Blaine Confidential

 [The following letter was sent on October 2 from Save Blaine (one of the organizations defamed by Mayor Steward on September 8) to Jiggy Sorrell, candidate for Blaine City Council.] Mr. Sorrell,     On September 15th you proudly announced Mayor Mary Lou Steward’s endorsement, stating you were “incredibly honored” and that she demonstrated   “integrity and vision”   and that   “her support means the world.”   With respect, the public record shows otherwise.     On September 8th, during an official City Council meeting, Mayor Steward, acting in her official capacity from the dais, stated the following on the record:     “So I’m just going to say that I will give Mr. Lewis two weeks to do the honorable thing and resign. Otherwise, I will put forward a motion to censure, or at least for any executive session or attorney–client information having to do with the Blaine Water Coalition, Mr. Lewis will be excluded.”   ...

October 2 letter to Whatcom County: The Northern Light  article  about the Blaine Comprehensive Plan observes that the meeting was attended by Blaine and Birch Bay residents. It does not mention that it was standing room only, packed with opponents of the plan, in particular the  West Blaine Urban Growth Area   ( UGA Swap ) and the proposed annexation of Birch Point under the ruse of the fraudulent Reduction of City Limits  Prop 7 . It does not mention the self-dealing by Blaine officials involved in producing this plan who have direct financial conflicts of interest, making the plan illegal under Washington State law. These issues were raised emphatically, which you'd never know reading TNL.

 October 2 letter to Whatcom County: In The Northern Light  article  about the Blaine Comprehensive Plan, it is noted that,  "  The open house marked the city’s first official step of public engagement in the planning process, which the city planners have been working on for over a year."   The Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA) requires "early, continuous, and inclusive public participation throughout the planning process." Not at the end. This fact invalidates the Blaine Comprehensive Plan for violation of the cornerstone of GMA--public participation. It must be abandoned and started over.   Jay Taber,  Water Planning Matters

October 1 letter to Whatcom County Planning Commission: Water Planning Matters, formerly Blaine Water Coalition, will participate in the Whatcom County Planning Commission hearing to  oppose the City of Blaine UGA/UGA Reserve Proposal . Additionally, I wish to submit the following concern for the hearing record about the invalidity of the Blaine proposal due to  direct financial conflicts of interest by three Blaine officials  who used their office to engage in self-dealing--voting on rezone amendments to the Blaine Municipal Code on their own properties, a crime in Washington State under the Ethics in Public Service Act. In section IV, UGA Growth Allocation Proposal, it states, "The City has already taken the first few actions, including increasing maximum building height in the Central Business Waterview District, adopting a residential parking relief program for the entire Central Business District, and creating a new Urban Mixed Use zoning to accommodate middle housin...

Whatcom Democrats have endorsed Eric Lewis for Blaine City Council. Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward and Democrat State Representative Alicia Rule (former Blaine City Councilwoman) have endorsed his opponent Jiggy Sorrell , a Trump-supporting Republican.

September 30 letter to City of Blaine: In 1999, the City of Blaine intentionally desecrated a Lummi Nation burial ground on Semiahmoo Spit, unearthing over 100 human remains they threw into the back of a pickup truck, and got caught, costing the city $3.5 million and two acres of land. This propelled Blaine into stardom at Western Washington University urban planning studies, which made the Blaine fiasco a staple in their examples of how not to do urban planning.  Now, with the 2025 Blaine Comprehensive Plan based on perjury by the city manager, self-dealing by Blaine officials, and fraud by the Community Development director, the City of Blaine will enter the major leagues of planning done wrong. Maybe someone will go to jail this time.