Thank you, Jed! You’re absolutely right — it’s going to take all of us working together to make this happen. But when I look around and see a community that is truly all-in on common-sense change, I have no doubt about the outcome.
Jake is challenging Clallam County to be better. The choice is logical, unfortunately not everyone makes decisions using logic when emotions seem to override. For anyone who has never met Jake, I encourage you to find a way to meet him, maybe at a weekly Commissioner meeting. For me, the difference in the kind of person he is, is undeniable of his caring personality. He's definitely his own person with caring qualities we need locally. If it was me, someone with no where near the compassion Jake has, you'd get the antithesis of Commissioner Ozias, which wouldn't fly as well as Ozias flies. Jake is the balanced bridge of those spectrums, and I realized that internally.
Your vote of confidence means a great deal, MK. My goal is to meet as many Clallam County residents as possible over the next ten months. I likely won’t make this week’s BOCC meeting, but I will be there on 1/20 for another round of RV/ADU/Vacation Rental discussion(:
Members of our county know what makes life worth living and what responsibility we have to keep it. We the people have the combined experiences to guide government decisions that preserve and enhance that life. I sat on the sidelines for far too long, thinking government would protect my interests as their own. I have awakened.
Lets stop all the money for any NGO. That funding is not the role of government and it needs to stop and that incluides the sovereign nation of the Indians. Time to fly and leave the welfare and reparations nest.
I believe I saw Jake snapping pictures of the property just East of Old Olympic and Cay's yesterday morning. That is definitely a property if concern. It keeps getting worse. I'm not a fan of HOA's but some pride of ownership is in need!
Thank you for the affirmation of why I support you in your campaign. Real engagement if our problems and real community base solutions are a big thing for me!
I've been saying for awhile the answers are with us and not the system of which our government operates. Time is now and I too am all in with you guys
Thank you for who you are and how hard you work! present and future volunteer here...
They are worried about Jake. They have fast tracked his DEI counterpart and I have no doubt she will be running for office after she gets visibility on the Planning Commission.
Wendy Rae Johnson moved here in 2020 and had her fingers on the nobs and buttons in 2023. She should have caught the Jimmycomelately science disparity. So Should have the rest of them and Cheryl Bauman at Nople
The two on the left moved here same time period. No local experience just adopting international and tribal flubber and magic beans. They got just as frustrated with my Jimmycomelately argument as Randy Johnson of JKT that Day I saw Papai and her husband and grandkids. The lady threw her apron down and made a scene.
Great interview, Jeff and Jake! Jeff, you were able to coax some fun and interesting new tidbits from Jake. We are lucky that Jake and his family decided to call Clallam County home. But truly, stay safe out there in your volunteering for 4PA. That Tumwater trapdoor could have been hiding a bear or other large creature, not to mention a very annoyed human.
Let’s keep the tribes and their greedy fingers out of our local government. No more tribal representatives in the city councils and nobody who owes his soul to the JKT or LEKT in the county government. And no more land acknowledgments.
Speaking of funding NGOs - there is a discussion on ND right now about the funding of the Methodist Church's parking spaces for the homeless. It's very apparent that the argument needs some facts added, and it seems that Mr. Stoffer and others are withholding a few. Sorry to interupt here. Great podcast, Mr. Seegers.
The 100k for two years of 3 parking places, sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud. Churches fall under protection from taxes so it doesn’t sit well, all things considered. I looked at the budget. I think it said $100 for security. Was that a typo or wishful thinking that no services will be needed. Here’s the real litmus test. Read and or tell some friend
(Not from here) about our deep seated and ongoing struggles in CC. They will laugh or beg you to move before it gets worse. And candid comments about our 3 commissioners, always gets the same response from friends in SC, “ you are making this up, come on, it’s a joke right .” No my friend, sadly these are not jokes. Yes, he really sits on 17 other boards, but I’m guessing, not very effectively.
yep. These people are really ingrained into the fabric of our lives. We are most probably going to move this summer. Sad because we invested alot in moving here and damn, we still have to pay big excise tax selling the house!
Okay, nice interview. Jake is very likable and very knowledgeable person. I’ve concluded he does his homework just like Jeff……HOWEVER, I believe people want solutions, people want to hear strategies and the ideas that are going to make their lives & pocketbooks different. HOW, WHAT, WHY & WHERE. It was nice to hear background, although be it not much due to the fact Jake is about 47 years old. Education ? Real Estate ? Employment ? Past government experience ? I will support Jake because I like him, he supports change and there are no other choices currently. I feel I have no choice but that doesn’t mean others will think the same. Perhaps until people know exactly what Jake plans to do, or try and do for the tax-payers besides telling us how it is, which we already know, will be his campaign direction? I’m sorry if I sound negative. Please don’t criticize because I ask harder questions & expect solutions. I have spent a lot of time in Seiku & Clallam Bay & I know the infrastructure does not exist there to adequately raise a family. Seiku/Clallam Bay’s problems are not just about housing. People need solutions not told what they already know for example. I was expecting to hear more. You can bet French is going to come out with a list of accomplishments and blow the whole thing up……get ready! We need to get Jake elected but we are going to need money to get it done & more mojo……to be successful in Clallam County. People are not going to dig deep down unless they know they have a for sure winner, it is the way of Clallam County politics, been there done that……. JAKE SEEGERS 2026
4 Reasonable, thank you for your thoughtful comment.
I don’t claim to have all the solutions — and neither do our current elected officials, who have promised results for years but have failed to deliver them or even measure progress. Like most citizens, I am a government outsider. But as I dig into the root causes of our county’s biggest challenges, I am increasingly convinced that real solutions are both possible and well within the reach of county leadership.
