In 2024, Clallam County commissioners formally urged voters to pass Olympic Medical Center’s levy lid lift. Voters did. Property-tax collections for Hospital District 2 doubled. A newly released consultant report — and OMC’s own board discussion about taking another 1 percent hike — show why more tax money was never going to fix empty clinic slots, unused buildings, and years of losses.

Two years ago, the Clallam County commissioners took sides.

On July 16, 2024, they passed a resolution supporting OMC’s levy lid lift — the ballot measure that asked voters to raise the hospital’s property tax. Their resolution said the extra money was needed to keep the hospital open around the clock, keep care local, and help hire and keep staff.

Voters agreed. In the August 2024 primary, about 6 in 10 voters in the hospital district said yes.

Washington law lets a public hospital collect up to 75 cents for every $1,000 a property is worth. Before the vote, OMC was collecting only about 31 cents. After the vote, it jumped to the legal maximum: 75 cents.

The hospital’s tax take went from about $5 million a year to about $12 million a year. More than double.

If you live in Hospital District 2 — roughly from Lake Crescent to the Jefferson County line — that extra money comes from your property tax bill.

That was the big raise. It already happened.

What they want now is smaller — but it is still a raise

State law also lets the hospital bump the total dollars it collects by 1 percent a year without going back to voters. Think of it as a yearly cost-of-living increase on the tax, not another huge jump.

Last November, the OMC board skipped that 1 percent. They kept 2026 collections about the same as 2025: roughly $11.8 million. One OMC commissioner said skipping it was “foolish.”

Others worried the public already thought the 2024 tax hike had solved the hospital’s money problems.

It had not.

Last month, the Peninsula Daily News reported that OMC finally showed a profitable quarter — about $604,000 in the black after losing $1.7 million in the first three months of the year. June itself made only about $14,000.

That sounds like good news, but read the fine print.

Some of that profit came from one-time items: settlements, grants, and accounting adjustments. The hospital also got a $6.1 million check from a state program for struggling hospitals. That helped cash on hand rise to 30 days — still a thin cushion. A healthy hospital usually wants more. OMC still owed vendors about $23 million. From 2022 through 2025, it lost about $70 million, including about $16 million last year.

Hospital Commissioner Penney Sanders said the board should take the 1 percent this year: “We didn’t take it last year, but we believe we should take it this year.”

On an $11.8 million levy, 1 percent is about $118,000 before new construction. Helpful. Not a game-changer. Nothing like the 2024 doubling.

The consultant report is easier than it looks

In June, a firm called Kaufman Hall briefed the OMC board. UW Medicine required that study before deciding whether to partner with OMC. The report is in the public board packet.

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Ignore the jargon. Here is the translation:

Kaufman Hall said OMC could improve in two ways:

1. Run the hospital better — about $29 million a year, if the changes actually get done.

2. Raise cash one time — about $57 million, mostly by selling four buildings the hospital already owns and then renting them back.

Add those together, and you get the consultant’s two buckets: a yearly operating target, and a one-time cash grab. Only the first bucket can change whether the hospital makes or loses money next year.

The yearly $29 million is not a check in the mail. It is a to-do list:

• Book appointments and use doctor time better: about $9.6 million

• Use staff time more efficiently: about $8.2 million

• Write medical charts so insurers pay the correct amount: about $5.1 million

• Spend less on supplies: about $2.5 million

The consultants said those savings would start small and grow — roughly $9 million this year if work began in July, then the mid-$20 millions next year, then about $29 million by 2028. That only happens if managers follow through.

The number that should make people stop

Patients wait a long time to see a doctor at OMC. At the same time, many appointment slots sit empty.

Kaufman Hall looked at more than 210,000 clinic appointments in 2025. Doctors’ schedules were only filled about 67 to 68 percent of the time. The industry target they used is 85 percent.

Average wait for a new patient: about 41 days. The target: under a week. Cardiology: 90 days. Urology: 80 days. Primary care: 53 days.

The newspaper’s write-up of the same report said filling those empty slots could mean about 37,000 more visits and $2.5 million to $5.5 million more in clinic revenue — plus more money if those patients then use the hospital.

So the story is not “there are no appointments.” The story is “there are appointments, but the schedule is not being used well.” Kaufman Hall measured realized clinic use at 67.5% against an 85% standard. That is an operations problem. The 2024 lid lift already more than doubled the district tax. Extra property tax does not fill an empty slot on a calendar. A 41-day new-patient wait, with cardiology at 91 days and urology at 80, is what internal scheduling looks like after the money arrived.

Selling the buildings you already own

OMC already owns the hospital — and a lot of extra space. About 297,000 square feet in 31 properties around Port Angeles and Sequim, not counting the hospital itself. Some of it sits empty.

The old Wells Fargo building on Front Street is one example. It has been vacant for years.

Kaufman Hall’s idea: sell four of those buildings for about $55 million, then rent them back.

That sounds like a win. It is not free money.

Think of selling your house and staying in it as a renter. You get a big check at closing. Then you pay rent every month, forever.

Hospital deals like this are usually written so the hospital still pays almost every bill that comes with the building. Not just rent. Property taxes. Insurance. Repairs. All of it.

Here is the tax twist. While OMC owns those clinics, they are off the tax roll. Sell them to a private landlord, and the county can start taxing the buildings. In this kind of lease, OMC — meaning the public — would pay that new tax bill too. Taxpayers would be paying rent to use buildings they used to own, plus the landlord’s property taxes.

These leases also usually raise the rent a little each year, often about 3%. The payment grows even if no more patients walk in the door. Today’s cash can become tomorrow’s bigger bill.

Kaufman Hall’s own slide put the yearly profit from this idea at zero. Translation: the sale can refill the checking account once. It does not fix the hospital losing money year after year. It is a short-term cash move, not a turnaround.

Taxpayers already own those clinics. They already pay to heat, insure, and maintain empty rooms. Selling them would not change that workload. It would add a landlord.

Clallam County’s Culture

In July 2024, the Clallam County commissioners did not leave the hospital question to voters and walk away. They passed a resolution telling the public to approve OMC’s levy lid lift. Their pitch was the only play this county government culture ever seems to know: the hospital is in trouble, so residents should pay more.

Voters did. People in the hospital district now send OMC more than double what they did before. That was not a rounding error. That was a political choice.

Two years later, the books still do not look like a turnaround. OMC lost money for years after the tax hike. It just posted a small profitable quarter, but it included one-time help. Hospital commissioners are talking about taking the next 1 percent the law allows without another vote. That is the same reflex: if the last pile of public money did not fix it, ask for a little more.

Kaufman Hall did not say the problem was that taxpayers had been stingy. The consultant said clinic schedules are only about two-thirds full, new patients wait about 41 days against a target of under a week, charts are under-coded, staffing is loose, and buildings the public already owns sit underused.

Their real-estate idea — sell four clinics and rent them back — puts cash in the bank once. Their own slide scored the yearly profit from that deal at zero. The rent, the new property-tax bill on those buildings, and the usual yearly rent increases would then sit on the operating statement forever.

A tax increase can buy time. It cannot book an empty appointment. It cannot occupy an empty suite. It cannot make a commissioner look at operations instead of the levy.

County commissioners sold the public the solution they always sell. Hospital commissioners collected it. The Kaufman Hall packet is the homework that neither board can hide behind before taking another rate hike. The record is now public. The empty slots are public. The next ask for money should be answered with one question: what did you do with the last pile of cash fleeced from the taxpayers?

Stay Engaged

This morning at 7:30

The Port Angeles Business Association is hosting a conversation between both candidates for District Court #1 Judge.

PABA is pleased to welcome Alex Schodowski (above, left) and Patrick David Murphy (above, right), candidates for Clallam County District Court 1 Judge. Join PABA as both candidates present their vision for the court and share their judicial qualifications with our community. To access the livestream of this meeting, visit PABA’s Facebook page.

This morning at 10:00

During the regular weekly meeting, the Board of County Commissioners will review the preliminary 2027 budget. For instructions to attend in person or online, click here. Public comment is allowed.

Tomorrow at 8:00 am

Join the EDC’s “Coffee with Colleen” tomorrow, September 2nd at 8 AM to hear a Recompete update from Molly Pringle, Recompete Plan Coordinator, and Carolyn Edge, Communications & Media Coordinator. This federal grant is the cornerstone of Commissioner Mike French’s reelection campaign.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89474510306?pwd=VlIrRHh5RG1nYVh3V3JXRzFSMmRodz09
Meeting ID: 894 7451 0306
Passcode: 187447

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A Georgia child molester classified as Level III — the highest risk to reoffend — settled in Sequim. A registered sex offender from the Spokane area preyed on local minors. Last Thursday, voters asked the two District 3 candidates what they would do about public safety. One answered with numbers, enforcement, and treatment. The other sounded like a man who last ran a restaurant a decade ago and still thinks a trespass list is a public-safety plan.

The man Georgia sent west

In 2004, Alexander Holmes Wright was convicted in two Georgia counties of kidnapping and child molestation.

In Camden County, he kidnapped and molested an eight-year-old girl. In McIntosh County, he kidnapped and molested a female toddler. The victims were not related to him. Georgia records later listed him as having “moved out of state.”

In 2020, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office issued a Level III sex-offender notification. Level III is the classification for offenders most likely to reoffend.

Wright, then 52, was living on the 200 block of Williamson Road in Sequim after serving his Georgia sentence. Registry entries list two child-molestation convictions and two kidnapping convictions, all with sexual motivation, all from 2004, with a listed release date of May 31, 2020.

Last week, Wright was arrested and charged as a “fugitive from justice in another state.”

That is not an isolated story. It is a pattern.

Then came the man from Spokane

Last week, Jake Seegers reported on another case: a registered sex offender with ties to Spokane who victimized at least two minors in Clallam County before he was arrested.

Public reporting on that case describes a man previously convicted of second-degree child molestation in Douglas County, later arrested in Spokane County for failing to register, who then spent about a year in Port Angeles. He offered marijuana to a 15-year-old girl at the Gateway Transit Center and sexually assaulted her. When officers later found him, another girl — 17 — was in the bed. In April 2026, he pleaded guilty to rape of a child in the third degree and was sentenced to 48 months in prison plus community custody.

Two different predators.
Two different ZIP codes of origin.
Same county at the end of the road.

Why do so many sex offenders and high-need addicts arrive here from somewhere else? Residents have been asking that question for years.

Is it the permissive drug culture?
Policies that tolerate living outside even when shelter beds sit empty?
Free housing pipelines, free food, free transportation — and now free showers at a family pool, routed through the same harm-reduction system that hands out drug supplies?

Those are not abstract talking points. They are recruitment features.

The question voters actually asked

Public safety and harm reduction dominated last Thursday’s packed Calico Cat Club candidate conversation in Sequim. One question cut through the slogans:

When a business owner arrives to find someone camping in the doorway amid drug paraphernalia or human waste — and cannot even get to the door to open the business — at what point does compassion for the unhoused become an infringement on the owner’s right to safety and livelihood?

Should laws against public drug use, dealing, and illegal camping be enforced regardless of housing status?

And how does teaching people how to get a better high have anything to do with reducing overdoses or disease?

That is the county a lot of people actually live in.

French’s answer: call the cops and join a list

Mike French’s answer sounded like it belonged to another decade. He leaned on memories of “few problems” from the restaurant he used to operate in downtown Port Angeles. That business chapter is nearly a decade old.

Downtown is not the same place.
The drugs are not the same.
The encampments are not the same.
The cost to businesses is not the same.

French’s practical advice at the forum was that if someone is camping in a doorway — even amid waste and drug use — the owner can ask them to leave, call police, and join a trespass list.

That may be the legal first step. It is not a county strategy. It puts the burden back on the business owner to report the same problem again and again, while officers already say a large share of downtown calls are trespass calls. Paperwork is not the same thing as prevention.

This is also the commissioner who sits on the William Shore Memorial Pool District board and supports a shower-voucher program that routes people from the Harm Reduction Health Center — which distributes drug supplies to homeless addicts — into a family aquatic center.

He later said he did not know the program existed until social media brought it to light, an unusual admission from someone who is both a county commissioner and a pool-board member. When the policy was revised, his emphasis was on keeping it simple and low-cost, not adding stronger safeguards.

French describes harm reduction as practical and evidence-based. He points to treatment investments and has suggested the county consider a sales-tax increase like the one Port Angeles passed for police. On addiction, he notes that it leads people to do things they otherwise would not do. That may be true. It does not explain why the county should treat doorway camping, public drug use, and illegal camping as problems for shopkeepers to manage one complaint at a time.

Compassion for people in crisis should not require tax-paying business owners to operate as the front desk of a social-service system. Enforcement, treatment that actually moves people off the street, and clear limits on public disorder are not the opposite of compassion. They are what make compassion workable.

Seegers’ answer: stop paying for the magnet

Jake Seegers did not offer a trespass list. He named the price tag.

Permanent supportive housing, he said, is cost-prohibitive for the scale of the problem, and the units are not prioritized for local people. He pointed to the 36-unit Northview permanent housing complex that prioritizes housing for homeless drug addicts and criminals: about $350,000 a unit, mostly one-bedrooms and studios, beautiful enough that “every single one of us would want to live there” — filled by lottery for people who only have to be “engaged in services” here. That can mean they arrived yesterday or called a provider from out of state.

“We need to prioritize the people that are here,” Seegers said. “And if our funding does not allow us to do that, we need to change how we’re funding.”

Then he put the budget on the table. The cost of what he called “misguided compassion” is $33 million a year out of a $56 million budget — the 2025 law-and-justice bill for jails, indigent defense, prosecution, law enforcement, and courts. Chief Smith and Sheriff King have both said nearly all crime here is related to drugs.

“The cost of compassion is $33 million. That’s how we balance the county’s budget is by prioritizing public safety.”

He said ordinances must be enforced, and that should have been done years ago. On the grotesque edge of harm reduction — instructions on how to get “the best high when you boof” — his answer was blunt: absolutely not.

He said he finds it hard to believe the county even operates a harm-reduction health center that goes that far. He also described a grant-funded drug-testing machine that would have taken users’ drugs, tested them, and handed them back with an all-clear — “effectively distribution.” The only reason the county does not have that machine, he said, is that “some sane individuals” flagged the liability and underwriters said no.

That is the race. French manages the symptoms and calls it compassion. Seegers treats the disorder as what it is: a budget drain, a crime problem, and a choice the county keeps making.

The creek taxpayers restored is now a dump

This is not only a Port Angeles story. The same policy weather system has been blowing into Sequim.

Social-media documentarian Woodie Allen filmed the dry summer bed of Bell Creek where it passes under Washington Street, between the Big Elk Restaurant and Les Schwab, accessed off Brown Road.

Inside the culvert: clothing, garbage, food wrappers, needles, foil, tourniquets, and the rest of the harm reduction kits linked to the free paraphernalia the county hands out.

Drivers crossing that intersection may be rolling over people trapped in addiction in a pipe that is dry in August and can fill — even flood — in winter.

That would be ugly enough if Bell Creek were a forgotten ditch. It is not.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Bell Creek Wildlife Area Unit sits on the east side of Sequim. The state bought the parcels between 1998 and 2001 with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coastal-wetlands money and Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program funds.

The purpose was stream and riparian restoration, Garry oak and prairie conservation, and protection of valley habitat along Bell Creek’s tributaries. Volunteers planted more than 2,600 Garry oak seedlings and 600 acorns and logged more than 5,300 hours over 24 years. Oregon white oak woodland is a priority habitat; only a sliver of the original oak prairie remains. So the public paid to buy it, restore it, plant it, and protect it.

The current homelessness-and-harm-reduction regime is filling the culvert with garbage and needles that, in a few months, will be flushed into the restored habitat and into Sequim Bay.

Bell Creek is not a separate environmental story from Tumwater Creek. It is the same policy, showing up in a different place: when public disorder is tolerated downtown, it does not stay downtown. It moves into the creeks taxpayers paid to restore.

