Clallam County Watchdog

Jeff Tozzer
  • 3.1 (7)
  • Politics
  • Updated Daily

Holding County Leaders Accountable www.ccwatchdog.com

  1. 11h ago

    Slashed Signs, Septic Rules, and a Bus That Already Failed

    The Seegers/French race is coming down to the wire, and your ballot could decide it. Meanwhile, a vandal was caught on camera in Blyn, a Dignity Bus like the one Port Angeles is weighing already failed in Illinois, and county officials found a way to raise taxes without asking you. Here’s what you need to know this week. Your Ballot Could Decide This Race The Seegers/French race is going to be close, and both campaigns know it. Fill out your ballot today. If you can, take it to a secure ballot drop box, because mail has been slow lately and you don’t want your vote arriving late. One Last Push for Jake: Saturday on the River Road Overpass This is the final push for Jake Seegers, and for getting Clallam County back on track after years of failed policies, tax increases, and reckless spending. Join Jake’s supporters this Saturday at 11 a.m. on the River Road Overpass. Bring Seegers signs, patriotic gear, American flags, and anything else that reminds your neighbors it’s time to vote for change and get their ballots in. Caught on Camera: Blyn Sign Slashed Again Just over three months ago, someone slashed the John Birch Society’s sign on private property beside Highway 101 in Blyn. When they put up a replacement, the owners said it would be watched. They meant it. Here’s what the camera caught this week: The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is now asking for help identifying the suspect. The 12-by-5-foot sign read “Get us out of the United Nations” and cost about $450. The footage shows a man holding an object in his left hand and cutting the sign off its posts. The owner told deputies it wasn’t the first time, which is why they put up the camera. If you have information, call the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office at (360) 417-2459. You can also submit an anonymous tip through the Sheriff’s Office Online Reporting Portal by choosing “Crime Tips.” They Came for the Wells. Now They’re Coming for the Septics. Clallam County Environmental Health, the Jamestown Tribe and the Clallam Conservation District are hosting a community meeting tomorrow on the Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) program. PIC tracks down sources of bacterial pollution, such as failing septic systems and farm runoff. Private wells in the valley already fall under the Dungeness Water Rule, and tribal land is exempt. Attention is now turning to private septic systems, and tribal land is exempt from those rules too. The county’s meeting will be held at the Tribe’s Rainshadow Hall at the Dungeness River Center. Want to Shape Sequim’s Future? The Planning Commission Has Two Openings Getting involved is one of the best ways to shape how Sequim grows. The city has two openings on its Planning Commission. One is a four-year unexpired term ending in January 2031, and the other is a term ending in January 2030. You must live within the Clallam County part of the Sequim School District. Applications are due by noon Friday, Oct. 30. You can email yours to clerk@sequimwa.gov, drop it off in person, or mail it to City of Sequim, Attention: City Clerk, 152 W. Cedar, Sequim, WA 98382. If you have questions, call 360-681-3428. The Dignity Bus Has Already Failed Once OlyCAP, an NGO on whose board Mike French serves, wants Port Angeles to put about $160,000 toward a $260,000 “Dignity Bus.” It’s a converted motor coach with sleep pods, built by The Source, a Florida nonprofit. A group in Kankakee, Illinois has already tried this. In 2023, Fortitude Community Outreach paid $175,000 for a 19-pod Dignity Bus from the same builder. By March 2025, its own director called it “not a long-term sustainable program. It is high maintenance, and there’s high costs of fuel” (Daily Journal). It lasted two winters. In September 2025, Fortitude said the bus would not return. It needed repairs that “had not been part of the organization’s budget,” the maintenance person was gone, and the group was “actively looking to sell” it. Fortitude switched to renting hotel rooms instead. As of January 2026, the bus was still sitting “not in use.” Before Port Angeles spends a dime, the council should ask OlyCAP for the full yearly cost of fuel, repairs, insurance, and overnight staff. It should ask who keeps the bus running, and what happens to the public’s money if it ends up parked in two years like Kankakee’s. And OlyCAP should first show what the $118,780 Sequim Safe Parking pilot actually delivered. Totem Poles, Igloos, and Now a Teepee? Totem poles aren’t traditional to the S’Klallam people. They come from the tribes of the northern British Columbia and Alaska coast, and even a Jamestown elder has said as much. Igloos aren’t S’Klallam either. They come from the Inuit. Yet Jamestown’s 7 Cedars Resort is now hiring for its “Igloo Experience.” See the job posting here. It’s seasonal, and the pay is just over minimum wage. So would it be appropriate for someone in Sequim to open a business with a teepee attendant? Squalor a Block From City Hall It’s getting harder to convince people that everything is fine and nothing has changed. A recent section of the Peninsula Daily News was full of residents’ observations about Port Angeles. They described homeless people by the city pier, encampments, abandoned shopping carts, filthy public restrooms, a drug problem, and the squalor on Peabody Street, one block from the courthouse and City Hall. Remember, Mike French says it’s up to residents to reclaim our public spaces. Out of Food, but Not Out of Catering? The Port Angeles Food Bank reports that it is completely out of community food donations. Just a few weeks ago, though, the food bank catered a $50-a-plate fundraiser for Serenity House. How did it have enough food to cater events a few weeks ago, and now it’s completely out? Tonight in Forks: Ask the Commissioners About Your Taxes The Board of Clallam County Commissioners will hold a Budget Town Hall tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. in the Forks City Hall Council Chamber, 500 E. Division St., Forks. The agenda covers the Administrator Recommended Budget and the Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), followed by a question-and-answer session. Details, including instructions to attend virtually, are here. Here’s what’s interesting. Last year the county faced a multimillion-dollar deficit and asked voters for a levy lid lift. Voters said no, and the county quickly found the money elsewhere, including by renegotiating its contracts with Sequim and Port Angeles. This year it faces a deficit of about the same size. This time it’s closing the gap with a criminal justice tax, plus a one-time boost to the general fund from separating the Veterans and Developmental Disabilities levies. The entire deficit is being bridged by raising taxes, and none of it goes to a public vote. Funny how that works. “The will of the people... is the only legitimate foundation of any government.” — Thomas Jefferson, letter to Benjamin Waring, 1801 The League’s “Low Flow” Sign Has Some Partisan Company If you’ve driven the Old Olympic Highway east of the Dungeness River, you’ve seen the League of Women Voters’ “Low Flow Alert” sign by the road, warning about water levels in the river. These days, that sign has company: political signs, but only for Democratic Party-endorsed candidates. That’s interesting behavior for a group that calls itself “nonpartisan.” The jig is up, LWV. You’re about as nonpartisan as a referee wearing one team’s jersey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ccwatchdog.com