My goal is to provide a common-sense framework for effective strategy in many of my articles. Some of the ideas are my own; many come from deeply engaged community members. Strong leadership starts with understanding the problems on the ground, having the courage to challenge failed “expert” consensus, the humility to admit when something isn’t working, and the wisdom to recognize and implement good ideas from advisors, constituents, and those with lived experience.
Over the coming year, Clallam will continue to hear my strategies for change through articles, meetings, town halls, debates, and one-on-one conversations. Just as important, I will continue listening — to experienced professionals, concerned citizens, and those most impacted by the current lack of effective leadership.
I am confident that if we refocus county government on what is essential and effective — and empower community-led solutions rather than top-down bureaucracy — we can make meaningful progress on homelessness, substance abuse, public safety, affordability, and our budget challenges without placing further burdens on taxpayers.
Have you stuck your two cents worth in on how you would solve the drug issues, homeless issues, economic issues, etc? I see the answers being in our hands, not boards of NGO's and non-profits that seem mainly focused on hiring paid managers and grant writers to do as much as possible to perpetuate the issues that keep them employed. Truly non-profit organizations, like 4PA, are not asking for tax money, but work for their community to keep it livable for all. If you think Jake does not offer answers you can hang your hat on, that's your right, and maybe I am hearing a different tune than you. I am not criticizing you, just asking for your answers to issues brought up by the Seegers campaign and specifically how you would answer your own tough questions. How many boards did you apply for?
I’m not running for County Commissioner Eric. I’m expecting Jake to answer all the questions you are poising to me. I want answers to issues and excuse me apparently I must not have heard them. Again it is an issue of hearing which some people have. I will go back and listen to the interview again and get back to you later….off to the pancake breakfast now…..ta ta
Gee, it doesn’t take much of a resume to out do the “Three Jokers” in office right now.
If someone could just enlighten us with the accomplishments of the current BO CCC, we wouldn’t be so excited to replace the current commissioners. Don’t think we will construct a Mt Rushmore for the success of current leadership. Wait, should this be called leadership?
I personally think new blood is needed in the county commissioners offices. Career politicians are so past their pull dates. They have an answer for everything but do nothing. You can listen to these “careers made easy” officials and walk away knowing less than before. They deflect, ignore, or make public commenter seem insignificant. They have it down to a science. They are on boards (actively or not) that may pay for their participation. How would we know? They earn a livable wage on county dollars alone. May I add, they are complete moral sell-outs. Swaying which ever way the contributors ask them to blow. But French is on good behavior now! Oh please! Don’t try to suck up now.
Jake will have a lot of pressure on him but provided the right support staff and engaged voters he is miles ahead of the dead wood that sits through Monday and Tuesday meetings. If current “3 guys on the payroll” were acceptable in their positions, we would be happy. You can teach the ins and outs of our political system, you can not teach a person to be honorable or respectful to those supporting him. These are deep seated personal standards, which current commies can’t even fake. Give Jake a learning curve break. Plus he won’t chew his nails! I can’t believe that is a thing in public!
Before board members elections voters should be reminded how their tax $$$ has been and is being wasted.Millions going towards endless homeless drug addict housing plus free living expenses.Hundreds of thousands going towards nonessential NGO's.Mass $$$ going towards tribal issues.All this wasted tax $$$ should have been used towards infrastructure like repairing dilapidated alleys-roads.
Marfa? This is an interesting revelation. Now I understand the caring side that's so effusive with you. I could feel it, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
Setting up to help the local indigenous people with medical needs prompted by your parents is clearly what has made you. Clallam County has no idea how fortunate they are to have you as a commissioner.
I will always be deeply grateful to my parents for volunteering our entire family into their calling. I didn’t always make it easy on them. I’m sure there were moments when they wondered if they were doing the right thing for their children.
But I truly believe they could not have given me a greater gift than those years spent serving people who had almost nothing, and living through the personal challenge of a life without many of the comforts we often take for granted in this country.
I’m still working to find the best ways to pass that gift on to my own kids.
Former Columbia law school grad, owns glamping business here. My beef is that the application process is not clear and they told us so very little about her before they voted her in.
I prefer someone like Ed Bowen for that district. He is an asset to the third district. If it were me the spot would have been Ed's to turn down.
Owns a $600 a night tent glamping place , was able to move here and buy coastal land, just doesn't ring like someone who would understand the challenges of average west end resident
Planning for a community takes far more intimate knowledge than people think to make the right call. You have heard me talk and have seen my typing. That is 14 progressively harder levels of flubber and magic bean detection.
When none of them want to engage me on the level I am at we are settling for policy.
Ed Bowen and others are on par with that level on certain topics, We are all being ignored. They are pushing DEI and even if the feds take their money they will lie to state taxpayers to keep it going thru CCA.
I can't get any info on how long she has been here. I am leery since that Johnson lady came from East and was plugged into water conservation district. Same goes for two of the LWV people. I couple just here rom the Midwest.
The primary goal of our planning commission should be to determine the best land use practices that prioritize salmon restoration, particularly the recovery of coho (silvers) and Chinook (kings). All other planning considerations must be secondary, given the extensive space required to develop year-round habitat capacity for these species—coho, in particular, spend a full year or more in freshwater, relying on diverse rearing areas like slow-water pools, off-channel habitats, and connected floodplains.
The current approach appears content with a self-serving model that floods properties to facilitate buyback programs offering below-market value compensation. This has resulted in silence on the issue—even at Wilson's first hearing, there were no substantive responses, with only Heilman speaking up once. Ultimately, planners adhere to a limited riparian science that avoids innovative techniques, such as incorporating baffles, or slower-water features in exaggerated, fixed meandering channels—methods proven to enhance habitat complexity, reduce erosion, and support juvenile salmon survival. Prioritizing true ecosystem-based restoration over short-term flood management would better serve long-term salmon recovery and community resilience.