One vote, five outcomes

Public safety.
Economic prosperity.
Harm reduction.
Moving vulnerable residents from addiction into treatment.
Protecting the County’s most sensitive waterways.

These are not five separate debates. They are one system.

If the county markets itself as a place where camping, public drug use, and free supplies are tolerated, people will come — including people with records like Wright’s and Abram’s.

If business owners are told the remedy is a trespass list, they might keep paying the $33 million crime bill while they mop their own stoops. Or they might leave, and we’ll have one more empty storefront.

If restored creeks become seasonal campsites, the public did not buy habitat. It paid to clean the same ground twice: once to restore it, and again after policy allowed it to be used as a dump.

Jake Seegers is running to enforce the laws already on the books, prioritize locals, measure recovery instead of syringes, and stop using “compassion” as a synonym for “do nothing until it shows up in the jail budget.” Mike French is running to defend the architecture that produced the magnet, the pool vouchers, and the culvert.

In 64 days, Clallam County will choose which one of those worlds it wants more of.

Tomorrow: Live from PABA — Who sits on District Court 1 will shape public safety

Join the Port Angeles Business Association (PABA) live tomorrow as Clallam County District Court 1 candidates Alex Schodowski and Patrick David Murphy lay out their qualifications and their vision for the bench.

This is not a side race. District Court is where public-safety policy becomes a real order: trespass, theft, drug possession, domestic violence, and the cases that decide whether Clallam County embraces accountability or keeps absorbing the same disorder on repeat. The commissioner race sets the budget and the priorities. The judge decides what happens when those cases walk through the door.

PABA is hosting both candidates. Members and the public are welcome. Come ready to listen — and to ask what accountability looks like in this county.

Watch live on PABA’s Facebook page at meeting time. The Port Angeles Business Association offers breakfast meetings with networking and educational programs every Tuesday from 7:30-8:30 am at Jazzy Joshua’s Restaurant, 113 Del Guzzi Drive (off US Hwy 101) in east Port Angeles.

Please note that Joshua's charges $5 for attendees who don't order breakfast, so you might as well order something tasty.

Show up. The court that handles everyday crime is on the ballot too.

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After the fair, a packed forum, and another Board of Health meeting, Jake Seegers sits down in this podcast-only episode of Sundays With Seegers and talks like someone who has done the homework and still believes neighbors can stand in the same room.

A first-time voter asked him better questions than most adults. A young mother found him in a parking lot after a 12-hour day, crying, and said she and her fiancé were ready to leave Washington—until this race gave them a reason to stay. That is not branding. That is a county on the edge of giving up.

He also shows what happens when people keep talking anyway. A man known for blowing up public meetings came to the booth and stayed civil. At the Board of Health, Seegers used three minutes to take apart a line commissioners keep selling: that syringe programs send people to treatment “five times” more often. The source is a 26-year-old Seattle paper about methadone, not recovery.

Clallam’s numbers are local and ugly: about 12,000 harm-reduction encounters, and only 27 inpatient assessments, or about 0.2%. Board of Health Chair Mike French laughed at the statistics, but Seegers still showed up because reason does not require permission from the dais.

The Hagen Study

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The low point of the fair was a hat. He bought it from a shop he respects. People asked about the business. He praised it. Then an employee arrived: the owner did not want the logo on a candidate.

Seegers named the real cost of being asked to remove his hat. When a community treats disagreement like contamination, it trains residents to go silent. Then Jake compromised. He finished the day in the same hat with the patch ripped off.

He did not surrender the point.
He did not make the worker the enemy.
That is what focus looks like when the easy move is a fight or a retreat.

This episode keeps circling one choice: Speak up, or let a few people decide which opinions are safe.

If you want four more years of the same direction, skip the audio. If you want the county to turn, then listen—and put your name on the line. Endorse Jake Seegers on his website. Vote for him in November. If you want this county to change direction, do not leave your name off the list.

Silence has already had its season.

Endorse Jake

Editor’s note: This blog is published by Jeff Tozzer, the former campaign manager of Jake Seegers. Several opinion pieces appearing on this website have been authored by Jake Seegers. In keeping with normal editorial practices, op-eds written by Seegers have been edited for grammar, clarity, length, and style by Jeff Tozzer before publication, with the consent of Jake Seegers.

To learn more about Jake’s campaign for Clallam County Commissioner, visit JakeSeegers.com.

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French owns the grant he is selling

French chairs the North Olympic Peninsula Recompete Coalition. Clallam County is the lead applicant. This is a federal EDA grant, not a loan, from October 2024 through September 2029.

He has made it the center of his campaign: close the jobs gap and put people in family-wage work.

He has talked about 900 job placements in five years.

Year one, as reported here, produced about 31 jobs. That is the result he wants treated as leadership. But taking credit for landing the money includes responsibility for the pipeline that spends it.

His campaign tells voters he “led a team that brought $35 million” to the region.

He chairs the coalition.
His county holds the award.

If the money pads an NGO's pockets and buys equipment so a tax-advantaged enterprise can bid against family businesses that fund the county — he deserves credit for that, too.

Ozias’s NGO takes $8.27 million—and keeps more than $1 million

The North Olympic Development Council—an NGO Ozias helps run—is the project lead for “distressed remote & rural regions.”

The NODC’s award is $8,271,120. Its listed job is to build capacity and make subawards to five tribes and the City of Forks. The subawards total $7.25 million. That leaves more than $1 million—about $1.02 million—at the NGO for overhead and administration before a subawardee spends a dollar.

Each subawardee can take another cut to run its own project. Public descriptions still do not itemize staff, rent, or equipment line by line. One job being created? — Natalie Williammee is the NODC’s Recompete Program Director.

Ozias is vice president of its executive board.

French and Ozias sit on the same Board of Commissioners. The “jumpstart” money French campaigns on is also a financial lift for Ozias’s NGO.

The scope of work buys the machines

Jamestown’s slice of Recompete is a business award, not a social-service grant.

An authorized scope of work for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, issued under the NODC subaward, says the tribe will purchase equipment for a “targeted expansion of JKT Development, a tribally-owned enterprise, into hydro-seeding, a new area of business.”

The equipment list is specific: a mini excavator and a hydroseeder. Purchase window: June 1, 2026, to September 30, 2026. The next activity is to “establish and implement” the hydro-seeding enterprise—marketing, operations, and hiring and training 3–4 new workers—through September 30, 2029. Hawk Grinnell is named as the responsible official.

The same scope also funds childcare assistance and one-on-one business advising. Those lines do not change the commercial core: grant money to stand up a new construction-field business.

Jamestown writes Ozias’s biggest checks

Jamestown was Ozias’s largest campaign donor. In his last race, the corporation funded more than half of what he raised. Those donations are legal. The same organization is now a Recompete subawardee, using federal money to grow its commercial businesses—including a new hydro-seeding line. Ozias has also called the tribe a central partner in county government.

So the same entity is Ozias’ top donor, his stated partner, and a grant recipient under an NGO he helps oversee.

This is not a kitchen-table startup. Public reporting has put the Jamestown Corporation’s budget at over $100 million “without federal assistance.”

A business that size does not need a federal grant to buy its machinery. A family-owned small business does—and that small business is not on this award list.

Small businesses already do this work

Hydro-seeding and related groundwork are not empty markets on the peninsula. Private operators already seed sites, stabilize slopes, and take commercial jobs.

They bought tanks, pumps, trucks, and excavators with savings, loans, and revenue. A serious one-rig setup runs tens of thousands of dollars before seed, mulch, fuel, and insurance.

Those businesses pay sales tax, property tax, payroll tax, and vehicle costs. That is the money that pays for the county that French and Ozias govern.

Jamestown’s commercial arm can dodge the same taxes that are mandatory for its competitors. That is federal Indian law. It is also a standing discount.

Recompete now pays for the hydroseeder and the mini excavator.
The private small businessman paid for his.
He pays the taxes, too.
The other side does not pay them the same way.
Then both show up to bid on the same job.

French’s program can count 3–4 new placements on the grant side. It does not have to count the hours a taxpaying crew loses when it cannot match the bid. In a small market, work does not appear from nowhere. And when it doesn’t, businesses close up shop and leave.

Small businesses are the backbone of Clallam County’s tax base. They hire neighbors, spend money in town, and generate the revenue that pays for county projects.

Those same public dollars should not be used against them. A grant program French chairs, and an NGO Ozias oversees, is buying startup equipment for a competitor. Taxpayers who built the local economy should not be forced to subsidize someone trying to take their business.

This is not a lift. It is a shove, and it’s a slap across the face for small business owners.

The public still does not get a full budget

Voters can see $35.6 million. They can see Ozias’s NGO listed at $8.27 million and only $7.25 million moving to subawardees. They can now see, in Jamestown’s authorized scope, a hydroseeder and a mini excavator. They still cannot see a published breakdown of the NGO’s overhead or what every other subawardee is buying.

French asked for the credit. He chairs the coalition. The county holds the grant. Ozias’s NGO banks the administrative surplus. Jamestown sits in the donor file and on a scope of work that purchases the machines.

That is the structure of Recompete.

The fairness question is whether taxpaying businesses are the economy Recompete is supposed to build—or the competition it is paying to undercut.

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While Peninsula Behavioral Health rakes in nearly $20 million a year and its CEO banks more than the Vice President, addicts openly use street drugs steps from senior housing and the commissioners’ boardroom. Fear worked in politics once—will the same leaders admit their MAT clinic promises failed? Plus: John Birch Society pushes back, activists choke timber jobs, and a Board of Health that lectures on “misinformation” while ignoring reality.

PBH’s Golden Paychecks While Addicts Sleep on Rags

Peninsula Behavioral Health employs 167 people with generous benefits and operates on an annual budget approaching $20 million. CEO Wendy Sisk pulls down $264,799. For perspective:

• U.S. Vice President: $235,100

• Rank-and-file U.S. Senators and Representatives: $174,000

• Washington Governor Bob Ferguson: $234,275

• Washington state lawmakers: $72,494

Meanwhile, a person—almost certainly trapped by the county’s and PBH’s harm-reduction policies that enable drug use—sleeps on a pile of rags in the PBH parking lot.

Head over to the Port Angeles Goodwill. The courthouse stares back at you, reflected in the glass door, while someone tries to sleep on the steps.

Watch this scene on Peabody yesterday, across from the Port Angeles Salvation Army and just outside a low-income senior housing complex—two blocks from the Commissioners’ Boardroom where they read a proclamation honoring Overdose Awareness Day.

A line of addicts along the sidewalk: the first keeled over with a needle still in his arm; the second slumped under a tarp; the third under a blanket with only feet exposed; a dog tied to a mattress with a woman collapsed on it—the fourth victim in just 30 feet; then the fifth and sixth hovering over foil with straws, hidden behind an umbrella, smoking street drugs. Foil litters the ground; a lighter sits in a bowl of dog food.

Commissioner Mike French says it’s up to us to take back our public spaces. How exactly do you do that when navigating this sidewalk from the courthouse to the bus stop?

A giant cart heaped with garbage sits feet from traffic on First Street, blocking half the sidewalk. Someone is sleeping inside it.

There are millions to be made by keeping these people trapped in addiction. This is the Homelessness Industrial Complex—and it’s Clallam County’s fastest-growing industry.

“Fear Works in Politics” — Chapman & Tharinger’s 2019 MAT Promises Revisited

In 2019, Reps. Mike Chapman and Steve Tharinger defended the then-proposed MAT clinic in Sequim with bold confidence in a Peninsula Daily News article. Critics were dismissed. Concerns about public safety and unintended consequences were waved off as political fearmongering.

“Fear works in politics,” Chapman said at the time, comparing opposition to the MAT clinic to earlier skepticism about needle-exchange programs. “What we really need is pragmatic solutions,” added Tharinger. “I think in the end, you will see fewer people out on the street and less crime.”

Have their statements aged well?

John Birch Society Sign Back—and Now Under Watch

Months after their sign was slashed and vandalized, the local chapter of the John Birch Society has replaced it along Highway 101.

As before, it sits on private property with permission and remains protected free speech. Something is different this time: it’s under surveillance. Anyone caught engaging in property destruction by vandalizing the sign will be turned over to local law enforcement.

Earth Law Center Lawsuit Threatens Timber Jobs and Local Services

According to recently re-elected Clallam Conservation District supervisor Wendy Rae Johnson, activists with Earth Law Center are suing the Washington State Department of Natural Resources in an effort to stop 400 acres of logging in the Elwha Watershed.

That means further restricting timber-sale revenue that sustains county government, hospitals, libraries, schools, and more. It also puts family-wage jobs in the timber, trucking, and manufacturing industries on hold.

Who supports the activists? Port Angeles City Councilmember LaTrisha Suggs and City Manager Nathan West, DNR marker-removers Lisa Dekker and Peter Stedman, police-defunding advocate Brel Frobe, Olympic Climate Action activist Brian Grad, Clallam County Democrat Chair Ellen Menshew, and outspoken communist Tim Wheeler.

The fringe activist class is alive and well, steering policy and slashing funding while taxpayers and residents face service cuts, tax hikes—or both.

Resident on Mike French and the Board of Health

A Port Angeles resident shared this blunt assessment of the Board of Health and Commissioner Mike French:

Board of Health Lectures on “Misinformation” While Reality Burns

The Board of Health, its chair Commissioner Mike French, and Health Officer Allison Berry may not be answering questions at meetings or responding to emails, but they continue rolling out their campaign against “misinformation” on social media.

Remember how to spot misinformation: “Does it sound too good to be true?” Meanwhile, Health Officer Berry claims only one in five homeless people are addicted to drugs.

The Company You Keep — PUD Candidate’s Fair Booth Volunteers

PUD Commissioner candidate Randy Brackett posted on Facebook that he had a great time at the fair, especially with “great volunteers helping to run the booth.”

Who were those great volunteers? Clallam County Democrat Party Chair Ellen Menshew—who promotes a blog that falsely claims my husband and I hire Latino prostitutes—and Sam Woods, who told me at the fair that a militia was forming to round up and execute the gays of Clallam County, including my husband and me.

What’s that old saying about the company you keep?

Indivisible & League of Women Voters

Indivisible activist Jim Stoffer has joined members of the League of Women Voters in a Facebook post promoting socialism.

Don’t Miss Tomorrow’s Candidate Conversation

Don’t forget the upcoming Candidate Conversation between Jake Seegers and Mike French tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., at the Sequim Prairie Grange.

A Different Voice on Residential Schools — Worth Reading

In a powerful first-person account published in C2C Journal, Elaine Ayoungman Clifton—born into the Siksika First Nation—reflects on her ten years at Old Sun Anglican Indian Residential School.

Far from the narrative of pure repression pushed by activists, she describes a warm, caring environment where teachers instilled a love of reading, respected her culture and language, and treated her with friendship and love. She remains grateful for the education and opportunities that shaped her life.

At a time when some seek to criminalize any positive discussion of residential schools, this authentic Indigenous voice deserves to be heard. Read the full piece here.

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Commissioner Mike French is touting the new Community Wildfire Protection Plan as collaborative “resilience” while campaigning. Now those voluntary recommendations—stricter codes, setbacks, defensible-space rules, and subdivision standards—are migrating into the proposed Comprehensive Plan. Olympic Climate Action activists and the Clallam Conservation District helped shape the process. Private property owners will pay, tribal trust lands remain exempt, and affordability takes another hit.

French Made the CWPP His Centerpiece

Mike French has spent his reelection campaign proudly claiming credit for Clallam County’s updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).

On his platform and in public statements, he calls it a collaborative achievement that boosts “resilience” to wildfires. He was there when commissioners adopted it in March 2026.

French assured worried landowners it contained no land-use restrictions.

“I hear those concerns from the member of the public. I think that this plan is really focused on what the threats are and what you might be able to do as a community to respond to those threats. That’s not the place where you’re going to find land use restrictions, but I hear your concerns and I’m happy to talk about them with you at some point,” said French. — From a KONP article on March 19, 2026

That was then.

