PROTECTED CIVIC PARTICIPATION

April 2 letter to Blaine City Attorney from Donna:

At the March 23rd, 2026 city council meeting, City Manager Mike Harmon did more than express support for his department; he publicly condemned citizens who used a lawful oversight process. He characterized complaints to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission as an effort to “sabotage careers,” “smear” officers, and engage in “disgusting” conduct. That is not neutral governance. That is a government official using the authority of his office to discredit and stigmatize protected civic participation.

Complaints to a state oversight body are not harassment. They are a legally protected mechanism for accountability. For a city manager to publicly label those complaints as malicious, while an active investigation is ongoing, sends a clear message: challenge the government, and you will be publicly vilified. That is the very definition of a chilling effect on First Amendment activity. 

More troubling is the substance behind the rhetoric. Harmon stated that he and the Chief reviewed the incidents and concluded the officers “got it right.” The Chief, however, is himself a subject of the complaints. This is not an independent review. It is a self-exoneration presented as fact, then amplified by city leadership in a public forum. 

The question is not whether a city manager can support his department. It’s whether he can do so by attacking the legitimacy of citizens who seek accountability. That line matters. Because when Mike Harmon framed complaints as sabotage and smear campaigns, he did not defend integrity. He signaled that dissent will be punished socially and politically.

It seems like the city council and the mayor are taking their cues from the city manager. After all, the Blaine City Council unanimously declared that investigating their own police is harassment. That vote said everything: accountability is treated as a threat, and critics are treated as targets.

Is this exactly the kind of conduct that oversight is meant to guard against? Harmon should know the answer. After all, he used to work as a police officer prior to his job as city manager.