They continue to pursue salmon restoration in ridiculous grades on Ennis Creek and seek tribal development where tsunami and sea level rise dictates they should not.
It is clear now that their whole argument is derived from a tribal retribution lens that makes no sense at almost every turn. They wanted dam removal and got it. After 14 years we still can only hatchery fish because the natural promises had no chance in fast moving water at 7-percent grades and up. It sure floods the dickens out of river valleys and that is their goal. Not serious salmon restoration.
Developing Ennis Creek Village would be a disastrous proposal for salmon recovery efforts in the Rayonier area. Ennis Creek, a small urban stream flowing through Port Angeles and influenced by stormwater runoff, already faces significant challenges from Rayonier contamination and limited habitat capacity—making it unsuitable for expanded development that could further degrade its fragile ecosystem.
As a contaminated stormwater conveyance, Ennis Creek carries urban pollutants, including potential petroleum hydrocarbons, sediments, and bacteria from roads, development, and runoff. While not comparable to extreme nuclear disasters like Chernobyl in terms of radiation, the creek's water quality issues stem from PCB, dioxin and impacts that harm aquatic life: elevated nutrients, toxins, and sedimentation that reduce oxygen levels and smother spawning gravels. Ongoing monitoring and restoration efforts highlight these vulnerabilities, yet the creek remains impaired for salmonid use. Plus, I don't think Ecology is done milking Rayonier for years more of bureaucracy.
Ennis Creek has very limited spawning and lacks the extensive gravel beds, deep pools, off-channel habitats, and year-round flow stability needed for robust chum runs, let alone the more demanding coho (silvers) and Chinook (kings), which require larger, connected floodplains and high-quality rearing zones for juveniles. Chum salmon, while more tolerant of lower-elevation streams, still need clean gravels free from fine sediments—conditions already compromised here.
Proceeding with Ennis Creek Village would exacerbate these problems by increasing impervious surfaces, intensifying stormwater flows, and introducing more pollutants, all while encroaching on riparian buffers critical for shading, woody debris recruitment, and filtration.
True recovery for silvers and kings requires space for complex, natural processes available on Dungeness and Valley Creek, not further fragmentation in a polluted, limited waterway with a village waiting for an M-9 tsunami and NOAA's on again off again sea level rise map..
OMG -save the salmon, at what cost? This is so over the top, I bet a hatchery salmon is about $20 an ounce. Plus caught all beat to hell from making their birthplace return.
Confusion must be painful bc of all the nearly (but not enough water) fish barriers that have been eliminated. If fish never tried to go up those little streams and or dried out creeks why were the so called “barriers” removed. Well, atleast that money went to a good cause bc what is needed more than the salmon recovery billion dollar projects? Out of protest, I will never eat salmon again. Wish that caused a major issue.
WTHell Washington? this state is crazier than all others only after Mississippi! But the problems there are genetic .
Yes I did live there. At least it’s warm and grits are on the menu.
Why is it that so many relatively new to the area run for office! Has their bad reputation not caught up with them yet?
I admire lifers, not to politics but those that have been in the NW a while. We certainly don’t need imported screw-ups. Jake’s good, he’s lived here but has seen other places operate and still Clallam County doesn’t scare the beegezzus out of him!
I appreciate anyone who’s willing to talk about local issues. I also think this conversation needs a little grounding, because some of the claims being made about county operations don’t match how the system actually works.
A lot of what’s being described as “government not listening” is, in reality, government following the law. County departments don’t get to improvise enforcement or skip process just because people want faster action. They’re bound by state statute, federal rulings, procurement rules, environmental regulations, and liability. Listening doesn’t always look like instant action. Sometimes it looks like doing what the law requires, even when that’s frustrating.
There’s been a lot of talk about “two sets of rules,” but that framing oversimplifies things. Property owners and encampments fall under different bodies of law, and the county is legally required to follow each of them. Title 26 governs private property. Constitutional, state, and public-health law governs encampments. That isn’t favoritism; it’s jurisdiction. Equal treatment doesn’t mean identical treatment. It means applying the right law in the right context.
On enforcement, officers can’t act based only on a citizen report, even when that report is accurate. A report helps with situational awareness, but for criminal enforcement officers need their own direct observation, corroborating evidence, or a legally valid witness statement that meets the threshold for probable cause. That isn’t ignoring the community; it’s the legal standard they have to meet. Anecdotes, patterns, and “everyone knows what’s happening at that house” aren’t enough on their own. Even when officers are familiar with a location, they still need evidence they can defend in court.
If the community wants more proactive enforcement, that means more staffing, more investigative capacity, and more evidence-driven operations. We can’t ask for more enforcement while also insisting government somehow do everything with less.
When it comes to homelessness and encampments, volunteers do incredible work, and that matters. But a site that looks clean isn’t the same as one that meets environmental standards or prevents re-encampment. Cleanup without housing is churn. And the fact that someone can use a saw doesn’t mean they’re employable, stable, or able to navigate the workforce. Trauma and addiction don’t disappear because someone can build a platform.
The same applies to CQ and Clallam Bay. Rural housing shortages are structural problems. They involve infrastructure capacity, financing, zoning, and workforce realities. A letter-writing campaign is a gesture, not a housing plan. If housing shortages could be solved by asking property owners nicely, every rural county in the country would have figured that out by now.
And finally, the idea that “money is flowing without accountability” is a claim that needs evidence. County budgets are public documents. If someone believes funds are unaccounted for, they should be able to point to a specific line item. Without that, it’s just a story.
