Charles Dalton lived in San Juan County , Washington and he just wanted to grow organic blue berries. He was harassed by the Friends of the San Juans (an extremist Gang Green organization) and the Department of Ecology claiming there were wetlands on his property and that he had an illegal tool shed. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
Kay Kohler sold her long-time family property to Snohomish County, Washington State. Then, after they destroyed part of it for a retention pond, they decided to take back most of the money they paid. She lost the property and most of the money they agreed to pay her. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series. I later wrote an article about some of the problems in Snohomish County here.
Chris Weaver lived in Thurston County, Washington and was charged with the crime of killing a pocket gopher. He now has a criminal record because he was trying to clean up his property and he hurt a gopher. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
Jay Howell lived in Thurston County, Washington and discovered that he couldn’t build his home because of a pocket gopher. He had to move the home location, pay thousands of dollars to consultants, and create a large “no touch” zone on his property. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
This was a video story I produced when I worked at the Freedom Foundation as part of the Tales of Tyranny series – this was Cheryl Eberting and her property was flooded and damaged by the incompetence of employees and Central Planners in the City of Bellevue, Washington State
This is how Thurston County frequently treats property owners. Bert Wasch is unable to build his home even after Thurston County is proven to be inaccurate. I produced this video when I was at the Freedom Foundation…
Thurston County Commissioner Sandra Romero is leaving behind an impressive legacy of incompetence, waste, and politically motivated destruction. She has inflicted this damage on hundreds of thousands of people and retarded the potential prosperity of her constituents. While it might be impossible to put a price on the destruction of people’s dreams caused by arrogant politicians and their Central Planning schemes, we can put a price on the $200 million of direct destruction Commissioner Romero has caused in her eight years as commissioner.
For Whistleblowers, please go here to learn more.
In the late 1970s, there was a popular show on TV called the $6 million dollar man. With inflation over time, today, this show would be the $30 million dollar man today. A lot of money for most of us to consider, which probably helped give the original show some support. However, if Sandra Romero had only stolen that much money directly from the county coffers and fled to Mexico where she likes to vacation – local residents would be in far better shape than they are today.
This is not a comprehensive list. More financial harm can be documented by those who wish to dive deeper in the archives of Thurston County’s abusive history, however, for simplicity’s sake, I have limited this calculation to a handful of subjects which were direct damage Sandra Romero inflicted while she served as Thurston County Commissioner from 2008 to the present time. She was a former legislator in the Washington State House of Representatives from 1993 to 2004, and the harm she dumped on the people of Washington State during that venture is not included in this list. Nor am I including the approximately $1.5 million in direct legal bills she cost the citizens of Thurston County when she organized a Futurewise lawsuit against Thurston County while she was on the board of that destructive organization. 
Damages inflicted:
plaintiffs can double the penalties on appeal. The true cost of this lawsuit, a creation entirely of the Thurston County Commissioners and led by Sandra Romero, is still unknown, but money down the drain for sure: $13.3 million.
maintain 7,000 acres of gopher land. This project is unique in the nation, and even the USFWS couldn’t believe they had found a collection of county officials including Sandra Romero willing to allow this scienceless silliness. Total money lost by Thurston County to become a national laughing stock for the gopher tax scheme: $152 million.
There are countless smaller examples of frivolous county waste, abusive regulation and Central Planning schemes which chase the fortunate businesses out of Thurston while destroying the less fortunate who can’t escape in time. The personal dreams destroyed by Sandra Romero and her staff infection are legion, and while I have documented some of them linked at the end of this article, they only scratch the surface. The millions detailed above is very conservative, but it is a number easily attached to the legacy of Sandra Romero, the $200 million Commissioner.
Those who wish to carry on Sandra Romero’s Legacy
A new election is upon the residents of Thurston County. In 2016, we will choose two new commissioners to replace the incompetent and destructive ones retiring. Democrat candidate Jim Cooper is running in the other open seat and has promised to follow in Sandra’s footsteps, perhaps even kick up the pain and suffering another notch or two. Any other choice will be better than the financial doom and human suffering he promises to inflict. Jim Cooper may be the only politician in the county striving to break Sandra Romero’s record.
In Sandra Romero’s seat, there are currently two options. One is the former sheriff, Gary Edwards, who is running largely to save Thurston County from the ravages of such an incompetent legacy as detailed above. The other is Kelsey Helse, who has been recruited by Sandra to continue her legacy. Kelsey is connected to Congressman Denny Heck (a friend of his daughter-in-law) and related to Tumwater City Councilman Eileen Swarthout. If more destruction and harm to Thurston County is desired, she will be the candidate to support in this race.
