced by permanent CEO Kelly Kinnison. Powell and Harrell attended Garfield High School, where they played football together, and Powell served as a member of Harrell’s transition team. He applied for the permanent CEO position but withdrew after PubliCola reportedly he reportedly complained about the agency’s gender-neutral restrooms and said he didn’t understand “the LGBTQ stuff.”
The KCRHA’s reaction to the story, which the division leader described as an all-staff email denying Powell made the comments, served as further evidence that the agency didn’t value its LGBTQ+ employees, he wrote.
A representative for PROTEC17 declined to discuss the details of the complaints against Powell, including the division leader’s, beyond confirming their existence. “The membership at KCRHA is really trying to heal and move forward,” the union rep said.
A spokesperson for KCRHA said the agency does not comment on personnel matters.