The Comp Plan Turns Recommendations into Policy

Fast-forward to the proposed Comprehensive Plan update now moving toward a Board of Commissioners hearing. The same themes French campaigned on are hard-wired into county policy. The Comp Plan explicitly aims to achieve “environmental justice” and directs the county to “reduce and mitigate the risk to lives and property posed by wildfires by using land use planning tools and through wildfire preparedness and fire adaptation measures.”

It adopts Chapter 6 of the 2021 Washington State Wildland-Urban Interface Code by reference.

In the Comp Plan’s Climate Element, “overburdened communities” is the equity label for groups the county says face heavier climate impacts—led by Tribal communities, along with the elderly, low-income residents, and people in mobile homes. Policies push special prioritization, weatherization help, and “environmental justice standards” for them in zoning decisions. The same plan piles new wildfire rules and costs onto private property owners while tribal trust lands stay exempt.

Climate-resiliency policies call for fire-resistant building standards (vents, materials to block embers), directing new development away from high-risk and WUI areas via overlays and zoning, and supporting Firewise-style measures.

The Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, developed behind closed doors by Commissioner Mark Ozias’ NGO, the North Olympic Development Council (NODC), is incorporated as an appendix.

The CWPP’s “recommendations”—stricter International WUI Code elements, redesigned subdivision standards for roads, access, lot layouts, setbacks, and vegetation, ongoing Home Ignition Zone maintenance, and mandatory Wildfire Safety Plans for new developments—now have an official pathway into enforceable county code.

This is not a coincidence.

French made the CWPP a centerpiece of his campaign. The Comp Plan update, developed on a parallel track, is where those ideas become lasting policy.

French owns this.

The Activists and Agencies Behind the Plan

Look at who was invited into the planning. Olympic Climate Action, led by President Brian Grad, partnered with county Emergency Management to roll out CWPP workshops.

Democratic-aligned activists and climate groups shaped the narrative around equity, resilience, and expanded local control.

The Clallam Conservation District—already collecting a new $5-per-parcel fee that transfers millions from taxpayers—has been positioned for wildfire education and related work.

The same network that advances water rules, septic oversight, and conservation fees helped build the wildfire framework French now champions.

Higher Costs, Fewer Homes, Weaker Rights

Private property owners will feel it in their wallets and on their land. Fire-rated roofing, siding, vents, decks, and fencing cost more. Larger setbacks from forests and open space shrink buildable area—effective down-zoning that reduces density and land value. New subdivision rules on road widths, access, and vegetation raise site-preparation and permitting costs. Required Wildfire Safety Plans mean hiring “special experts,” perpetual maintenance obligations written into covenants, and future audits.

In rural forested areas where housing is already scarce and expensive, these layers compound Washington’s strict building and environmental rules. New homes become harder and costlier to build. Existing owners will face rising compliance pressure as voluntary education evolves into expectations and then code. The result:

• Higher cost of living.

• Fewer attainable homes.

• Reduced property rights for the people who actually pay the taxes.

Tribal Trust Lands Stay Exempt

Tribal properties held in trust status? Exempt, as they have been under the Dungeness Water Rule, the Conservation District parcel fee, and similar local overlays. Private owners in an economically strained county will carry the burden while trust lands sit outside the new rules.

French and his colleagues have watched this pattern repeat. They have not fixed it.

Hold French Accountable

French told the public the CWPP was about identifying threats and community response, not land-use restrictions. The Comp Plan language and WUI Code adoption say otherwise. He campaigned on resilience. What residents are getting is another regulatory overlay that raises costs, constrains rural development, and erodes the practical use of private land—while exempting tribal trust property.

This is Mike French’s plan coming to fruition. He claimed the CWPP. He sits on the Board that will adopt the Comprehensive Plan. Hold him accountable for the higher costs, the reduced affordability, and the steady transfer of control from property owners to planners, consultants, and activist partners.

The “voluntary” phase was always temporary. The bill is now due—and Mike French is the one who put it on the table.

Public Pushback Wins More Time

Good news: your voices worked.

The Commissioners originally tried to rush the Comprehensive Plan update on a tight timeline. Community feedback forced a change. The public now has three additional weeks to review the documents and prepare testimony. Following discussion by the Board of Clallam County Commissioners, the public hearing has been moved to Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at 10:30 AM in the Commissioners’ Board Room at the Clallam County Courthouse. Current schedule:

• Continue Comp Plan work session: August 31, 2026, at 9:00 AM

• Call for Hearing of the Comp Plan: September 1, 2026, at 10:00 AM

• Continue Comp Plan work session: September 28, 2026, at 9:00 AM

• Public Hearing on the Comp Plan: September 29, 2026, at 10:30 AM

Additional work sessions or adjournments may still be called. The latest draft documents are online here.

Keep showing up. Keep writing emails. If you have concerns, put them in writing and send them to the entire Board of County Commissioners through the Clerk of the Board at loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov. Copy the Director of the Department of Community Development, Bruce Emery, at Bruce.Emery@clallamcountywa.gov.

This extra time only exists because residents demanded it.

This morning

PABA is pleased to welcome candidates for Clallam County Auditor, Virginia Shogren (above, left) and Shoona Riggs (above, right). Held today, August 25, this meeting offers a valuable opportunity for community members to hear directly from the candidates as they present their visions and qualifications for managing county elections and public records. Attendees can look forward to an engaging discussion on the key administrative and operational priorities facing Clallam County.

To access the livestream of this meeting, go to PABA’s Facebook page.

The Port Angeles Business Association debate offers breakfast meetings with networking and educational programs every Tuesday from 7:30-8:30 am at Jazzy Joshua’s Restaurant, 113 Del Guzzi Drive (off US Hwy 101) in east Port Angeles.

Please note that Joshua’s charges $5 for attendees who don’t order breakfast, so you might as well order something tasty.

Thursday

Lewis Bennett is misrepresenting a public candidate forum.

Bennett — an Indivisible activist whose group is backed by the League of Women Voters, and who displays a blood-streaked sign in his yard comparing Jake Seegers to Donald Trump — is advertising that he is hosting a “private” event at the Sequim Prairie Grange this Thursday.

It is not Bennett’s event.
It is not private.

The Calico Cat Club is hosting an open community conversation between candidate Jake Seegers and County Commissioner Mike French. The public is invited on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Sequim Prairie Grange.

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At the Clallam County Fair, the Democratic booth offered pins linked to a blog that has published false, intimate fabrications about my same-sex marriage. My conversations with volunteers and the party chair suggested those attacks were tolerated—and justified. I’m a former progressive Democrat recounting this experience and asking what it means for the values my former party claims to uphold.

Another Successful Fair—and an Unexpected Encounter

Another terrific Clallam County Fair is in the history books. It was well organized by the Fair Board, well attended by residents and guests from across the county, and a genuine demonstration of community—the strongest resource Clallam County possesses.

Walking the grounds on Friday, I passed the Clallam County Democrats booth. One volunteer wore a “We Are Salsa Picante” pin.

A pile of identical pins sat on the table; he said they were selling them for a dollar. I overheard him whisper to another volunteer, “He’s wearing a Jake Seegers pin.”

I asked why they were promoting Salsa Picante. They replied that they were not promoting anything—they were simply selling buttons. When asked where the pins came from and who made them, the volunteer said he did not know. I then explained that one of Salsa Picante’s primary focuses has been me, including an entire article that published AI-generated text messages inventing a scenario in which my husband and I supposedly invited a Latino man into our marriage for paid sexual favors.

I noted that one of the most persistent stigmas against marriage equality is the claim that gay people are not ready for the sanctity of marriage and are inherently promiscuous. I thanked the volunteers for their time and left.

Saturday: The Same Booth, Stronger Defenses

The next day I returned. Ellen Menshew, Chair of the Clallam County Democrats, was volunteering.

I asked the same questions about the Salsa Picante pins. She said the party was not promoting them, that they were free, and that CC Watchdog was doing the “same thing” as Salsa Picante.

I explained the difference between publishing lies, slander, and defamation versus offering opinion supported by facts. Ellen said I had written untrue things about people she knew. I asked for specific examples so I could correct the errors, but she provided none.

Another volunteer then remarked that if I was so concerned about what Salsa Picante wrote, my husband and I should be more careful about whom we invite into our bedroom.

I was shocked.

The clear message was that the Clallam County Democrats believed the blog’s falsehoods and that I somehow deserved them.

I asked Ellen whether she was married; she said she was. I asked her to imagine the reverse: If I wrote articles inventing trysts involving her and her husband, followed by my fair booth selling pins that promoted the blog. She acknowledged she would not like it, yet insisted that was exactly what CC Watchdog does daily.

I thanked her, photographed the table, and left.

The booth also distributed printed transcripts of Jake Seegers’ “Shotgun Sermon,” pamphlets urging people to watch the video, and “I’m Pro Skunk” stickers with a QR code linking to it.

A board invited notes on “How do we build a more perfect union.” Entries included “Medicare for all,” “judicial term limits,” and “don’t vote 4 Seegers.” Do you notice anything missing from the board?

Notably absent was any call to “Vote for Mike French.” The overwhelming focus in the CC Democrats’ booth was opposition to Jake Seegers rather than support for the Democratic candidate.

I did not return, but volunteers from the Democratic booth later visited the Seegers booth. One man I believe to be Sam Woods told me that commenters on CC Watchdog are militants who will join forces with gun-shop owners to round up and exterminate gay people on the Olympic Peninsula—and that my husband and I will be among the first.

From Progressive Democrat to Something Else

Dear Democrats,

I was one of you.

Not many years ago I was a progressive Democrat whose voting record likely rivaled that of Mike French and Mark Ozias. I voted for Obama twice, Hillary Clinton, and Pramila Jayapal. That was during my years living and working in Seattle—until the city announced plans for a “safe injection” site near my home.

A bus was planned to park near our home so addicts could “safely” inject drugs under nurse supervision and then return to the neighborhood. Where would they obtain the drugs the city was helping them inject? Doug and I learned the answer when we were burglarized. Homeless addicts then began using the hose in our front yard to rinse out their latrines from RVs parked outside, often leaving the water running for hours.

We spent $8,000 on a fence, security cameras, motion lights, and a Ring doorbell. We knew the investment was worthwhile the day our neighbors’ house was robbed instead of ours.

Parks we once enjoyed daily were filled with tents. Bicycle chop shops appeared, powered by bootlegged electricity, complete with welding operations inside semi-permanent shelters. Small fires occasionally threatened homes. I organized neighbors to meet with Mayor Jenny Durkan and Councilmember Debra Juarez; each sent a representative. The worst encampment was swept, 180 native plants were installed, and within 48 hours the plants were ripped out and the tents returned.

That experience began a quiet shift. I stopped following the progressive voters’ guide and started choosing candidates based on the policies in front of me rather than the letter next to their name. Supporting a long list of “losers” who had little chance in Seattle felt both frustrating and clarifying.

A Question for Local Leadership

Fast-forward to returning home in Clallam County. My mother was a Democrat, yet the party I see today is hard to reconcile with the one I once knew. When did local leadership move so far toward the radical fringe?

Kaylee Kuehn, Adam Bernbaum, and Randy Brackett: What runs through your mind when campaign literature sits beside buttons promoting a blog that fabricates lies about a gay couple, smears local businesses, publishes donors’ addresses, and prioritizes personal attacks over issues?

The message that came through clearly at the fair was simple: step outside the expected line, question the prevailing ideology, and the response can include smear, slander, and shame.

How does a party that says it “defends everyone’s right to live openly and with dignity” celebrate an anonymous author who invents intimate encounters involving my husband and me—and, when challenged, suggests we simply be more careful about whom we let into our bedroom?

Questions for the Candidate

Mike French: How does a candidate run a campaign while accepting the backing of a party and local leaders who promote a blog that attacks the opponent and has labeled him a drug-using, negligent father?

Mike, how can you be silent while your party backs a blog that criticizes your candidate’s wife’s professionalism?

How does one remain comfortable with leadership that tells a constituent that he and his husband will soon be rounded up and executed? How does alignment hold with a party that labels the opponent “Fake Jake” online before the first debate even occurs?

Looking at the Mirror

Dear Democrats,

Is this the party you recognize when you look closely? Is this the set of priorities and methods you continue to support?

A party that once described itself as standing with the people now appears to devote more energy to fear campaigns, falsehoods, and attacking the opposition than to elevating its own candidate or focusing on the issues that we all care about in Clallam County.

If you have corresponded with Ellen Menshew, chair of the Clallam County Democrats, you know she signs her emails “in solidarity.”

Solidarity means unity and mutual support among people who share common goals, interests, or challenges. Yet the local organization platforms personal destruction, fabricates intimate lies about a married couple, and tolerates talk of rounding people up for execution.

Signing “in solidarity” under those conditions does not express unity. It hollows the word out. It forces a harder look at whether the values once claimed still match the actions now on display—and whether those actions still deserve the loyalty they demand.

• Ellen Menshew: chair@clallamdems.org

• Mike French: electmikefrench@gmail.com

• Kaylee Kuehn: contact@votekayleekuehn.com

• Adam Bernbaum: Adam@ElectAdamBernbaum.com

• Randy Brackett: RBrackett4PUD@gmail.com

Stay Engaged This Week

Tomorrow

PABA is pleased to welcome candidates for Clallam County Auditor, Virginia Shogren (above, left) and Shoona Riggs (above, right). Held this Tuesday, August 25, this meeting offers a valuable opportunity for community members to hear directly from the candidates as they present their visions and qualifications for managing county elections and public records. Attendees can look forward to an engaging discussion on the key administrative and operational priorities facing Clallam County.

To access the livestream of this meeting, go to PABA’s Facebook page.

The Port Angeles Business Association debate offers breakfast meetings with networking and educational programs every Tuesday from 7:30-8:30am at Jazzy Joshua’s Restaurant, 113 Del Guzzi Drive (off US Hwy 101) in east Port Angeles.

Please note that Joshua’s charges $5 for attendees who don’t order breakfast, so you might as well order something tasty.

Thursday

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WARNING: This article discusses sexual exploitation, drug use, and crimes against a child. This content is not suitable for children.

A Quiet Neighborhood Again

A homeless encampment built into the girders of the Eighth Street Bridge above Valley Street was documented to have “numerous propane tanks, an abundance of items that could act as fuel for a potentially devastating fire, evidence of campfires, and drug paraphernalia.”

In a report to the Port Angeles City Council, the Police Chief warned that the encampment posed a serious fire risk—if ignited, it could have shut down a major transportation corridor and critical city infrastructure—yet it was allowed to remain for eight months.

During the August 4 Homelessness Task Force meeting, a young Coast Guardsman, recently stationed in Port Angeles, stood in the gallery and asked pointed questions.

Afterward, I introduced myself. He thanked me for helping 4PA dismantle the sprawling homeless encampment built into the I-beams beneath the Eighth Street Bridge.

Here’s what the encampment looked like before:

Here is what it looked like after 4PA:

The young “Coastie” lives near the bridge. Before the encampment came down, he said that yelling and other disturbances from beneath the bridge regularly spilled into his neighborhood.

Now, he told me, it is quiet.

It was a simple conversation, but it reminded me of something our leaders too often seem to forget: public policy is personal.

When government allows an illegal encampment to remain for months, someone lives next to it.

When government tolerates open drug use, someone walks their child past it.

When government refuses to enforce laws intended to protect parks, waterways, and neighborhoods, community members and critical areas bear the consequences.

And when government creates an environment where addiction, outdoor living, and lawlessness are accommodated rather than confronted, vulnerable people are not the only ones who arrive.

Predators arrive too.

What Lived Under the Eighth Street Bridge

For at least eight months, people were allowed to construct and occupy an illegal structure beneath the Eighth Street Bridge. Inside, I repeatedly found drug-use supplies traceable to Clallam County’s Harm Reduction Health Center.

