Blaine Confidential

4/27/25 letter to City of Blaine: The  number one priority  required of Washington cities and counties under the Washington State Growth Management Act is  protection of Critical Areas , including wetlands, aquifers, forests, and shorelines. The number one priority of the City of Blaine 2022-2025 has been the destruction of Critical Areas, including wetlands, aquifers, forests, and shorelines in order to accommodate $1.5 million condos, presumably as second homes for people in Hong Kong or Vancouver. This   monopoly game   by Blaine Community Development Services is going to cost Blaine residents a fortune in new sewer and water upgrades, including expansion of water and sewer treatment plants that will significantly   increase our utility bills   for the foreseeable future. Current residents will receive no benefit from the City of Blaine catering to foreign millionaires in violation of Washington State law.  

4/27/25 letter to City of Blaine: Normally, you are faced with only one obstacle to integrity at any given council meeting, but tomorrow, you have the dubious opportunity to 1. recreate the  monopoly board madness  that gave us a  UGA in the CARA  that due to known extensive wetlands is mostly undevelopable (no surprise there), and 2. marvel upon marvel, a  new UGA is now being proposed for the Semiahmoo peninsula  without guess what--an Environmental Impact Statement--or public discussion (more of the same). And, also tomorrow, you are going to consider giving Blaine Community Development Services director Alexander Wenger a  RAISE for his commitment to breaking the law  for crooked developers over the last three years. What one might call a  GMA triple play .

4/27/25 letter to City of Blaine: The  Urban Growth Area   (UGA) SWAP  proposed by Blaine Community Development Services is a prime example of the  lawless, reckless approach to land use planning  by the City of Blaine. The  careless attitude  of the city demonstrated by 1. designating a  UGA over the Blaine municipal drinking water  Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) without performing a legally-required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), 2. approving high-density  residential development in the CARA without a legally required EIS , 3. recommending de-annexation of 500 acres of the East Blaine UGA over the CARA and adding that acreage to West Blaine (Semiahmoo peninsula/spit) all  without a single public orientation and discussion of the 2025 10-year Comprehensive Plan Update  of which UGAs are a key component. All these UGAs are in the Dakota Creek-Drayton Harbor watershed and cumulative impacts must be considered.

4/27/25 letter to City of Blaine: As Whatcom County and its cities do their state-required 10-year updates of their comprehensive plans in 2025, you are required under state and federal law to consider the cumulative impacts of your ordinances on land use development. In Blaine, the  cumulative impacts of PUDs citywide  and of  amendments to the Blaine Municipal Code governing land use  must be applied to the entire  Dakota Creek-Drayton Harbor watershed , denoted by the U.S. EPA as an impaired  Water of the United States . The  cumulative impacts on the environment, endangered species, tribal cultural resources, public health and safety  must be considered and discussed in open public forums where citizens can ask questions of public officials and receive answers  on the record . Alternatives must be considered and discussed in order to prevent further  loss of wetlands, forests, and shorelines  in the piecemeal  opaque public...

4/27/25 letter to City of Blaine: When Blaine City Councilman Lewis attempted to perform CPR on the City of Blaine, the rest of you betrayed the public trust by 1. opposing a  Code of Ethics , 2. opposing  Public Participation , and 3. opposing the  Rule of Law . Lewis introduced motions to restore oral public comment at city council meetings--which was eliminated by Mayor Steward on February 12, 2024--and to adopt a code of ethics using the City of Ferndale model, as well as to adopt the legally required 2024 DOE stormwater management manual. The rest of you rejected all three after being  misinformed  by Blaine Community Development Services director Alex Wenger,  misled  by Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon, and  misguided  by Blaine City Attorney Peter Ruffato.

Alexander Wenger  1. falsified SEPA determinations 2. violated all state and federal environmental protection laws 3. approved unlawful Planned Unit Developments 4. handed out building permit variances to friends 5. altered public records to prevent citizen oversight 6. lied to the city council about stormwater management requirements 7. made misstatements to the Blaine Hearing Examiner about code changes

4/25/25 letter to City of Blaine: Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon has recommended  giving Blaine Community Development Services director Alexander Wenger a raise  to $12,437.33 per month. This must be in recognition of Mr. Wenger's devotion to criminal misconduct, approving unlawful Planned Unit Developments, falsifying SEPA determinations, lying to the city council about stormwater management, handing out variances to friends, and violating all state and federal environmental protection laws on behalf of crooked developers such as Blaine City Councilman Mike Hill and Gurdeep Bains. Wenger and Harmon should be prosecuted, not rewarded for their crimes. Ps--In addition to Alexander Wenger's crimes listed above, please note he also illegally altered public records to prevent citizen oversight of his criminal activities, as well as facilitated conflicts of interest on behalf of Councilman Hill and on the choreographed Downtown Advisory Committee self-dealing.

