Blaine Confidential

My letter to Blaine Planning Commission today: Some of you might still be confused about your role as planning commissioners, functioning as toadies of Alex Wenger--director of Blaine Community Development Services (CDS) and Blaine SEPA official—rather than as guardians of the public interest. Wenger's dual role has been to create a cabal of developers and their sycophants to corrupt the planning process for private profit. Much has been made by Mr. Wenger of the Downtown Advisory Committe's June 6, 2023, recommendations for zoning changes leading to your expedited consideration of these changes without examining the self-interests of the committee members supporting CDS instructions to vote for zoning changes that are financially beneficial to committee members themselves. As a City of Blaine advisory group, why did Mr. Wenger select committee members that included a Lynden builder and a port employee from Bellingham. What relationships did he have with these people who acted

My note today to Blaine Planning Commission: As an officially appointed body whose purpose it is to provide citizen oversight of elected officials in planning our future, you have failed miserably. There is no reason for you to go along with the cesspool of corruption at city hall and there is every reason for you to stand up to this planning farce. We are laying the foundation for democracy in Blaine; you can either join us or go down in infamy along with Mayor Steward, Councilman Hill, City Manager Harmon, and CDS director Wenger. 

My letter to the City of Blaine today: You seem to go in circles with the unlawful zoning text amendments for building heights and privatized parking on Peace Portal, a State of Washington thoroughfare. This expedited scheme--hatched by Community Development Services (CDS)--did not consider the economic impacts to downtown commerce, nor to the city as a whole which is in a state of financial desperation. The collusion between downtown developers and Blaine Community Development Services (on instruction of the city council) to facilitate self-dealing by developers while eliminating public participation invalidates the entire process. As an example of the widespread corruption involving the mayor and CDS director Wenger, Councilman Hill—a downtown developer--did not recuse himself in the process. For two years, I have implored you to involve the public in creating a civic center master plan for public holdings around the library downtown as a means of tourism development for economic re

I sent the following to Washington Department of Transportation: Blaine City Council recently adopted an ordinance allowing condo developers to purchase public parking on Peace Portal downtown which is a state thoroughfare. Is this allowed by the state? The scheme was hatched by Community Development Services after CDS facilitated self-dealing by downtown developers who were instructed by CDS to vote on zoning changes that financially benefit themselves and eliminated public participation in planning our future. Councilman Hill--a downtown developer--did not recuse himself. Widespread corruption by the City of Blaine colluding with developers to violate the Civil Rights Act, Clean Water Act, and Growth Management Act has been brought to the attention of the WA Attorney General's office.

My letter to the Society of Professional Journalists, Western Washington: I would like to complain about the unethical behavior of our local newspaper, The Northern Light, which has covered up crimes by the City of Blaine's mayor, city manager, and development director 2023-2024. Violating the civil rights of Blaine citizens by facilitating self-dealing by developers that threatens our municipal aquifer as well as our economic recovery downtown, Blaine Community Development Services and Blaine City Council have not been held accountable due to this coverup that keeps Blaine citizens in the dark.  Blaine Water Coalition, of which I am a member, has filed a formal complaint with the U.S. EPA for Blaine's violation of the Clean Water Act and Civil Rights Act. Had The Northern Light not been so biased, Blaine citizens could have been informed of this widespread corruption by the City of Blaine, and we might have been able to avoid needing to take the city to federal court to establ

Blaine Water Coalition complaint to Washington Attorney General's office against the City of Blaine for violation of the Public Records Act.

My 7/2/24 letter to Blaine City Council and Community Development Services : The propaganda sheet included with our recent utility bills from the City of Blaine shows that the City of Blaine is untrustworthy and in clear violation of the Appearance of Fairness Doctrine. Contrary to the assertions made by the City of Blaine about "Working for the Community at Large" the Planned Unit Development propaganda stating "we are aligned with our residents needs and goals" is demonstrably false. What you are aligned with is the desires of developers. The PUD process in the City of Blaine is structured to discourage public participation and transparency, not encourage them as you falsely claim. Nor are we provided ample opportunities to contribute to the planning process that has been highly manipulated by Blaine Community Development Services on behalf of developers. The environmental injustice perpetrated by the City of Blaine regarding the PUDs railroaded by Community Devel