Demase resigned amid scrutiny of port credit card use

Published 5:29 pm Monday, April 24, 2023

ILWACO — Newly disclosed records from the Port of Ilwaco show that ex-port manager John Demase resigned his position earlier this month after several purchases he made with a port credit card began to receive scrutiny from the port’s board of commissioners and other port officials.

Demase submitted his resignation as port manager on April 6, the same day port commissioners scheduled a special meeting to go into executive session for the second time in three weeks to discuss complaints or allegations that had been made against him. He had been on the job for about five months.

As of the Observer’s Tuesday afternoon print deadline, Demase had not responded to a request for comment about the circumstances surrounding his resignation.

The initial complaints against Demase came on Feb. 28 from his wife, who then rescinded many of the claims she made about Demase in his capacity as port manager on March 9. One of the complaints — which she later withdrew — was that Demase bought gas for his personal vehicle with the port’s fuel credit card and claimed that it was for port vehicles.

A bank statement disclosed by the port showed two instances of fuel purchases made by Demase on Jan. 29 — one for $26.83 at a gas station in Chinook, and the other for $22.31 at a gas station in South Bend.

Cash advances

The statement also showed that Demase gave himself a $103 cash advance on Feb. 2 from a South Bend bank, which came with a $5 bank fee. A March 27 letter to Demase from Mari-Anna Redburn, the port’s finance director, also disclosed that he had received a separate $103 cash advance on Jan. 11 from the same bank, with another $5 bank fee.

Citing state law and guidance from the Washington State Auditor’s Office, Redburn informed Demase that cash advances are never allowed and that he would be required to repay the $108 for the Jan. 11 advance by the end of the month. Demase paid back that advance on March 30.

Another complaint, also later rescinded, was that he used the port’s company credit card to purchase personal products for their home. According to records disclosed by the port, Demase purchased three Ring video doorbells via Amazon for a total of $314.55 using the port’s company credit card on Feb. 28 — the same day that the initial complaint was made.

Commissioners act

Port commissioners went into executive session toward the end of their March 15 meeting to evaluate the complaints that had been made against Demase. No action was taken after the commissioners returned from executive session, but they did discuss updating the Port of Ilwaco Employee Handbook of Rules and Regulations.

On March 21, Demase signed a two-page document detailing the port’s rules and procedures for using the port’s fuel credit cards and certified that he had read, understood and would abide by the policy. He also signed a separate one-page document acknowledging that he received a port company credit card and that he agreed to comply with all of the listed policies.

On April 4, two weeks after Demase signed the documents, a port employee wrote to Redburn that they were asked by Demase the day before to sign out the port’s fuel card for him to use. The employee said Demase told them that he forgot to get a receipt, who was then told that he needed to go back and get a receipt. The receipt, from a gas station in Seaview, totaled $104.36 and Demase had written “Red Chevy” on it. The employee placed the receipt in Redburn’s office.

In an April 4 memo, Redburn wrote that the employee told her in-person that they believe Demase took the port’s fuel card and put the gas in his personal vehicle.

Closed-door talks

Redburn then described a closed-door discussion she had with Demase that day, after having him initial the receipt. Demase, Redburn said, verified that he had written “Red Chevy” on the receipt. Redburn then pointed out that it’s the Port of Chinook that has a red Chevrolet — not the Port of Ilwaco.

“His face turned red and he said ‘no one will know,’” Redburn wrote. “I said, ‘I will know!’ I asked him why he would do this after what just happened, and why [he was] sabotaging himself. He didn’t respond.”

Redburn told Demase that he put her in an awkward situation and that she wasn’t going to cover for him — mentioning that she already had an hour-long session with the state due to his cash advances. She said he left the room and came back a few minutes later upset at what she had said.

Redburn recounted that Demase said he didn’t know he was supposed to take the advance, and that she “made it sound like he took the money.”

“I said I didn’t know that he didn’t know he couldn’t do it either,” Redburn wrote.

Demase, according to Redburn, said he used the advance to purchase a snack and drink for his daughter. Redburn said she did not know what the remaining funds were spent on because no receipt had been turned in.

Demase resigned two days later, and not two weeks after that his successor had been named.