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
