Members of the commission overseeing Oregon’s public defense system widely acknowledge that executive director Stephen Singer’s treatment of legislators, Oregon’s chief justice and even commission members themselves at times was startlingly rude.
“Totally unacceptable” is how attorney Steven Wax characterized Singer’s conduct toward Justice Martha Walters, as The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Noelle Crombie reported. At a commission meeting Wednesday, both Walters and the commission chair laid out multiple instances in which Singer had yelled at and berated the chief justice. Fellow commissioner Thomas Christ used more colorful language in describing some of the emails Singer had sent others – including those whose help he needed to pursue his agency’s objectives. “Clearly they are intemperate, disrespectful, condescending, discourteous, completely unprofessional and needlessly combative,” Christ said.
And yet, both men, along with commissioners Mark Hardin and Alton Harvey, Jr., rejected fellow members’ effort to fire Singer. Instead, some of them pointed to the pressures of running the state’s beleaguered public defender system or blamed uncooperative employees for provoking Singer’s persistently boorish behavior. They argued that Singer, who started work at Oregon Public Defense Services in December 2021, has not had enough time to prove himself. And some suggested that Singer, a man in his late 50s with decades of experience and earning a salary of $205,428, could act more professionally if he just received some coaching.
It’s hard to imagine more indulgent bosses for such utterly disqualifying behavior. It is even harder to see how Oregon’s severely understaffed public defender system can climb out of crisis under the leadership of a man who generates so many more.
A 26-page memo from commission chair Per Ramfjord lays out an array of allegations against Singer including lying, retaliation and unprofessional diatribes targeted at Ramfjord, the chief justice and others. Ramfjord noted the disruption Singer caused from his earliest days at the agency, when he sought to have a well-regarded legislative fiscal officer reassigned from Oregon Public Defense Services because he was also assigned to the Department of Justice – a conflict of interest in Singer’s view. While Ramfjord described putting out that fire, others cropped up, as Singer regularly engaged in combative exchanges with legislators who control the agency’s funding and others in the public defense system orbit. Ramfjord noted that Singer continued his confrontational approach, despite Ramfjord’s cautioning, eventually leading the commission chair and longtime defense attorney to lose confidence in Singer’s judgment, truthfulness and ability to lead the organization. Texts and emails from Singer, included in the memo, are rife with accusatory language and contemptuous observations.
Walters herself attended the meeting, describing Singer’s verbal attacks and hostility over the months as she has prodded him to more urgently address the shortage of public defenders in Oregon. The crisis has left more than 900 low-income defendants without a court-appointed attorney with many of them waiting from jail. But it’s not just that Singer picked “senseless” fights with several key players or failed to build the relationships the agency needs to succeed, noted longtime public defender and commission member Lisa Ludwig. He also has not demonstrated the leadership skills or strategy to lift the agency out of its serious dysfunction. And such allegations of bullying should be taken seriously, she said, outlining concerns she’s had. “His communication I would characterize as high in volume, low in coherence and casual about accuracy,” said Ludwig, who joined Ramfjord, Paul Solomon and Max Williams in supporting his firing.
But with one of the nine commissioners unable to attend and four votes opposed to firing Singer, the motion failed. So, too, did a motion to place Singer on paid administrative leave pending a human resources investigation into personnel complaints against him. A largely symbolic motion by Wax to publicly reprimand Singer, require an apology and bar Singer from initiating communications with legislators without a commissioner or other designee also failed.
Certainly, Singer has supporters, particularly among public defenders now receiving greater compensation thanks in part to more state money. The Legislature in February gave the agency $12.8 million amid the growing crisis of unrepresented defendants and just weeks after an embarrassing report, commissioned by the Legislature, showed how Oregon is failing to live up to its constitutional obligations. Legislators are also working with Gov. Kate Brown’s office and the judicial department in a “three branch workgroup” to identify short-term and long-term solutions. As Solomon noted in his remarks supporting Singer’s termination, there’s broad recognition of the urgency to reform Oregon’s public defender system. The commission should not put that objective at risk by continuing to support an executive director who appears to have questionable credibility, poor judgment and deep managerial deficiencies. Singer, who was fired in 2020 from the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center in an apparently “acrimonious” departure, as The Acadiana Advocate reported, simply is not the right fit here, either.
In Wednesday’s meeting, Wax rightly suggested that the commission hold off on a termination vote until the full commission was present. While the proposal was not considered then, it is the best way to take up such a momentous decision. The commission should take the next few weeks to reflect on the message it sends by continuing to employ someone so profoundly compromised, develop a potential interim plan and bring the matter to a vote again, with all nine commissioners present. If someone’s behavior is “totally unacceptable,” then the commission should not accept it.
-The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board