At the end of the day, we all want the same things: safe communities, systems that function, and a county that works. We get there by being honest about what the county can legally do, what it can’t do, and what it actually takes to move from frustration to solutions. Community energy is powerful, but it works best alongside professional systems, not as a replacement for them.
That’s the reality check the conversation keeps missing
I appreciate this grounding, because much of what you describe is accurate. Counties are constrained by constitutional standards, statute, procurement rules, environmental regulation, and evidentiary thresholds, and compliance with those requirements is non-negotiable (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020; S. Government Accountability Office, 2023). Equal treatment under the law does not mean identical treatment across legally distinct contexts, and enforcement standards such as probable cause exist to protect due process and ensure actions are defensible (Coroado, 2025; Crepaz, 2024).
You’re also right that Clallam County does, in fact, measure its work. The adopted 2026 budget includes department-level performance measures, workload indicators, staffing data, and multi-year financial comparisons, which align with baseline public-sector accountability and transparency practices (Clallam County, 2025; Government Finance Officers Association, 2020). Those measures are appropriate for the county’s statutory responsibilities and rural capacity; however, governance best practices emphasize periodically reassessing whether existing measures continue to support decision-making, reflect community-relevant outcomes, and inform future tradeoffs rather than assuming any set of measures is optimal indefinitely (Government Finance Officers Association, 2020).
Where public frustration often arises is not from a lack of compliance or the absence of measures, but from a gap between measured activity and visible outcomes. Contemporary governance research distinguishes between tracking what government does and assessing whether conditions actually change over time, emphasizing the importance of outcome-level indicators, cross-department synthesis for complex issues, and clear links between spending and results that matter to the public (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020, 2022; U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2023).
This distinction is especially important for issues such as homelessness, housing shortages, and public safety. Research consistently shows that visible activity—such as site cleanups or service contacts—does not necessarily produce durable outcomes without integrated, outcome-focused strategies (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). As a result, modern public-sector practice relies on logic models and performance-based budgeting to distinguish effort from impact and to support learning and course correction over time (Government Finance Officers Association, 2020; W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2004).
Importantly, recent research on trust and legitimacy shows that lawful process alone is no longer sufficient. Public trust depends on whether legal constraints, decision logic, and outcomes are explained clearly, consistently, and in ways people can understand, and transparency that is merely technical or difficult to interpret does not reliably build trust (Coroado, 2025; Crepaz, 2024; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020).
In that sense, many community concerns are less about government “not listening” and more about how clearly priorities, tradeoffs, and results are communicated. The system largely functions as designed, and staff are operating within the law; the opportunity identified in current governance research is to move beyond compliance- and activity-focused reporting toward more integrated, outcome-oriented accountability that helps the public see not just that rules are followed, but whether collective efforts are changing conditions over time (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2022; U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2023).
Coroado, S. (2025). Trust during crisis: Unveiling the role of perceived procedural transparency in political trust. International Journal of Public Administration.
Crepaz, M. (2024). The effects of transparency regulation on political trust and political behavior. Regulation & Governance. https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12555
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). Permanent supportive housing: Evaluating the evidence for improving health outcomes among people experiencing chronic homelessness. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25133
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2020). Drivers of trust in public institutions. https://www.oecd.org/gov/trust/
I don’t think we have missed much which is why the public is so damn mad. If the police witness drug deals bc of a citizen tip, then they need to act on those. The homeless encampments are not okay bc the wrong dept was notified . The only restrictions that truly exist are because “higher up” doesn’t want to deal with it. Higher up doesn’t want to pay for it, and there is no limit to whom we can blame these “Do Nothing” scenarios on. Reality check: look at the number of people stopped by law enforcement and what percentage have history already
Getting too technical, is that protecting the innocent or failing to arrest repeat offenders. Many people are scarred life time victims of criminals. What do you say to them? Also, police in every town know where the drug activity is and who the players are. Don’t dismiss first hand knowledge, citizens report and law enforcement follows up. That’s how it should work. Police can’t be everywhere.
Just last night in the grocery store parking lot, I watched a tweeker pace back and forth for 15 minutes . He’d go look at the road, turn go the other direction repeat. I don’t think he was waiting to give someone a ride. He got more animated by the minute and agitated. If you know how junkies look without their next hook-up, you know.
The bigger issue,with his car door open was he going to use his drug and drive away? Of course he was. Don’t you watch cop shows? Sick of enabling!
I am all in Jake. Everyone get on the stick and get neighbors friends and newbies to push
this through. This is the start of our taking back CC
Thank you, Jed! You’re absolutely right — it’s going to take all of us working together to make this happen. But when I look around and see a community that is truly all-in on common-sense change, I have no doubt about the outcome.
I will get you votes I know a lot of people
Thank you!
Jake is challenging Clallam County to be better. The choice is logical, unfortunately not everyone makes decisions using logic when emotions seem to override. For anyone who has never met Jake, I encourage you to find a way to meet him, maybe at a weekly Commissioner meeting. For me, the difference in the kind of person he is, is undeniable of his caring personality. He's definitely his own person with caring qualities we need locally. If it was me, someone with no where near the compassion Jake has, you'd get the antithesis of Commissioner Ozias, which wouldn't fly as well as Ozias flies. Jake is the balanced bridge of those spectrums, and I realized that internally.
Jake is a win, for everyone in Clallam County.
Your vote of confidence means a great deal, MK. My goal is to meet as many Clallam County residents as possible over the next ten months. I likely won’t make this week’s BOCC meeting, but I will be there on 1/20 for another round of RV/ADU/Vacation Rental discussion(:
Members of our county know what makes life worth living and what responsibility we have to keep it. We the people have the combined experiences to guide government decisions that preserve and enhance that life. I sat on the sidelines for far too long, thinking government would protect my interests as their own. I have awakened.
