Restore Balance at the Clallam Conservation District — Vote Judy Larson
Transparency, accountability, and property rights deserve a seat at the table
Ballots are arriving in the Clallam Conservation District (CCD) election. This comes on the heels of last year’s election being voided by a judge and ongoing concerns about voter integrity. Despite that backdrop, CCD is conducting its first all-mail voting election. The deadline to request a ballot has now passed, and voters must make their decision.
Clallam County Watchdog is officially endorsing Judy Larson.
Why Judy Larson
Judy Larson is running to provide something that has been noticeably absent from the CCD Board: a different voice.
While she acknowledges the abilities of CCD staff, she was among the more than 1,000 Clallam County residents who signed the petition objecting to the District’s proposal to impose new Rates and Charges parcel fees on property owners — a fee ultimately approved by the County Commissioners.
Her position was clear: before imposing guaranteed funding streams on property owners, transparency, justification, and public trust must come first.
Larson brings substantial academic and professional credentials:
B.S. in Chemistry
Master’s degree
Extensive non-degree academic study
Professional experience as a teacher, chemist, and health and safety inspector
She moved to Sequim in 1993 and has deep roots in this community. Her civic involvement includes:
Docent at the Feiro Marine Life Center
VISTA volunteer for disaster preparedness
Trainer for Clallam County Emergency Management
Active member of Protect the Peninsula’s Future
Since 2023, Larson has consistently attended CCD Board meetings and offered public comment — particularly raising concerns about the piping of irrigation ditches without sufficient monitoring of impacts on wildlife and shallow aquifers.
Her priorities are straightforward:
Increase transparency
Improve responsiveness to public concerns
Demand stronger project justification
Ensure accountability for new parcel fee obligations
CC Watchdog believes Judy Larson represents the right balance between conservation goals and protection of private property rights. She supports stewardship — but not unchecked expansion of authority or revenue.
Why Not WendyRae Johnson
Incumbent WendyRae Johnson describes herself as a soil advocate and climate solutions educator. A retired beauty salon owner who moved to Port Angeles in 2020, she was elected to the CCD Board in Spring 2023 and currently serves as Board Auditor.
Her activism has extended beyond board service. Johnson was featured in People’s World, a publication with communist, socialist, and Marxist-Leninist roots, in connection with efforts to oppose public timber sales — sales that fund schools, hospitals, fire districts, and libraries in Washington State.
Johnson now seeks another three-year term.
As Board Auditor, she has held heightened responsibility during a period when the District sought and secured a guaranteed parcel fee funding stream. During that campaign, CCD presented financial projections to justify the new revenue. Concerns were raised that some calculations were off by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
There were also instances where financial documents appeared to show surpluses while public messaging emphasized fiscal strain.
After the fee passed, scrutiny increased as staffing levels and compensation costs became clearer through subsequent public records.
Financial stewardship matters. Transparency matters.
So does public trust.
A Concerning Public Statement
At a CCD meeting on June 3, 2025, Johnson referred to concerned members of the public as:
“. . . from the Tozzer masses during our election… undoubtedly, Mr. Tozzer will get this out to his angry mob…”
She went on to discuss the need for strict codes of conduct and the potential removal of members of the public from meetings.
Regardless of political perspective, referring to engaged residents as an “angry mob” reflects a troubling posture toward public participation — particularly in a district that had just experienced a voided election and heightened public scrutiny.
Public agencies exist to serve the public — not manage them.
The Choice Before Voters
This election is about more than one seat.
It is about:
Whether CCD will embrace scrutiny or resist it
Whether guaranteed parcel fees will come with robust oversight
Whether conservation policy will remain grounded in practical stewardship rather than activism
Whether dissenting voices will be welcomed or dismissed
Judy Larson offers experience, community roots, and a commitment to accountability.
For voters who signed the petition against the parcel fee, who questioned the financial projections, or who simply want stronger transparency and responsiveness from the CCD Board, Judy Larson represents a necessary correction.
Clallam County Watchdog endorses Judy Larson for Clallam Conservation District Supervisor.
Ballots must be returned by March 17.
Now is the time to restore balance.
Join Jake Seegers and CC Watchdog in Beaver today!
Good Governance Daily Proverb:
Special-purpose districts exist because voters, through their legislators, created them. When authority feels distant, the remedy is not resentment — it is understanding the design, participating in the process, and, if necessary, reforming the statute that gave it life.
One never really knows what you'll get when you vote for someone, but at this juncture given all that has happened the background for Judy Larsen is light years beyond that of Wendy Johnson.
My vote goes to Larsen.