EQUAL PROTECTION AND DUE PROCESS

May 23 letter to Whatcom County Councilwoman Jessica Rienstra:

Dear Whatcom County Councilwoman Rienstra,

Your remarks in CDN regarding immigrants--"Equal protection and due process strengthen public trust and make all of us safer"--could be applied to the unequal protection and lack of due process afforded citizens of Blaine, and the complete indifference of Whatcom County over the last two years to open government activists being targeted for retaliation by the Blaine City Manager and Blaine Chief of Police, who is currently under investigation by the WA Criminal Justice Training Commission for violating the civil rights of four Blaine citizens. The county prosecutor is aware of self-dealing by Blaine officials, and sweeps it under the rug.

I am relieved our current county prosecutor is not running for reelection to office; he has protected his friends at BPD, and betrayed the public trust to the extent of endangering our lives, fortunately corrected by Whatcom District Court Judge Angela Anderson in her November 4, 2025 civil protection orders for the open government activists, after receiving death threats from a friend of Mayor Steward. The Whatcom County Council is fully informed on this abandonment of the rule of law and violation of our civil rights for over a year, and done nothing.

I support protecting immigrants from federal thuggery, but I am disappointed that local government thuggery aimed at eliminating public participation in governance is tolerated by Whatcom County. You can learn more in my May 12 letter to the editor at CDN.

 

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