  2. 1d ago

    From $118,000 for Three Spaces to $260,000 for 20 Pods: OlyCAP’s Next Ask

    OlyCAP wants Port Angeles to help fund a converted motor coach with 20 individual sleep pods. The request comes from the same leadership that oversees a Safe Parking program limited to a handful of spaces. That program received over $118,000 in taxpayer funds approved by Commissioner Mike French, who sits on OlyCAP’s board. Public records showed substantial spending on OlyCAP staffing even as participation lagged and questions went unanswered. Residents are now being asked to trust the same arrangement with a larger ask. REMINDER: Comprehensive Plan hearing – Today, Oct. 27, 10:30 a.m. French and Ozias advanced this framework while Johnson and Mielke were absent. French is now defending the language as reasonable and historically justified. The public hearing resumes today at 10:30 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room or virtually. Public comment is open. Tell the board the Climate Vulnerability Assessment must be discarded or fully revised, that the county will not return to racial preference, and that every Clallam County resident deserves equal representation and equal treatment under the plan for the next twenty years. Show up in person or online so they hear it from the people they were elected to represent. The New Proposal: A 20-Bed Bus for Port Angeles Earlier this month, OlyCAP presented the Dignity Bus to the Port Angeles City Council. Housing Director Viola Ware described a decommissioned motor coach that the Florida nonprofit The Source retrofitted into 20 individual sleep pods. The package includes an ADA lift, secure personal storage, a private water system, onboard laundry, smart HVAC, a staff workspace, security systems, power, and Wi-Fi. The total cost is about $260,000, with delivery possible in about 10 weeks. OlyCAP sought roughly $160,000 from the city while contributing about $98,900 itself. Council directed staff to explore funding options, including possible regional cost-sharing or affordable-housing tax funds. No purchase has been approved. Ware has framed the bus as “not the solution to homelessness” and “simply a place to sleep” when Serenity House is unavailable. It is described as low-barrier: sobriety is not required. OlyCAP has discussed overnight hosting with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Port Angeles and has noted the vehicle could be based on OlyCAP property and driven in daily. Staffing would involve “Lived Experts,” a CDL driver, and a program supervisor. Ware introduced the concept to the County’s Homelessness Task Force, which Ware chairs, earlier in the summer. The Track Record: $118,000 for Three Spaces This is not the first recent request involving public dollars for limited-capacity shelter alternatives. Clallam County approved up to $118,780 for a Safe Parking pilot at Trinity United Methodist Church in Sequim intended for three to five vehicles. The program is hosted by the church, but county contract documents and internal records obtained through public disclosure show direct ties to OlyCAP personnel expenses, payroll taxes, benefits, and related costs. Ware has stated that the church manages the program, that OlyCAP provides limited evening, morning, and on-call support, and that case management was provided “for free.” The financial registers tell a different story: public funds covered hours and benefits for specific OlyCAP employees, and Ware herself has approved payroll distributions charged to the program. Participation has struggled since inception. Later church updates reported a small number of applicants and users after entry criteria were adjusted. No formal, publicly available evaluation of participation, outcomes, and actual costs has been produced. The combination of high cost relative to capacity, slow enrollment, and limited visibility once the money left the county ledger is the record now being asked to support a larger project. Mike French’s Dual Role and Unanswered Questions Commissioner Mike French sits on the OlyCAP board—a position established through a county resolution he helped draft and pass. As a commissioner, he approved the county funding that flowed to the Safe Parking program in partnership with the NGO whose board he occupies. Prior CC Watchdog reporting has detailed how this arrangement creates overlapping roles: French participates in decisions that allocate public money to an organization on whose board he serves, while OlyCAP's Housing Director chairs the Homelessness Task Force that recommends such allocations. French has not answered detailed public questions about the Safe Parking funds, the program’s results, or the path of the money once it reached the church-OlyCAP partnership. Ware has also not responded to emailed inquiries. At a Homelessness Task Force meeting, the body adopted the position that it is not obligated to engage in dialogue with public comment. “While we are able to respond to public comment, this board’s role is not to engage in back-and-forth debate with public comment during meetings… in answer, we are not obligated to respond.” — Viola Ware When public records showed OlyCAP payroll costs charged to the program, the official description of limited or “free” support remained conflicting with the documents. French’s dual role—approving the funds as commissioner while sitting on the receiving organization’s board—has not produced public explanations of how the arrangement was managed or what measurable outcomes justified the expenditure. The LEAD Connection Proposal materials reference Ware’s role in developing the LEAD program for the county and describe it as a model across the state. The Washington Policy Center’s August 2026 National Retraction Brief documents widespread and systematic factual errors in how LEAD’s original research has been presented for more than a decade. Common claims of 58 percent reductions in recidivism or large percentage drops in felony charges and employment gains substantially overstate what the underlying study shows. After accounting for design limitations, selection issues, and differences in how groups interacted with prosecutors and law enforcement, the research found little or no clear positive intervention effect on key measures. Absolute outcomes were modest. Those inflated results helped the program spread and attract funding across the country. Relying on the same framing here, without an independent local look at what earlier programs actually delivered, is worth questioning. “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” — Patrick Henry What Residents Asked and What Ware Answered After the Dignity Bus reporting, Clallam County resident Terri DiMartino wrote to Viola Ware. She noted that the bus concept had not been presented at the October 6 Homelessness Task Force meeting, even though Commissioner Mike French has described those meetings as a place for stakeholders and the community to review developments and coordinate countywide efforts. She asked for a formal evaluation of the Safe Parking program—participation, outcomes, and costs—by the end of October. She pointed out that the 2025–2030 Homeless Housing Plan does not mention acquiring a bus or using vehicles as permanent sleeping accommodations, and she asked how the proposal aligns with that plan, where the request is available for public review, what the funding source would be given the county’s budget pressures, and what measurable outcomes and comparable Washington examples would be used to judge success. She also asked about greater collaboration with Olympic Community of Health’s low-barrier funding and the role of tribal partners. Ware replied. She thanked DiMartino for her interest and said: * OlyCAP had submitted the only proposal in response to the city’s request for ideas to better serve people not currently using existing shelter services * She stated that no one from OlyCAP was contacted for comment before the KONP or Peninsula Daily News stories and that some information lacked important context; she said she had reached out in hopes of an interview * She described the goal as providing “safe, affordable, and realistic options” for people with few alternatives, noted that traditional shelter construction can cost tens of thousands of dollars per bed and take years, and said communities across the country are exploring lower-cost approaches. * She asserted a commitment to transparency and community engagement, pointed to a June 2 Homelessness Task Force presentation on the Safe Parking program operated by Sequim Trinity United Methodist Church, and directed readers to publicly available records. * Ware closed by encouraging people seeking information about county-supported programs to contact the appropriate public agencies directly, and restated the focus on helping people move from unsafe situations into safer ones while connecting them to medical, mental health, and recovery supports. The reply addresses some of the process points and restates the cost argument for the bus. It does not answer the core requests. * It does not explain why the Dignity Bus was not presented at the October 6 Task Force meeting * It does not supply, or commit to supplying, a formal evaluation of the Safe Parking program’s participation, outcomes, and actual costs—the specific document DiMartino requested * Pointing to a June presentation does not substitute for the performance data that has remained limited and contested in public records * The response also does not address alignment with the 2025–2030 plan, the funding source amid county budget pressures, measurable outcomes, comparable Washington examples, collaboration with Olympic Community of Health, or the involvement of tribal partners. Ware’s direction to contact “the appropriate public agencies” sits alongside the fact that the program in question invo

