Blaine Confidential

In the City  UGA Swap Presentation , the City notes that the cost for sewer, water, and electrical upgrades to Blaine taxpayers for West Blaine expansion of city limits is $32.3 million, $14 million more than East Blaine development would have cost. The City is using the lower figure when discussing the 'Reduction of City Limits' Initiative, which is misleading to voters.  The $32.3 million does not cover roads or stormwater treatment. There is no need to reduce the city limit in East Blaine. The city can redesignate the East Blaine UGA as a protected Critical Aquifer Recharge Area within the city limits. As the city study spelled out, this ballot initiative is about West Blaine  expansion of city limits .

7/28/25 letter to Washington Secretary of State, elections division: On July 14, I was appointed by the City of Blaine to write the 'con' statement against the "UGA Swap" Initiative for the voters pamphlet. The official title of the so-called City 'de-annexation' initiative is misleading. It is a process leading to the annexation of approximately 800 acres of the Semiahmoo headlands, while de-annexing roughly 500 acres in East Blaine. The Secretary of State should change the ballot title to "UGA Swap" to reflect this. Four other qualified 'con' applicants were rejected, including a land use/environmental law attorney and the president of Semiahmoo Residents Association. This leaves me in the position of having to sign the voters pamphlet statement and rebuttals to City of Blaine attorneys without the recognized company in the voters pamphlet of other community leaders, placing me at a disadvantage. The Whatcom County Auditor declined to appoi...

7/25/25 letter to Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn: Dear Ms. Henthorn, Here are two City of Blaine documents that show the intent of the Resolution 1982-25 Initiative at odds with the proposed ballot title which I asked you to change. Due to substantive and procedural irregularities, this Initiative should not be allowed on the ballot. If it is allowed, it should have a title that accurately describes the purpose and intent of the Initiative. It is a "UGA Swap." WEST BLAINE URBAN GROWTH AREA ALTERNATIVE [ UGA SWAP ] Best regards,   Jay Taber https://en.gravatar.com/tbarj

7/25/25 letter to Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn: Dear Ms. Henthorn, Should you decide to allow the City of Blaine "De-annexation" Initiative to proceed to the ballot, I urge you to take action by changing the ballot title to "UGA Swap" in order to more accurately inform voters. As noted in my letter to you yesterday, the  BLAINE ANNEXATION PROCESS  has been fraught with both substantive and procedural irregularities that impair voter education. "UGA Swap" is the term used in the City of Blaine Resolution 1982-25 passed on July 14, 2025, placing the Initiative on the ballot and establishing the voters pamphlet statement committees. It is a more accurate description of the intent of the Initiative that you need to address as Auditor.

7/24/25 letter to Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn: The 'UGA Swap' City-sponsored ballot Initiative to start the process leading to City annexation of approximately 800 acres of the Semiahmoo headlands must be approved by 60% of Blaine voters in November. By state law, changing the city boundaries has to be approved by voters, and the City is required to appoint 'pro' and 'con' committees to prepare voter pamphlet statements and rebuttals.  Labeling the 'UGA Swap' as a de-annexation proposal is misleading; it is a proposal to de-annex roughly 500 acres in East Blaine and to begin the process of annexing nearly twice as much land on the Semiahmoo headlands by designating a new Urban Growth Area and Urban Growth Reserve Area, with significant tax increases for Blaine residents and threats to Birch Bay's drinking water. The City is allowed to appoint up to three members to each committee, and must include as many applicants as possible in order to ...

7/24/25 letter to Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn: It isn't just what the voter pamphlet committees say, it is also who says it. Voters look for names of people and organizations they recognize when deciding how to vote, especially on complex matters such as changing City boundaries, infrastructure, and taxes. The City of Blaine decision to exclude recognized community leaders April Hashimoto and Ann House from the 'con' committee opposing the City Initiative deceives voters into thinking only I am opposed to the measure. Allowing this misrepresentation to influence the election makes the Whatcom County Auditor liable.  