In balance, some positive aspects of Romero’s tenure
In the interest of balance and fairness, I think it is important to point out the positive aspects as well as the negatives. There were some positive elements of Commissioner Sandra Romero’s legacy which will be left behind. Here they are:
It wasn’t worth having a $200 million commissioner like Sandra Romero. Neither us, nor our children will be able to afford many more like her in the future. Unfortunately, for the people of Thurston County, Sandra Romero has chosen to leave county government worse than she left it, but at least this plague will finally pass.
Our Constitution begins with the phrase “we the people.” It was the founder’s intent that government be created by the people, to serve the people. It wasn’t their intention for the people to serve the government. It was always intended that government which failed to serve the people should be “altered or abolished.” Until we return to the founder’s intent, we remain We the Governed…
Related Articles for additional background:
Thurston County Punishes Rural Serfs Again
Thurston County invents new $42,000 gopher tax for new home owners
A Plague of Consequences in Thurston County
Thurston County Commissioners Deny the Reality of Math
Thurston County Bag Ban – Paper or Plastic?
Lawsuit Filed Against Thurston County over Pocket Gopher Process
Tales of Tyranny – Bert Wasch Story – Thurston County denies his right to build a home for 5 years
Thurston County to Citizens: Living here is a real gamble
Childish Political Leadership in Thurston County is costing Taxpayers Millions
Thurston County Demonstrates How Not to Build a Jail
Tales of Tyranny – Misti Chastain – Thurston County attempts to destroy her farm business
Tales of Tyranny – Chris Weaver – Thurston County makes him a criminal for hurting a gopher
The Douglas County Commissioners committed gross misdemeanors and should be removed from office. The County Prosecutor may provide cover for them; here is what should be done.
Incompetent local government is not the exclusive specialty of Democrats; Republicans can also join the club if they also fail to remember they were originally elected as servants of the people. In Douglas County, Washington State a recent public records request exposed the fact that the County Commissioners (all Republicans) failed to file official capital asset reports with the County Auditor for half a decade. The penalty for this egregious incompetence (RCW 36.32.210) is a gross misdemeanor and a conviction will result in forced removal from their elected office. Any taxpayer of Douglas County can bring this cause of action against these elected officials.
For Whistleblowers, please go here to learn more.
I have been writing recently about Thurston County’s incompetence when it comes to tracking Capital Assets (stories here and here). Apparently, these inspired some local activists in Douglas County to file a records request on March 17 to discover how the local government in Douglas County manages their assets. These local citizens were shocked. It turns out, Douglas County doesn’t manage them very well either. In fact, they are even worse than Thurston County. Beating Thurston County for bad local governance takes a lot of practice and effort to get it this wrong.
There are only a handful of tasks which a county commissioner is absolutely obligated to perform. At a minimum these tasks include passing a budget, determining taxes, attending commissioner meetings, serving as the Board of Health, and managing the taxpayers’ assets (not that you could tell this from how the Municipal Research Service explains it here). Despite this, the Douglas County Commissioners still failed to get their job done. Not just for one year, but for the last half a decade. Neither they, nor the highly paid senior bureaucrats who work for them, noticed or cared.
The County Commissioners are responsible for the Capital Assets they manage, purchase, or sell, and ( RCW 36.32.210) they must file and sign an oath that the inventory reports are accurate. According to the statute, if the reports are wrong, incorrect or failed to be filed – the Commissioners are liable, from section 3:
“(3) Any county commissioner failing to file such statement or willfully making any false or incorrect statement therein or aiding or abetting in the making of any false or incorrect statement is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.”
To add to the criminal penalty, section 4 & 5 requires removal from office:
“(4) It is the duty of the prosecuting attorney of each county to within three days from the calling to his or her attention of any violation to institute proceedings against such offending official and in addition thereto to prosecute appropriate action to remove such commissioner from office.
(5) Any taxpayer of such county is hereby authorized to institute the action in conjunction with or independent of the action of the prosecuting attorney.”
Section 5, quoted above, is particularly instructive for the taxpayers of Douglas County because it is well-known, unfortunately, that many county prosecutors no longer see themselves as defenders of the citizens who elect them to office. Instead, the trend has been for county prosecutors to view themselves as defenders of the local elected officials, no matter how criminal they behave or what crimes they commit. Douglas County Prosecutor Steven Clem has held office since 1994. Will he perform his duty and challenge these commissioners?
Okay, the Douglas County Commissioners committed a gross misdemeanor and should be removed from office. If the County Prosecutor fails to perform his duty to begin removal proceedings, what should be done next?