It wasn’t evidence of drug use that disturbed me most. The writing on the walls revealed something much darker.

“Semen Demon.”

“Play Boy Crib.”

“F*** Bit***, Get Money.”

“D.S. is a rapist.”

The denial of God and pursuit of devil-worship.

And then there was the sign I found during the cleanup.

Its messages reduced the relationship between drugs and sex to a transaction:

“To do my drugs, show me love.”
“Get high, show titties.”
“I love sluts who suck.”
“Smoke Grass and eat a**.”
“Do drugs, get f***ed.”
“I’ll get you high if you suck me dry.”

The message was unmistakable:

I have the drugs that you cannot live without.
You have the body that I want to exploit.
Let’s make a deal.

That is precisely why addiction creates such extraordinary vulnerability to sexual exploitation.

Vulnerability as Leverage

A friend who has spent time conducting street outreach described watching that dynamic firsthand. She knew a homeless woman who repeatedly warned her about “date rape.” According to my friend, men with tents would offer the woman shelter, food, money, or marijuana. Once she accepted, she would be told that staying in the tent required sex.

No gun was necessary. No stranger needed to drag her into a van.
Her vulnerability supplied the leverage.
She could submit or return to the street.

That is why the sign beneath the Eighth Street Bridge has haunted me.

For over eight months, this camp was allowed to proliferate beneath a public bridge, just feet from a neighboring house listed for sale in April.

Imagine walking the sidewalk to your own front door every day past an illegal encampment where drugs are openly used, and the walls advertise trading those drugs for sexual access to vulnerable people.

Yet we are repeatedly told that enforcing laws against these environments is somehow uncompassionate.

When Victimhood Becomes Policy

Our leaders have increasingly embraced a philosophy in which substance use and people experiencing homelessness are viewed almost exclusively through the lens of victimhood.

Accountability becomes cruelty.
Enforcement becomes stigmatization.
And compassion becomes an excuse for tolerating conduct we would never tolerate from anyone else.

Michael Shellenberger summarized the contradiction in a November 2021 essay:

“Victimology leads progressives to maintain what is plainly an immoral situation.”

That single sentence precisely describes what unfolded beneath the Eighth Street Bridge. Prioritizing a narrative of victimhood led people to tolerate and defend conditions that were clearly harmful and wrong.

The intention may have been compassion, but the result was an illegal drug-for-sex den operating for months beside someone’s home. How many were exploited beneath our vehicles as we drove overhead each day?

What happens when we normalize the larger environment that allows exploitation like this to flourish?

We don’t have to speculate, we already know.

The 15-Year-Old at Gateway

On July 8, 2025, a 15-year-old Port Angeles girl was at the Gateway Transit Center when she encountered a man she knew as “Taedoe.”

His real name was Avonte Trevon Abram.
He was 28 years old.

According to the Port Angeles Police Department investigation, Abram offered the girl marijuana. They smoked together, and he then took her to an upstairs men’s restroom at The Wharf, directly across from the Transit Center.

There, according to the police report and the girl’s subsequent forensic interview, Abram had sex with her.

This wasn’t simply an allegation that disappeared into a police file. Transit surveillance corroborated significant portions of her account. Cameras captured Abram and the girl emerging from The Wharf, crossing Railroad Avenue and sitting together at Gateway. An officer reviewing the footage reported seeing Abram pull the girl onto his lap and apparently put his hand inside the front of her pants.

A week later, cameras captured the pair meeting again at Gateway, walking toward The Wharf and entering the building. They emerged approximately 21 minutes later.

The girl’s account was even more disturbing.

After their first encounter, Abram found her on Snapchat. He initially claimed that he was 23. She told him she was 15. He continued anyway.

Investigators ultimately recovered a thread containing 311 messages between Abram and the girl. According to the police reports, he repeatedly sought additional meetings and sexual photographs from her.

He discussed getting her to his residence. He also told the 15-year-old that he would bring alcohol and marijuana the next time they were together.

The girl eventually began telling Abram that the age difference made her uncomfortable.

She still believed he was 23. But he wasn’t. Abram was 28. And he wasn’t simply another adult hanging around downtown.

Police discovered that Abram was already a registered sex offender. He had been convicted of second-degree child molestation in Douglas County in 2017.

He had subsequently been arrested in Spokane County for failing to register as a sex offender.

Yet by 2025, Abram had lived in Port Angeles for about a year, while apparently remaining registered as living in Kitsap County and traveling there weekly by bus to check in.

Even more disturbing, police learned that when Abram was arrested in Port Angeles on July 25 for the registration investigation, officers found him in bed with another girl.

She was 17.

Think about that sequence.

A convicted child molester and registered sex offender was living in Port Angeles.
He encountered a 15-year-old girl at our downtown transit center.
He offered her marijuana and alcohol.
He took her into a public restroom.
He had sex with her.
He continued pursuing her after she explicitly told him she was 15.
He solicited sexual photographs from her.
Police subsequently found him in bed with another minor.

This is not a hypothetical discussion about whether predators exploit vulnerable people.

This happened in Port Angeles, and it is happening now. Fortunately, this 15-year-old girl’s family and the people around her intervened.

While she was on the run, a family member accessed her Snapchat account and discovered the messages. Those messages eventually reached Juvenile Probation and law enforcement, triggering an investigation.

Port Angeles Police ultimately established probable cause for three counts of third-degree rape of a child and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

The prosecutor charged Abram, and he was eventually transported from the Spokane County Jail back to Clallam County on the arrest warrant.

On April 29, 2026, Abram pleaded guilty to Rape of a Child in the Third Degree.

He was sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by 12 months of community custody.

Police did their job.
The prosecutor did his job.
But we should be asking another question:

What kind of community environment are our policies creating before police ever get the call?

Compassion for Whom?

Our leaders almost always tell us the same story when defending homelessness programs.

It is the elderly woman who could no longer pay her mortgage.
It is the mother and children escaping a terrible financial situation.
It is the working man who lost his job, and he could be any of us.

Those people exist, and they deserve our compassion and help. But that carefully curated image cannot obscure the fact that another population is being served.

At Clallam County’s Harm Reduction Health Center (HRHC), active drug users are the customer. That is not an insult. It is the program's purpose and a reality.

The HRHC distributes supplies intended for people actively using drugs. And the county has also distributed vouchers there, giving participants access to showers and locker rooms at the William Shore Memorial Pool.

That should force us to ask an uncomfortable question.

Who are we protecting?

Drug addiction creates vulnerability. Predators exploit vulnerability. Drugs themselves can become currency for sexual access.

I saw the proposition written on a sign beneath the Eighth Street Bridge. It clearly communicated, “Drugs for sex.”

Then I read a police report describing a 28-year-old convicted child molester meeting a 15-year-old at our transit center, offering her marijuana and taking her into a public bathroom for sex.

These are not the same incident, and the police reports do not establish that Abram was connected to the bridge encampment or the Harm Reduction Health Center.

But they expose the same danger.

When a community normalizes open drug use, tolerates illegal encampments, concentrates vulnerable people in uncontrolled public spaces, and repeatedly removes accountability in the name of compassion, it does not create a sanctuary exclusively for sympathetic victims.

It creates opportunity for predators too.

And then, in the name of compassion, our leaders distribute shower vouchers through a program serving active drug users, providing access to the same locker-room and shower facilities used by children and families at our taxpayer-funded community pool.

Our leaders will tell you to picture the elderly woman.
The struggling mother.
The family that could be any one of us.

But we need to remember the 15-year-old girl at Gateway.

Remember the convicted child molester who offered her marijuana.
Remember the 17-year-old who police reportedly found in his bed.
Remember what was written beneath the Eighth Street Bridge.

Compassion without boundaries is not compassion for everyone.

Sometimes the person paying the price for our compassion is the victim we fail to protect.

What Can You Do?

The William Shore Memorial Pool Board controls whether the harm-reduction shower voucher program continues. These board members are:

• Mike French — Mike.French@clallamcountywa.gov

• Randy Johnson — Randy.Johnson@clallamcountywa.gov

• Mark Hodgson — mhodgson@cityofpa.us

• LaTrisha Suggs — losuggs@cityofpa.us

• Greg Shield — gshield6@icloud.com

Contact them. Tell them the voucher program that routes active drug users from the Harm Reduction Health Center into the same showers and locker rooms used by children and families must end. Port Angeles already has multiple locations where people experiencing homelessness can access showers. The community pool does not need to be one of them.

Contact the Clallam County Commissioners through the Clerk of the Board at Loni.Gores@clallamcountywa.gov and state clearly that the shower voucher program is inappropriate and exposes the community to unnecessary harm.

Write to County Health Officer Allison Berry at allison.berry@clallamcountywa.gov and remind her that multiple shower options already exist throughout Port Angeles. The Shore Pool does not need to serve this purpose.

This sign has haunted me. Not just for what it says, but for what it represents. It represents some of our most vulnerable — people trapped in the lowest part of their lives — being exploited and victimized while our community leaders look the other way.

I don’t want the sign anymore. But what should I do with it?

Give it to the commissioners?
The pool board members?
Health Officer Allison Berry?
Or something else?

Please vote or tell me in the comments.

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Editor’s note: This blog is published by Jeff Tozzer, the former campaign manager of Jake Seegers. Jake Seegers has never paid for any of the content here. To learn more about Jake Seegers, visit JakeSeegers.com.

From a candidate debate in Sekiu tonight to Portland shutting down its last major RV safe-parking site, a revolving-door sex offender in Port Angeles, debunked “success” metrics in Seattle, and sharp critiques of the homelessness industry—here’s what Clallam County residents need to know this week. These stories cut through the noise and ask the questions our officials should be answering.

Tonight’s Debate: Seegers vs. French in Sekiu

Don’t miss the debate between Jake Seegers and Mike French at the Sekiu Community Center at 6 p.m. Local voters get a rare chance to hear the candidates side-by-side on the issues that matter most to the West End.

Portland Winds Down Its Last Big RV Safe-Parking Program—While Clallam Expands Its Own

As Clallam County’s $118,000 three-space safe-parking pilot enters its second year and Trinity United Methodist Church in Sequim seeks more funding, Portland is moving in the opposite direction.

The city’s North Portland Road site—once featuring 70 RV spots plus sleeping pods—is phasing out the vehicle-living component as part of broader cost-cutting and a shift toward indoor or pod-style shelter. Officials aim to eliminate RV safe-parking entirely, arguing that long-term vehicle living is not a sustainable solution.

Clallam leaders might want to watch carefully: what looked like progressive “housing” in Portland is now being wound down after real-world results fell short of the rhetoric.

Joshua Mirka Arrested Again—Held One Hour

Remember Joshua Mirka, the transient sex offender linked to a break-in at the Cottage Coffee stand in Port Angeles a few weeks ago?

He was arrested again Friday, this time for driving with a suspended license.

Authorities held him for one hour before releasing him. The revolving door continues.

Seattle’s LEAD Program Built on Flawed Data—Is Clallam Trusting the Same Numbers?

A new Washington Policy Center report delivers a blunt verdict: Seattle’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) model has been promoted for 11 years with inaccurate claims, systematic overstatements, and selection bias. Supporters touted a 58% drop in recidivism, 39% fewer felony charges, and 46% higher odds of employment. The underlying research does not support those figures.

In reality, employment gains were tiny and statistically insignificant; most participants stayed unemployed. These same rosy metrics have been used to sell LEAD-style programs nationwide, including to tribal governments. Clallam County decision-makers should read the full report and ask themselves whether any local diversion or “harm-reduction” initiatives rest on the same shaky foundation. The full analysis is essential reading.

Ginny Burton: “Getting in Line for Rotten Fish”

Former addict and prison educator Ginny Burton has written a powerful, no-holds-barred essay that every Clallam resident concerned about homelessness and addiction should read. She argues that the modern “help” industry projects its own fears onto people living on the streets, then builds an entire system of management rather than skill-building. Burton writes that what people need is not permanent excuses or indefinite medication, but the internal tools to hold a job, sit with pain, keep relationships, and become reliable.

Burton calls out MAT programs and permanent supportive housing that measure success by continued enrollment rather than exits from the system. Her conclusion is clear: people are not broken—they have simply never been taught. Read the full piece. It challenges everything the current industry assumes.

Sequim Monitor: July 27 Council Meeting Raises Hard Questions

The Sequim Monitor continues to deliver the detailed coverage the Sequim Gazette often skips. Its report on the July 27 City Council meeting highlights municipal funding requests that exceed the city’s 1.5% general-fund cap by nearly $60,000, transportation priorities stretching past 2032, unresolved property and tree-damage complaints, and lingering HOA utility-billing issues that could involve years of back charges.

An accompanying editor’s opinion asks the right question: when does community support become permanent dependency? Read the full Sequim Monitor account and decide for yourself whether the council is drawing the necessary lines.

China Targeting First Nations Leaders for Natural Resources

A Top Secret 2019 NSICOP report, newly analyzed, shows Beijing has long cultivated relationships with Canadian Aboriginal leaders under the false flag of “tourism” to gain access to strategically important natural resources. Chinese intelligence researched each leader’s usefulness in advance. The same tactics used on federal politicians are applied to provincial, municipal, and Indigenous officials.

Clallam County sits next to powerful tribal governments with significant land and resource interests. Residents and tribal members alike should read the full Bureau investigation and consider whether similar influence operations could target leaders on this side of the border.

What “Compassion” Isn’t

Laura Hollis’s Townhall column cuts through the fog: policies must be judged by results, not by the self-proclaimed compassion of their sponsors. Closing mental hospitals, enabling open-air drug use, ending enforcement of immigration and criminal laws, and medicalizing gender-distressed youth have all been sold as kind—yet produced measurable harm.

True compassion demands measurable outcomes, not perpetual funding for failure. Read the piece and apply the same standard to local programs.

The Strait Shooter: DNA Testing Before You Water Your Lawn

The Strait Shooter is back with sharp local satire. In the latest installment, Sequim’s water-conservation regime has evolved into a genetic equity program: residents must submit DNA samples to determine irrigation privileges.

Ordinary citizens get three minutes every third Wednesday; those with the right tribal ancestry proceed straight to the tee box. Golf-course water, it turns out, is scientifically different. Don’t miss the full piece—sometimes satire is the clearest way to see the absurdity of official policy.

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Short-term rentals help many Clallam County families cover rising property taxes and costs. Commissioner Mike French backed last year’s failed multi-million-dollar levy lid lift and continues pushing higher tax limits, while his own housing policy paper advocates caps on STRs. The new Comprehensive Plan language creating a countywide registry and life-safety inspections aligns directly with his agenda — and would give the County the tools to regulate private property owners more heavily.

A Lifeline for Working Families

Short-term rentals (STRs) — stays of 30 days or less, the kind listed on Airbnb and similar platforms — provide essential income for many Clallam County households.

Full disclosure: I operate one on my property. My mother opened it in 1994 to cover property taxes and fund modest home improvements. When my husband and I took over in 2020, our goal was to pay the taxes plus our health-insurance premiums. Rising costs outpaced revenue a few years ago; today the cottage covers the taxes and only part of our healthcare premiums.

In a county that struggles economically, with climbing expenses and a Board of County Commissioners that has supported nearly every tax increase placed before it, residents must get creative. STRs are one practical tool.

More Taxes on the Way

Last year the Board placed a one-year levy lid lift on the November 2025 ballot. It would have raised the county’s general-fund levy rate from approximately 76 cents to 95 cents per $1,000 of assessed value — generating roughly $3.25 million more annually from property owners. Voters rejected it decisively (59.4 % no). Commissioner Mike French, then serving as Board Chair, was part of the leadership that advanced the measure to the ballot.

The Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC), an Olympia-based lobbyist NGO, has made raising the annual property-tax limit from 1% to 3% a legislative priority.

French, a WSAC member who sits on its legislative steering committee, has actively backed that push. Throughout his term, he has voted for property-tax increases in every budget cycle and approved permit fee hikes — some of which quadrupled. Additional tax and fee pressure appears inevitable.

