Blaine Confidential

During her two-months as publisher of The Northern Light, Kari Mar has done two major stories; one in which she allowed Ferndale Police Officer Richard Hart to call open government activists in Blaine criminals for holding Blaine officials accountable for self-dealing, and another in which Mar covers up the crimes by Blaine officials that took place on March 9 at the city council meeting, where the city conferred unlawful privileges on downtown developers, including Councilwoman Sarbie Bains' husband, Gurdeep.

Astounding as it is that the citizens of Blaine have tolerated the misconduct of Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon for the last three years since the city unwisely hired him, it is reprehensible that the new publisher of The Northern Light--Kari Mar--has in her brief tenure at the helm allowed her newspaper to defame open government activists who revealed him and his staff to be committing crimes to benefit developers. When Harmon convinced the city council to confer special privileges to downtown developers on March 9, including Councilwoman Bains, by removing building height and parking restrictions, he was gifting all downtown on-street parking to the developers free for their condominium tenants, likely in the hundreds as six-story buildings replace existing small businesses, which will no longer have any parking.  The Northern Light maintains silence on the issue of municipal corruption, a feature of Blaine City Hall added by the hiring of Harmon, but never an item in the news. ...

March 15 letter to Blaine City Clerk: From: Jay Taber 715 G St #22 Blaine WA 98230 tbarj@yahoo.com (360) 371-4387 To: Samuel Crawford City Clerk City of Blaine 435 Martin Street Blaine, WA 98230   Date:  March 15, 2026 Re: Follow-on demand for formal investigation, referral, and Council action record; Ordinance 26-3043   Dear Mr. Crawford:   I write as a follow-up to my prior complaint already submitted to your office regarding the March 9, 2026, adoption of Ordinance 26-3043 and the alleged undisclosed conflict of interest, non-recusal, and related misconduct arising from that vote.   This letter is not a restatement of that complaint. It is a formal demand that the City state, in writing, what action has been taken, what authority governs the City’s response, and whether an independent investigation will occur.   The City’s Rules of Procedure require that all regular and special council meetings be recorded by the City Clerk or designee. Rule 13 further p...

March 15 letter to Blaine City Clerk: Dear Blaine City Clerk Samuel Crawford, On March 12, 2026, I attempted to make a police report about alleged misconduct by Blaine officials and city administration through the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office regarding the March 9, 2026 adoption of Ordinance 26-3043, the  downtown Interim Zoning Control Ordinance . I was advised that the Sheriff’s Office would not take the report and that the City of Blaine has an internal process through the city clerk or city manager. Since Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon is a party to the alleged government misconduct described, I am contacting you. This complaint is submitted as a supplemental and escalated priority misconduct complaint, building directly upon the formal complaint submitted to the Department of Justice and Attorney General on June 14, 2025 (see attached), which alleged criminal conflicts of interest, public record manipulation, and procurement fraud in connection with Blaine Ordinance 25-302...

CONTACT INFO Nick Brown , Washington State Attorney General 1125 Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA 98501 publicintegrity@atg.wa.gov      nick.brown@atg.wa.gov    tienney.milnor@atg.wa.gov    Eric J. Richey , Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney     erichey@co.whatcom.wa.us      Tom Seguine, Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney     311 Grand Avenue, Suite 201, Bellingham, WA 98225     tseguine @co.whatcom.wa.us        TEMPLATE LETTER TO SEND TO ABOVE CONTACTS To: Attorney General Nick Brown Office of the Attorney General Attn: Criminal Justice Division / Appropriate Integrity Review Unit 1125 Washington Street SE PO Box 40100 Olympia, WA 98504-0100    CC: Tom Seguine, Civil Deputy Prosecutor, Whatcom County    Re: Request for Attorney General investigation, City of Blaine Ordinance 26-3043, self inurement and targeted private benefits for developer and ...

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