You were an early leader, Eric. Now there’s a tsunami of awakening taking place. Thank you for breaking trail for the rest of us(:
Thank you Eric, It really gets to the heart of all the issues at hand"WE can do it"
Lets stop all the money for any NGO. That funding is not the role of government and it needs to stop and that incluides the sovereign nation of the Indians. Time to fly and leave the welfare and reparations nest.
Good morning Jeff and Jake,
I believe I saw Jake snapping pictures of the property just East of Old Olympic and Cay's yesterday morning. That is definitely a property if concern. It keeps getting worse. I'm not a fan of HOA's but some pride of ownership is in need!
Thank you for the affirmation of why I support you in your campaign. Real engagement if our problems and real community base solutions are a big thing for me!
I've been saying for awhile the answers are with us and not the system of which our government operates. Time is now and I too am all in with you guys
Thank you for who you are and how hard you work! present and future volunteer here...
Gave a great day!
"The answers are with us and not the system of which our government operates." Well said, Glen.
Yep, that was me on Old Olympic(:
They are worried about Jake. They have fast tracked his DEI counterpart and I have no doubt she will be running for office after she gets visibility on the Planning Commission.
Who?
Wilson.
District 3 Members
Jane Hielman
Janice Wilson
Kenneth Reandeau
Can you spill the beans on Wilson, background, education, career, etc.?
Wendy Rae Johnson moved here in 2020 and had her fingers on the nobs and buttons in 2023. She should have caught the Jimmycomelately science disparity. So Should have the rest of them and Cheryl Bauman at Nople
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=548810324378298&set=pb.100077480058677.-2207520000&type=3
The two on the left moved here same time period. No local experience just adopting international and tribal flubber and magic beans. They got just as frustrated with my Jimmycomelately argument as Randy Johnson of JKT that Day I saw Papai and her husband and grandkids. The lady threw her apron down and made a scene.
2020. The year of COVID and other upheaval around the country, including CC.
Great interview, Jeff and Jake! Jeff, you were able to coax some fun and interesting new tidbits from Jake. We are lucky that Jake and his family decided to call Clallam County home. But truly, stay safe out there in your volunteering for 4PA. That Tumwater trapdoor could have been hiding a bear or other large creature, not to mention a very annoyed human.
JAKE SEEGERS 2026!!
Thanks, Denise — that would have been a heavily medicated bear. We made our presence known loudly multiple times. 🐻
Let’s keep the tribes and their greedy fingers out of our local government. No more tribal representatives in the city councils and nobody who owes his soul to the JKT or LEKT in the county government. And no more land acknowledgments.
Speaking of funding NGOs - there is a discussion on ND right now about the funding of the Methodist Church's parking spaces for the homeless. It's very apparent that the argument needs some facts added, and it seems that Mr. Stoffer and others are withholding a few. Sorry to interupt here. Great podcast, Mr. Seegers.
The 100k for two years of 3 parking places, sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud. Churches fall under protection from taxes so it doesn’t sit well, all things considered. I looked at the budget. I think it said $100 for security. Was that a typo or wishful thinking that no services will be needed. Here’s the real litmus test. Read and or tell some friend
(Not from here) about our deep seated and ongoing struggles in CC. They will laugh or beg you to move before it gets worse. And candid comments about our 3 commissioners, always gets the same response from friends in SC, “ you are making this up, come on, it’s a joke right .” No my friend, sadly these are not jokes. Yes, he really sits on 17 other boards, but I’m guessing, not very effectively.
yep. These people are really ingrained into the fabric of our lives. We are most probably going to move this summer. Sad because we invested alot in moving here and damn, we still have to pay big excise tax selling the house!
Now I want to figure out who told Jean P. that the lot next to the Methodist Church was going to be paved in?
Okay, nice interview. Jake is very likable and very knowledgeable person. I’ve concluded he does his homework just like Jeff……HOWEVER, I believe people want solutions, people want to hear strategies and the ideas that are going to make their lives & pocketbooks different. HOW, WHAT, WHY & WHERE. It was nice to hear background, although be it not much due to the fact Jake is about 47 years old. Education ? Real Estate ? Employment ? Past government experience ? I will support Jake because I like him, he supports change and there are no other choices currently. I feel I have no choice but that doesn’t mean others will think the same. Perhaps until people know exactly what Jake plans to do, or try and do for the tax-payers besides telling us how it is, which we already know, will be his campaign direction? I’m sorry if I sound negative. Please don’t criticize because I ask harder questions & expect solutions. I have spent a lot of time in Seiku & Clallam Bay & I know the infrastructure does not exist there to adequately raise a family. Seiku/Clallam Bay’s problems are not just about housing. People need solutions not told what they already know for example. I was expecting to hear more. You can bet French is going to come out with a list of accomplishments and blow the whole thing up……get ready! We need to get Jake elected but we are going to need money to get it done & more mojo……to be successful in Clallam County. People are not going to dig deep down unless they know they have a for sure winner, it is the way of Clallam County politics, been there done that……. JAKE SEEGERS 2026
4 Reasonable, thank you for your thoughtful comment.
I don’t claim to have all the solutions — and neither do our current elected officials, who have promised results for years but have failed to deliver them or even measure progress. Like most citizens, I am a government outsider. But as I dig into the root causes of our county’s biggest challenges, I am increasingly convinced that real solutions are both possible and well within the reach of county leadership.