Restricting How Owners Use Their Own Property

While French works to expand the county’s ability to raise property taxes, he also wants to restrict how private owners generate income from their own land. In his housing-affordability policy paper he writes:

“Balance is the key — I’m not interested in punitive policy that punishes our residents for engaging in the highest use of their property, but the County should consider policies that create reasonable boundaries such as a cap on short-term rentals in certain areas that have been highly impacted (like Clallam Bay/Sekiu).”

“Reasonable boundaries” is undefined. It could mean Clallam Bay/Sekiu today and any other neighborhood tomorrow. That is a clear expansion of government control over private property rights.

At the same time, Commissioner French has enthusiastically supported and directed substantial public resources toward North View, a 36-unit permanent supportive housing project in Port Angeles that cost approximately $12.5 million — or roughly $350,000 per unit. This is his version of “housing affordability” and he’s made it a cornerstone of his campaign.

This project is designed primarily for chronically homeless individuals with addiction and criminal-justice involvement. French has publicly celebrated these investments while advancing policies that make it more expensive and bureaucratic for hard-working residents to use their own private property to generate the income they need just to stay in Clallam County.

At the same time, the Jamestown Corporation continues to expand its portfolio of short-term rentals on land held in tribal trust status. Because trust land is exempt from county zoning, registries, and inspections, those tribal STRs would not be subject to the new rules being written into the Comprehensive Plan — giving the Tribe yet another competitive advantage over private property owners who must comply.

What’s Actually in the Comprehensive Plan

A close review of the proposed Comprehensive Plan Update and accompanying zoning amendments shows that vacation rentals remain allowed in every zone that permits single-family dwellings. The main changes affect accessory dwelling units: outside Urban Growth Areas an owner-occupancy requirement continues, and only one unit (primary or ADU) may operate as a vacation rental.

However, one new policy deserves special attention. Under the affordable-housing goals, the Plan includes this language:

(l) Establish a registry or similar mechanism to monitor and track the number of short-term rental units operating in Clallam County. Said registry could include key data points concerning short-term rentals and a requirement for life-safety inspections to ensure that designated short-term rental units meet minimum habitation requirements and are approved for the use indicated. Information obtained from the registry could be used to evaluate the impact of short-term rentals on the local housing market in balance with their contribution to the tourism industry.

This is not harmless data gathering. By writing a registry and mandatory life-safety inspections into the County’s 20-year policy roadmap, the Board is opening the door to future regulation, registration fees, and costly inspections. Once this language is adopted, it becomes the official justification for expanding bureaucratic control over private property that many residents rely on simply to cover rising taxes and stay in their homes.

These Comprehensive Plan changes line up directly with the approach Commissioner French outlined in his policy paper. The registry and inspection requirement give the County the monitoring system and data pipeline needed to impose the “reasonable boundaries” and area-specific caps he has already endorsed.

Make Your Voice Heard

The Planning Commission has already forwarded its recommendation. A public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners is scheduled for Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room at the Clallam County Courthouse. Written comments are accepted until the hearing and any continuances.

If you have concerns, put them in writing and send them to the entire Board of County Commissioners through the Clerk of the Board at loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov.
Copy the Director of the Department of Community Development, Bruce Emery, at Bruce.Emery@clallamcountywa.gov.

Once the Board adopts the language, it becomes the County’s official policy roadmap. The window to be heard is open — but it will not stay open long.

GET ENGAGED: Board of Health Meeting Today

Today at 1:30 p.m., the Clallam County Board of Health — chaired by Commissioner Mike French — will present the 2025 Harm Reduction Health Center summary, celebrating the 25th year of the county’s Syringe Service Program.

The meeting takes place in the Commissioners’ Boardroom at the Clallam County Courthouse in Port Angeles and can be attended in person or online. For virtual access instructions and the agenda packet, click here.

Local Indivisible members, backed by the League of Women Voters, are urging supporters to show up, declaring that “good science must not be bullied.” In their call to action, they warn that the “usual ignorant & verbally abusive s**t-stirrers will be there to harass staff about ‘harm reduction’” and claim that Health Officer Allison Berry has been receiving death threats.

Public comment may be delivered in person or online. Those who agree with Health Officer Allison Berry and Commissioner Mike French may be permitted a two-way dialogue with Board of Health members.

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On Your Calendar:

• Today, 7:30 a.m., Port Angeles Business Association pro/con statements for proposed Charter Review amendments at Jazzy Joshua’s restaurant in Port Angeles. Attend or watch it live on their Facebook page here.

• Today, 10:00 a.m., weekly Board of Commissioners meeting with monthly Commissioners’ Forum Q&A.

• Today, 1:30 p.m., Board of Health meeting.

• Wednesday, 6:00 p.m., Seegers/French debate Sekiu Community Center

• Thursday-Sunday, Clallam County Fair!

Police just put out numbers showing serious crime dropped 16 percent last year. A Facebook post reported seven rapes happened in one July week, and the comments exploded. CC Watchdog pulled the reports. Here’s what they show.

The Numbers the City Wants You to See

In the Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith recently highlighted encouraging figures from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs’ annual Crime in Washington report.

Group A offenses — serious crimes including murder, assault, burglary, robbery and arson — fell 16.2 percent in the city, from 1,600 in 2024 to 1,341 in 2025. The rate settled at 65.6 crimes per 1,000 residents, among the lower marks in recent years. Clallam County recorded a 10 percent decline, while Sequim saw a 6.9 percent reduction.

Statewide trends moved in the same direction: crimes against persons down 7.3 percent, property crimes down 21.3 percent, violent crime down 13.8 percent and murders down 21.6 percent. Smith pointed to several contributing factors, among them the identification and prosecution of prolific offenders, the 2024 rollback of vehicular pursuit restrictions, substance-abuse treatment programs, improved staffing and advances in investigative technology.

Those numbers are real. Yet many residents remain skeptical, arguing that the decline partly reflects people who have simply stopped calling 911 after repeated experiences in which reports produced little follow-through.

The Facebook Post That Fueled Concern

A recent social-media post said that Port Angeles recorded seven rapes in a single week in July and asked what was happening to the town. The claim circulated widely.

CC Watchdog obtained the corresponding police incident and case reports.

Examining the July Reports

Two calls came in on July 27. The first involved a 74-year-old resident with dementia at St. Andrews Place on East Park Avenue. Staff reported that the woman stated she had been raped in her room. Officers found no injuries, no signs of forced entry and no description of a suspect. She was transported for a SANE examination. The following day she no longer recalled making the report and said she felt safe. Medical notes were consistent with dementia, and her power of attorney confirmed a history of similar unfounded claims. The case was closed.

The same day, there was a call concerning a historical disclosure of a sexual assault that had occurred months earlier. It was not a new offense from that week.

On July 25, an incident at Laurel Place Assisted Living involved another elderly resident with dementia who accused staff of assault and rape. Facility personnel noted a pattern of inaccurate accusations. No injuries were observed, and the matter was handled as a suspicious-circumstances call with no charges filed.

Another incident centered on a woman in custody who disclosed a sexual assault she said occurred on the day of her July 15 arrest. Her account shifted among locations and time frames, some recent and some older, and involved drug-related circumstances. She ultimately indicated she did not wish to pursue the matter further. The case was closed pending additional information.

One incident was a report of a rape that took place the previous May — again a delayed disclosure.

One incident involved a therapist reporting a disclosure by a 15-year-old client about an incident that occurred more than a month earlier after the minor met someone on Snapchat.

An incident from July 4 concerned a report of inappropriate touching involving a 14 year old male and eight year old female. The file is heavily redacted.

Additional reports obtained in the same request — disturbances, older follow-ups and suspicious-person calls — were unrelated to new July sexual assaults.

No Evidence of a Serial Offender or Sudden Wave

Taken together, the documents do not show evidence of a serial rapist. The cases involve different victims, different circumstances, delayed disclosures and, in several instances, statements from individuals with documented cognitive impairments. Multiple files were closed after investigators found insufficient evidence to proceed.

The official reduction in Group A crimes stands as reported. The gap between those numbers and public perception, however, remains wide open. For some residents, that gap is explained by a simple calculation: calling 911 too often produces little more than a closed file, so they stop calling at all.

Get Engaged: Charter Amendments

The 2025 Charter Review Commission’s work may have ended in December, but this November voters will decide on several key proposed amendments to the county charter. Two of the most significant questions on the ballot: whether to establish an enforceable code of ethics for elected officials, and whether county commissioners should be required to hold regular, scheduled town halls throughout the county each year.

Tomorrow morning, former Charter Review Commissioners and engaged residents will present both the pro and con arguments on these measures.

The Port Angeles Business Association invites the public to their Tuesday, August 18 meeting as they welcome panelists Ronald Richards, Jim Stoffer, Cindy Kelly, Alex Fane, and Andrea Williams. They will break down the details, share both sides of the debate, and answer questions so you can better understand how these potential changes could affect our community.

When & Where

• Tuesday, August 18

• 7:30 a.m.

• Jazzy Joshua’s Restaurant, 113 S Del Guzzi Dr, Port Angeles

• The meeting will also be streamed live on their Facebook page.

PABA meetings are open to the public, though members are given the first opportunity to ask questions (one of many good reasons to join). Order a delicious breakfast if you’d like — non-diners will be charged a $5 fee that goes directly to Joshua’s.

Come get informed, hear both sides, and decide for yourself. See you there!

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This Week

• Tuesday: Commissioner Forum Q&A at the weekly 10:00AM Board of Commissioners’ Meeting

• Tuesday: Board of Health Meeting, 1:30PM, in the commissioners’ boardroom.

• Wednesday: 6:00PM Seegers/French debate Sekiu Community Center.

• Thursday - Sunday: Clallam County Fair!

At a Port Angeles City Council meeting, a supporter of Commissioner Mike French was allowed to spend his full three minutes off-agenda attacking Jake Seegers and warning of “hate squads.” Deputy Mayor Navarra Carr—French’s campaign manager—ran the meeting and did not interrupt. The episode reveals deeper ties between Carr and French, years of progressive activism, and a pattern that raises serious questions about process, priorities, and whose interests are being served.

The Comment That Should Have Been Stopped

At the July 21 regular Port Angeles City Council meeting, the first public commenter was resident Jon Redmond who spent three minutes discussing the “optics of homelessness.” He argued that the county sheriff is pushing homeless individuals into the cities and that Port Angeles is receiving the lion’s share.

Then he turned to politics. Redmond warned that “hate squads” exist—most of whom, he claimed, report directly to Jake Seegers—and that they are “very, very ready to take your jobs based on the optics.” He added that “4PA is happy to share the optics.”

The first public comment period is reserved for items on the agenda. Homelessness, unsanctioned camping, and Jake Seegers were not on the agenda. Under normal practice, such a comment is interrupted and the speaker is directed to the final comment period. Councilmember Mark Hodgson is known for strictly enforcing rules and routinely calling points of order. Yet neither Hodgson nor any other councilmember intervened. Redmond used his full time.

Redmond has emerged as one of Commissioner Mike French’s most vocal supporters in French’s bid for a second term. Deputy Mayor Navarra Carr was running the meeting in Mayor Kate Dexter’s absence. Carr is also Mike French’s campaign manager.

Carr’s Path to Power

Navarra Carr moved to the Olympic Peninsula from California.

She first ran for Port Angeles City Council in 2019 and won by just three votes.

Her professional background is rooted in the NGO sector, including organizations that rely heavily on public and county funding—North Olympic Land Trust, Jefferson Land Trust, and Habitat for Humanity.

She campaigned on safe communities, affordable housing, climate resiliency, economic development, and addressing the opioid crisis. Four years later she sought a second term, highlighting her role as secretary of the North Olympic Development Council (NODC), an unelected nonprofit led by Commissioner Mark Ozias that shapes much of the county’s comprehensive planning.

The NODC website carries a land acknowledgment stating that residents live and work on the “appropriated homeland and territory” of multiple tribes.

Carr also chaired the Clallam County Board of Health—a seat later filled by Mike French—and served on the county’s Homelessness Task Force. During her Board of Health tenure she supported a resolution praising Dr. Allison Berry for leadership against COVID-19 and fighting “medical misinformation.”

She won reelection in 2023 by nearly 800 votes.

Her second campaign raised more than $8,000. Top donors included the Jamestown Corporation and a union (each giving the maximum $1,200).

The third-largest contribution was $1,000 from Commissioner Mike French.

Carr now works as a public defender in Jefferson County.

Her résumé includes AmeriCorps service, nonprofit finance and administration roles focused on housing and homelessness, and internships with the Attorney General’s Office, public defenders, tribal legal offices, and workers’ rights clinics.

She has leaned heavily on identity in her political branding—repeatedly noting that she is the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Port Angeles City Council and the only current member who rents rather than owns a home.

Progressive groups such the Lesbian Political Action Commitee (LPAC) have endorsed her on those grounds.

This isn’t about qualifications — it’s pure identity politics.

Carr has also publicly stated that most residents of Clallam County are guests on ancestral land, regardless of property ownership. That framing aligns with the NODC land acknowledgment on which she has served as secretary.

Shared History on the Pool Board and Beyond

Carr and French’s relationship runs deeper than campaign contributions. Both served on the William Shore Memorial Pool District board when the State Auditor’s Office released a November 2025 fraud report.

Auditors found that the Executive Director had personally benefited from more than $40,000 in public funds through unsupported self-insurance payments, a $14,338 tax refund belonging to the district, and personal credit-card charges. The district lacked basic internal controls, and the case was referred to prosecutors.

Those failures occurred under the board on which French and Carr served. Public funds—tax dollars—were misused because they had failed to install basic safeguards.

During the same period the county’s harm-reduction health center launched a shower-voucher program that continues to allow active drug users to shower at the pool alongside children and families.

Pushing Radical Planning Changes

In late 2025 Carr, alongside outgoing Councilmember Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin, was a driving force behind attempting to insert Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) language and a shift from “no net loss” to “net ecological gain” into Port Angeles’ 20-year Comprehensive Plan. FPIC is a United Nations doctrine designed for major extractive projects in developing countries. It requires tribal consent—not mere consultation—before projects proceed, imposes no deadlines, demands documentation in the tribe’s language, and effectively creates a veto power.

No other city in Washington has adopted it for local zoning, housing, utilities, or permitting. Applying it to a municipal comprehensive plan would have been unprecedented and could have delayed or blocked routine development.

Carr’s progressive activism extends further.

She was featured in a People’s World article (a publication historically affiliated with the Communist Party USA) about efforts to stop clear-cut logging in the Elwha River watershed.

Through lawsuits and protests, activists like the Legacy Forest Defense Coalition have postponed enough timber sales that Clallam County anticipates a substantial shortfall in timber revenue. Those delays affect the county budget that Commissioner French oversees and the Shore Pool budget on whose board Carr once sat.

Carr is part of an activist network that includes friendship with Tim Wheeler, one of Clallam County’s most prominent communists.

In a Clallam Democrats Rising interview she described her parents as community organizers, cited Rules for Radicals as an influence, and spoke of learning to fight for Democratic values through protests and organizing.

Campaign Managers and Double Standards

Much has been made of Jake Seegers’ campaign. Until recently I served as his campaign manager. A formal complaint to the State’s Public Disclosure Commission demands a $30,000 fine, alleging it was improper for me to operate Clallam County Watchdog while managing the campaign.

I resigned that role; Jake’s campaign has retained counsel. Critics have used my involvement as a reason to oppose Seegers.

I have never been paid by Jake Seegers or his campaign, and I never will be.

My work is voluntary and rooted in my support of Jake’s policies.

Contrast that with Mike French’s 2022 campaign: of more than $14,000 raised, the single largest expenditure was $3,000 to Navarra Carr for “Management and consulting services.”

