Blaine Confidential

Blaine City Councilwoman Sarbie Bains must be removed from office for self-inurement (self-dealing) on Monday, March 9, 2026, when she voted to remove restrictions on development downtown where she and her husband own three commercial properties that increased in value by her vote. That is a crime requiring forfeiture of office . The Whatcom County Prosecutor, Washington Attorney General, and State Auditor must charge and prosecute her, but they won't do that unless they hear from concerned Blaine citizens.  Contacts:  Deputy County Prosecutor Tom Seguine  tseguine@co.whatcom.wa.us  (360) 778-5729 Washington Attorney General Nick Brown  publicintegrity@atg.wa.gov Deputy State Auditor Kelly Collins  kelly.collins@sao.wa.gov

Katherine George, a Seattle attorney and a member of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, is unsurprised by the state’s dismal grade for public disclosures. Widespread misperception persists, she says, that unreasonable delays in complying with open-records requests are permissible if based on staffing constraints. “Often, agencies could eliminate backlogs if they devoted as much staffing to records disclosures as they do to public relations,” George says. Obtaining records would be faster and easier if agencies “worried less about over-disclosing, which is protected from liability, and worried more about under-disclosing.” George is concerned Washington may be backsliding on its commitment to ensuring citizens’ access to government records and data. Washington’s Public Disclosure Act was originally enacted with fewer than a dozen exemptions for disclosures. The number of exemptions today stands at more than 400, and the total is growing. -- Washington gets D+ grade in Integri...

March 13 letter to Whatcom County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney: The March 9, 2026  self-inurement by a Blaine City Council member is the second incident  we at Blaine Water Coalition formally  reported to the county prosecutor's office , the first being June 14, 2025, regarding self-inurement by a Blaine Planning Commissioner. Two 2024 incidents of self inurement by another city council member were informally reported to the county prosecutor and the state auditor's office. SAO Deputy Kelly Collins is currently looking at government misconduct in Blaine, in particular the  four incidents of self-inurement  by Blaine officials, manipulation of public records and process, and cost shifting from developers to municipal utility customers. I am one of four  open government activists in Blaine  holding our city accountable. For our efforts, we have been defamed by the mayor and city manager, and based on their demonization of us we were  victims of death...

March 12 letter to Washington Attorney General, Public Integrity unit: Please see the attached  misconduct complaint against Blaine City Councilwoman Sarbjit K. (Sarbie) Bains , who on Monday night, March 9, 2026  voted to change zoning to financially benefit her family's multiple commercial properties in downtown Blaine .  Since I was a  candidate for city council appointment in July 2025 , one month after Blaine Water Coalition of which I am a member  filed a complaint with the State Auditor and Attorney General against Blaine Planning Commissioner Sam Randhawa for self-inurement , Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon and Blaine Chief of Police Rodger Funk began defaming and intimidating me for holding Blaine officials (Councilman Mike Hill, Commissioner Randhawa, and now Councilwoman Bains) engaged in self-inurement accountable.  Whatcom County Sheriff Donnell Tanksley was former Blaine Chief of Police, so it is necessary for Washington State to intervene to ...

No mention in The Northern Light story on suspension of the rules for downtown developers approved by Blaine City Council members Monday night, including Councilwoman Sarbie Bains, whose husband Gurdeep Bains is a downtown developer who owns three commercial building sites. The last time Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon asked the council to suspend the rules was on June 23, 2025, when he violated electoral law by attempting to have Sarbie Bains appointed without allowing others to apply.

Kari  Mar's  lecture  in the current Northern Light is to provide cover for her not publishing letters critical of city government. Mar's ace card is that she says verification of facts by her staff takes time, and since they don't have time, nothing important gets published. Just like her news section.