Step 1 – Elections – you control your own destiny
The first step is to elect two new commissioners this year. Two of the incumbent Douglas County Commissioners are up for election this year. Incumbent Commissioner Ken Stanton from District 1 has been in office for 16 years now. In 2008, nobody even bothered to run against him. Douglas County Commissioner Dale Snyder from District 2 won in 2012 with a slim margin of 417 votes. At this time, one challenger, Kyle Steinberg has filed to run against incumbent Commissioner Snyder. It would probably be worthwhile to contact Mr. Steinberg and see if he understands the importance of inventory management and following the law. If you like his positions, he would certainly be better than the incumbent.
Related to this, the Douglas County Prosecutor has become fossilized after more than two decades collecting a paycheck from the citizens of Douglas County. He is up for election in 2018. He ran unopposed last time when he picked “no party” preference. This is further evidence that incompetence in government needs no political affiliation. The time to start recruiting a more honest replacement to run for this office should start now, and the campaign should start the day after you find the candidate – even if the campaign takes a year or more.
Step 2 – File formal notice with the Prosecutor
From a legal process standpoint, it is important to serve formal notice to the Douglas County Prosecutor that the Commissioners have violated RCW 36.32.210 and should be charged with a gross misdemeanor. Douglas County Prosecutor Clem may attempt to play out the clock, and throw up the classic defense that the Douglas County Commissioners didn’t “willfully” violate the law, but just didn’t do their job for half a decade. This is known as the “We are not crooks, just incompetent” defense. Nobody will argue against their claims of incompetence, but this is just a way to avoid responsibility. The prosecutor may fail to prosecute, of course, even if he pretends to consider it. However, no judge can claim you didn’t try to get him to do his job.
Step 3 – File Criminal Charges against the Douglas County Commissioners yourself
Usually, when the prosecutor fails to do his job, the citizens have few options to get the job done. However, the black letter law in this case is crystal clear – any Douglas County taxpayer can file charges “independent of the action of the prosecuting attorney.” Unless you happen to be very capable pro se, it would be best if you found a local attorney willing to take your case. It wouldn’t hurt to also charge the prosecutor with failure to do his duty at the same time – the judge might dismiss it, but you never know. No matter how hard the incumbent Douglas County Commissioners try to prove they are incompetent rather than criminal, the taxpayers of Douglas County will benefit by forcing their elected officials to take inventory stewardship and management seriously for a change. After all, it is your money they are mismanaging.
In the end, it is up to us to hold our elected officials accountable.
Step 4 – Don’t let the State Legislature water down this law
Like all rules and laws that hold elected officials or bureaucrats accountable, this law is under attack. In 2010, former Republican Representative Gary Alexander (who lived in Thurston County) was the sole sponsor to repeal this law. The bill he proposed is linked here. It was proposed and described as a minor “technical” fix. The bill passed the Washington State House with unanimous bipartisan support, lost in the mix of hundreds of far more controversial and interesting bills. I know that some of these legislators didn’t even know what this bill did.
Fortunately, for people who care about local accountability, the bill was killed in the Senate. As best I can tell, it looks like only citizen Arthur West stood up in the Senate hearing and testified against it – you can read his summarized con statement included here. Representative Alexander resigned from the legislature in 2013 after being appointed Thurston County Auditor, and losing the election that same year.
Nobody has proposed repealing this accountability law since. Hopefully, when the bureaucrats inevitably try again, we can stand up against them like citizen Arthur West. Sometimes it only takes one person to make a difference.
Study your local government. Don’t trust, and always verify. Look closely, dig deep, ask questions, and hold them accountable. Make them earn your trust, and when in doubt – it is probably best to throw them out.
Our Constitution begins with the phrase “we the people.” It was the founder’s intent that government be created by the people, to serve the people. It wasn’t their intention for the people to serve the government. It was always intended that government which failed to serve the people should be “altered or abolished.” Until we return to the founder’s intent, we remain We the Governed…
Direct Link to Dropbox file where most of these inventory related documents can be downloaded for you is linked here
*Update – local radio station covers this story – County recognizes they violated the law, and claim it was just minor clerical error here
Related articles for reference:
Thurston County Spends $5k for a $3K computer, then loses 12 of them
Thurston County finds $60K of missing computers, uses 3 card Monte excuse
Thurston County spends $8 million and 18 years to make a $4 million empty building worth $2 million
Douglas County Prosecutor Picks “No Party”
What happens when the Central Planners Fail?
A plague of consequences in Thurston County
Douglas County Judge orders Patriot arrested
Yeah, let’s give these guys more of our hard earned money
It is axiomatic that government wastes much of our hard-earned tax dollars. This fact is not controversial although it is frustrating. In Thurston County, Washington State, politicians and bureaucrats demonstrate (once again) this waste in just one real estate purchase. It is worth remembering this example when someone tells you that government is the solution to our problems.