  3. 2d ago

    Mike French’s Climate Plan Puts Race First in Clallam County

    Sixty years after the civil rights movement, racial segregation and discrimination are poised to make a quiet comeback under the leadership of the Clallam County Commissioners. They intend to use the Comprehensive Plan—the massive document that will chart the course of the county for the next twenty years—to accomplish it. French’s “Misspoke” Moment on a Non-Required Assessment Commissioner Mike French spent the month of September telling civic organizations and debate audiences that the state required the county to complete a Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA). His opponent, Jake Seegers, pointed out repeatedly that no such standalone assessment was required. At the October 13 commissioners meeting, French acknowledged that he had “misspoke” and apologized. The damage, however, was already done. The CVA had been drafted behind closed doors by Cascadia Consulting Group and the North Olympic Development Council—Commissioner Mark Ozias’s NGO—and is now being treated as foundational input for the Climate Element of the Comprehensive Plan. How the CVA Elevates Tribal Communities Above Everyone Else Why does the CVA matter so much? Because it repeatedly elevates Tribal communities as a distinct, especially vulnerable class of people whose needs the county must prioritize. On page 17 the assessment lists “Tribal communities” as one of the core vulnerable groups alongside seniors, mobile-home residents, and low-income households. Page 20 gives them their own dedicated subsection, citing “unique climate challenges due to their reliance on natural resources and treaty-protected lands.” Page 24 states, in the exact language a public commenter read into the record on October 13: “In Clallam County, vulnerable groups like older adults, especially Tribal elders, and those with chronic health conditions are especially sensitive to extreme heat.” French Defends Singling Out Tribal Elders One public commenter noted that his own father is 89 and white, then asked how an elderly white man is any more or less vulnerable than a tribal elder. French’s reply was that elderly people are all vulnerable, yet when pressed on whether the “especially Tribal elders” phrase would remain, all three commissioners initially refused to answer. The next speaker, Mitch Zenobi, stayed at the podium for his full three minutes demanding an answer. French finally said: “I think that it’s perfectly reasonable for us to have a phrase like that in our comprehensive plan. I don’t think that it detracts from other members or other demographics, and I think the history of how our reservations got to be where they are is relevant. Our reservations in some cases are in some of the most vulnerable places to climate change.” The Practical Reality of Coastal Cooling Versus Special Status All four of Clallam County’s Tribes have traditional villages on the water. On a hot summer day, Jamestown Beach typically runs about ten degrees cooler than downtown Sequim four miles inland. The same coastal cooling effect exists at Neah Bay, Lower Elwha, and La Push. The CVA still singles out Tribal elders as especially sensitive to heat while saying nothing about non-Tribal seniors living in hotter inland areas. The Racism Test French Cannot Pass If French believes the phrase is “perfectly reasonable” and does not detract from other demographics, the logical test is simple: would the commissioners accept language that said vulnerable groups “especially elderly white people”? If the answer is no, then prioritizing any other race or ethnicity is the same distinction by race. The CVA does not stop at heat. It contains a full section on “Tribal Access to Cultural Foods and Activities” that frames climate impacts as “exacerbating the legacy of settler colonialism.” Another section details “Tribal Emergency Management Adaptive Capacity,” cataloguing Tribal plans and resources while the county’s own residents receive only generalized treatment. The conclusion again lists “Tribal communities” alongside the elderly and low-income residents as “particularly at risk,” positioning the assessment as the guide for future planning and resource decisions. Real-World Preferences the CVA Would Create Real-world consequences follow directly from this framing. During a heat wave, county-run cooling centers, bottled-water deliveries, or emergency transportation could be directed first to Tribal elders identified as “especially” sensitive. Citizen John Worthington’s research discovered that climate-resilience grant dollars and weatherization programs could be prioritized for Tribal communities labeled “overburdened.” Zoning and land-use decisions under the Climate Element could require “environmental-justice reviews” that give extra weight to Tribal interests, while private landowners face new restrictions justified by the same assessment. Health-impact assessments and partnership requirements already appearing in draft Comp Plan policies—health equity for Tribal communities, environmental-justice standards for overburdened communities, and centering partnerships with Tribes—would convert the CVA’s language into binding preference. The Board of Health’s Reconciliation Commitment The county’s own Board of Health, chaired by Mike French, has already adopted the ideological premise. Its 2025 annual report opens with a land acknowledgment that commits the department to “working toward reconciliation and respect for their cultural heritage, traditions, and rights.” Reconciliation usually means patching things up after a fight. In this setting it points to an open-ended obligation—something closer to reparations—that county government is supposed to keep paying. Plenty of enrolled Tribal elders today are majority European by ancestry. Under the CVA’s framing, a multimillion-dollar tribal corporation CEO like Jamestown Elder Ron Allen would get first dibs on a cooling center or resilience money ahead of a non-Tribal senior of the same age and health living on the same street. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” — Martin Luther King Jr., 63 years ago Call to Action: Speak on Tuesday French and Ozias are the commissioners who advanced this framework while Commissioner Johnson and Administrator Mielke were absent. French is now the one defending the resulting language as reasonable and historically justified. The Comprehensive Plan public hearing resumes this Tuesday, October 27, at 10:30 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room (or via the county’s Zoom link). The board is taking public comment. Residents should tell the commissioners that the CVA must be discarded or completely revised, that the county will not return to an age of racial preference, and that every citizen of Clallam County is entitled to equal representation and equal treatment under the plan that will govern the next twenty years. Email all three commissioners through Clerk of the Board Loni Gores at loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov and DCD Director Bruce Emery at bruce.emery@clallamcountywa.gov, then show up in person or online so they have to hear it from the people they were elected to represent. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ccwatchdog.com

