Blaine Confidential

Blaine residents are still blissfully ignorant of criminal misconduct by Blaine public officials and the developers they are in bed with. The reason for this ignorance rests squarely on the shoulders of David Syre, developer and owner of Cascadia Daily News, and Kari Mar, publisher of The Northern Light. Mar's suppression of evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Councilwoman Sarbie Bains is inexplicable. Must be all the advertising money Mar gets from the City of Blaine and the real estate industry.

The following letter to the editor of The Northern Light was not published. This might be payback for my article about TNL publisher Kari Mar titled HARMON'S WHORES AT THE NORTHERN LIGHT . Glen Pentland's October 10 letter to the editor calling for a City of Blaine code of ethics to prevent conflict-of-interest votes by Blaine elected officials gets to the heart of civic conflict in Blaine. For clarification, a municipal code of ethics applies to both elected and appointed officials. From 2024 to 2026, two city council members, one member of the planning commission, and one member of the Downtown Advisory Committee all voted on zoning and development changes that affected their direct financial interests. As Mr. Pentland observes, "The City's persistent refusal to establish a code-of-ethics policy undermines public trust." --Jay Taber

September 8, 2025 Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward attacks open government activists for obtaining public records proving governmental misconduct, including perjury, self-dealing and fraud by Blaine public officials. October 13, 2025 convicted violent felon   David Brudvik threatens to murder  Blaine open government activists Donna McGaffic, Geoffrey Baker, Tina Erwin, and  Jay Taber.  November 4, 2025  Whatcom District Court Judge Angela Anderson ruled against Brudvik on civil charges, issuing temporary protection orders to the victims. February 25, 2026 Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney Eric J. Richey emailed John Hillman at the Washington Attorney General's office to dissuade him from investigating David Brudvik on criminal charges stemming from his death threats four months earlier.  In his letter mirroring that of the mayor, Richey defends Brudvik by attacking Ms. McGaffic's credibility because she is actively engaged in civics. This mirrors statemen...

The City of Blaine, Washington took a wrong turn in early 2023, when newly-hired city manager Mike Harmon and Mayor Mary Lou Steward schemed to put Blaine in the black by enticing unscrupulous developers to build thousands of new homes without abiding by state and federal environmental laws, or having to pay for infrastructure upgrades. In 2024, Blaine public officials on the city council and planning commission began self-dealing by amending the municipal code to financially benefit themselves.  By Fall 2025, the mayor and city manager were so caught up in manipulating the local city council election and retaliating against citizens who complained about municipal racketeering that Whatcom District Court issued protection orders for four open government activists threatened with murder by a friend of the mayor. In 2026, complaints were filed by the victims of retaliatory policing in Blaine with the Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission, and later with the Washington Legis...

After three years of threats by hoodlums and retaliatory policing by Blaine PD, I was reading about the human rights index of Turkmenistan recently, where, "activists face the constant threat of government reprisal." While freedom of the press is non-existent in Turkmenistan, in Blaine the press is bribed by government advertising money, and leaned on by city hall. In Blaine and Turkmenistan, any opposition to the government is considered treason . Activists in both locales face false charges from government and police. Free and fair elections do not exist in Turkmenistan or Blaine. Political adversaries in both are demonized, intimidated, and accosted by government officials.

T he City of Blaine’s resolutions supporting Chief of Police Rodger Funk and his officers accused of retaliatory policing are now available online. Additional evidence in the certification investigation of Blaine PD--now underway at  the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC)-- is the complete March 23, 2026 City Council meeting video and transcript , the May 18, 2026 submission to the CJTC by State Senator Sharon Shewmake, the related public-records communication involving Blaine City Manager Michael Harmon and Senator Shewmake’s office, and Chief Funk’s legal counsel Rebecca Singleton's June 10, 2026 transmission of Senator Shewmake’s letter to CJTC Investigations Division Manager Mike Devine.  This evidence is relevant to Chief Funk’s impartiality, his participation in the City’s official defense narrative, and whether materials presented to CJTC as support for Chief Funk originated from independent sources or from a common interested source at the City of Blaine. Mar...