There is nothing wrong with elected officials endorsing candidates. There is a meaningful difference between an endorsement and a sitting city councilmember actively functioning as campaign manager or operative for another race. Residents expect their elected officials to represent the whole community, not to use the apparatus of city government—including the chair’s control of meetings—to advance a preferred candidate.

Carr allowed a clear rules violation that turned a Port Angeles City Council meeting into a platform for attacking French’s opponent. At the same time she has pushed United Nations doctrine into local planning and publicly described most county residents as guests on ancestral land.

The Choice Before Voters

Does Mike French support Navarra Carr’s more radical positions? He donated $1,000 to her last campaign. The record of shared service, mutual support, and aligned priorities suggests the answer is yes.

If voters want Port Angeles-style progressive policies—drug paraphernalia littering parks, the occupation of public spaces by unsanctioned encampments, open-air drug use, identity-driven governance, and the export of those approaches county-wide—then Mike French is the candidate who carries that agenda.

Transparency, consistent application of rules, and accountability still matter. On July 21 those principles were set aside and local governance took a back seat to candidate bashing.

Residents should take note.

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The County’s long-awaited Comprehensive Plan draft is out, and it singles out Three Crabs and similar shorelines as high-risk zones for sea-level rise. Official language now supports restrictions on armoring and recommends managed retreat. Residents who want to protect their homes have a narrow window to speak up before the County Commissioners make it policy.

The Comp Plan is finally here, and residents of the Three Crabs area in Dungeness should pay attention. Last year the County’s Marine Resources Committee told the Board of Commissioners to consider “retreat or removal” of roads and homes along Three Crabs Road.

Climate change and sea-level rise were the stated reasons.

The restoration of Meadowbrook Creek, which many residents say made the flooding worse, got a free pass. Commissioners refused to address the letter from the MRC, saying they’d wait for the Comprehensive Plan update.

That draft is now public.

What the Plan Actually Says About Three Crabs

Buried in the Sequim-Dungeness Regional Plan is this:

The areas of Three Crabs Road, Seashore Lane, and portions of Jamestown Road and Jamestown Beach Lane are low-bank shoreline. Sea-level rise and stronger storms put them at risk of erosion, flooding, salt-water intrusion, and septic failure. The plan flags the cumulative damage from bulkheads, questions whether the area can still support septic systems and wells, and calls for public outreach so residents can “solve” the problem together instead of fighting for individual protections.

County-wide policies prefer soft approaches over hard armoring. New development is supposed to be designed so it never needs shoreline stabilization. The new Climate Element goes further: overlays and special zoning to keep new building out of high-risk areas, climate risks written into property considerations, and “long-term visioning” that explicitly includes managed retreat and relocation of the most vulnerable uses.

Partnership with Tribes and NGOs is written in as a feature, not a footnote.

Sea-Level Rise and Managed Retreat Are Now Official Language

Sea-level rise is in the document. Managed retreat is in the document. Directing development—and eventually people—away from these shorelines is the direction of travel.

This is not an order to bulldoze anyone’s house tomorrow. It is the policy foundation that makes the MRC’s earlier advice much easier to carry out later. Property owners who want to protect what they already own will face a steeper hill. Official documents now brand their neighborhoods high-risk. That has consequences for insurance, lending, rebuilding, and long-term value.

Follow the Connections

None of this appeared out of thin air.

In 2021, the Strait Ecosystem Recovery Network (SERN) workshop—whose fiscal agent has been the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe—talked openly about changing comprehensive plans to relocate homeowners out of harm’s way and making sure taxpayer buyouts didn’t pay full price.

The North Olympic Development Council (NODC) was named as a potential partner in property acquisition.

County Commissioner Mark Ozias sits on the NODC board. He is in the unusual position of helping approve taxpayer funding and contracts that flow to an NGO he helps lead. The NODC has been involved in crafting certain elements of the Comprehensive Plans outside of public view. Those documents then come back to the Board of County Commissioners—where Ozias sits—for approval.

The Jamestown Tribe, which is represented on the NODC board and hosted SERN’s 2021 workshop, has also been Ozias’s largest campaign donor.

Ozias also serves as the County’s Tribal Liaison to Jamestown.

Residents can decide for themselves whether this arrangement produces neutral, property-rights-respecting policy or something more one-sided. What is not in dispute is that the same network of players who discussed retreat and below-market acquisition years ago now has the climate language and zoning tools they said they needed inside the County’s primary long-range plan.

Three Crabs and the other low-bank neighborhoods are not being protected as stable residential areas. They are being managed as climate problems. The draft does not seize land, but it does create the conditions under which continued private ownership of these shorelines becomes harder and more expensive while partnership with Tribes is elevated.

The Planning Commission has already forwarded its recommendation. The Board of County Commissioners still has to act. Written comments are still being accepted. The public hearing window is the last clean shot most residents will get before this language becomes official County policy for an entire generation.

If you live on the water in these areas, read the actual documents. The risk language is already in black and white. The only question left is how hard the county commissioners intend to lean on it.

What Can You Do?

This does not just affect Three Crabs. Anyone in Clallam County who owns property along the shoreline, or who cares about how the County regulates development, armoring, septic systems, and long-term property rights on the water, has a stake in this plan.

If you have concerns, put them in writing and send them to the entire Board of County Commissioners through the Clerk of the Board at loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov.

Copy the Director of the Department of Community Development, Bruce Emery, at Bruce.Emery@clallamcountywa.gov.

A public hearing that will allow public comment is scheduled for Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at the Clallam County Courthouse. Written comments are accepted up to the hearing and any continuances.

The Planning Commission has already forwarded its recommendation. Once the Board adopts this language, it becomes the County’s official policy roadmap. The window to be heard is open—but it will not stay open long.

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Stay Engaged: Coffee with PAPD Chief Smith Today

Tax dollars flow to programs that struggle, a wanted man with a long record slips away (then gets caught), more land leaves the tax rolls, and the same old addiction crisis keeps costing lives and money while supply finds every opening. Wednesday’s Watchdog “Potpourri” returns with these Clallam County stories.

Safe Parking Program Graduates Four—But Still Needs More Money

Sequim’s Trinity United Methodist Church’s newsletter reported progress on its county-funded safe parking program. The first four guests have graduated into stable housing. Two new guests are using the program part-time, with a third expected soon.

Yet the church newsletter states the program’s costs “far exceed the resources of TUMC,” and it is pursuing grants to continue. Clallam County authorized more than $118,000 in taxpayer funds for a three-space program that struggled for months to attract even one participant. Now that participants have come and gone, the church says it is running short.

As previously reported, a large portion of the approved funding passes through the church to salaries and benefits for OlyCAP employees. Commissioner Mike French sits on the OlyCAP board. French has not responded to multiple emails seeking clarification on the program’s costs.

Hatfield: All the Signs Were There

On Monday, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office asked for the public’s help locating 30-year-old Port Angeles resident Aaron J. Hatfield after a reported felony domestic violence incident.

Around 2:32 p.m., deputies responded to a residence on South Bay View Avenue near the Eastside Safeway in Port Angeles. A 911 caller reported that Hatfield assaulted the reporting party, damaged a Ring security camera with an axe, and broke a cell phone before fleeing west on foot into a wooded area while armed with a knife.

He had been seen shirtless and wearing gray sweatpants. Deputies and Port Angeles police, using a K9 team and drone, searched extensively but did not locate him at the time.

Yesterday, Clallam County Scanner Report indicated that Hatfield was taken into custody.

Hatfield has been linked to numerous crimes and incidents over the years.

This is the predictable result in a county with few consequences, open-air drug use, and soft-on-crime policies.

Police responses, paramedic calls, and ER visits pile up. Taxpayers foot the bill while the underlying problem persists.

This week’s incident was a long time coming. Hopefully Hatfield finally receives the help he needs.

Jamestown Corporation Seeks Another Parcel for Tribal Trust

The Jamestown Corporation has requested yet another parcel be removed from the county tax rolls and converted to tribal trust land.

The notice to the Board of Commissioners listed neither an address nor the acreage involved. Every such transfer shifts more of the tax burden onto remaining property owners.

Clallamity Jen Examines French’s Recompete Claims

Clallamity Jen’s Substack is free and goes well beyond entertaining memes. This week she delivered a deep dive into Commissioner Mike French’s claims about the Recompete federal grant, now a centerpiece of his campaign.

Jen writes:

“There is a massive difference between government spending that leaves behind something productive and spending that disappears the second the funding ends.”

Read Clallamity Jen and subscribe for free.

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NYC Homeless Deaths and the Local Drug Crisis

A recent New York City report found that nearly half of homeless deaths in a recent one-year period were tied to drug overdoses or alcohol abuse.

Of 634 deaths, 285 were linked to addiction; drug-related causes alone accounted for 40 percent. The same pattern plays out in Clallam County’s ongoing drug and homelessness crisis. Soft policies, open-air use, and programs that enable rather than interrupt addiction keep the cycle turning—at significant cost to public safety, emergency services, and taxpayers.

Read the full New York Post piece for the details.

SC on Substack: A Candid Look at Addiction

Are you reading and subscribed to “SC” on Substack yet?

This local voice offers an unfiltered view of life before, during, and after active addiction. Her recent essay, “The 2 Men I Married,” peels back another layer on addiction and relationships.

Read SC's Substack

More Tribes Enter High-Reimbursement Treatment Market

Senator Mike Chapman’s latest newsletter highlighted two new facilities on the Peninsula: the Quinault Wellness Center in Aberdeen and an expansion at Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma. Both will expand substance-use disorder treatment.

The Quinault Wellness Center, which opened in 2022 with a $20 million investment by the Quinault Indian Nation, quickly reached its original 250-patient capacity. Additional capital funding will raise capacity to 600 patients and serve both tribal and non-tribal members. This reimbursement structure has already proven lucrative for the Jamestown Corporation. Now the Quinault are entering the same system that allows higher tribal reimbursement rates than traditional providers.

Elwha Watershed Study: More Trust Lands at Risk?

The Washington Department of Natural Resources is conducting a legislatively directed study of the ecological and conservation values of state trust lands in the Elwha watershed.

Funded with $250,000, the analysis includes a Natural Heritage Program survey of rare plants and communities, identification of structurally complex forests and scenic features, current recreational and cultural uses, and recommendations on whether any lands should be designated as Natural Area Preserves or Natural Resources Conservation Areas. A report is due to the Legislature by October 1, 2026. As part of the process, DNR is conducting Government-to-Government consultations with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

This looks like another push to remove County Trust Lands from productive timber use. Even if the county and junior taxing districts received payments in lieu of lost timber revenue, that would not replace the lost jobs for loggers, truck drivers, and mill workers, nor the sales tax generated by the lumber produced.

Strait Shooter Delivers Satire Twice a Week

Need a chuckle twice a week? Read the Strait Shooter—a satirical take on Clallam County’s favorite pastime: government inefficiency. It delivers straight-faced “journalism” on rising taxes, county commissioner drama, and absurdities from La Push to Sequim. Read it for laughs. Stay for the therapy.

This week the Strait Shooter reviewed the third county commissioner to receive an action figure in his likeness.

Read Strait Shooter

Fentanyl and Meth Pipeline—and Clallam Creates the Demand

A man was recently sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for brokering large shipments of fentanyl and methamphetamine from Arizona (linked to Mexican cartels) to Western Washington, including packages sent to Whidbey Island.

One intercepted load alone involved kilograms of fentanyl pills and powder plus over 10 kilograms of pure meth; additional shipments brought the total far higher.

If cartels and major drug shipments are reaching Whidbey Island, they are certainly reaching Clallam County. Local policies that effectively subsidize use—providing the tools of addiction—create demand. Supply follows.

Stay Engaged: Campground Design

The Olympic National Forest is seeking community feedback on the conceptual design for the new Klahanie Campground outside of Forks.

Over the past several years, the Forest has completed foundational work, including early engagement with local partners, tribes, and the City of Forks, as well as decommissioning outdated water systems.

View the designs and share your feedback by clicking here.

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A week after the ribbon-cutting at North View—the 36-unit luxury permanent supportive housing complex in Port Angeles featuring quartz counters, dishwashers, and harbor views—Peninsula Behavioral Health CEO Wendy Sisk appeared on “Coffee With Colleen” to push back against critics. She dismissed concerns about prioritizing criminals and drug addicts as “misinformation,” insisted the program requires clean-and-sober living, and defended PBH’s rapid growth on the public dime. Her own prior statements, PBH materials, and funding sources tell a different story.

Sisk’s “Misinformation” Defense

Appearing as a guest on last week’s Economic Development Council’s “Coffee With Colleen” (hosted by Communications Manager Mitch Koonz in place of Executive Director Colleen McAleer, who was out of the office), Sisk said:

“I’ve heard a lot of misinformation that we’re prioritizing criminals and drug addicts and I don’t really know where that came from… Yes, some of our clients have struggled with addiction and… we’re going to continue to support them in their recovery. Yes, we require that people agree to be clean and sober in our housing because drugs and alcohol don’t mix well with behavioral health conditions… There’s been a lot of misinformation out there about how we’re going to operate our program and… what a rundown place it’s going to be in 6 months.”

Much of that scrutiny has come from Clallam County Watchdog reporting on costs, outcomes, enforcement, and the low-barrier model.

Targeting High-Risk Recidivists

Sisk’s claim that PBH is not prioritizing criminals clashes with her own August 26, 2024, remarks to the county commissioners:

“We would like to try to target some of our folks that we know are at high risk of recidivism of the jail because they are in and out of jail without a place to land and not having a place to be, and having chronic health conditions including behavioral health conditions, is not a recipe for long life or happiness or success.”

You can listen to that statement here [timestamp 15:05].

Prioritizing Those Recovering from Substance Use Disorders

PBH’s own materials confirm prioritization of addicts recovering from substance use disorders (SUD) among other vulnerable groups. The January 2025 newsletter states:

“North View will prioritize housing for those who are vulnerable, including individuals with disabilities, mental health challenges, and those recovering from substance use disorders.”

The 2025 Annual Report describes North View as serving people facing “chronic homelessness, disabilities, mental health challenges, and substance use disorders.”

“Clean and Sober” vs. Relapse Tolerance

Sisk’s assertion that residents must agree to be clean and sober contradicts her May 2024 statement. Asked if residents need to be sober, she answered that existing housing is “dry,” then added that the new facility “won’t be exclusively dry. So people have to be working their treatment program, but we have people who have relapses occasionally, and we just wrap services and support around them.”

Sobriety is binary. While drug and alcohol use may be discouraged and a no-drugs/alcohol policy is signed, relapse is tolerated with added support. This is the soft, low-barrier approach critics have highlighted.

Growing the NGO Payroll on Tax Dollars

Sisk highlighted PBH’s expansion toward 185 employees and a budget expected to exceed $20 million, with the “vast majority” going to salaries and benefits.

She noted that 75% of employees make $25 an hour or more, framing the jobs as living-wage positions whose paychecks recirculate locally on rent, groceries, and entertainment.

In an earlier presentation, Sisk acknowledged that roughly 75–80% of the budget goes to staffing. As an NGO, PBH does not create market products or generate independent revenue; it relies heavily on taxes from Clallam County, Washington State, and the federal government. High-wage public-sector and NGO jobs funded by extracting money from private taxpayers do not expand the tax base—they increase the burden on an already economically strained county. The Economic Development Council should recognize the difference between genuine private-sector growth and taxpayer-subsidized payroll expansion.

Peninsula Behavioral Health is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and accepts donations. According to the organization’s most recent publicly available Form 990, CEO Wendy Sisk received total compensation of approximately $281,000 ($264,799 in base pay plus other compensation).

That figure is more than four times the median household income in Clallam County (roughly $70,000–$74,000 in recent Census estimates).

Recompete Funds Flowing to the Same Network

PBH is also a recipient of Recompete funding—the federal investment (roughly $35–40 million across the North Olympic Peninsula) pitched as a job generator for depressed Clallam and Jefferson Counties and championed by Commissioner Mike French, who has made it the cornerstone of his reelection campaign.