  4. 3d ago

    Community Power in Action: Reopening Olympic Hot Springs Road

    In this Sundays With Seegers, County Commissioner candidate Jake Seegers shares powerful news: 659 of our neighbors signed the petition to reopen Olympic Hot Springs Road. The signatures came from kitchen tables, family conversations, and booths at this summer’s festivals—proof that Clallam County is ready to lead. This is what happens when a community refuses to wait and decides to write its own letter of support. I couldn’t be more grateful for what this community has done.Over the summer, we collected hundreds of signatures to reopen Olympic Hot Springs Road—proof that when Clallam County organizes, things move.Thank you to everyone who signed, shared, and showed up. This is what community leadership looks like. Back in May, I wrote “Reopening the Elwha: A Community-Led Path Forward” on Clallam County Watchdog. I laid out why restoring this access matters—not just to visitors, but to the people and businesses of Clallam County. For generations, the Elwha entrance provided a gateway into the heart of Olympic National Park’s Elwha Valley just fifteen minutes from downtown Port Angeles. Before the repeated closures, more than 74,000 vehicles a year traveled this road, bringing visitors into our community and providing access to trailheads, Olympic Hot Springs, the Glines Canyon overlook, and some of the most spectacular country in Olympic National Park. Those visitors didn’t just drive through the Elwha. They ate in our restaurants, stayed in our hotels and vacation rentals, bought fuel and supplies, and supported the small businesses that depend on tourism. After more than a decade of washouts, stalled timelines, and uncertainty, that gateway remains closed to vehicles beyond Madison Falls. The National Park Service itself has described Olympic Hot Springs Road as the only vehicular access into the Elwha Valley. (⁠Park Planning) Reopening the Elwha is about much more than rebuilding a road. It is about restoring access to the heart of the park, strengthening our tourism economy, supporting local businesses, and giving visitors another quality destination so Hurricane Ridge and our other heavily visited areas don’t have to carry the full load. Access is foundational to Clallam County’s economy. With so much of our county in federal ownership, our ability to benefit economically from these extraordinary public lands depends in large part on people’s ability to reach them. When we lose access, we don’t just lose recreation. We lose visitors, economic activity, and opportunity for local families and businesses. The Elwha was once one of Olympic National Park’s major gateways. It can be again. I’m proud to announce that we gathered 659 signatures on the petition to reopen Olympic Hot Springs Road. Those signatures came from neighbors and family members, and from the folks who stopped by our booths at Joyce Daze, Unity of Effort, and the Clallam County Fair. Meeting so many of you this summer was one of the true highlights of the year. Every conversation reminded me that our greatest asset in Clallam County is the people. We’ve entered a new era. We don’t have to sit and wait years for the chain of command to notice our issues. When we organize, we have power—and this signature drive is living proof. This is a community-led solution. We are sending the petition to: Federal Officials * President Donald J. TrumpContact form: whitehouse.gov/contactPhone: 202-456-1111 (comments) / 202-456-1414 (switchboard)Mail: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500 * Secretary of the Interior Doug BurgumPhone: (202) 208-3100Mail: Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240 * National Park Service leadership (Jessica Bowron exercising the delegated authority of the Director)Mail: National Park Service, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240 * Olympic National Park Superintendent Sula JacobsEmail: olym_superintendent@nps.govMail: Olympic National Park, 600 E. Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA 98362Phone: 360-565-3000 or 360-565-3130 * NPS Pacific West Regional Director (Acting: Randy Lavasseur)Phone: 415-623-2100Address: 555 Battery Street, Suite 121, San Francisco, CA 94111 Washington Congressional Delegation * Sen. Patty MurrayContact form: murray.senate.gov/write-to-pattyPhone: 202-224-2621Mail: 154 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 * Sen. Maria CantwellContact form on cantwell.senate.govPhone: 202-224-3441Mail: 511 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 * Rep. Emily RandallContact form on randall.house.govPhone: 202-225-5916District offices: Bremerton (345 6th St, Suite 500, Bremerton, WA 98337; 360-373-9725); Tacoma (253-272-3515) I couldn’t be more proud of this community. The turnout and hard work didn’t surprise me one bit—because I know the people of Clallam County believe in solutions that start with us. Thank you for standing up, for signing, and for showing what’s possible when we work together. The best is still ahead for the Elwha Valley and for Clallam County. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller This article was approved by Jake Seegers for Commissioner (IND), 131 East First Street, Port Angeles, WA 98362. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ccwatchdog.com