4/21/25 letter to Whatcom County: The   Whatcom County 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update   is a farce. Public participation is limited to emailing comments that no one responds to, while   bureaucrats collaborate with building and real estate lobbyists   to update our plan for their benefit at the expense of our communities.  In the City of Blaine,  our comprehensive plan update that you are mandated under state law to supervise and harmonize with that of the county  has been corrupted by 1. a FREE SPEECH BAN for the last fourteen months, under which  Blaine citizens are forbidden from orally addressing our city council at their meetings , 2. HABITUAL VIOLATIONS of the Growth Management Act, State Environmental Policy Act, and Clean Water Act by Blaine Community Development Services, and 3. the FAILURE OF WHATCOM COUNTY to intervene despite  numerous requests to the Whatcom County Executive, Whatcom County Prosecutor, and Whatcom County Council ...

The  2025 Blaine City Council election candidate filing week   is May 5-9, 2025. Candidates must be registered voters and reside in the ward for which they are filing. At-large candidates can reside anywhere in Blaine.  Write-In candidates m ust file a declaration by August 5 (primary) or November 4 (general). Rhyan Lopez and Eric Davidson voted NO TO FREE SPEECH on February 10, 2025. Mike Hill voted YES TO CHANGING THE BLAINE MUNICIPAL CODE FOR HIS FINANCIAL BENEFIT six times. Councilmember Position Term End Eric Lewis Ward 1 - Position 2 2025 Rhyan Lopez Ward 2 - Position 4 2025 Eric Davidson Ward 3 - Position 6 2025 Mike Hill At-Large - Position 7 2025

4/20/25 letter to Washington Newspaper Publishers Association : Patrick Grubb, member of Washington Newspaper Publishers Association foundation board, is corrupt. The Northern Light, which he publishes, has covered up criminal misconduct by Blaine officials for three years, simultaneously vilifying community activists attempting to hold their government accountable. Please read my testimony in the public record which includes links. https://www.ci.blaine.wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/21961/2025-02-25-05-44---BLAINE-TOXIC-COVERUP

4/19/25 letter to City of Blaine: To clarify  the difference between abstaining on a city council vote and recusing oneself from voting  on a city council matter, abstain simply means one is not voting;  recuse means stating why one is not voting  and leaving the chambers prior to discussion and vote. If it is due to a  conflict of interest , then simply abstaining but not recusing oneself does not satisfy this  state-mandated legal requirement.

4/19/25 letter to City of Blaine: I have come to accept that collectively you are very slow learners, but clearly below average intelligence on your part is no excuse under the law for violating the Blaine City Council Rules of Procedure, in which it is plainly stated that the mayor is obligated to ensure that conflicts of interest do not happen at city council meetings. In the case of Blaine, our mayor and city manager have been accomplices to facilitating conflicts of interest, leaving it to the rest of you on the council to censure both Mayor Mary Lou Steward, Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon, and Blaine City Councilman Mike Hill whom they protected from exposure as a crook.  Your lack of integrity by failing to address this organized crime in Blaine City Hall makes you all complicit in lawsuits to come. Cowardice is not an excuse.

4/19/25 letter to City of Blaine: Under Washington State law, city council members who have a conflict of interest on a city matter to be voted on must 1.  recuse themselves from voting , 2.  refrain from participating in discussions  on the matter under consideration, and 3.  physically remove themselves from the council chambers  during the discussion and vote. On at least  six separate occasions , Blaine City Councilman Mike Hill has participated in discussions and then voted on amendments to the Blaine Municipal Code that increased the value of his numerous commercial properties downtown and in the Critical Aquifer Recharge Area. Consequently,  all ordinances approved by the city council in 2022-2025 in which Mike Hill has a financial conflict of interest are invalid . This includes  Central Business District zoning amendments  to reduce parking requirements and to increase building heights. It also includes the amendments passed to elimi...

4/18/25 letter to City of Blaine: None of you attended the April 16, 2025 Cascadia Daily News community listening session for Blaine and Birch Bay. Had you bothered, you might have learned something from the Blaine Water Coalition speakers bureau presentation. Each of our four speakers was allotted five minutes to speak about ongoing corruption in Blaine city government, and the financial and environmental impacts of your lawlessness, 2022-2025.  You also would have learned that the 2025 Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan 10-year update is a farce that, like in Blaine, systematically denies the public a voice while catering to industry lobbyists. This will all end up in federal court, with Blaine City Council corruption in the spotlight.

4/18/25 letter to City of Blaine: When Blaine Water Coalition spokesman Otto Pointer drew your attention to legal requirements in land use planning--such as mandated Environmental Impact Statements in Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas--by the State Environmental Policy Act and federal Clean Water Act, you as public officials are responsible for investigating this prior to your voting on developments such as  Mott's Hill . Just taking the Community Development Services director Alex Wenger's word for it that it is OK to violate the law if he says so is not doing the job you are paid to do. Over the last three years, we have demonstrated to you time and again that Mr. Wenger and Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon are pathological liars. Relying on them will only get you in trouble.

Blaine Water Coalition spokesman Otto Pointer is mentioned in the  Northern Light article  on Mott's Hill development. The City of Blaine set an appeal fee of $2,500--double that of Whatcom County in order to prevent citizen oversight of corrupt city officials--a story the Northern Light has covered up.