My goal is to provide a common-sense framework for effective strategy in many of my articles. Some of the ideas are my own; many come from deeply engaged community members. Strong leadership starts with understanding the problems on the ground, having the courage to challenge failed “expert” consensus, the humility to admit when something isn’t working, and the wisdom to recognize and implement good ideas from advisors, constituents, and those with lived experience.
Over the coming year, Clallam will continue to hear my strategies for change through articles, meetings, town halls, debates, and one-on-one conversations. Just as important, I will continue listening — to experienced professionals, concerned citizens, and those most impacted by the current lack of effective leadership.
I am confident that if we refocus county government on what is essential and effective — and empower community-led solutions rather than top-down bureaucracy — we can make meaningful progress on homelessness, substance abuse, public safety, affordability, and our budget challenges without placing further burdens on taxpayers.
Have you stuck your two cents worth in on how you would solve the drug issues, homeless issues, economic issues, etc? I see the answers being in our hands, not boards of NGO's and non-profits that seem mainly focused on hiring paid managers and grant writers to do as much as possible to perpetuate the issues that keep them employed. Truly non-profit organizations, like 4PA, are not asking for tax money, but work for their community to keep it livable for all. If you think Jake does not offer answers you can hang your hat on, that's your right, and maybe I am hearing a different tune than you. I am not criticizing you, just asking for your answers to issues brought up by the Seegers campaign and specifically how you would answer your own tough questions. How many boards did you apply for?
I’m not running for County Commissioner Eric. I’m expecting Jake to answer all the questions you are poising to me. I want answers to issues and excuse me apparently I must not have heard them. Again it is an issue of hearing which some people have. I will go back and listen to the interview again and get back to you later….off to the pancake breakfast now…..ta ta
Gee, it doesn’t take much of a resume to out do the “Three Jokers” in office right now.
If someone could just enlighten us with the accomplishments of the current BO CCC, we wouldn’t be so excited to replace the current commissioners. Don’t think we will construct a Mt Rushmore for the success of current leadership. Wait, should this be called leadership?
I personally think new blood is needed in the county commissioners offices. Career politicians are so past their pull dates. They have an answer for everything but do nothing. You can listen to these “careers made easy” officials and walk away knowing less than before. They deflect, ignore, or make public commenter seem insignificant. They have it down to a science. They are on boards (actively or not) that may pay for their participation. How would we know? They earn a livable wage on county dollars alone. May I add, they are complete moral sell-outs. Swaying which ever way the contributors ask them to blow. But French is on good behavior now! Oh please! Don’t try to suck up now.
Jake will have a lot of pressure on him but provided the right support staff and engaged voters he is miles ahead of the dead wood that sits through Monday and Tuesday meetings. If current “3 guys on the payroll” were acceptable in their positions, we would be happy. You can teach the ins and outs of our political system, you can not teach a person to be honorable or respectful to those supporting him. These are deep seated personal standards, which current commies can’t even fake. Give Jake a learning curve break. Plus he won’t chew his nails! I can’t believe that is a thing in public!
Before board members elections voters should be reminded how their tax $$$ has been and is being wasted.Millions going towards endless homeless drug addict housing plus free living expenses.Hundreds of thousands going towards nonessential NGO's.Mass $$$ going towards tribal issues.All this wasted tax $$$ should have been used towards infrastructure like repairing dilapidated alleys-roads.
Good comment, I wish I could like but all the things they waste our tax dollars really tiks me off...
Marfa? This is an interesting revelation. Now I understand the caring side that's so effusive with you. I could feel it, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
Setting up to help the local indigenous people with medical needs prompted by your parents is clearly what has made you. Clallam County has no idea how fortunate they are to have you as a commissioner.
Lots of us do and I truly hope we ALL spread the word about Jake as quickly as possible...
Yes, I am very impressed with Jake's family and his story! Really neat.
MK and AFB,
I will always be deeply grateful to my parents for volunteering our entire family into their calling. I didn’t always make it easy on them. I’m sure there were moments when they wondered if they were doing the right thing for their children.
But I truly believe they could not have given me a greater gift than those years spent serving people who had almost nothing, and living through the personal challenge of a life without many of the comforts we often take for granted in this country.
I’m still working to find the best ways to pass that gift on to my own kids.
Very commendable. I'm sure they have learned much from you already - kids are so observant at that age :)
Former Columbia law school grad, owns glamping business here. My beef is that the application process is not clear and they told us so very little about her before they voted her in.
I prefer someone like Ed Bowen for that district. He is an asset to the third district. If it were me the spot would have been Ed's to turn down.
Owns a $600 a night tent glamping place , was able to move here and buy coastal land, just doesn't ring like someone who would understand the challenges of average west end resident
https://www.theplaybookmb.com/stories/2025/07/16/how-to-build-glampground
https://www.menizei.com/gift-card
Planning for a community takes far more intimate knowledge than people think to make the right call. You have heard me talk and have seen my typing. That is 14 progressively harder levels of flubber and magic bean detection.
When none of them want to engage me on the level I am at we are settling for policy.
Ed Bowen and others are on par with that level on certain topics, We are all being ignored. They are pushing DEI and even if the feds take their money they will lie to state taxpayers to keep it going thru CCA.
I can't get any info on how long she has been here. I am leery since that Johnson lady came from East and was plugged into water conservation district. Same goes for two of the LWV people. I couple just here rom the Midwest.
That’s all we need is another attorney or judge! 🤮
She is a DEI hire until they tell us more about her to see if her qualifications are better than the other available candidates.
The primary goal of our planning commission should be to determine the best land use practices that prioritize salmon restoration, particularly the recovery of coho (silvers) and Chinook (kings). All other planning considerations must be secondary, given the extensive space required to develop year-round habitat capacity for these species—coho, in particular, spend a full year or more in freshwater, relying on diverse rearing areas like slow-water pools, off-channel habitats, and connected floodplains.