  5. 6d ago

    Mike French’s Emails Show Who Gets a Seat at the Table

    Public-records emails from Commissioner Mike French reveal detailed, ongoing collaboration with arts advocates to advance a cultural-access sales tax, including advice on packing meetings and preparing presentations. The correspondence fits a broader record in which French has made time for special-interest campaigns on Towne Road and a proposed courthouse renaming, while general public input faces tighter limits and slower responses. The Culture-Tax Correspondence A public-records release of emails involving Commissioner Mike French and David Herbelin, the late executive director of Olympic Theatre Arts, shows the commissioner engaging directly and repeatedly from spring 2024 onward. Herbelin first contacted French in mid-April seeking help placing the 0.1 percent cultural-access sales tax on the ballot or securing councilmanic approval (without a public vote) under House Bill 1575. French replied the next day that he would “love to discuss this,” offered multiple open windows the following week, and later confirmed a group meeting in the commissioners’ offices. By late July, French was coordinating school-superintendent outreach and proposing that Herbelin bring “as large or small of a group” as he wished. In early September, French forwarded draft PowerPoint slides he had prepared for the September 16 work session, asked for comments, and outlined the formal process he expected: a motion to call a public hearing, followed by the hearing itself a few weeks later. He closed that email with a practical note on turnout: “We would still want a full room on the 16th to show support.” Later messages show French sharing ArtsWA materials, looping Herbelin into scheduling with state arts-commission staff, and asking what additional information to present to the board. In late October 2024, David Herbelin emailed a call to action urging supporters to speak during the November 12 commissioners meeting. He assessed the board as follows: French supported councilmanic approval; Ozias preferred to wait a few years or put it to a public vote; and Johnson, facing reelection, was reluctant to act before the election and favored a vote of the people. After the November 12 public-comment session, French replied to Herbelin’s follow-up on next steps. The exchange continued into 2025, with French still responding to Herbelin on related arts-funding events. These are not one-off replies. They document months of shared drafting, timing advice, and explicit interest in visible supporter presence at official meetings. When later asked whether he had been the commissioner encouraging Herbelin to organize public comments, French said he did not recall. The emails themselves remain part of the public record. The Same Door for Other Organized Groups The culture-tax emails sit alongside other examples of French making himself available to organized campaigns. In early 2024, during the fight over reopening Towne Road, French attended a Dungeness Levee Trail Advocates rally at Nash’s barn. He told those present that bringing roughly 50 people to a commissioners’ meeting would be the scale needed for him to reconsider the board’s prior commitment to complete the road as promised. French’s statement treated headcount from one group of activists as a potential basis for revisiting a resolution the board had already adopted. A parallel pattern appeared in early 2026 with the proposal to rename the historic Clallam County Courthouse after the late Justice Susan Owens. At a work session, Commissioner Mark Ozias said renaming the building would be “wholly appropriate.” French immediately agreed that it would be “the way to spread the message the furthest” and suggested also naming a Forks courtroom. He then invited audience “stakeholders” to the staff table; a representative of Washington Women Lawyers spoke. Public records later showed that District Court II staff in Forks had already indicated a local memorial was in progress and that Owens herself would not have wanted the Port Angeles courthouse renamed. After substantial public opposition at a subsequent hearing, French reversed course and said he now understood the local preference in Forks. It’s another example of French’s quick, open-door responses to special interests, in contrast to the slower replies and limited public-comment slots ordinary residents typically receive on everyday issues. “They could care less about the public. The public comes in third. Number one is keeping their power. Number two are the special interests, the people footing the bill. Finally, the public good might be third — if they can profit from it.” — Jesse Ventura What the Public Gets County commission meetings allot three minutes of public comment at the end of the agenda. Emails from residents on budget, roads, or services frequently receive delayed or no substantive replies. The culture-tax record, the Towne Road rally comment, and the courthouse-renaming exchange show a different tempo when the requester is an organized group with a clear policy ask. The commissioners’ own mission-statement language prioritizes translating “the desires of our residents.” French’s emails illustrate whose desires have reliably produced meetings, PowerPoint presentations, and advice on how to organize. The cultural-access tax has been covered before. The new emails reveal how thoroughly Commissioner French worked on behalf of one organized interest to raise taxes outside public knowledge and without a vote of the people. Those records exist because a resident filed a public-records request. Every other resident has been waiting for the same access—do you want to wait another four years? This reporting was made possible by a public-records request from CC Watchdog subscriber Denise Lapio. Irony on Your Radar Today, October 22, 2026, the “Let Our Salmon Come Home” campaign is staging a day of action in Sequim aimed at the Pacific Salmon Commission, which is meeting at the Jamestown Tribe’s 7 Cedars Casino. The group wants policymakers to reform the U.S.–Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty, sharply reduce mixed-stock ocean fisheries (especially commercial trolling that intercepts threatened Chinook far from their home rivers), and shift harvest closer to terminal areas so more fish return to spawn. Speakers include representatives from the campaign itself, the Wild Fish Conservancy, the Wild Steelhead Coalition, and both recreational and commercial fishers. The schedule runs from an 11:30 a.m. rally and 1 p.m. press conference at the Gardiner Community Center to a 2 p.m. procession and sign-carrying march to a site next to 7 Cedars, followed by public comment inside the casino from 3:30–5:00 p.m. The campaign plans a post-event gathering at a Sequim’s Barhop Brewery. The campaign is a coastwide NGO-led effort (California to Alaska) that frames industrial ocean harvest as the primary reason too few salmon return, despite habitat and dam-removal spending. It argues that indiscriminate ocean fisheries undermine recovery for salmon and Southern Resident killer whales. The choice of venue is notable. The Jamestown Tribe is a major treaty-rights harvester of salmon and has actively pursued commercial net-pen aquaculture (through the Salish Fish joint venture with Cooke Aquaculture) to raise steelhead, arguing it supports tribal self-reliance and takes pressure off wild stocks. That position has put the tribe at odds with other tribes and with environmental groups that successfully pushed a state ban on commercial finfish net pens. Hosting an event that targets ocean commercial harvest at a tribal casino whose owners have fought to expand commercial fish production adds an obvious layer of irony—especially when one straightforward way to increase salmon returns would be for major harvesters, tribal and non-tribal alike, to take fewer of them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ccwatchdog.com