The stated goal of the Recompete grant is closing the prime-age employment gap with “good-paying jobs” defined locally at $26+/hour.

What has emerged is heavy emphasis on wraparound services—housing, healthcare, life skills, childcare, transportation, and “job navigation”—delivered largely through the existing network of NGOs.

A clear example: PBH advertises free Mental Health First Aid and de-escalation trainings for local businesses, explicitly funded by the Olympic Community of Health Recompete grant.

Useful training, yes—but the “jobs” created often remain inside the NGO ecosystem rather than expanding the private tax base.

Residents should insist that Recompete’s success be measured by net new private-sector jobs, retention, wage growth, and reduced dependency—not enrollments, services delivered, or grant-funded training calendars.

The Next Project: Youth & Families Center

PBH is already looking ahead to a youth and families service center targeted to open in 2028—approximately 15,000 square feet with 22 clinical offices, autism evaluations and services, play therapy, art therapy, a sensory room, group therapy, family meeting space, and outdoor therapeutic areas.

North View came in at more than $350,000 per unit. Sisk’s presentation offered no price tag, no location details, and no funding plan for the planned 15,000-square-foot Youth & Families Service Center. Taxpayers deserve far more than a glossy wish list: How much will this next project cost Clallam County residents, and who will pay for it?

Stay Engaged: Seegers/French Debate in Sekiu

Don’t miss the next candidate debate as Jake Seegers challenges incumbent Mike French for the District 3 county commissioner seat.

• Wednesday, August 19 · 6:00 p.m.

• Sekiu Community Center

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Commissioner Mike French’s reelection Facebook page lights up with polished claims of bipartisan goodwill and moral high ground—connecting his opponent to key groups “no matter who wins” and publicly denouncing smear blogs. A polite email from CC Watchdog seeking simple clarification exposes the gaps. The replies and the record reveal selective memory, private forums recast as public stands, and silence toward crude personal attacks from allies while decrying “innuendo” elsewhere.

The Campaign Posts

Commissioner Mike French’s campaign Facebook page has recently sprung to life with three months remaining in the race for a second term on the Clallam County Board of Commissioners. Two posts stand out.

In one, French tells a constituent he “connected Jake to the West End Business group, so no matter who wins… the next Commissioner already has the right connections to represent the West End.”

In another, he addresses the anonymous blog Salsa Picante, which has targeted his opponent Jake Seegers and Seegers’ former campaign manager (me): “I don’t support anyone making personal attacks or doxxing people. I don’t support the Salsa Picante blogger, who in my opinion is trafficking in innuendo and rumors—I don’t think their articles are factual and I actively encourage my supporters not to share them. For the record, I’ve said all of that in public at a meeting Mr. Tozzer attended, so he knows that I’m not a supporter of Salsa Picante.”

On the surface, these statements project strong leadership: a sitting commissioner mentoring a rival for the good of the district and publicly rejecting smear tactics. But do the claims hold up?

Seeking Clarification

I emailed French’s campaign address seeking clarification.

I asked about the West End Business Group claim, noting my understanding that Jake attended his first meeting before announcing his candidacy, without French’s help. I also asked which public meeting French was referring to regarding Salsa Picante, as I recalled none matching his description.

Hi Mike,

I read the comments under your recent post regarding your reelection campaign for Clallam County Commissioner. A couple of your statements confused me, and I’m hoping you could clarify them.

You wrote:

“I’ve also connected Jake to the West End Business group, so no matter who wins (we’re both from the Port Angeles area), the next Commissioner already has the right connections to represent the West End.”

Could you explain what you meant by saying you connected Jake to the West End Business group? My understanding is that Jake attended his first meeting there before he even announced his candidacy, and I was under the impression that he found and attended that meeting without your assistance. If I’m mistaken, I’d appreciate any clarification you can provide.

You also wrote:

“I don’t support anyone making personal attacks or doxxing people. I don’t support the Salsa Picante blogger, who in my opinion is trafficking in innuendo and rumors - I don’t think their articles are factual and I actively encourage my supporters not to share them. For the record, I’ve said all of that in public at a meeting Mr. Tozzer attended, so he knows that I’m not a supporter of Salsa Picante.”

I’m unaware of any public meeting where you stated that Salsa Picante’s content should not be shared or that its articles are not factual, nor do I recall attending a meeting where you made those remarks. Could you please clarify which meeting you’re referring to and explain how I would know that you are not a supporter of Salsa Picante?

Thank you for taking the time to clarify these points.

Sincerely,

Jeff Tozzer

French replied promptly:

Sure.

After our meeting where the BoCC approved the Clallam Conservation District fee, Jake approached me in person and asked what motivated me to vote no. We talked for a good 10 or 15 minutes, and I told him I had a long discussion about this issue at the West End Business meeting and told Jake when and where they met. He began regularly attending their meetings soon after that conversation. You’re correct that this was before he officially announced his candidacy.

I made those comments about Salsa Picante (without using the name of the blog) at the Realtor’s Association meeting just a short while ago, where you were in attendance. I’m honestly surprised that you don’t remember this. The last question of the forum was literally about your blog, and in answering it I spoke about a left-wing blogger who was trafficking in rumor and innuendo who I didn’t support and encouraged people who wanted to support me to stick to verifiable facts.

Mike

Setting the Record Straight on the West End Claim

County government frequently campaigns against “misinformation.” In that spirit, the record needs correcting.

Start with the West End claim. Jake and Mike did speak after the Conservation District fee vote.

Jake recalls French encouraging him to run for public office—specifically for county assessor. This was in September, a month and a half before Jake announced he was running for county commissioner. When Jake later appeared at his first West End Business Association meeting (also before he announced he was running), French seemed surprised to see him.

The idea to attend those meetings originated in a conversation between Jake and his then-campaign manager (me). French may have mentioned attending the group in passing, but packaging a casual tip as having “connected Jake to the West End Business group” so the district would be well-served regardless of the election outcome stretches the facts into something more self-serving.

The “Public Meeting” That Wasn’t

The second claim also requires scrutiny. Yes, I attended the event and remember French’s remarks. It was not a public meeting. It was a private candidates’ forum hosted by the Realtor’s Association, attended primarily by realtors and industry-connected individuals.

Here is French’s statement from that debate, verbatim:

“In the spirit of disclosure and transparency, Jeff Tozzer is sitting in the room, he’s Clallam County Watchdog, and runs the blog. He’s the former campaign manager for my opponent and he’s the current treasurer for my opponent.

Again, I think that you [speaking to Jake] summarized what he does very well. He’s an opinion blogger who blogs about Clallam County and other—usually public governments—but also nonprofits throughout the area. I generally disagree with what he writes, and I’m happy to talk to anyone about that.

I will say, very clearly, I fully support his American right to criticize government. I think that’s fundamental. What he does, he considers independent journalism, is definitely with an opinion, he definitely has a slant, and he acknowledges that.

But I fully support that right, and there have been people who have tried to get blogs going in opposition from the left, or whatever, and many of those, I think, have criticized him in unfair ways. They’ve put graphics and said things that are blatantly homophobic, and I don’t support that and, you know, if there are people who are trying to do what he did from the left, I would encourage them to be factual and to not—I’m not saying that Jeff’s not factual—but what I’ve seen is people who have started their own blogs trying to oppose Mr. Tozzer and they have not always been factual and I can’t support that.”

That is the full statement. It was not made publicly. It was not at a meeting. French never named Salsa Picante. He did affirm CC Watchdog’s right to criticize government, acknowledged the opinionated nature of the writing, and criticized unnamed left-leaning bloggers for unfair and “blatantly homophobic” attacks.

However, his concerns about untruthfulness, personal attacks, and homophobia could apply to multiple sources of criticism directed at this author.

Selective Outrage and Double Standards

Consider the Clallam County Democrats’ monthly newsletter, which claimed that “Tozzer and Seegers are personally intimidating and threatening and harassing” County Health Officer Allison Berry “regularly.”

These are serious allegations with potential legal implications. When Clallam County Watchdog contacted the Clallam County Democrats and asked for specific examples, the email went unanswered. Such unsubstantiated claims do not align with the factual standards French says he values.

Or consider Paul Pickett, a frequent contributor to Clallam Democrats Rising who has written multiple pieces praising French’s record as commissioner. Pickett posted an image of one dog sniffing another’s rear and labeled it “Clallam County Crotchdog.”

Personal attack? Crude? French offered no public rebuke in that instance.

Then there is Jesse Charles and his regular “Top Down Report” Facebook dispatches (over 1,600 followers). The short clips often cover local news with a focus on Jake Seegers and Clallam County Watchdog.

Charles, a Port Angeles native and Lower Elwha Klallam tribal member, previously served as Director of Mental Health for the tribe (2019–2022) and Director of Youth Operations at Serenity House. He now works as a Social Services Specialist for the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families.

In one dispatch about me, while wearing a t-shirt with his Lower Elwha Tribal identification, he said: “If he wants to continue dick-riding Seegers. I mean go ahead, but get a room you two.”

Imagine the reaction if Clallam County Watchdog had made comparable sexual jokes about high-profile Democratic figures like the former President and Vice President. Or this scenario: French’s own campaign manager is a female, Navarra Carr. What if I aimed comparable innuendo at them? It would trigger widespread, and warranted, condemnation of me and my “slanted blog.”

Has Mike French publicly denounced the “Top Down Report” from Jesse Charles? No; however, he recently accepted the endorsement of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

When a tribal member levels a homosexual personal attack on French’s opponent and that opponent’s former campaign manager, his response has been silence—paired with vague generalities about opposing “innuendo.”

Cherry-Picking Outrage

In 2020, French posted on Facebook that “we need to recognize the damage that’s being done to our boys by misogyny and homophobia and racism,” referencing events in Kenosha, Wisconsin—two thousand miles away.

Selective attention to distant national controversies while remaining quiet about crude local attacks is classic cherry-picking. It is a pattern familiar from both Mike French and the Clallam County Democrats: tokenize and express outrage when politically useful, stay silent when the target is an opponent or the source is an ally.

This is the same county leadership that remained quiet when I was written into a local play as a dog that eats human feces. “Dick-riding” the candidate I support—who aims to put this county on a better path—apparently counts as an upgrade. The League of Women Voters and the Clallam County Democrats often speak the language of civility and anti-hate. Perhaps those standards apply only in June.

What the Record Actually Shows

French’s campaign posts project integrity and leadership. The record—emails, meeting transcripts, and the pattern of selective silence—tells a more complicated story. Voters can decide which version deserves a second term.

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Get engaged tomorrow!

Tuesday, August 11 at 7:30 am — the Port Angeles Business Association hosts a candidates’ debate for Clallam County Assessor at Joshua’s Restaurant. Hear Lee Hancock and Antonio Price share their visions for the office, ask your questions, and learn how their plans affect our local business community.

It’s a great chance to raise issues such as assessor office staffing after recent budget cuts, as well as technologies like EagleView aerial imagery, Cyclomedia street-level imaging for property valuation, and private property rights.

PABA often streams and archives these debates on their Facebook page. Breakfast is available for purchase (or a $5 surcharge if you’re just attending). Priority to members, but the public is welcome. Show up, listen, ask questions, and help shape local government.

See you there!

Seegers reflects on the primary, the humbling support of ordinary residents who want “common sense” solutions, and the personal toll of balancing family life with a year-long campaign. He calmly debunks circulating rumors—party stories, staged needle photos, and more—while detailing real cleanups along Tumwater Creek and Clallam Bay. Listeners hear firsthand how harm-reduction programs distribute tens of thousands of syringes (and paraphernalia) with little accountability, leaving used and unused needles for volunteers and children to find.

The second half of the episode features “SB,” a longtime downtown Port Angeles resident with lived experience of addiction, trauma, and recovery. With clear-eyed honesty, she describes what she sees daily: open fentanyl and meth use in parking lots and parks, hand-to-hand deals at Safeway, signs of sex trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable women, territorial dealers, and registered sex offenders cycling through transient camps. She recounts encounters that left even her formerly addicted adult son stunned by how blatant the activity has become.

SB explains why Clallam County has become a destination: mild weather, abundant hiding places, minimal border monitoring, and an overly tolerant culture that treats intimidating behavior, shoplifting, and public intoxication as normal. She challenges the narrative that most unhoused people are simply “elderly women who missed a mortgage payment,” and questions whether subsidized housing and cascading referrals are truly helping people heal—or simply sustaining a system that measures inputs and grant numbers rather than outcomes.

In a moving close, SB shares her Clallam County dream—freedom for herself, her family, and those still trapped on the streets.

In a follow-up email, she expands on that vision:

I shared with you that my Clallam county dream is freedom for myself and my loved ones. I want that same level of freedom for others including those I see suffering on the streets daily.

The current practice of “meeting folks where they are at” with everything they need to continue narcotic abuse and little to no concrete plan to guide them out of “where they are at” is the opposite of freedom. The persons suffering on the streets and behind closed doors in their addiction and life of crime are prisoners and slaves of a different kind, held hostage by a homeless/addiction industrial complex that spends more money and effort expanding it’s business model than it does actually helping people heal. Some of those addicted also frequently victimize others, thus reducing the freedom of others to live safely in our community.

Freedom for all Clallam citizens will require a level of accountabilty and fiscal responsibilty from government and private agencies that is currently rare and elusive. I believe those who I see struggling and suffering in public are capable of thriving and deserve opportunities to build a life worth living, not to just be kept barely alive and dependent “where they are at.”

I encourage all those with lived experience to continue speaking up, and to continue asking for more accountabilty and true leadership from public and non profit officials. I am extremely grateful to all those who continue to speak up and share their voices and personal experiences.

This episode is raw, local, and urgently relevant. Whether you live in Port Angeles, Sequim, or anywhere in Clallam County, Sundays With Seegers gives voice to the people on the ground who are tired of being told the problems aren’t real. Press play and hear why so many residents believe the status quo is failing—and why real change starts with honest conversation.

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A 60% collapse in timber revenue isn’t just a forestry story. It’s a county budget story. It’s a property tax story. And it’s a story about who pays when legally approved timber sales are delayed or stopped. As environmental litigation and activist campaigns continue targeting public timber sales, county officials acknowledge that financial consequences are already showing up in the budget. The question now is whether taxpayers understand what’s at stake.

Perhaps the most revealing number buried in last week’s county commissioner Mid-Year Budget Status Review wasn’t the overall budget—it was a single line item: Timber revenue is down 60 percent compared to last year.

During the presentation, county Chief Financial Officer Mark Lane explained the reason.

“This is largely due to the pauses that have been placed on many timber sales within our area, either due to litigation and/or other policy actions that have been taken.”

That single sentence carries enormous implications.

Revenue from county timber sales doesn’t simply disappear into a general fund. Those dollars help support county government and roads. That money also funds schools, fire districts, libraries, hospitals, and other public services. When those revenues decline, taxpayers eventually make up the difference—either through higher taxes, reduced services, or both.

The Cost of Delay

For years, several environmental organizations have challenged timber sales on county and state lands through litigation, public campaigns, and administrative appeals.

Readers may remember that the Clallam County Board of Commissioners has, on multiple occasions, devoted lengthy meeting time to presentations from activists opposing timber harvests—an opportunity rarely afforded to ordinary taxpayers wishing to address county government in similar depth.

The controversy surrounding the Doc Holliday timber sale is only one example of a broader debate over how public forests should be managed and whether harvesting can coexist with environmental protection.

Last year, readers also watched the controversy surrounding an activist who occupied a tree in the Elwha watershed to halt another approved timber project.

The debate extends beyond courtroom filings. In another widely discussed incident, activists documented removing Department of Natural Resources timber sale boundary markers from the approved Doc Holliday timber sale and delivering them to DNR headquarters in Olympia. State officials characterized the removal as vandalism that disrupted an approved timber operation and resulted in significant costs.

Regardless of where one stands on forest policy, the financial consequences of delayed or cancelled timber sales are becoming increasingly visible.

