Bloglander

It's been nearly three months since Jan Quintrall, division director of business and development services, kicked off a wave of controversy for firing city planning director Scott Chesney. Now Quintrall herself is leaving.

"I love the City, and I’m terribly proud of what we’ve been building and the progress we’ve made,” Quintrall said in a press release from the city. “The recent attention on me has made it clear that I have broken the public’s trust, and I can’t repair that.”

In December, the Inlander wrote about Quintrall's powerful role and her penchant for controversy with her hiring and firing decisions.

Without a college degree, Quintrall did not meet the minimum qualification — cited in her job description when she was hired — of having of "a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, or a closely related field." 

But she came highly recommended from Condon's city administrator, Theresa Sanders, and former city chief operating officer, John Pilcher, for her work at the Spokane Club and the Better Business Bureau. After she took the job, she was praised for swiftly bringing about considerable improvements in her division, particularly in decreasing permit times. 

“Jan has broken down barriers, pushed her division and others in the City to think beyond traditional ways of doing things, and delivered tremendous results for the citizens she served,” Mayor David Condon said in a press release. “She has laid a tremendous foundation and built a great team that Scott will continue its good work with Scott.”

The scrutiny over Quintrall, however, has not let up since she fired Chesney. The city council expressed frustration over a big ticket lunch at the Spokane Club — she complained about the expense of Chesney's staff lunches when firing him. She was also being investigated by the Civil Service Commission over her hiring of a temporary worker.