  6. Oct 21

    $800K Shortfalls, $350K-Per-Unit Housing, Tribal-Only Cash, and a Bunny Break for County Leaders

    Serenity House is covering nearly $800,000 in shortfalls while chasing roughly $12 million for a 36-unit low-barrier permanent supportive housing project in Sequim. Meanwhile, state tax dollars fund tribal-only homeownership, Peninsula Behavioral Health’s North View mirrors Seattle’s housing-first model, and commissioners budget association dues that include a sponsored “Bunny Break.” Tonight’s public meeting is the place to ask why working families wait while the system expands. Serenity House’s Timing Problem Serenity House is covering nearly $800,000 in shelter and supportive-housing shortfalls while seeking $12 million to replace Sequim’s 17-unit Sunbelt Apartments with a 36-unit low-barrier complex, according to myclallamcounty.com. Supportive housing ran about $382,000 short last year, and shelter operations need roughly $395,000 more annually—costs driven largely by staffing for about 130 people a night, which the agency says it cannot safely cut. Is this the time to expand? The organization is growing even as funding falls short, a pattern that mirrors Clallam County’s own habit of adding projects while running deficits. Tax Dollars, Tribal Households Only The Washington Department of Commerce has extended the 2026 Capital Programs Tribal Homeownership Funding Cycle; applications are due by 3 p.m. November 16. Eligible applicants are federally recognized tribes, community-based tribal organizations, and tribal housing authorities. The money supports new construction, purchase and rehabilitation, affordability subsidies, and down-payment assistance specifically for low-income tribal households. These are your state tax dollars restricted by race. Imagine the political reaction if an identical program were limited to white households. Housing First, Treatment Later (If Ever) Peninsula Behavioral Health’s North View complex in Port Angeles follows the Seattle model: permanent supportive housing first, treatment sometime later—if ever. Independent journalist Jonathan Choe spent time with a resident of a comparable Downtown Emergency Service Center facility in Seattle. The roughly 5-minute video shows the man stopping at the front desk for free drug paraphernalia, heading out to meet a dealer, scoring, and returning to a decent studio to get high. The account shows no job requirement, no treatment mandate, and minimal case-management contact. North View itself is a 36-unit, roughly $12.75 million project (more than $350,000 per unit) with county contributions, rooftop terraces, harbor views, quartz counters, dishwashers, a dog-washing sink, and EV charging. It is described as low-barrier and not exclusively dry. The pattern is familiar: convenience for ongoing use, permanence for the placement, and limited pressure toward recovery. Why Advertise When the Lists Are Long? If subsidized housing has waiting lists, why does the Peninsula Housing Authority advertise openings? Public housing and Section 8 lists have historically been long. Advertising capacity while thousands of local households remain on waitlists for assistance raises the obvious question of priorities and messaging. Canada’s “Compassion” Lesson Read the October 12 New York Post piece on “compassionate” drug policy and Canada. Federal prisons are distributing paper straws for “safer snorting,” foil for smoking, and test kits. British Columbia’s decriminalization pilot ended with high unregulated drug death rates; judges have stayed trafficking convictions on “compassion” grounds; and safe-supply programs continue. The parallels to Clallam County’s low-barrier housing, harm-reduction distribution, and tolerance of ongoing use are straightforward. Compassion that enables use while streets and families pay the cost is not compassion. The full article is worth the time. Dues, Leadership Roles, and the Bunny Break Clallam County is cash-strapped, yet commissioners are budgeting $40,000 for Washington State Association of Counties dues for 2027. Commissioner Mark Ozias is WSAC president; Mike French sits on the legislative steering committee. At the upcoming County Leaders Conference, organizers are promoting a “Bunny Break”: a sponsored bunny area where county leaders can step away from sessions for fluffy, de-stressing interaction. The contrast between local fiscal pressure and association perks is hard to miss. Pet Costumes vs. Luxury Homeless Units The Peninsula Daily News recently ran a cartoon noting that Americans spend roughly $950 million on pet Halloween costumes while people remain homeless. Locally, taxpayers are funding permanent supportive housing at $350,000-plus per unit, with costs climbing toward $500,000 in some projects. One public example is Ashley Gregory (formerly Scott Warren Gregory), a North View resident with a documented criminal history including assault and domestic-abuse complaints. Public posts show a “wake and bake” beach routine, free bus rides, art-therapy classes, Harm Reduction Center supplies, and Medicaid-supported facial feminization surgery—all while living in a new harbor-view unit. The homelessness industrial complex absorbs more money without ending the problem. Residents can dress their dogs without guilt; the system will never have enough of your money. Casino Cash and Political Reach A 2003 Seattle Times article documented Washington tribes becoming political players through casino revenue—raising campaign contributions, lobbying, and influence on gaming and other issues. Ron Allen of the Tribe (operator of 7 Cedars Casino) was quoted on learning to play the political game. "Campaign contributions is only a part of it," said Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and a former president of the National Congress of American Indians. "Over time, we have become more astute at playing the political game." The pattern has continued: 7 Cedars and Jamestown entities have made substantial contributions to political committees and candidates, including local races. The archive piece is worth reading for the early trajectory; the local parallel is the ongoing combination of sovereign economic activity and political spending that shapes county and state outcomes. Repeat Offender, Local Bill Micah Lacunza was booked and released in Clallam County after the February 15, 2026, head-on collision east of Sequim on Highway 101. Driving a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado westbound, he crossed the centerline and struck a Toyota FJ Cruiser; Skylor Richford died at the scene, and Mathilde Richford was airlifted. Investigators believed impairment by drugs and/or alcohol was involved. Lacunza was later placed on the Washington State Patrol Most Wanted list with a $500,000 bail warrant for vehicular homicide, evaded capture in Tacoma, and was arrested in Seattle on October 5 after a citizen tip. He faces extradition and additional charges. Twelve years earlier, a Sheridan Press report showed the same pattern: Lacunza (then 27) was arrested in Sheridan, Wyoming, for stealing a vehicle and attempting to evade officers in a chase-and-crash incident. Washington State Patrol says Lacunza will be returned to Clallam County to face the vehicular homicide charge, plus several other unrelated charges. Another case for local taxpayers to fund from start to finish. “Some of the people on death row today might not be there if the courts had not been so lenient on them when they were first offenders.” — Thomas Sowell Tonight’s Meeting The Clallam County Board of Commissioners holds a special Budget Town Hall and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) meeting tonight, Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 5 p.m. at the Guy Cole Event Center, 202 N. Blake Avenue, Sequim. Topics include the Administrator Recommended Budget, the six-year TIP, and a question-and-answer session. Virtual options are available here. Award for “Most Creative Campaign Sign Placement” Goes to… This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ccwatchdog.com

  7. Oct 20

    Forks Didn’t Get the Welding Classes. Jamestown Got the Hydroseeder. French Still Calls It 900 Jobs.

