In 2019, Reps. Mike Chapman and Steve Tharinger told residents that a new MAT clinic in Sequim would reduce crime and homelessness — dismissing critics as fearmongers. Six years later, with overdose deaths at record highs and public disorder growing, their bold predictions haven’t aged well.
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.”
Six years later, those promises ring hollow.
Clallam County now has one of the highest overdose death rates in the state. The number of people living on the streets hasn’t gone down. Residents in Sequim and Port Angeles routinely report drug activity in public spaces, aggressive behavior, and needle litter. In one tragic example, a man died following an assault downtown—a type of violent incident locals say never used to happen, and which went largely underreported. The "pragmatic solution" hasn't delivered the results the public was promised.
Critics weren’t playing politics — they were asking questions. And the fear that Chapman dismissed? It wasn’t manufactured. It was predictive.
If this is the outcome of “pragmatic solutions,” then maybe it’s time we started listening to the people on the ground instead of silencing them with slogans.
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