Deputy County Council Clerk Maureen See was placed on administrative leave and the fate of her employment with the county remains uncertain.

According to her attorney, John Rosen of Seattle, See, vice chairwoman of the Charter Review Commission, was placed on paid administrative leave while the county investigates allegations “that she had sent and received emails concerning Propositions 1-3,” which placed on the November ballot by the CRC.

Rosen said that See, who joined the council staff in 2007, was notified by county officials in late September of possible disciplinary action for engaging in political activity while on duty.

Rosen says that his client acknowledged sending and receiving emails about the CRC propositions, but does not believe “she was acting in any way inappropriately . . . and never lied about her activities.” According to Rosen, “Under the personnel rules the political activity would be considered to be a minor violation punishable in the first instance by a reprimand.”

If approved by voters on Nov. 6, the charter amendments backed by the CRC would reduce the size of the council from six part-time legislators to three full-time elected officials, and would set the stage for a three-person council to oversee the executive and administrative duties of county government.

County Communications Manager Stan Matthews said in an earlier interview that her suspension was not prompted by See’s “incidental use” of a county computer involving her work on behalf of the CRC. However, Matthews said two weeks ago that he expected matters involving See’s suspension to be resolve quickly.

Interviewed by the Journal, Rosen, who specializes in employment law matters, said, “We’re just in limbo here. We don’t know what the investigation is about, who is doing the investigation, or when it will be completed.”

No hearing date or other meeting has been scheduled. Because it’s now been three weeks since the administrative suspension was imposed, attorney Rosen says his “speculation” is that the matter is being delayed until after the election.

— Journal editor Scott Rasmussen contributed to this article.