    Commissioner Mike French sold Clallam County voters a five-year plan to put 900 people into family-wage jobs. The number has already been cut to 603. The coordinator calls even that target extremely ambitious, and the public scoreboard shows roughly 21 people who finished training and later reported a job or higher pay. Meanwhile, a $733,000 mobile welding trailer sits delayed by safety problems, Jamestown gets equipment for a new enterprise, and the fine print shows real growth in government and NGO payrolls. The Campaign Promise That Shrank The pillar of Mike French’s campaign for reelection as county commissioner is the federal $35.6 million Recompete grant. He launched with a goal to bring roughly 900 jobs to the North Olympic Peninsula over five years. Danny Steiger’s June 2025 write-up of the program mentioned the 900-job goal eight times. That number was recently reduced to 603. The Recompete coordinator has called the new target “extremely ambitious.” Through March, the reported figure for people who completed training and then landed a job or raised their income was 21. Jobs That Were Never Jobs Clallamity Jen dug into the reporting in her article “Recompete Rebranded” and found the original framing never matched the fine print. The program's measurable goal was never “jobs” in the ordinary sense. It was “enrolled individuals.” That is a massive difference from the language French, as chair of the Recompete coalition, used when he told voters the grant would transition 900 North Olympic Peninsula residents into full-time family-wage jobs. The gap is not a mystery. Year-one county figures showed strong enrollment (208 people) and far weaker placement numbers. Some of the “jobs created” numbers include positions funded by the grant itself to run the program. The money did not shrink when the target did. The Welding Trailer That Didn’t Arrive The latest local example is the mobile welding program. Peninsula College used Recompete dollars to buy a custom 53-foot trailer with eight welding booths (reported cost about $733,000) plus a companion classroom. It was supposed to bring training to the West End this fall so students in Forks and surrounding areas would not have to drive to Port Angeles. The Forks Forum reported that testing turned up problems and safety concerns. President Suzy Ames said the college is putting safety first and hopes to offer the course in winter quarter instead. The trailer is delayed, not canceled. Residents are left asking the obvious questions: who designed and built a welding unit with flammable fuel on board that then failed safety checks, and who pays for the repairs? A recent job posting for a welding instructor at the college fits the pattern. Recompete money creates or sustains government and institutional positions. That is not the same as private-sector job growth for the people the grant was sold to help. The Jefferson EDC’s Fantasy Numbers The attached scope of work for EDC Team Jefferson under the Recompete Pilot Program shows how ambitious—and how detached from ordinary local reality—the targets are. Over five years, the plan calls for training 25 business advisors (five per year). Those advisors are then supposed to advise 952 start-up businesses, help form 286 of them that will pay the founder a living wage, and advise another 1,768 microenterprise and growth-stage businesses. The document projects $41.55 million in profit increases and 329 living-wage jobs created through reinvestment of those profits. Living wage is defined as $26 per hour plus benefits, or roughly $63,000 a year. These numbers are wildly unrealistic for a rural two-county area. The plan expects a handful of newly trained advisors to work with thousands of businesses, dig into their financials, and somehow generate tens of millions in extra profits that then create hundreds of living-wage jobs. It already assumes some of those advisors will quit or stop reporting. On top of that, it calls for hundreds more business meetings, a list of new training programs, and a pile of referrals. When they can’t get real wage data, the document says they’ll just estimate it. The plan treats job creation in Jefferson County through this advising model as a primary path. Earlier reporting noted that one tribal component involved hiring two people to produce one job outcome. Now Recompete language is being written into the 20-year comprehensive plan. When the federal money ends in a few years, local taxpayers will bear the ongoing costs. What remains is largely a jobs program for government employees, special interests, and NGO personnel. Who Actually Got Something At least Jamestown received a tangible asset. Its subaward explicitly funds the purchase of a hydroseeder and mini excavator so a tribally owned enterprise can expand into hydro-seeding as a new line of business, then hire and train a handful of workers. Jamestown gets its hydroseeder. Local private hydroseeding businesses pay for their own equipment. And the college has a delayed trailer that still isn’t delivering the advertised West End classes. The Words on French’s Website French’s campaign materials claim he “chaired a regional coalition of Counties, Cities, Tribes, economic development organizations and educational institutions that successfully acquired $35.6 million in federal funding.” Acquired is the wrong word. The federal Economic Development Administration granted the money after a competitive application process. “ Acquired" and "granted" are not synonyms; one implies earning or obtaining through effort that creates ownership, while the other is a gift of public funds under conditions. French has described himself as an advocate of conservative budgeting. The practical test is whether the county pays down debt before giving itself another raise. Recompete is not conservative budgeting. It is a large infusion of federal money that primarily expands institutional capacity, funds wraparound services and administration, buys equipment for selected partners, and counts enrollment and process activity while the original job numbers shrink. “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.” — Milton Friedman The Record Voters Can Examine The grant was never going to be a pure private-sector job machine. The documents show capacity-building for tribes and partners, barrier-removal hubs, and institutional training. That is what the money is doing. French made the 900-job promise the centerpiece of his record and his reelection argument. So far, the results—reduced targets, low placement numbers, delayed equipment, and continued expansion of government and NGO roles—are the record voters can examine. Stay Engaged Today 10:00 a.m. Weekly Board of Commissioners meeting featuring the monthly Q&A “Citizens’ Forum.” Details here. 1:30 p.m. Board of Health meeting. Will they admit the current harm “expansion” approach is failing? Will the Board hold Health Officer Allison Berry accountable for her violent and extreme political statements? Details here. 6:00 p.m. City of Port Angeles regular meeting featuring a presentation on Candelaria (potential buyer of the old McKinley Mill) and the reintroduction of “net ecological gain,” which divided the council last December. Details here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ccwatchdog.com

