Burien residents may have noticed something unusual recently – the faces at the top of city government have changed, and no one at City Hall is saying much about why.
City Attorney Garmon Newsom II is no longer with the city, a move reportedly confirmed by removed City Manager Adolfo Bailon following a special executive session earlier this month. However, in a narrow 4–3 vote after that same closed-door meeting, the City Council placed Bailon on paid administrative leave and directed Interim City Attorney Ann Marie Soto to begin the search for an interim city manager, who was announced at the April 20 meeting.
Newsom, who joined Burien in 2020 and brought nearly three decades of municipal law experience to the role, had been a fixture at council meetings and a consistent legal presence across some of the city’s most contentious decisions in recent years. In his place is a contract interim city attorney, Ann Marie Soto, brought in from outside Burien…