Tozzer Resigns as Campaign Manager

After a week of political drama, the Seegers campaign announces a bold new direction

If there is one lesson to be learned from the past week, it’s this: never underestimate the power of bureaucracy to accomplish what political opponents can not.

Washington State’s Public Disclosure Commission.

Following two Public Disclosure Commission complaints seeking $80,000 in penalties, leaked text messages alleging Doug and Jeff have invited a young Latino into their open marriage…

…and the revelation that Jeff Tozzer’s first official duty for Jake Seegers involved managing an Airbnb…

…campaign leadership reached an unavoidable conclusion:

Someone had to go.

“I just want to get back to my quiet life,” Tozzer wrote in an email. “Doug deserves that. So does our houseboy, Luis.”

Friends say Tozzer now intends to devote his time to his real passions—improving his polo game, yachting around the Maldives, and finally finishing his long-delayed cookbook, 100 Ways to Make Caviar Less Boring.

Seegers, meanwhile, admitted Tozzer wasn’t the right fit for the campaign.

“Jeff never really had the qualifications—he’d never worked a day in his life,” Seegers said, after seeing it on a sticker downtown.

“The writing had been on the wall from early on,” Seegers continued. “Unfortunately, that writing on the wall was used the wrong font size—just like my campaign signs.”

Seegers said it was time to bring in someone younger.

The campaign acknowledged there will be additional expenses.

“Jeff worked for free,” Seegers explained. “My new campaign manager has requested candy and kisses. We didn’t budget for that.”

Still, Seegers says the investment is worthwhile.

“When I asked Lux what mattered most in a campaign, and she answered ‘font size,’ I knew she was ready.”

Looking back, Seegers says there were warning signs.

“I tried to keep Jeff on a short leash,” he said. “Unfortunately, he proved difficult to manage. Especially around mail carriers and fire hydrants. One of my campaign events was interrupted when Jeff scooted across the carpet, and I won’t even discuss what he did to one campaign donor’s leg.”

Image courtesy of Salsa Picante. If you're curious what the opposition to Jake Seegers' campaign is saying, you can read Salsa Picante's articles here.

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The Real Story

Satire aside, I really am stepping down as campaign manager.

When I agreed to become Jake Seegers’ campaign manager, I did what I thought was due diligence. I contacted the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission and explained my situation in detail. I told them I operated Clallam County Watchdog, that the publication existed long before I ever met Jake, that I made no money from it, and that I wanted to continue writing while volunteering on his campaign.

The response was reassuring. I was told there wasn’t a problem.

The only issue anyone could identify was that if I spent money operating Clallam County Watchdog, some portion of those expenses could be treated as an in-kind contribution to the campaign that would need to be reported.

That was simple enough. CC Watchdog operates on a free platform. Since Jake became a candidate, I haven’t spent money producing it.

If there is one lesson I’ve learned through this process, it’s this: never rely on a verbal conversation with a government agency. If something matters, get it in writing.

What happened next is where the real irony begins.

For two and a half years, many of my loudest critics insisted I wasn’t media. Jim Stoffer famously referred to me as “the boy with the blog.”

Others dismissed my reporting because I don’t hold a journalism degree. I wasn’t considered a journalist. I wasn’t considered a member of the press. I was simply someone with opinions and a website.

To be honest, I never found that particularly offensive because it was largely true. I didn’t go to journalism school. I didn’t set out to become a reporter. I started writing because I became frustrated trying to convince local officials to reopen Towne Road. After discovering that expressing unpopular opinions on platforms like Nextdoor could quickly get you removed, I decided to build my own platform instead. Clallam County Watchdog grew out of that experience.

Now comes the twist.

The complaint filed against me argues that Clallam County Watchdog should not qualify for the media exemption because I was serving as Jake Seegers’ campaign manager. In other words, after spending years being told I wasn’t media, I suddenly became media—but only for the purpose of denying me protections that media organizations normally receive.

What makes the situation even stranger is that the complaint wasn’t based on hidden support for Jake Seegers. It was based on support I openly disclosed.

Every “Sundays with Seegers” article identified me as Jake’s campaign manager. I discussed it repeatedly on the podcast. I said more than once that I wasn’t impartial in the race between Jake Seegers and Mike French. I believed readers deserved to know exactly where I stood.

Transparency, it turns out, wasn’t enough.

The proposed solution was for every article mentioning Jake Seegers or Mike French—and every podcast episode discussing their campaigns—to include language stating the content was paid for or sponsored by “Jake Seegers for Commissioner.”