  8. Oct 19

    Berry and French’s Harm Reduction Leaves a Body Count on Highway 101

    This summer, a Clallam County Sheriff’s deputy followed a frantic man into the dark along the south side of Highway 101 in the “Baker Dip” in east Port Angeles. “Come here and look,” the man said. “Right here.” Two people were down. Neither was breathing. Paramedics arrived, confirmed no pulses, and began CPR while more sirens closed in. One of the men, John Michael Adkins, 54, was later taken to Harborview Medical Center and died. The other, Jamie C. Trudeau, 61, was transported with a weak pulse after Narcan. Both had been found next to bicycles on a walkway protected by concrete barriers, amid a construction site. Drug paraphernalia—plastic “tooter” straws and burnt tin foil used to smoke controlled substances—was recovered at the scene and booked into safekeeping. The Scene on Highway 101 This is the actual cost of the harm-reduction expansion Dr. Allison Berry has championed and that Board of Health Chair Commissioner Mike French has defended. French recently told a Rotary group that the county expanded harm reduction a few years ago largely in response to the Jamestown MAT Clinic opening, framing the free supplies as a way “to create a connection with active drug users so that you can leverage that connection to get them to go to treatment.” He said the desire was treatment. The result on a stretch of highway many residents drive every day was two men who had collapsed together, unresponsive, one of them dead, with the tools of their addiction nearby. What the County’s Own Numbers Show The county’s own numbers undermine the claim that drug users are being “connected” to services. In a recent Kiwanis debate with Jake Seegers, French acknowledged that many people see “syringe exchange programs” as enabling. Seegers answered with the board of health’s own data: of roughly 12,000 encounters last year, only 27 were referred to services. That is a referral rate, not confirmed entry into treatment. Seegers noted that it isn’t a syringe “exchange” program at all — people can obtain hundreds of syringes at a time along with boofing kits, pipes, lighters, and foil for fentanyl — all taxpayer-funded and unrestricted. “We don’t have a syringe exchange program anymore,” Seegers said. No Pathway to Treatment John Adkins and Jamie Trudeau never found the pathway French described. The Lieutenant’s supplemental report concluded both men had overdosed on an unknown controlled substance, likely an opiate, and collapsed at roughly the same time, with no obvious signs of foul play. Responders identified Adkins from items in his belongings; Trudeau had a red backpack and a bicycle on him. Their clothes were cut for CPR. Perishable goods were field-destroyed. First responders performed CPR in the dark, requested additional fire resources, and later collected the paraphernalia. Those same responders then went home after watching two lives flirt with death on the sidewalk. It’s just another day on the job in a county that gives addicts the tools that trap them in their addiction. Silence from Local Media and Officials Local media has not treated this as news residents should know. The Peninsula Daily News has not been contacted by the county to report two overdoses—one fatal—on a high-traffic stretch of Highway 101. How many of these overdoses are being covered up and ignored? Here’s what the front page featured the day after the incident: Getting the public ready for another EMS levy. The Resources and the Trauma As voters consider EMS levies and commissioners discuss a criminal-justice tax to hire more law enforcement, the video of this response is worth watching. It shows the resources—deputies, medics, fire—devoted to people the county first equipped with drug use supplies and then abandoned to the consequences of using street drugs. Warning: the body-worn camera footage is hard to watch because you are watching a life end. The officer arrives, finds both men unresponsive, calls it in, and the paramedics begin compressions while bystanders describe discovering them. Blood is visible near one man’s face from the fall onto the curb. There is no heartbeat. More units arrive. Watch it, and you’ll witness a life ending. The Choice Before the County Clallam County cannot claim to be a first-world community or a compassionate society while it supplies the tools of self-destruction and then measures success by the number of free kits distributed rather than the number of people who stop using them. French’s defense of the expansion as a treatment bridge has not produced the promised results. Berry’s tenure has expanded the program. Seegers has offered the alternative: stop funding unlimited paraphernalia with taxpayer money, stop pretending 27 referrals out of 12,000 encounters is a success, and focus on recovery rather than managing an open-air decline that ends on the side of a highway. At least one man is dead. The policy that enabled the conditions of his final night remains in place. Residents can decide whether that is the outcome they want their tax dollars and their Board of Health to keep producing. “You cannot be truly compassionate while you are helping someone destroy themselves.” — Common formulation in addiction-recovery circles Tell Them This Death Was Preventable Tomorrow is the monthly Board of Health meeting. Come and tell the BOH—which includes the three commissioners and Dr. Allison Berry—that harm reduction isn’t working. Tell them about this death. It could have been prevented, but instead this county enabled it. The October 20, 2026 Board of Health meeting is your chance to force the question into the open. It runs 1:30–3:30 p.m. in the Clallam County Courthouse Board of Commissioners Meeting Room 160, 223 E. 4th Street, Port Angeles. You can attend in person or join virtually and comment online. Show up. Speak. Demand better. Thank you to CCWD reader Leia for the tip that made this story possible. Stay Engaged This Week Tuesday Note: Darren Littell is unable to attend. Viet Nguyen, President of 5G Americas, will advocate for repealing the Millionaire’s Tax. Tuesday The weekly commissioners’ meeting that begins at 10:00 a.m. will feature the monthly “Citizens’ Forum,” your only chance to engage with the commissioners in a two-way dialogue. You can attend in person or virtually. Tuesday The monthly Board of Health meeting, with all three commissioners and Health Officer Allison Berry, will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the commissioners’ boardroom. Public comment is allowed in person or virtually. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ccwatchdog.com

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About

Holding County Leaders Accountable www.ccwatchdog.com

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  • Creator
    Jeff Tozzer
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    417
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jeff Tozzer
  • Show Website
    Clallam County Watchdog

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