7/24/25 letter to Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn: As per your instructions, I will seek competent counsel to assist me in preparing the 'con' statement for the voters pamphlet re the City of Blaine Initiative Resolution 1982-25 UGA Swap ballot measure. Simultaneously, I will seek to hold the Whatcom County Auditor accountable for evading her duty to prevent election-fixing.  On July 14, 2025, the City of Blaine attempted to mislead Blaine voters by rejecting recognized community leaders  Ann House and April Hashimoto who applied for the three 'con' committee appointments, and only appointed one 'con' committee member, me. O n July 15, 2025,  Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon called me a liar in a retaliatory email sent  to state and county officials I had alerted to corruption by Blaine officials. This official retaliation against a whistleblower and citizen advocate took place the day after I testified before the Blaine City Council listing names, dates, a...

[July 23, 2025 letter to Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn requesting action] Dear Ms. Henthorn, Now that the [Public Disclosure Commission] PDC has told me that it is you, the Whatcom County Auditor, who has the authority to appoint two members to the 'con' committee for the Resolution 1982-25 City of Blaine Initiative for the November ballot. As the sole appointed 'con' committee member by Blaine City Council, I recommend that you appoint applicants Ann House and April Hashimoto.  I do not know any of the four rejected applicants, but looking at the submitted applications, Ms. House is a land use and environmental law attorney, which would be very helpful to me. Looking at correspondence on the City of Blaine website, I see Ms. Hashimoto is/was president of Semiahmoo Residents Association, which is directly affected by the Resolution impacts.  The committees have until August 5 to submit the voter pamphlet statements. Please act promptly in order for me to adequat...

On July 23, 2025, Blaine Water Coalition filed a formal legal demand with Whatcom County Planning and Development Services for the transfer of SEPA appeal venue from the City of Blaine to Whatcom County, and the appointment of a neutral hearing examiner from Whatcom County regarding the Avista at Birch Point Planned Unit Development (PUD) proposal (SEPA File No. 2024031; Appeal File No. 20250443). The Avista PUD would impact County roads, traffic, groundwater, stormwater, wetlands, water supply connections, drinking water supply aquifers, and taxes in Blaine and Birch Bay. The Whatcom County Code guarantees all parties the right to present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, object to evidence, and provide rebuttal at a public, open-record hearing. Blaine's hearing examiner rules only allow cross-examination and rebuttal at the examiner's discretion, providing less protection for due process, public participation, and environmental justice. Blaine's hearing examiner has deni...

The CDN article about the  East Blaine de-annexation  and UGA Swap excludes any mention of the extensively documented Blaine Water Coalition objections we sent to CDN well in advance. I feel this is not fair and balanced coverage. CDN reporter Julia Tellman attended the July 14, 2025 Blaine City Council meeting where as a city council vacancy applicant I introduced myself as a member of the Blaine Water Coalition (BWC) speakers bureau, and provided both an oral and written presentation with alleged legal violations by the city related to the proposed UGA Swap, as well as BWC's legal objections to previous well-documented evidence of City misconduct. Tellman mentioned none of this, nor the fact that I alone was hastily appointed at the meeting to write the voters pamphlet statement against the city-sponsored initiative, despite four additional qualified  ‘Con’  applicants  (important n ote: the City received only one ‘Pro’ Applicant) . . This city attem...

Cascadia Daily News (CDN)  misinformed readers about the UGA Swap  in the Semiahmoo Headlands, proposed for the November ballot, covering up the misconduct of Blaine officials that threatens public water supplies. CDN also concealed the fact that Blaine Water Coalition has filed an appeal of the City-approved UGA Swap 'Avista Planned Unit Development' for 490 luxury homes without an Environmental Impact Study (EIS). CDN failed to disclose that Whatcom Environmental Council--quoted in the article--is officiated by Barry Wenger, father of Alex Wenger, director of Blaine Community Development Services, also quoted in the article. I sent CDN a guest commentary to correct the record which they declined to publish. CDN's owner, David Syre, was a Semiahmoo developer. His associate, Ken Hertz, was a developer in East Blaine.

City Council Appoints Bains  The Northern Light Blaine Appoints New Council Member  Cascadia Daily News Newly-appointed Blaine City Council member Sarbie Bains is the wife of Blaine downtown developer Gurdeep Bains, implicated in self-dealing .

7/16/25 letter to city and county: Mayor Mary Lou Steward's July 14, 2025, remarks at city council emphasizing the City of Blaine's desperate need for home sales taxes to avoid bankruptcy--arguably due to her mismanagement--are at the expense of Blaine's future. Her myopic view is directly responsible for pollution of Blaine's drinking water aquifer and Drayton Harbor, the consequences of which could easily cost the city much more than the short-term gains Steward is obsessed with. Purification of polluted water to make it safe to drink costs hundreds of millions of dollars. Just ask Bellingham.

