It's political
Another branch of county government falls to political interests
Some think that the Towne Road issue will be decided due to the Fire Chief, Sheriff, and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) unanimously advising the county that reopening this road is what’s best for emergency response needs. Others believe that a state agency advocating for Towne Road to become a tsunami evacuation route will be the deciding factor. A few residents speculate that facing a steep increase in home insurance rates (if the road remains closed) will have some bearing. And others conclude that a county right-of-way should be open to everyone, or no one at all, and that will determine Towne Road's fate. If you thought these were the issues leaving Towne Road in limbo, you're wrong.
Over a week ago, a concerned resident reached out to the Clallam County Sheriff's Office seeking an explanation as to why some law-abiding constituents of Commissioner Ozias were not being treated the same as his "private interest" residents that are allowed to use the Towne Road Levee.
The resident was told: It's political.
This statement, from a Sheriff's deputy, has been independently verified and the resident’s email is included in its entirety below this article. Now we know: Reopening this .6-mile section of road isn't about safety, convenience, affordability, emergency egress, or policy...
It's political.
The County Commissioners' Mission Statement says that our elected commissioners will put the translated desires of our residents into action through effective communication, provide comprehensive and exemplary public service levels in a prompt responsive manner, maximize and enhance our environmental resources for sustainability and legacy expectation, and celebrate the diversity and inclusiveness of our residents’ contributions to our quality of life.
In addition to that vision, each commissioner has taken an oath. One oath-taker in December of 2015 said, “I, Mark Ozias, do solemnly swear or affirm, that I am a citizen of the United States and the State of Washington, and that I am legally qualified to assume the office of Clallam County Commissioner District 1, that I will support the constitution and the laws of the United States and the State of Washington, and the charter and ordinances of Clallam County, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of this office to the best of my ability.”
In other words, a Clallam County Commissioner is elected to serve the public, not private or political interests. However, growing evidence suggests that Commissioner Mark Ozias has prioritized serving private, personal, special, and political interests ahead of public interests. This agenda has become so pervasive under Commissioner Ozias that it’s seeping into the very fabric and culture of the county and its staff.
While Commissioner Ozias was outwardly campaigning for his third term in the summer of 2023, behind the scenes he was orchestrating the permit denial of one constituent's private enterprise. The Happy Valley Gravel Pit didn't stand a chance of reopening next to Commissioner Ozias' home once he began using his influence with the Sequim School District, the City of Sequim, Jamestown Tribe (Ozias' top campaign donor), and the Director of the Department of Community Development (DCD), Bruce Emery (whose salary is set by the commissioners). Why would the commissioner use such powerful and covert influence to stop a gravel pit, erase a family's vision, and prevent four full-time, family-wage jobs from materializing?
It's political.
Commissioner Ozias has tried to stop the completion of Towne Road four times. First, when he heavily edited a resolution absolving his campaign's top donor, Jamestown Tribe, from any culpability of breaching the old dike ahead of schedule (see Towne Road Timeline, 1 Aug 2022). Second, when he said the discovery of contaminated soil jeopardized the project's financial security (even after the Department of Ecology agreed to reimburse every penny of soil remediation). Third, when he cited that 98 signatures had called for Towne Road to remain closed (while omitting that 140 signatures had asked that it remain open). And fourth, in December of 2023 when he stalled a vote after sensing the other two commissioners were in favor of moving Towne Road forward.
Ozias is poised to make a fifth attempt to serve his private, personal, and special interests. Despite the public witnessing his December 26th commitment to reopen Towne Road, per "Option 2", by the end of the 2024 construction season, and in the face of three separate public pollings that all resulted in a majority of residents wanting Towne Road reopened, he has recently cherry-picked language from the Comprehensive Plan that supports his original intent to convert Towne Road into a trail and private driveway that will be closed to all but a handful of residents and emergency responders. Why would Commissioner Ozias attempt to satisfy his non-public interests who contributed more than half the funds to his most recent campaign? Why would he be persuaded by out-of-county and out-of-state voices calling for the stoppage of Towne Road at the expense of local Clallam County Taxpayers’ public interest?
It's political.
On September 26th, 2023, Commissioner Ozias and DCD Director Bruce Emery stood before a packed audience at Carrie Blake Park. The original intent was to "solicit discussion" about Towne Road while disallowing oral comment. The benefits of converting the county road into a recreational experience were promoted yet there was no mention that the road's closure had contributed to the loss of a family whose home burned (the fire trucks were delayed due to Towne Road's closure). Also omitted was the county's knowledge, documented in 2015, that response times to Dungeness would increase by 3-7 minutes or that home insurance rates would more than double if Towne Road were to remain closed. Nor was it mentioned that in 2013 the Jamestown Tribe, a top donor to both Emery and Ozias' campaigns, preferred that Towne Road be terminated. Why was this information about Towne Road propagandized before it was disseminated to the Taxpayers and constituents?
