Local Republican Violates Bylaws, Gets Voted Off The Island

Clallam County Commissioner Mike Chapman, a Republican, is being punished by the Good Ol’ Boys of his own party.

In last November’s election, Chapman endorsed Steve Tharinger, a Democrat, over Republican Bob Forde. As a result, Chapman received a letter from the County Office of the Republican Party, telling him that he had violated the party’s bylaws and was “barred from holding yourself as a Republican with any standing” for a 2-year period.

Chapman told the PDN “I thought political free speech trumps bylaws.”

Both parties are guilty of this. They claim it’s part of their right to free assembly. Whatever.

But this case is extreme. There are Republicans and then there are Republicans. Check out this website, which is partially written by Bob Forde. These articles are not your garden variety Republican viewpoints.

In December 1999, Mike Chapman was one of the customs inspectors who seized a would-be Algerian terrorist, Ahmed Ressam, during a foot chase through Port Angeles. Ressam was riding on the MV Coho with 133 pounds of bomb-making materials in his car. He dove off the Coho and ended up running through downtown Port Angeles. He was tackled by Chapman.

Graffiti in Port Angeles

Finally it gets acknowledged in the PDN. Peak’s Pub sure seems to be a favorite target for graffiti “artists.”

This article quotes the police department and the Downtown Association as saying the best way to deal with graffiti is to paint over it quickly. “It discourages taggers from continuing. They don't tag along on it. Someone puts it up and somebody else wants to have their two bits worth. Clearing it up tends to discourage an expansion of the graffiti.”

And yet earlier in the article they said Peak’s Pub was tagged right after the owners had painted over the old graffiti. Wanda Smith — she and her husband Ed are the owners — said: “We got hit a couple of weekends ago, so Sunday we repainted the whole side of the building and by Monday, they’d hit us again. Before the paint dried, they did it again.”

The article also didn’t mention that if your building gets tagged, YOU are in violation of the law until you’ve painted over the graffiti. That’s sort of like prosecuting a mugging victim for vagrancy.

It’s hard to know how much impact there is from graffiti and similar crimes. There are obviously a lot more serious crimes than that. But according to the Fixing Broken Windows theory, these crimes do have a large impact. “Minor” crimes like graffiti, a broken window, garbage on the streets, etc. are causing a blighted appearance which will set the stage for more serious crimes.

This problem needs to be dealt with.

Downtown Port Angeles A Mess

Well, it worked. Let’s see, we’ll tear down both of the Eighth Street bridges at the same time. This will funnel all cross-town traffic through downtown Port Angeles. Then, at the same time, we’ll schedule the construction work on our downtown $14 million bus depot.

And that’s not all: Let’s also schedule downtown sidewalk construction at the same time, so that the main 2-lane streets can be narrowed to one lane. Everyone who's trying to get from Point A to Point B will have to go downtown, and when they get there they’ll have to sit in a traffic jam. A Perfect Storm.

One merchant on Front Street said he asked several weeks ago how long that lane on Front Street would be closed, and they told him “two more weeks.” A few days ago they told him again “two more weeks.” Next summer they’ll probably be saying “two more weeks.”

And now apparently several state regulations prohibit the city government from providing any economic assistance to downtown merchants whose businesses are suffering as a result. Too bad there weren’t any state agencies to intervene when Port Angeles was scheduling all of these projects for the exact same time.

A Prison for Port Angeles?

Mayor Gary Braun mentioned the possibility of building a prison in Port Angeles. Prisons are a necessary evil but do we want one here?

According to the mayor it could create up to 300 new jobs. But is this the image we want for Port Angeles? As Karen Rogers said: “It’s just not a good fit for this community.”

City Councilman Larry Williams said he's heard from lots of people about the idea. “They told me we already have a prison in Clallam Bay, and they would just as soon leave it out there and expand it if needed.”

What do you think?

Makah Whaling: Federal Law vs. 1855 Treaty

The plot thickens. The five Makah tribal members who killed a gray whale last September might be protected by the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay, which grants them the right to hunt whales in the Pacific and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Or, they might have to obey the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

This Tuesday, lawyers for the Makah will argue in federal court that the Makah are protected by the 1855 treaty and hence not restricted by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Which law do you think should have a higher priority: the Treaty of Neah Bay of 1855 or the Marine Mammal Protection Act?

Aggravating the Recession by reporting on it

Do you think the recession and the housing slump have become even worse because the media has talked about them? The president of the North Peninsula Building Association made this complaint at the Monday Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

The PDN’s headline on Monday was about the housing crisis and recent layoffs at local mills, and Kevin Russell showed the group a copy of the PDN, saying “Why do we let the media drive our lives?”

This has been a long-running complaint, that when the media reports on a recession, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some downtown Port Angeles merchants are making a similar complaint: the PDN is driving away customers with their constant reporting on downtown construction projects and traffic jams.

It’s sort of an awkward situation; the media can't exactly stay hush-hush about economic news. And yet it does seem like the more news there is about the recession, the less people spend, and the cycle reinforces itself.

Open Government

Now there's a concept — local governments having to record their “secret” and “executive” sessions. This was on the front page of yesterday’s PDN but it’s not available in the online version.

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler (D-Hoquiam) and House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, (R-Chehalis) are both in favor of House Bill 3292. This would require all government agencies in Washington State to record their executive sessions. These recordings would be available for a judge to listen to later on in case there are any disputes or allegations.

The bill is opposed by the Association of Washington Cities and by the Washington State Association of Counties. Guess what our local government agencies (without mentioning any names) think of this bill.

Local Politics: A Tangled Web

When it comes to government intrigue and political infighting, we sure live in “interesting times.” Who needs national or global politics when we have so much political backbiting going on in our own backyard?

I’m not taking sides in this Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce controversy. He Said, She Said...the plot thickens.

Sequim — and Port Angeles — voters have spoken. There's been a regime change in both of these cities, and if some people get tossed out through no fault of their own — well, it happens.

Still, it’s hard not to sympathize with Lee Lawrence. We've all gotten negative performance appraisals that seemed groundless or unfair (haven’t we?).

New Owner for the Crazy Fish

The Crazy Fish has been bought. It will reopen as The Lyre Club sometime next month.

The new owner, Stephanie Anthony, will continue featuring live music. She said: “I'm planning on keeping the live music and looking to incorporate some more blues. Anyone who plays the blues give me a call.” And she will “more than likely” continue the traditional Karaoke Night on Tuesdays.

She said the bar will be named after the Lyre River near Joyce, the musical instrument, and the fact that “bars usually are filled with liars.”

She’s previously worked at the Harbor Deli (now Rick’s Place), The Coffeehouse (where Bella Italia is now located), Downrigger’s and the Peninsula Golf Club.

Bands interested in performing at The Lyre Club can call 925-360-9061.

PDN Rants and Raves 2/3/08

The Sunday Rants and Raves section of the Peninsula Daily News has had an ongoing argument for the past few weeks. When a family pet gets hit by a motorist, is it the fault of the owners for letting their pet run loose? Or is it the driver’s fault?

In today’s paper the argument ended (until next week) with: “Many elderly folks don’t even know when they hit something. Please watch your pets and children.”

I guess that explains why so many drivers go barreling through red lights and crosswalks. Whether they're elderly, inept or just too pre-occupied — stay out of their way. If they run you down they won't even know it.

Maybe driver’s licenses are too easy to get.