7/15/25 letter to city: It was duplicitous of Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward  to administer the oath of office to new police officers Monday evening. A s leader of the city council--none of whom has upheld their oath of office to defend the U.S. Constitution, the Washington State Constitution, and the laws of Blaine--Steward represents a distinct profile in hypocrisy. Watching Steward and her six minions on the council in action that evening is the most repugnant display of institutional arrogance I have witnessed in decades. It will not go unpunished.

7/11/25 letter to city, county, and state: The  recommendation by Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon  and Mayor Mary Lou Steward to suspend the  Blaine City Council Rules of Procedure  for filling a council vacancy at the June 23, 2025, city council meeting violates the  Appearance of Fairness doctrine  (RCW 42.36).  Remarks by Harmon and Councilman Richard May  in the June 25, 2025 issue of The Northern Light indicate a failure by the City of Blaine to enforce the  Ethics in Public Service Act  (RCW 42.52).  Public officials have an ethical obligation to act impartially and in the best interest of the public, not to favor one candidate over others based on personal preference or political alignment. The "Appearance of Fairness Doctrine" (RCW 42.36) strongly supports this. If the city manager or other officials are using their official position, resources, or influence to actively promote one candidate over another, it could be se...

The 2024 Central Business District rezone was laden with financial conflicts of interest by downtown developers Gurdeep Bains and Councilman Mike Hill.  The resignation of Councilman Hill--implicated in numerous counts of self-dealing--is an opportunity for a new beginning. Recurring p erjury by City Manager Mike Harmon, and fraudulent State Environmental Policy Act determinations by Development Director Alex Wenger,  need to be investigated by the Washington State Auditor. This city council appointed three realtors to the planning commission . On March 13, 2025,  Blaine Planning Commissioner  Sam Randhawa--the listed agent at Freeman Real Estate for the properties in the  Urban Mixed Use rezone -- unlawfully   voted himself a $50,000 windfall in commission value and a $2 million increase in property values for his clients . This city council refused to adopt a code of ethics , and the misconduct of Mike Harmon at the June 23 city council meeting is evi...

7/10/25 letter to city and county: The Washington State Growth Management Act was adopted by the Washington State Legislature in 1991 as a TAX ABATEMENT MEASURE. Unregulated, unplanned growth was causing municipalities to go in the red dealing with the impacts of this chaos on local taxes and critical areas such as drinking water aquifers. Thirty-four years later, the City of Blaine is presently destroying its Critical Aquifer Recharge Area and planning to destroy Birch Bay's, all for luxury homes that will significantly increase utility rates and rents, already unaffordable for a community where one third of the population lives in poverty.  This is all made possible by the failure of Whatcom County to supervise planning by the cities in its jurisdiction, and by the failure of the State of Washington to enforce Growth Management Act mandates and the federal Clean Water Act. This is not planning for sustainable development; it is a complete abandonment of the rule of law, and it WI...

The two  ballot measure resolutions for altering Blaine City Limits explicitly link reduction of the Urban Growth Area (UGA) in East Blaine--which was unlawfully located over our drinking water Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA)--to a massive new UGA on the Semiahmoo Uplands , which is currently under Whatcom County jurisdiction, and located over another Critical Aquifer Recharge Area that serves drinking water to Birch Bay . The proposed new Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) under the proposed UGA Swap, like the PUDs in East Blaine, have not been preceded by state-mandated Environmental Impact Statements, required for any development in a CARA . This shell game by Blaine Community Development Services is intended to generate sales tax revenue from the one thousand luxury homes on the Semiahmoo Uplands . The city plan for funding the electric, water and sewer system upgrades would require SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN UTILITY BILLS FOR EXISTING BLAINE RESIDENTS . Due to the failure ...

7/10/25 letter to city and county: Something Blaine City Council does not understand is that town halls in the form of community visioning and discussion about their future only work when facilitated by unbiased parties, as opposed to the fake town halls controlled by Councilman May. Real town halls would take place at the community center on Saturdays where citizens can ask questions of experts, get answers from officials, and offer alternative ideas to explore and discuss. The fake town halls do none of this, limiting citizens comments to once a month for one minute, with no opportunity to thoroughly critique corrupt city policy and the abuse of the public process that has become routine at city hall.  It has now been over 500 days since oral public comment, twice a month for three minutes per person at city council meetings was shut down. That was minimal public participation; town halls are something else altogether. They are community discussions where officials can be held to...

