Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD) Commissioner Michael Jay Kelly was formally charged Monday, Dec. 2, in Lewis County Superior Court with two felony charges for allegedly attempting to bribe PUD General Manager David Plotz last month.
He faces one count each of bribery, which is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and requesting unlawful compensation, which is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Kelly, represented by attorney Brian English, pleaded not guilty Monday to both charges.
English declined The Chronicle’s request for comment.
Trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 20, with Kelly’s next hearing, an omnibus to check in with all parties, scheduled for Jan. 23.
In the bribery charge, the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office alleges that Kelly, who is a public servant, “did” on or about Nov. 7 and Nov. 14 “request, accept and agree to accept a pecuniary benefit, to wit: promise of employment, pursuant to an agreement or understanding that his vote, opinion, judgment, exercise of discretion, or other action as a public servant would be used to secure or attempt to secure a particular result in a particular matter,” in violation of state law.
In the requesting unlawful compensation charge, the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office alleges that Kelly, again as a public servant, “did request a pecuniary benefit, to wit: promise of employment, from David A. Plotz, for the performance of an official action, to wit: vote on compensation, knowing that he was required to perform that action without compensation or at a level of compensation lower than requested” in violation of state law.
Kelly was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 7:09 p.m. on Nov. 27 and was released at approximately 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29, after he posted $10,000 bail.
A judge ruled Monday to maintain that bail amount, allowing Kelly to remain out of custody for the duration of his case as long as he follows his conditions of release, which include having no contact with any witnesses and committing no additional criminal law violations.
The arrest was the culmination of a Centralia Police Department investigation that began Nov. 8 after Plotz and PUD attorney Alan Unzelman reported the possible bribery.
The alleged bribery itself occurred during a conversation between Plotz and Kelly the day prior, on Nov. 7, according to charging documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
“Plotz said that as general manager of the Lewis County PUD, he meets with PUD commissioners annually to speak about his year review and the possibility of a pay raise for the next year,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office stated in an affidavit of probable cause filed on Dec. 2.
Plotz and Kelly reportedly met at a brewing company in Centralia at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, and soon relocated to a different bar in Centralia “due to a female patron having a problem with the PUD,” according to court documents.
Plotz reported that the conversation with Kelly shifted away from his annual review as “Kelly started to talk about his current employment at TransAlta coming to an end due to TransAlta closing in 2025,” according to court documents.
Kelly is a computer and controls professional at TransAlta’s coal-fired power plant in Centralia, according to the PUD’s website.
He was elected to the Lewis County PUD Board of Commissioners in 2020. His term began in January 2021.
Washington state law sets PUD commissioners’ salaries at $1,800 per month. Kelly’s primary source of income is his position at TransAlta, according to Plotz.
During the conversation on Nov. 7, Kelly allegedly told Plotz “that he could make his pay raise happen if Plotz created a position for him at the PUD” and allegedly “kept repeating ‘You take care of me, I take care of you,’” according to court documents.
Plotz told police that “the conversation made him uncomfortable and he knew it was inappropriate.” He provided detectives with a written recollection of the Nov. 7 conversation, which the PUD released on Friday in response to The Chronicle’s public records request.
“Kellyʼs suggested my year end compensation amount to be 4% compensation increase and 8 years of service credit,” Plotz wrote. “This was far below my own ask and expectations of 8% and 8 years of service credit, which I made clear. We discussed the reasons for our respective asks at which point C. Kelly made clear that I needed to promise him I would hire him, and he would convince the other commissioners for an increase at my expectations, saying specifically ‘you take care of me, I take care of you.’”
Plotz said Kelly reiterated his request to “be taken care of,” before the two parted ways. Plotz wrote that he replied he “would take care of him as I wanted to remove myself from the situation.”
Elsewhere in Plotz’s statement, he wrote that Kelly talked extensively about his plan to run for election on the commission again and, win or lose, nominate a replacement so the PUD could hire him in a senior position.
On Nov. 14, Plotz participated in a judicially authorized recorded phone call with Kelly, during which Kelly allegedly requested Plotz create an employment position for him at the PUD and, in exchange, Kelly said he would “persuade the other commissioners to agree to the (8%) raise and not to worry about it,” according to charging documents.
“While speaking about this topic, Plotz repeated, ‘I’ll take care of you, you take care of me,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office states in charging documents. Kelly reaffirmed after hearing the statement, according to court documents.
Following the Nov. 14 phone call, Centralia police reportedly tried to contact Kelly at his residence, “but no one answered even though there were clear indications someone was in the residence,” according to court documents. “Shortly after, a woman arrived and said Kelly was not at home.”
A detective instructed the woman to have Kelly call him, according to court documents.
“Eventually, Kelly called and asked why the police were seeking to contact him,” the prosecutor’s office states in charging documents. A detective told Kelly it was a criminal matter and asked to meet with him in person, but Kelly reportedly “put off the officer’s request and later an attorney called (the detective) on Kelly’s behalf” and “discussed setting up a meeting at a future date.”
On Nov. 20, Lewis County resident Lynnette Hoffman, who works for a weekly newspaper in Winlock, called a detective to report that she was “a friend of Kelly and political consultant for him,” and advised that “Kelly had called multiple times, and she thought he would seek her advice on this situation,” according to court documents.
The court authorized a recording of the phone call between Hoffman and Kelly.
During the call, Kelly allegedly said he had met with Plotz to talk about his annual increase and said they had “talked about an assets manager position at the PUD.” Kelly reportedly said he “told Plotz he had taken good care of Plotz in the past” and allegedly “said he was concerned that Plotz became ‘squirmy’ about the conversation.”
Kelly allegedly “eventually” recalled Plotz’s ask for an 8% pay increase and allegedly said he had “told him that he wanted to be the asset manager making decent money too, ‘Take care of me, I take care of you,’” according to court documents.
Kelly allegedly “further said he was feeling bad about the conversation that they had, and he felt like they were colluding a little bit,” according to court documents.
Centralia police responded to Kelly’s residence on Nov. 27 to arrest him. They reportedly attempted to contact Kelly at the door and by calling his phone, but he allegedly “did not answer either” and “police believed Kelly was inside the residence and refusing to answer.”
Police “maintained observation of the house and were later able to confirm Kelly was inside,” according to court documents.
They obtained a warrant to enter the house, but were reportedly able to persuade Kelly to exit the residence before officers began executing the warrant.
During a special meeting Monday afternoon, the remaining two members of the PUD Commission passed a motion formally restricting Kelly from communicating with all PUD staff for the duration of his case.
Kelly’s conditions of release additionally prohibit him from contacting any witnesses, including Plotz.
After adopting the motion Monday, Commissioner Mike Hadaller suggested restricting Kelly’s access to PUD facilities; a suggestion was not adopted, though Commissioner Ed Rothlin said they could again consider the idea ahead of their next meeting, which is scheduled for Dec. 17.
Dave Fenn won an election in November and will fill a vacancy left by Rothlin in the new year. The three-person board oversees operations of the PUD and directs Plotz and the rest of the staff.
Kelly was not present at Monday’s special PUD meeting.