The current approach appears content with a self-serving model that floods properties to facilitate buyback programs offering below-market value compensation. This has resulted in silence on the issue—even at Wilson's first hearing, there were no substantive responses, with only Heilman speaking up once. Ultimately, planners adhere to a limited riparian science that avoids innovative techniques, such as incorporating baffles, or slower-water features in exaggerated, fixed meandering channels—methods proven to enhance habitat complexity, reduce erosion, and support juvenile salmon survival. Prioritizing true ecosystem-based restoration over short-term flood management would better serve long-term salmon recovery and community resilience.
They continue to pursue salmon restoration in ridiculous grades on Ennis Creek and seek tribal development where tsunami and sea level rise dictates they should not.
It is clear now that their whole argument is derived from a tribal retribution lens that makes no sense at almost every turn. They wanted dam removal and got it. After 14 years we still can only hatchery fish because the natural promises had no chance in fast moving water at 7-percent grades and up. It sure floods the dickens out of river valleys and that is their goal. Not serious salmon restoration.
Developing Ennis Creek Village would be a disastrous proposal for salmon recovery efforts in the Rayonier area. Ennis Creek, a small urban stream flowing through Port Angeles and influenced by stormwater runoff, already faces significant challenges from Rayonier contamination and limited habitat capacity—making it unsuitable for expanded development that could further degrade its fragile ecosystem.
As a contaminated stormwater conveyance, Ennis Creek carries urban pollutants, including potential petroleum hydrocarbons, sediments, and bacteria from roads, development, and runoff. While not comparable to extreme nuclear disasters like Chernobyl in terms of radiation, the creek's water quality issues stem from PCB, dioxin and impacts that harm aquatic life: elevated nutrients, toxins, and sedimentation that reduce oxygen levels and smother spawning gravels. Ongoing monitoring and restoration efforts highlight these vulnerabilities, yet the creek remains impaired for salmonid use. Plus, I don't think Ecology is done milking Rayonier for years more of bureaucracy.
Ennis Creek has very limited spawning and lacks the extensive gravel beds, deep pools, off-channel habitats, and year-round flow stability needed for robust chum runs, let alone the more demanding coho (silvers) and Chinook (kings), which require larger, connected floodplains and high-quality rearing zones for juveniles. Chum salmon, while more tolerant of lower-elevation streams, still need clean gravels free from fine sediments—conditions already compromised here.
Proceeding with Ennis Creek Village would exacerbate these problems by increasing impervious surfaces, intensifying stormwater flows, and introducing more pollutants, all while encroaching on riparian buffers critical for shading, woody debris recruitment, and filtration.
True recovery for silvers and kings requires space for complex, natural processes available on Dungeness and Valley Creek, not further fragmentation in a polluted, limited waterway with a village waiting for an M-9 tsunami and NOAA's on again off again sea level rise map..
Does anyone care about the spotted owl anymore? Got any recovery stats!
Way cuter than humpies returning. Plus tastes just like chicken. Calm down, it’s a joke, in more ways than one!
The logic. Why isn't anyone listening?
OMG -save the salmon, at what cost? This is so over the top, I bet a hatchery salmon is about $20 an ounce. Plus caught all beat to hell from making their birthplace return.
Confusion must be painful bc of all the nearly (but not enough water) fish barriers that have been eliminated. If fish never tried to go up those little streams and or dried out creeks why were the so called “barriers” removed. Well, atleast that money went to a good cause bc what is needed more than the salmon recovery billion dollar projects? Out of protest, I will never eat salmon again. Wish that caused a major issue.
WTHell Washington? this state is crazier than all others only after Mississippi! But the problems there are genetic .
Yes I did live there. At least it’s warm and grits are on the menu.
Why is it that so many relatively new to the area run for office! Has their bad reputation not caught up with them yet?
I admire lifers, not to politics but those that have been in the NW a while. We certainly don’t need imported screw-ups. Jake’s good, he’s lived here but has seen other places operate and still Clallam County doesn’t scare the beegezzus out of him!
I appreciate anyone who’s willing to talk about local issues. I also think this conversation needs a little grounding, because some of the claims being made about county operations don’t match how the system actually works.
A lot of what’s being described as “government not listening” is, in reality, government following the law. County departments don’t get to improvise enforcement or skip process just because people want faster action. They’re bound by state statute, federal rulings, procurement rules, environmental regulations, and liability. Listening doesn’t always look like instant action. Sometimes it looks like doing what the law requires, even when that’s frustrating.
There’s been a lot of talk about “two sets of rules,” but that framing oversimplifies things. Property owners and encampments fall under different bodies of law, and the county is legally required to follow each of them. Title 26 governs private property. Constitutional, state, and public-health law governs encampments. That isn’t favoritism; it’s jurisdiction. Equal treatment doesn’t mean identical treatment. It means applying the right law in the right context.
On enforcement, officers can’t act based only on a citizen report, even when that report is accurate. A report helps with situational awareness, but for criminal enforcement officers need their own direct observation, corroborating evidence, or a legally valid witness statement that meets the threshold for probable cause. That isn’t ignoring the community; it’s the legal standard they have to meet. Anecdotes, patterns, and “everyone knows what’s happening at that house” aren’t enough on their own. Even when officers are familiar with a location, they still need evidence they can defend in court.
If the community wants more proactive enforcement, that means more staffing, more investigative capacity, and more evidence-driven operations. We can’t ask for more enforcement while also insisting government somehow do everything with less.