March 3, 2025 , Blaine Water Coalition files appeal of Determination of Non Significance (DNS-2025006) by Blaine Community Development Services director Alex Wenger for the   UMU rezone of two properties   on Cain Creek and Dakota Creek respectively. The appeal was denied due to insufficient funds ($2,500 for appeal--double that of Whatcom County). March 5, 2025 , Blaine Water Coalition submits its  substantive environmental and procedural objections  as written public comments to Blaine Planning Commission  for inclusion in the record  for the March 13, 2025 UMU rezone hearing by Blaine Planning Commission. These comments note  unlawfully reduced shoreline setbacks and critical area protections . March 13, 2025 , Blaine Planning Commission holds hearing on the UMU rezone at which Alex Wenger fails to disclose to the commission chair Calvin Armerding that Planning Commissioner Sam Randhawa has a  direct financial conflict of interest  as Free...

  Ballot Measure Initiative Committee Application As a candidate to a public agency legislative body this application (which includes the information you enter into it) will be available to the City Council and the public upon request. This includes attachments to the application (cover letter, resume, etc.). Date 7/7/2025 I live within the city limits of Blaine Yes First Name Jay Last Name Taber Email tbarj@yahoo.com Phone Number (360) 371-4387 Address1 715 G Street #22 Address2 Field not completed. City Blaine State WA Zip 98230 On which committee are you interested in serving? Con Are you a registered voter? Yes Please tell us why you are interested in serving on this committee? 1.The call for this ballot measure voter pamphlet committee applicants was never advertised, thus posing a legal procedural flaw. 2.The ballot measure resolutions explicitly link reduction of the Urban Growth Area (UGA) in East Blaine, which was unlawfully located over our Critical Aquifer Recharge Area ...

  Orcas hunting at Semiahmoo Spit

7/3/25 LETTER TO COUNTY AND CITY: Chronology of Events Alex Wenger, in his capacity as Blaine Community Development Services (CDS) Director, ignored or actively circumvented public comments and concerns regarding the Creekside Planned Unit Development (PUD) and its application completeness determination . This pattern of conduct is highlighted through various communications and formal objections.  Here is a chronology of events related to Alex Wenger's actions concerning public comment and the completeness of the Creekside PUD application: [ Creekside PUD is within the Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) for the City of Blaine's municipal drinking water. ] • May 30, 2024 : The City of Blaine's Community Development Services (CDS) Department issues a "Determination of Complete Application" for the Creekside at the Ridge PUD (Permits # 2024027, 2024028, 2024030, 2024029) . This letter is signed by Senior Planner Mike Beck, with  Alex Wenger copied .  This determin...

7/3/25 letter to city and county: Dear Mr. Crawford, The proposed ballot measure to reduce the city limits sent out in yesterday's  News Flash  does not contain a link to the draft ballot measure proposed by Community Development Services. Without this information, applicants to serve on the voter pamphlet committees cannot decide whether to write pros or cons for the ballot.  The deadline to apply for these committees is July 10, one week from today. This has not yet been in the news. On July 14, the city council is scheduled to vote on a resolution to place the measure on the November 4 general election ballot. This is inadequate public education and participation on a major city initiative. Please add my email address to receive City of Blaine News Flashes, as I learned about this from a friend. Thank you.

6/25/25 city council application: City Council Application As a candidate to a public agency legislative body this application (which includes the information you enter into it) will be available to the City Council and the public upon request. This includes attachments to the application (cover letter, resume, etc.). Date 6/25/2025 I live within the City limits of Blaine Yes I am a registered voter in Whatcom County Yes I have lived within the City limits of Blaine for one year Yes Name Jay Taber Email Address tbarj@yahoo.com Address 715 G Street #22, Blaine WA 98230 Phone Number (360) 371-4387 Occupation retired journalist Education Master of Arts in Humanities and Leadership 2002 Defender of Democracy award 2000 Personal/Community Activities member of Blaine Water Coalition speakers bureau in 2025 initiated the local artist exhibition program at Blaine Public Library in 2022 assisted Northwest Justice in 2017 federal court case to preserve low-income senior housing in Blaine Qualifi...