Twin Transit Executive Director Joe Clark is currently “out of the office” after a video circulated online that appears to show him drinking alcohol at a local restaurant before driving away in an exempted government vehicle.
Twin Transit Authority Board members hope to take action and make additional comments on the matter next week.
In an email Friday morning, Twin Transit Board Chair Tony Ketchum wrote, “The board is in the process of reviewing the information that was provided.”
Two Lewis County residents said they witnessed Clark consume three whiskey drinks in a roughly 45-minute time span at the Jackson Hole Bar and Grill in Chehalis around 4 p.m. on Sept. 1, before leaving in an exempt vehicle.
“At this time Joe remains out of the office pending review by the board,” Ketchum wrote. “We hope to have a final action decision taken late next week.”
Ketchum said Clark is still currently employed by Twin Transit.
As of noon on Friday, Clark has not responded to requests for comment on his office and work cellphone.
A photo posted to Facebook shows Clark drinking an unidentified beverage at the restaurant before driving away in an exempted vehicle Friday afternoon. A video posted to the official Twin City Transit Twitter account Thursday evening showed an unidentified man approaching Clark, who told them he had only consumed one drink at the restaurant.
The man responds by saying he observed Clark drinking three drinks at the restaurant. The video had been removed from the Twitter account as of 10 a.m. Friday morning.
Twin Transit’s Instagram page also published the video Thursday.
