This podcast-only episode of Sundays with Seegers is not a campaign commercial. It is an unfiltered conversation between Clallam County commissioner candidate Jake Seegers and Jesse Charles — a Lower Elwha tribal member, recovery-community voice, social media influencer, and one of Seegers’ sharpest public critics.
It contains explicit language. It also contains the kind of exchange that most campaigns never risk.
Jesse came with hard questions: the “skunk sermon,” an affirmative-action joke told in church, family-foundation donations to 4PA, appointing a young child as campaign manager, and ties to outspoken local activists. He pressed Seegers on tribal outreach, local service gaps, and whether a relative newcomer can represent a county with very different communities and perspectives.
Seegers answered. He discussed his family’s years in Mexico, why he is running as an independent, and what he meant by the skunk story. He explained his views on race, his conversations with Makah and Lower Elwha leadership, visits to Serenity House and the Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic (OPCC), and why he favors local detox, treatment paired with accountability, and greater budget discipline.
Seegers said that the conversation reaffirmed his belief that face-to-face conversations with people who disagree are always beneficial. He respects and appreciates Jesse’s willingness to meet in person and share his perspectives and experiences.
They did not leave agreeing on everything. They did not leave fully trusting each other. But they both left understanding more about the experiences and perspectives that shape their views — and recognizing that beneath significant disagreements are outcomes they both want for the community.
For Seegers, conversations like this offer reason to be optimistic about the future of Clallam County.
Those who only don’t listen will miss the most important part: two people who have publicly disagreed — sometimes sharply — sitting across from one another, asking difficult questions, listening to the answers, and finding some common ground.
Listen to the full conversation.
This article was approved by Jake Seegers for Commissioner, 131 East First Street, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