It's political.
Considering that the Sheriff's Office is now under political control as well, how far will this "it's political" agenda permeate into other branches of Clallam County Government? Will the Assessor evaluate property according to standardized values, or will evaluations be dictated by personal, private, and special interests? Will the Auditor manage elections based on the public's expectations of transparency and integrity, or will that office also fall to political influence? The Board of Equalization, Superior Court, Health and Human Services, and Public Works -- will those branches of county government serve public or political interests?
Clallam County doesn't have an official motto, but an unofficial motto may have started on January 1st, 2016 with the Era of Ozias:
"Welcome to Clallam County — It's political."
Fri, Mar 1, 7:56 PM
to mark.ozias, mike.french, randy.johnson, brian.king, amy.bundy
Commissioner Ozias,
I was wondering if you could help me with an issue I and many others are having? I would like you to get to the bottom of this as fast as you were able to move on the issue of Eberly’s accusing Jeff Tozzer of vandalizing the gates, locks and posts on Towne Road. I feel this issue is more urgent since it involves hundreds of people either breaking the law, perhaps hundreds in danger, or County liability should there be an incident while those County signs are posted on the gates across the gated, locked and barricaded Towne Road.
Friday, March 1, an article on Facebook posted by John Brewer, written by Brian Gawley of the Peninsula Daily News, titled “Residents provide Towne Road feedback”. The lead photo is of a gate and concrete barricades block the north end of Towne Road as it reaches the new Dungeness River levee on Tuesday northwest of Sequim (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News). The photo clearly shows the County’s posted signs which say “ROAD CLOSED to Vehicle and Pedestrian use”.
On Friday I called the Sheriff Business Office inquiring why pedestrians are allowed to violate County posted signs, such as other signs posted no parking, no trespassing, do not enter, etc.? After numerous attempts to reach a live person dispatch referred me to Deputy Herrera. Herrera said he honestly didn’t know why that is occurring but he would contact his supervisor, Sgt. Keegan. Herrera called me back and said his Sgt. was aware and said it was a political issue. Herrera said he would email Chief Amy Bundy and I could expect to hear back from her maybe Monday or Tuesday since it’s Friday and she is off on the weekend. I understand I get it.
Why are the Eberly’s openly and outwardly encouraging the public to ignore County posted signs when the signs clearly say, ROAD CLOSED……..? As more and more people come to Towne Road they invite more and more people to come and break the law with no consequences while the rest of the law abiding taxpayers heed the posted signs & obey the law or they get fined or sited? Towne Road appears to be only for me but not for thee. I’ve attended most of the Commissioner meetings and this question has been raised time after time with no action or answers from our leaders. It is a valid question that deserves action and an answer to myself and tax payers.
One last comment, this is not a political issue, it is a County issue, it is a business issue, and it is a bipartisan issue that affects us all. The County signs are not political that I can tell. The County signs, gates, and locks are posted for a very good reason I believe. If this is a political issue it was made so by outside influences such as the far left leaning organization from Seattle, WASHPIRG, and the local sovereign nation, JST, plus an organization from Oregon as referenced by JST.
I would appreciate if you could please contact the Sheriff as quickly as you did for the Eberly’s about his accusations of vandalism regarding Jeff Tozzer (per FOIA emails). According to the Eberly’s hundreds of people are coming & breaking the law daily. Maybe the Sheriff could hand out citations when they are making extra rounds in the area looking for vandals and Jeff Tozzer. An investigation may be warranted, I don’t know but it is very clear from pictures, people, signs, evidence, testimony, etc. there is unlawful activity. From my understanding there are certain individuals who have keys to the locked gates and have permission to use by way of access to their property including other landowners in the area which is understandable until Towne Road is paved for vehicle access. However, this did not include pedestrians granted access to use the road for their pleasure, recreation, travel, etc. to my knowledge.
Please advise.
Regards,
[redacted by CCWD]
March 13th, 2024
[redacted by CCWD],
My understanding is that the signage you’ve been asking about (which has now been removed) was put up during the active construction phase and simply not taken down when construction was completed.
Mark Ozias
Clallam County Commissioner
Towne Road gate before the letter to the commissioner:
Towne Road gate after the letter:
It’s easier to change the sign than enforce the law.
WOW! You are just such a great writer, clear thinker, and dedicated "watchdog". Thank you so much for another excellent summary. Ditto for the writer of the letter to the sheriff"s office. So appreciated.
Excellent analyses and summaries!! I agree. It is political because that's how you divide a community. What should have been a transparent project, since it was funded by taxpayers, is now in a bottleneck of surreptitious shenanigans designed to cause disruption and detours. For too long too many misdeeds have gone unnoticed. But thanks to you, Jeff, the community can come together and redirect Clallum County in the right direction. It will take time, but we'll get there. This runs deep. Awesome fun last night! A little levity to remind everyone that we have great friends and neighbors.