Attorney for former Clarkston administrator speaks out

A Spokane attorney representing the former Clarkston city administrator said his client, Steve Austin, is surprised a criminal charge has been filed against him, and is “entirely innocent” of any wrongdoing.

In a statement issued Thursday, attorney Michael Felice addressed the fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation charge filed Wednesday by Columbia County Prosecutor Dale Slack in Clarkston Municipal Court.

Austin, who was fired by the city last year, is accused of inappropriately touching and harassing a female subordinate. He is awaiting arraignment on the gross misdemeanor charge and has yet to see the state’s case against him, the attorney said.

“At this time, neither Mr. Austin or I have received court documents pertaining to the filing of the criminal charge,” Felice said in an email to the Lewiston Tribune. However, on Dec. 30, “after a lengthy hearing on the merits involving testimony, documentary exhibits, and video evidence,” two civil petitions for sexual assault protection orders were denied, Felice said.

The alleged victims in the case (whose names are not published per Tribune policy) “failed to establish, by even a preponderance of the evidence, that Mr. Austin committed sexual assault against them,” the attorney said.

In addition, the criminal charge surprised Austin, who maintains his innocence, Felice said. “It is our position that these matters should have been resolved internally by the City instead of through the initiation of a criminal investigation and then formal legal proceedings against him in court.”

In the fall of 2024, Pullman police officers were asked to conduct an investigation into allegations of Austin’s inappropriate conduct with two women who worked at Clarkston City Hall. Austin was their supervisor.

The city administrator was placed on leave in mid-September and terminated later in the year. His case was sent to the Columbia County prosecutor for a charging decision to avoid any conflicts of interest. This week, Slack determined one charge was warranted.

Austin, a 54-year-old Lewiston resident, hired Felice to handle his pending legal issues. He and Austin appeared Dec. 30 in Clarkston Municipal Court to argue against an extension of temporary sexual assault protection orders. At the end of the day-long hearing, Garfield County Judge Thomas Cox denied the women’s requests.

According to court documents, the judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to warrant the protection orders, and his decision also was based on the merits of the hearing. The women were represented by attorney Robert Rembert, of Pullman.

Austin is accused of assaulting a female subordinate on Sept. 5 by touching her in an offensive manner. On that day, he reportedly held her hand for an uncomfortable amount of time, told her he was always there for her, and then hit her buttocks as she walked out of his office.

Before the alleged incident, Austin said things that made the woman uncomfortable and rubbed her shoulders, according to the probable-cause affidavit. She estimated Austin had touched her 10 to 15 times, which made her feel “disgusted and sick.”

At the beginning of 2024, Austin was promoted from his job as city clerk and treasurer to the administrator role, which put him in charge of all department heads. After Austin was terminated, the administrator role was removed from the city’s 2025 budget.

Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.