Blaine Confidential

My 6/24/24 letter to Blaine City Council and Community Development Services : When the dust settles from your skullduggery, the lasting impression of the top brass—Mayor Steward, City Manager Harmon, and Development Director Wenger—will be one of bullying responsible citizens who dared to ask questions out of concern for the city's financial, environmental and social well-being. Someday, when you are all replaced in public office by upstanding members of our community, we will look back on this time as when these responsible citizens stood up for democracy by exercising our right to participate in planning our future. For the rest of you, let your conscience be your guide.

My June 20, 2024, letter to Blaine City Council and Planning Commission : As your unlawful land use scheme unravels city wide, and outside agencies bring the rule of law to Blaine, you will likely look for a "fall guy" to take the blame for your official misconduct. Now that City Manager Mike Harmon has gone off the rails mentally, he is the logical choice.  

My June 11, 2024, letter to Blaine City Council and Planning Commission : When my caregiver took me shopping this morning at IGA, we were loading my groceries in her car when I noticed Mike Harmon sitting in the truck next to us--staring intently--before pulling out. My caregiver said, "What a weird person." I said that's the Blaine City Manager we are opposing, and she told me that when we were in the bakery department Harmon put his arms in front of his two kids shielding them from me while telling his kids, "Safety first, safety first."  I was busy shopping and did not see his performance, but my caregiver says he did it again at the checkout area. Not knowing he was my adversary she did not mention it until we were in the parking lot where she saw him do it again. My caregiver thought he was mentally ill observing him in the store. You might want to start looking for a new city manager ASAP.  

Going along with small-town corruption that has been the norm in Blaine for generations is understandable in a community severely misinformed by their city government and local newspaper. Having never experienced democracy or meaningful public participation in planning for their future, Blaine citizens have over multiple generations become a city of beggars unversed in self-reliance. You can see it in the pimping of public properties and the routine whitewashing of BP Cherry Point crimes by The Northern Light and local non-profits taking BP money for their silence. This community has no code of ethics for its elected officials because ethics is a foreign concept to longtime residents. It is a shameful legacy that would embarrass most communities.

My 6/18/24 letter to Blaine City Council, Community Development Services and Planning Commission: Recent acts by the City of Blaine in creating a land use czar and upzoning properties on request create a hybrid autocracy/aristocracy government. As a city-state unbound by state and federal laws, the fiefdom of Blaine—on behalf of developers--is free to trash the Sumas Aquifer (our drinking water), pollute Drayton Harbor, destroy downtown commerce, and end free speech in Blaine. The Republic of Blaine was poised to become a world leader in how to subvert democracy without anyone noticing—until now.​ Stay tuned. 

My June 16, 2024, letter to Blaine City Council and Planning Commission : One year ago, when I still thought of you as honest but inept public officials, I recommended you hold town halls to brainstorm a civic center master plan for redeveloping the public holdings around the library. This would be more competitive in applying for state grants than piecemeal projects.  I did not realize at the time that you were not interested in being public servants but had already decided to be privatization pimps—selling off public parking to private developers—and killing downtown commerce in the process. Looking at the City of Mt. Vernon, which is nearing completion on their new library and community center with a parking garage over it, the contrast couldn't be more pronounced. The entire structure was financed by state, federal and private grants. Meanwhile, Blaine is going bankrupt while you wait for your marching orders from developers who have corrupted our city government and threaten o...

My June 14, 2024, letter to Blaine City Council and Planning Commission : While I singled out Mayor Steward on my "recall" sign at your meeting Monday, both Councilman Hill and Councilwoman Higgins deserve the same fate. While Hill's financial conflicts of interest are more extensive, Higgins' are no less serious. As an attorney working for the State of Washington, Higgins should be familiar with laws governing conflicts of interest and self-dealing by public officials. All fourteen of you have been complicit in allowing this to continue on your watch. There will be consequences.