That simply wasn’t true.

Jake Seegers never paid Clallam County Watchdog. His campaign never sponsored my articles. Jake never reviewed my articles before publication, never approved them, and never directed what I wrote. In fact, readers of this publication know I’ve disagreed with Jake at times. Adding sponsorship language would have created the very kind of misleading statement the PDC exists to prevent.

I also learned something else I never anticipated. By volunteering as campaign manager, I had unintentionally limited my ability to express my political opinions through my publication. That wasn’t a consequence I foresaw when I agreed to help a friend run for office.

For the record, I didn’t support Jake Seegers because I became his campaign manager. I became his campaign manager because I already supported Jake Seegers.

Over the last three years, I’ve watched Commissioner Mike French make decisions that have cost taxpayers millions of dollars, depleted county reserves, ignored recommendations from experienced department heads, and elevated political ideology over practical governance.

Those observations—not my campaign title—are why I decided to help elect someone I believed would better serve Clallam County.

Ironically, remaining campaign manager now makes me less effective at doing the thing I care most about: writing honestly about county government. So I’m stepping aside.

I’ll simply become another citizen with strong opinions. I’ll join the ranks of concerned citizens like Mitch Zenobi and Stacey Richards who use their influence to generate discussion about local topics.

I've also joined the ranks of Paul Pickett, a leader in the Clallam County Democratic Party who seeks up to $80,000 in PDC fines against the Seegers campaign. Through Clallam Democrats Rising on Substack, Paul regularly publishes commentary supporting candidates and elected officials he favors, including Mike French. I wouldn't suggest for a moment that he shouldn't be free to express those opinions. My only request is to be afforded the same freedom.

The longer this process has unfolded, the more it has reminded me of conversations I’ve had with ordinary residents navigating local government. Time and again, they tell me they get different answers depending on who they ask. They describe navigating rules that seem to change without warning, worrying about retaliation, fines, or making an expensive mistake. Increasingly, they don’t see Clallam County Government as something that exists to help them—they see it as something they have to survive.

In that respect, my experience with the Public Disclosure Commission has felt remarkably familiar. The PDC and Clallam County government seem to have more in common than either would probably care to admit.

Perhaps that’s why this story resonates beyond one campaign.

Government should make it easier—not harder—for citizens to participate in civic life. It shouldn’t require people to guess which verbal advice they’ll later discover was incomplete. It shouldn’t force citizens to choose between volunteering in their community and exercising their right to express political opinions honestly and transparently.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we’re still debating what the First Amendment really means. Some use it to praise candidates they admire. Others use it to criticize public officials they believe are failing. Both deserve protection.

That’s the beauty of it.

So to Paul Pickett, Tim Wheeler, the Peninsula Daily News, the Sequim Gazette, Salsa Picante, and everyone else I’ve disagreed with over the years, I offer this sincerely: I’ll defend your right to publish your opinions every bit as strongly as I’ll defend my own.

That’s the America worth celebrating.

Happy 250th Birthday, America.

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Today’s Tidbit: Celebrate With Jake

If you hear cheering, see candy flying through the air, and spot a white Jeep or logging truck tomorrow, there’s a good chance you’ve found Jake Seegers and his supporters celebrating America’s 250th birthday.

The campaign is inviting the community to join in not one, but two Fourth of July parades, and volunteers don’t need any special qualifications beyond a smile, comfortable shoes, and a willingness to wave signs, toss candy, and have a good time.

The day begins in Forks, where supporters are asked to meet by 11:30 a.m. near the logging trucks staging area in the Forks Outfitters parking lot before the parade sets off at noon.

After the festivities in Forks wrap up, the celebration heads east to Port Angeles for the evening parade. Supporters should gather by 5:30 p.m. at 2nd Street and Valley near the Port Building, look for the white Jeep, and join Parade Entry #47 before the parade begins at 6:00 p.m.

Whether you’ve marched in dozens of parades or have never walked in one before, organizers say everyone is welcome. It’s an opportunity to celebrate Independence Day, spend time with neighbors, and help create a festive atmosphere in two Clallam County communities.

Let’s show downtown Forks and Port Angeles what Jake Seegers’ campaign is all about: community, unity, and celebrating what neighbors have in common as Americans.

Editor’s note: This blog is published by Jeff Tozzer, the former campaign manager of Jacob Seegers. None of the content here has ever been approved or paid for by Jake Seegers for Commissioner.