HOLDING COUNTY PROSECUTOR ACCOUNTABLE

Jay Taber

715 G St #22
Blaine, WA 98230
(360) 371-4387
tbarj@yahoo.com

April 30, 2026

Eric J. Richey
Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney
311 Grand Avenue, Suite 201
Bellingham, WA 98225

Re: Supplemental Request for Attorney General Referral, Conflict Review, and Preservation of Record

Dear Mr. Richey:

I write in response to your April 27, 2026 letter declining further action on my request for review.

This letter supplements my March 31, 2026 submission and updates the record with the additional correspondence and evidence now assembled.

In your April 27 letter, you state that the materials I provided consisted of allegations not supported by independent or verifiable evidence and that, because they originated from me, they presented concerns regarding potential bias. I respectfully disagree with that characterization as applied to the present record.

The record now includes my March 31, 2026 complaint to your office requesting review and referral to the Washington State Attorney General for independent evaluation. It also includes the March 31, 2026 written response from Blaine City Manager Michael Harmon stating that my request for investigation had been reviewed and denied, that legislative voting is rarely a conflict of interest, and that the matter was closed and would not be reopened.

In addition, your April 27, 2026 letter confirms that your office has reviewed my submission, has declined further action, and has not requested or concurred in Attorney General review.

These documents establish more than a mere unsupported accusation. They establish that a complaint alleging potential use of public office for private financial benefit was presented, that the City denied and closed the matter internally, and that local prosecutorial review also declined to proceed without any outside investigation being initiated.

My March 31 submission explained that the concern is both substantive and procedural. The substantive concern is whether official action may have produced a direct benefit to identifiable property interests without disclosure or recusal. The procedural concern is that a complaint involving the City’s own officials and conflict-handling process was resolved entirely within the same local administrative chain, without identification of any independent reviewer or external referral.

Mr. Harmon’s March 31 response did not identify an independent reviewer, did not describe any factual investigation, and expressly stated that the matter was closed and would not be reopened.

Your April 27 response then stated that your office is not an investigative agency, does not have the resources to conduct independent investigations or retain outside investigators, and would not take further action. Taken together, those responses leave the matter closed locally without any independent review.

My original complaint cited RCW 42.23.070 as the basis for concern that a municipal officer may not use public office to secure special privileges or financial benefit. I continue to believe that the allegations I submitted warrant independent evaluation under that framework, particularly where the complaint concerns possible financial benefit tied to official action and the local process has already terminated review internally.

I also renew my request for referral to the Washington State Attorney General. My earlier submission explained that this matter should not depend solely on local review and that referral is appropriate where the complaint concerns the City’s own handling of ethics and conflict issues.

That concern remains, and it is strengthened by the fact that both the City and your office have now declined to pursue further review.

Accordingly, I respectfully request that your office:

1.      Reconsider the April 27, 2026 declination in light of the full documentary record.

2.      State in writing whether your office is declining because of insufficient evidence, lack of criminal predicate, lack of investigative resources, lack of jurisdiction, or refusal to request or concur in Attorney General review.

3.      Refer this matter to the Washington State Attorney General for independent review, or provide written concurrence for such a referral.

4.      Confirm that all records relating to Ordinance 26-3043, the March 2026 complaint, the March 31, 2026 denial, and all internal communications concerning review, closure, referral, and preservation have been preserved.

5.      Disclose whether any actual or apparent conflict or institutional overlap has affected your office’s consideration of this matter.

I am not asking your office to predetermine liability. I am asking that a complaint alleging possible self-dealing, undisclosed financial interest, and internal closure without independent review be referred to an authority removed from the local administrative structure.

Please provide written confirmation within five business days whether your office will request or concur in Attorney General review and whether the matter has been preserved for record-hold purposes.

Respectfully submitted,

Jay Taber