When it comes to homelessness and encampments, volunteers do incredible work, and that matters. But a site that looks clean isn’t the same as one that meets environmental standards or prevents re-encampment. Cleanup without housing is churn. And the fact that someone can use a saw doesn’t mean they’re employable, stable, or able to navigate the workforce. Trauma and addiction don’t disappear because someone can build a platform.
The same applies to CQ and Clallam Bay. Rural housing shortages are structural problems. They involve infrastructure capacity, financing, zoning, and workforce realities. A letter-writing campaign is a gesture, not a housing plan. If housing shortages could be solved by asking property owners nicely, every rural county in the country would have figured that out by now.
And finally, the idea that “money is flowing without accountability” is a claim that needs evidence. County budgets are public documents. If someone believes funds are unaccounted for, they should be able to point to a specific line item. Without that, it’s just a story.
At the end of the day, we all want the same things: safe communities, systems that function, and a county that works. We get there by being honest about what the county can legally do, what it can’t do, and what it actually takes to move from frustration to solutions. Community energy is powerful, but it works best alongside professional systems, not as a replacement for them.
That’s the reality check the conversation keeps missing
I appreciate this grounding, because much of what you describe is accurate. Counties are constrained by constitutional standards, statute, procurement rules, environmental regulation, and evidentiary thresholds, and compliance with those requirements is non-negotiable (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020; S. Government Accountability Office, 2023). Equal treatment under the law does not mean identical treatment across legally distinct contexts, and enforcement standards such as probable cause exist to protect due process and ensure actions are defensible (Coroado, 2025; Crepaz, 2024).
You’re also right that Clallam County does, in fact, measure its work. The adopted 2026 budget includes department-level performance measures, workload indicators, staffing data, and multi-year financial comparisons, which align with baseline public-sector accountability and transparency practices (Clallam County, 2025; Government Finance Officers Association, 2020). Those measures are appropriate for the county’s statutory responsibilities and rural capacity; however, governance best practices emphasize periodically reassessing whether existing measures continue to support decision-making, reflect community-relevant outcomes, and inform future tradeoffs rather than assuming any set of measures is optimal indefinitely (Government Finance Officers Association, 2020).
Where public frustration often arises is not from a lack of compliance or the absence of measures, but from a gap between measured activity and visible outcomes. Contemporary governance research distinguishes between tracking what government does and assessing whether conditions actually change over time, emphasizing the importance of outcome-level indicators, cross-department synthesis for complex issues, and clear links between spending and results that matter to the public (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020, 2022; U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2023).
This distinction is especially important for issues such as homelessness, housing shortages, and public safety. Research consistently shows that visible activity—such as site cleanups or service contacts—does not necessarily produce durable outcomes without integrated, outcome-focused strategies (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). As a result, modern public-sector practice relies on logic models and performance-based budgeting to distinguish effort from impact and to support learning and course correction over time (Government Finance Officers Association, 2020; W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2004).
Importantly, recent research on trust and legitimacy shows that lawful process alone is no longer sufficient. Public trust depends on whether legal constraints, decision logic, and outcomes are explained clearly, consistently, and in ways people can understand, and transparency that is merely technical or difficult to interpret does not reliably build trust (Coroado, 2025; Crepaz, 2024; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020).
In that sense, many community concerns are less about government “not listening” and more about how clearly priorities, tradeoffs, and results are communicated. The system largely functions as designed, and staff are operating within the law; the opportunity identified in current governance research is to move beyond compliance- and activity-focused reporting toward more integrated, outcome-oriented accountability that helps the public see not just that rules are followed, but whether collective efforts are changing conditions over time (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2022; U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2023).
References
Clallam County. (2025). 2026 adopted budget. https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/1943/2026-Adopted-Budget
Coroado, S. (2025). Trust during crisis: Unveiling the role of perceived procedural transparency in political trust. International Journal of Public Administration.
Crepaz, M. (2024). The effects of transparency regulation on political trust and political behavior. Regulation & Governance. https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12555
Government Finance Officers Association. (2020). Best practices in performance-based budgeting. https://www.gfoa.org/materials/performance-based-budgeting
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). Permanent supportive housing: Evaluating the evidence for improving health outcomes among people experiencing chronic homelessness. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25133
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2020). Drivers of trust in public institutions. https://www.oecd.org/gov/trust/
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2022). Building trust to reinforce democracy. https://www.oecd.org/publications/building-trust-to-reinforce-democracy-8a9ac1c4-en.htm
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2023). Managing for results: Enhancing government performance and accountability. https://www.gao.gov
W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004). Logic model development guide. https://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resources/2004/01/logic-model-development-guide
I don’t think we have missed much which is why the public is so damn mad. If the police witness drug deals bc of a citizen tip, then they need to act on those. The homeless encampments are not okay bc the wrong dept was notified . The only restrictions that truly exist are because “higher up” doesn’t want to deal with it. Higher up doesn’t want to pay for it, and there is no limit to whom we can blame these “Do Nothing” scenarios on. Reality check: look at the number of people stopped by law enforcement and what percentage have history already
Getting too technical, is that protecting the innocent or failing to arrest repeat offenders. Many people are scarred life time victims of criminals. What do you say to them? Also, police in every town know where the drug activity is and who the players are. Don’t dismiss first hand knowledge, citizens report and law enforcement follows up. That’s how it should work. Police can’t be everywhere.
Just last night in the grocery store parking lot, I watched a tweeker pace back and forth for 15 minutes . He’d go look at the road, turn go the other direction repeat. I don’t think he was waiting to give someone a ride. He got more animated by the minute and agitated. If you know how junkies look without their next hook-up, you know.
The bigger issue,with his car door open was he going to use his drug and drive away? Of course he was. Don’t you watch cop shows? Sick of enabling!