County Council Ignores The Public Again, Brings Out Extra Security
When I showed up today I noticed immediately the extra security. When I noticed a County employee directing them I went up to him and he said, "Hello, Mr. Anderson." I said, "You know my name, huh?" He claimed to be the head of security and that we've met before and talked on the phone when I was looking for answers for the mysterious "gas leak" during the wrestlers' special BOH meeting. I don't ever remember meeting him but he sure knew me. Hmmmm.
Security stayed in place and the head of security stayed in the room until I left, even though in the end I was the only person still there... he stayed and only left when I left.
The Council was obtuse to those that came and spoke today and made us wait until the end of the meeting, over an hour and a half, to comment about the Jail Services takeover. However, they didn't stop a union rep from all the County employee unions to give comments during the agenda only time, even though her complaint wasn't on the agenda. If that were me they would've shut me down. In fact, when I did share they stopped me right at 3 mins but let others finish their thought before closing off their mic. It's pretty clear, they don't like our efforts and want to frustrate, intimidate and ignore us as much as possible.
There were several good comments that brought up that the Council and County Manager basically interfered with the Sheriff election by taking the one that lost that they most likely favored and selected him even though the voters did not.
Many of us asked questions of the Councilors and County Manager yet they decided not to answer and ignore all the concerns presented.
So, where do we go from here?
- We work twice as hard for Belkot and Benton to get elected. We need convincing wins from both to not only get them on the Council but shake things up for the rest who sit on the Council to shape up or they'll be shipped out. Seriously, volunteer these last few weeks and make a donation to each campaign.
- Keep showing up. They use bureaucratic redtape to get us out and grant them more power and leverage. They overstack the meetings with so much in hopes to discourage us and suppress people from coming out (who's go time to sit for a couple of hours while they make empty proclamations, bicker over spending our tax dollars and giving each other awards and gushing compliments. Exposure brings their corruption to light and brings about desire for reform. The more we engage, the more impact we'll have. Our system of government is predicated on involvement of the citizenry. If we don't show up corruption ensues.
- They are monitoring these email updates. Recently, I did a public records request of the health department and found that a county employee was on the email list and forwarding my email updates to warn them and let them know if we were heading their way (so to speak). And now today they had beefed up security thinking we were going to show up in mass. Some did show up but many did not. We had maybe 15 people with 5 or so speaking. We'll have to have more folks than that to move the needle and turn up the heat on their sheninagans.
- The Jail Services Is A Big Deal. This isn't just about who's going to handle Jail Services from now on. This is about the voting public having less control over our local government and the unelected bureaucrats having more control and overreach in our lives. We are on the verge of electing a new Sheriff and the administrative state of Clark County just took the candidate they wanted to win but the voters rejected and went around us to give him almost half of the Sheriff's budget and responsibilities anyway. Trust me, if they thought they could take other departments from the Sheriff legally, they'd do it.
Next Meeting Wed 10/5 Starting At 9AM
Work Session- Hybrid; join in person or WebEx
Participate in the following ways:
- In person, 6th floor of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver, WA 98666
- Join by computer:
- https://clarkwa.webex.com/clarkwa/j.php?MTID=e8f382f626b9095a0cb25680e8402eb4d
- Join by phone: Dial: 1-408-418-9388
- Access Code: 2490 114 0952
Talking Points For Public Comment - Always Be Respectful and Civil
- Why did you withhold from the public the plan to install Shook or that you had candidates in mind?
- Both County Manager and Councilors assured the public this was just "the first step" implying the public would be involved but before the public could even give comment again people were installed.
- You stripped the Jail Services from an elected official and now is under unelected bureaucrats, twice removed from under the Council.
- Based on the Sheriff's 9/26 internal video... he was "shocked" & "angry." How can it be that he "supported" the transfer and is that what the public can expect from the County Manager?
- County Manager only toured the Jail recently but she's supposed to manage all county properties, which in all accounts is in terrible shape and leading to many complaints, why are we rewarding her with more when she hasn't done well with previous responsibilities with the County Jail building?
- “We’ll work with all internal and external partners” - was a promise made by the County Manager but why don't the County Manager and Councilors consider the Public to be a serious partner?
- You ignored both Sheriff candidates who took time out of their busy schedules and the only comment was "the timing is unfortunate." Since then, every candidate running for County Council has criticized the decision. This is only going to cause more distrust and friction between Law Enforcement and the Council, all during a time of the higher crime and when public safety concerns are a top issue in the county.
- You didn't take the Jail Services from the Sheriff only, you took it from the people and gave it over to unelected bureaucrats.
Kathy McDonald Exposed: Again
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