A Former Legislator Examines the Facts

Former Washington State Representative Jim Buck has spent decades working on natural resource policy and rural economic issues.

Recently, he authored a detailed analysis of the Bakers Dozen timber sale, arguing that much of the public discussion surrounding the project omits important facts.

His paper deserves careful consideration.

Letter Ennis Creek Baker Dozen

3.59KB ∙ PDF file

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Buck says that according to the Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Bakers Dozen timber sale encompasses 164 gross acres near Ennis Creek south of Monroe Road.

If the sale is cancelled, DNR estimates:

• Clallam County taxpayers would lose approximately $751,671 in revenue.

• The regional economy would lose an estimated $5.76 million in labor, equipment, transportation, and material spending.

Those numbers alone explain why local governments closely watch timber litigation.

More Than One-Third Is Left Untouched

Buck notes that 51 acres—approximately one-third of the entire sale—will not be harvested.

Those protected areas include:

• Riparian stream buffers

• Wetland buffers

• Steep-slope protections

• Old-growth retention

• Leave-tree areas

The contract also protects every tree larger than five feet in diameter. According to Buck, preserving these additional large trees alone reduces the harvest’s economic value by more than $1.7 million. In other words, the project already incorporates significant conservation measures before a single tree is cut.

Salmon Protection

One of the primary concerns raised by opponents involves salmon habitat. Buck argues the existing Habitat Conservation Plan addresses those concerns. Standard riparian buffers already require 175 feet of protection on each side of Ennis Creek.

In many locations, additional steep-slope buffers extend protection to more than one-quarter mile. Combined with adjacent unharvested forest, Buck says the project maintains a continuous wildlife corridor from Highway 101 to the headwaters.

He argues there is no documented evidence that harvests conducted under these Habitat Conservation Plan standards harm salmon habitat.

Who Benefits?

According to Buck, revenue generated from the sale supports numerous local public services, including:

• Port Angeles School District

• Clallam County roads

• County government

• Fire District No. 2

• Olympic Medical Center

Buck’s broader argument is straightforward. The debate should not be framed as “trees versus fish.” Instead, he argues Washington’s Habitat Conservation Plan was specifically designed to achieve both environmental protection and sustainable timber production.

A Bigger Financial Picture

The Bakers Dozen sale represents only a fraction of the county’s overall timber program. The larger concern is cumulative. When multiple sales are delayed or challenged simultaneously, the financial consequences begin appearing in county budgets—as CFO Mark Lane’s 60 percent revenue decline now demonstrates.

For taxpayers, the issue extends beyond forestry. It becomes a question of whether public services should continue receiving revenue from sustainably managed public forests or whether those costs will increasingly shift onto property owners.

Could Managed Forests Also Improve Water Supplies?

Another aspect of forest management receives far less attention: its potential effect on groundwater recharge.

A growing body of research from the arid Southwest suggests that reducing overly dense forests can increase the amount of water that reaches soils and groundwater. A comprehensive review published in Ecological Engineering found that thinning forests in semi-arid regions generally increased groundwater recharge by reducing evapotranspiration—the process by which trees return water to the atmosphere—and by decreasing rainfall intercepted by dense forest canopies.

More recent research in northern Arizona has examined fire-adapted ponderosa pine forests and found that thinning reduced stand-level water use, leaving more water available in the watershed. While the amount of groundwater recharge ultimately depends on factors such as precipitation, soils, and geology, researchers concluded that strategic forest restoration has the potential to improve watershed function while also reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire.

Much of this work has been conducted by researchers at Northern Arizona University as part of long-term efforts to better understand how forest restoration influences wildfire resilience and water resources.

Of course, Clallam County’s forests are dramatically different from Arizona’s dry ponderosa pine ecosystems. Western Washington receives far more precipitation, supports different tree species, and has different soils, geology, and hydrology. The findings from Arizona should not be assumed to apply directly here.

Even so, they raise an important question for the Sequim-Dungeness region, where water availability and aquifer recharge have been longstanding concerns.

Could strategic forest management provide hydrologic benefits in portions of Clallam County? That question deserves scientific study, field measurements, and careful analysis—not political rhetoric.

The Bottom Line

The county’s own financial presentation confirms timber revenue has fallen dramatically. The causes include litigation and policy decisions that have delayed or paused timber sales. Reasonable people can disagree about where the balance between conservation and timber harvest should be drawn. But taxpayers also deserve to understand the financial tradeoffs.

Every timber sale that is postponed, reduced, or cancelled carries consequences—not only for the forest, but for county budgets, public services, and the property tax bills that eventually arrive in mailboxes across Clallam County.

Today’s Tidbit: League of Women Voters Calls for New Water Task Force

The League of Women Voters of Clallam County is urging the Dungeness River Management Team (DRMT) to create a new Water Resources Task Force for eastern Clallam County, arguing that water supplies face growing pressure from climate change, limited hydrogeologic data, and uncertainty between legal “paper water” rights and actual groundwater availability.

The proposal calls for more regional coordination, updated data review, and a unified conservation plan. The effort aligns with a long-standing LWV priority of creating a county-level “Water Steward” position within county government to oversee water issues.

While water planning is an important discussion, the letter raises questions about whether another task force is the answer. The key question: will a new committee produce measurable results—or simply add another layer of government planning?

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Stickers of Jake Seegers with neck wounds have appeared across Port Angeles deliberately echoing Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Blood-smeared signs and open threats followed, while Mike French and the League of Women Voters stay silent. A local commissioner race has turned toxic — but one candidate is refusing to sink to that level.

The Stickers Arrive

Indivisible activist Danielle “Rae” Heselbach — recently appointed by Commissioner Mike French to the County’s Developmental Disability Advisory Board — promised more Jake Seegers stickers were coming in a private Indivisible Facebook group.

It appears new stickers have arrived.

One now sits in downtown Port Angeles on a crosswalk button post: Jake’s face, altered, with the words “Charlie Kirk Reinvented.”

A Mark on the Neck

Mitch Zenobi noticed what others might have missed. The image of Jake carries deliberate a marking on his neck. The rest of the sticker is clean.

“There’s a mark on the neck in the sticker. This is absolutely a threat of violence,” he wrote.

Activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a gunshot to the neck. Local activist Alexandria Fermanis made the connection unmistakable when she posted the moment of impact on Facebook with the caption, “Charlie Kirk finally leaning left on the gun issue.”

The Email and the Escalation

Fermanis later emailed Jake directly: “I’m going to do everything within my power not to get you elected.”

Shortly after that email, the stickers multiplied across Sequim and Port Angeles.

They even appeared at the top of the Seegers family driveway.

Indivisible continues producing stickers for Mike French.

The stickers degrade Jake and invite people to laugh at him — Indivisible has adopted a skunk to represent Jake. Mike French himself took to Indivisible’s Facebook page to express how pleased he was with the effort.

Blood-Smeared Signs

Indivisible member Jon Redmond has gone further, manufacturing signs that declare “A vote for Seegers is a vote for Trump.”

One stands across from Crown Park in Port Angeles, smeared with fake blood.

Property records show the land belongs to Lewis Bennett.

Bennett’s Facebook reveals a dedicated focus. Hour after hour of posts attempt to fuse the President, pedophilia, Hitler, and Nazis. There’s also an intense focus on Jake Seegers.

Lewis Bennett’s photos show him attending local Indivisible rallies where activists routinely compare the president to Satan, Hitler, and Nazis—and openly float the idea that the presdient needs to be “86’d.”

Now a blood-smeared sign sits in his front yard linking that same president to Jake Seegers.

How We Got Here

How did a county commissioner race three thousand miles from the White House become this? One clear accelerant is organizations like the League of Women Voters of Clallam County. They paid for a full advertisement in the Peninsula Daily News that did far more than issue a mild warning.

Under the bold headline “LWVUS Condemns Trump Administration’s Weaponization of Government Against Americans,” the League reprinted a national press release claiming that in the administration’s first 17 days the country had witnessed “nothing short of the weaponization of government against Americans.”

The ad accused the administration of “terrorizing of the immigrant community,” showing “blatant disregard for the well-being of the American people,” weakening civil rights work, launching “continued attacks on people of color and the LGBTQIA+ community,” and putting “many Americans’ livelihoods at stake.”

It went further, charging Congress with undermining checks and balances and calling on elected officials to “stand up to tyranny, protect our democracy, and honor their oath to the American people.”

This is not neutral civic education. This is high-voltage national rhetoric, paid for with local League dollars and dropped into a Clallam County newspaper. When an organization that insists it is nonpartisan spends money to declare that democracy itself is in “deep jeopardy” and that tyranny must be confronted, it should surprise no one that local activists feel licensed to escalate.

The same League promotes Indivisible events, attends their rallies, and lends its century-old brand of respectability to a movement that now produces stickers with neck wounds and blood-smeared signs.

They had the time and the budget to run a fear-laden ad filled with words like “weaponization,” “terrorizing,” “tyranny,” and “deep jeopardy.” Yet they could not find the time to answer a simple, direct email.

As the “G” in LGBTQIA+, I emailed the League of Women Voters of Clallam County after their ad appeared. I asked a straightforward question: Exactly which of my rights are under attack? Which rights am I about to lose? How, specifically, am I being targeted by the current administration?

They ignored the email. I followed up. Still nothing.

An organization willing to spend money declaring that entire communities are under assault somehow has no capacity to explain its own claims to a member of one of those communities. That selective urgency—loud enough to buy newspaper space, silent when asked for evidence—tells you everything about how a local commissioner race three thousand miles from the White House became nationalized, radicalized, and toxified.

That is how we arrived here.

What Charlie Kirk Stood For

I did not know who Charlie Kirk was until the day he died. What I have learned since is that he believed respectful, peaceful dialogue was a cornerstone of democracy. He was also a husband and a father. Somewhere there is a family that no longer has either.

When I look at Jake Seegers, I respect his policy focus, his consistent courtesy toward supporters and critics alike—including his opponent—and the sheer volume of work he has poured into this campaign. But what stands out most to me is the kind of father and husband he is.

Getting to know the Seegers family this past year has been a genuine gift.

What This Race Is Really Revealing

It is deeply troubling that people trying to bring transparency, reduce addiction, and clean up homeless encampments now face threats and retaliation. It is more troubling still that the League of Women Voters, the Clallam County Democrats, and Commissioner Mike French remain silent while everyone can see what is happening.

What we are witnessing goes beyond ordinary political hardball. Amid the intimidation and the harassment, something clearer is emerging: a true leader. A statesman.

Today’s Tidbit: The Great Debate

The Calico Cat Social Club of Clallam County is hosting a Candidate Conversation featuring District 3 County Commissioner candidates Mike French and Jake Seegers.

When: Thursday, August 27, 2026
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Where: Sequim Grange Hall, 290 MacLeay Road, Sequim

Each candidate will give a brief opening statement. The rest of the evening is audience-directed Q&A, with priority given to Calico Cat Club members. Questions will be asked of the panel as a whole, and discussion between the candidates is encouraged. No strict time limits.

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What happens when the people who control county contracts and set public policy also sit atop a community foundation that decides which nonprofits get grant money—including groups that regularly appear before the Board of Commissioners seeking public funds? In Clallam County, that is not a hypothetical. It is the structure of the Olympic View Community Foundation.

A community foundation is supposed to be a neutral, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) vehicle that pools local philanthropy and returns it to the community through grants. The Olympic View Community Foundation (OVCF) describes itself in classic terms: connecting people who care with causes that matter, building endowments in perpetuity, and supporting local nonprofits.

On paper, it sounds wholesome. In practice, its leadership and operations raise serious questions about whether it functions as an independent charitable entity or as an extension of local political power.

Who Actually Runs OVCF

According to the foundation’s own website, the Board of Trustees includes:

• Mark Ozias, President — Clallam County Commissioner

• Jennifer Oppelt, Vice President — Clallam County Deputy Director of Health and Human Services

• Jesse Major, Secretary — Clallam County Public Records Officer

• Adam Bernbaum, Trustee — State Representative, 24th District

Three of the seven trustees are current Clallam County government officials or employees. A sitting county commissioner chairs the board. A state representative sits as a trustee. The people who vote on county budgets and oversee health and human services contracts also control a foundation that awards grants to many of the same organizations that lobby those same officials for public money.

This is the core problem.

When elected officials and senior county staff serve on the boards of NGOs that benefit from county connections, the line between public service and private influence blurs. The appearance of a self-reinforcing political machine is hard to dismiss.

Confidential Giving and Public Money

OVCF openly markets itself as a vehicle for anonymous philanthropy. On its “Partner With Our Foundation” page, it states that it serves as “your conduit to nonprofit organizations seeking funding to ensure your charitable giving remains confidential if you so desire.”

That language is not subtle.

Donors who prefer to keep their contributions hidden from public view can route money through OVCF. At the same time, the foundation lists among the defining characteristics of community foundations that they “Receive support from private and public donors.”

In other words, OVCF positions itself to accept government money while offering donors a way to obscure their own giving. There can be legitimate reasons for donor privacy. But when sitting elected officials and county employees promote an organization that advertises the ability to hide contributions—and simultaneously seek or receive public support—the tension with open-government principles becomes obvious.

What standards of transparency do these same officials apply when they act in their official capacities?

The Peninsula Home Fund and the Same Cast of Characters

OVCF administers the Peninsula Home Fund, the long-running charitable effort originally established by the Peninsula Daily News.

The foundation now decides which nonprofits receive those grants. Recent recipients include organizations that routinely interact with Clallam County government for contracts, funding, or support: Serenity House of Clallam County, Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County, Sequim Food Bank, Port Angeles Food Bank, and others.

These are the same players who cycle through the commissioner boardroom seeking public resources. The foundation controlled by a county commissioner, a state representative, and senior county staff helps determine which of those organizations receive additional private and Home Fund dollars.

Influence compounds. Political goodwill is cultivated.

The local newspapers, which have a long partnership with the Home Fund and regularly publish promotional coverage, function more as cheerleaders than independent scrutinizers.

And It Gets Worse: Scholarships

OVCF also helps determine who receives privately funded scholarships.

That function is fine—even valuable—when the organization is genuinely independent. But when elected officials and senior county staff sit on the board that oversees those awards, the arrangement starts to look like public officeholders handing out money.

Whether or not there is any explicit understanding that the recipient’s future vote or political support is expected in return, that is a probable practical result. The problem is compounded when public money helps sustain the very organization making those decisions.

In short, the same people who set policy and control public contracts also influence which young people in the community receive financial help for education. The potential for soft political leverage is obvious, and the optics are poor.

A Sweet Arrangement—for the Insiders

Consider the incentives this structure creates:

• Politicians and county officials gain influence with the local newspaper through the Home Fund partnership.

• They build political support among the nonprofits they fund.

• Those nonprofits, in turn, serve constituents and can mobilize goodwill.

• Donors seeking confidentiality receive a helpful service from an organization led by public officials.

• The foundation itself is positioned to receive support from public donors.

Remove the elected officials and county employees from the board, and OVCF could still perform a valuable community function—making grants, encouraging philanthropy, and strengthening local nonprofits—without the appearance of being part of a political apparatus. With them in place, the risk of the foundation serving as a soft-power extension of local government is real.

How can the Peninsula Daily News fairly perform its duty to provide a check on government when governmental officials are helping and working for the press? When the same elected official who chairs a foundation that funnels money and goodwill to the newspaper also sits on the county board the newspaper is supposed to scrutinize, the conflict is not theoretical. Independent journalism requires distance. This arrangement collapses that distance.

Community foundations exist to serve the public, not to expand the reach of public officials. When the same individuals who allocate taxpayer dollars, award county contracts, and oversee public policy also sit in judgment over private charitable grants—and scholarships—to many of the same organizations and people, the conflict is structural.

Clallam County residents deserve a clearer separation between those who hold public office and those who control the flow of charitable influence. Until that separation exists, the Olympic View Community Foundation will remain more political machine than pure community asset.