For Whistleblowers, please go here to learn more
Thurston County purchased a manufacturing warehouse building in 1998, and proceeded to spend at least $8 million over the next 18 years devaluing the asset they acquired. The most imaginative fiction writer wouldn’t create a scenario like this and expect anyone to suspend disbelief enough to accept the story. Unfortunately, this is nonfiction, and it should remind us all why limited government is a noble objective, capable of creating freedom and financial dividends. In the meantime, this is Thurston County. Read it and weep.
In 1998, the Thurston County Commissioners chose to purchase an old commercial building located in one of the few industrial parks located in Thurston County – near the state capitol in the City of Olympia. The building was originally a fish processing facility, and the commissioner’s original grand plan was to convert the building (now called the 3400 Building) into a new county jail facility. The 3400 Building was purchased using bonding debt for $3.8 million using a dedicated sales tax revenue stream that was intended to be used only for public safety projects like a new jail. Good intentions paved the way.
Problems cropped up shortly after the county acquired the building when it was determined by then-County Sheriff Gary Edwards (now running for Thurston County Commissioner), that the building was completely inadequate for the needs of a new jail in Thurston County. It remains unclear why he was not consulted before the building purchase.
Remorse Amortization
Government agencies, like the individuals who run them, are fallible. This saga, however, gets worse as the effort to justify the original purchase compounded the mistake. The elected commissioners, in coordination and with approval of the then-new County Manager Don Krupp (who has wisely left Thurston County for greener pastures as Clackamas County Manager, Oregon), spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultants and studies trying to understand how best to utilize this property. At one point they were approached by Shipwreck Beads and other private, tax-paying businesses interested in acquiring or renting the facility. The Thurston County Commissioners rejected every opportunity to cut their losses and ensure the building could at least start paying property taxes rather than cost the taxpayers more.
Instead, the decision was made to sink good money into an already bad investment. Thurston County dumped about $2.1 million into seismic upgrades and hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on various remodel efforts over the years. During this time, the building was largely empty, unused by Thurston County.
Multiple efforts were made to convince various branches of county government to move into this building, but most local elected officials over a decade and a half realized it was not worth moving their employees, or their offices to this empty facility, even after the expensive remodeling expenditures. Finally, the sheriff’s office was convinced to use the large warehouse facility for some limited storage.
During the last 18 years, the taxpayers of Thurston County picked up the costs of power, lighting, landscape maintenance, and some heat for the building to prevent mold from growing inside the empty facility. Best estimates are that these costs alone equaled $900,000 for an empty building.
How to destroy a commercial building’s value by turning the parking lot into an expensive permanent homeless camp.
This 3400 Building was on a large commercial lot that came with the facility. This was a significant part of the property value for potential light manufacturing businesses that might consider using this building. However, much of this asset was gifted by Thurston County to the state’s most expensive homeless tent-shelter program called Camp Quixote. Camp Quixote (sometimes called Quixote Village) is a 30 micro-cabin project intended for use by approximately 30 homeless persons. It was built for about $200 per square foot, which is far more than your house costs. While Camp Quixote absorbed millions of tax-payer dollars ($3 million in grants as best I can research at this point), they only had to pay Thurston County $1 for occupation of the parking lot in perpetuity.
While I testified against this significant capital asset giveaway by Thurston County as a violation of the illegal gifting of public resources clause (article 8, section 7) in the Washington State Constitution, my concerns were rejected at the time by County Commissioners Sandra Romero, Karen Valenzuela, and Cathy Wolfe and county manager, Don Krupp. Manager Krupp pointed out an exception to this constitutional restriction if they gave the property to the destitute. By destitute, he was not referring to the grant recipients who live off the millions of dollars given to the camp, but by the people squeezed into its Home Depot-like shelters.
While a homeless encampment next door might add value in some Washington State communities, this appears to have the opposite impact on the 3400 Building which rapidly began to depreciate in value. This came as a complete surprise to the Thurston County Commissioners and their central planning department (euphemistically called “Resource Stewardship”).
Violating State Law by Illegal Diversion of Tax Dollars
While the empty 3400 Building was finishing the second decade of vacancy under Thurston County’s stewardship, concerned citizens were investigating Thurston County’s other big empty building (a brand new jail, which had only been sitting empty for five years). In the course of his citizen activism exploring the deep recesses of the Thurston County budget, citizen Jon Petit discovered that money was being illegally diverted from the sales detention tax fund (a fund which is legally required to ONLY be used for public safety purposes) to cover funding the money pit 3400 Building which had no relevance to public safety in any way.
To his credit, County Manager Don Krupp recognized the violation of state law, and set Thurston County up in a payment plan to reimburse the illegally diverted sales tax dollars back into the fund. Those public safety funds have still not been completely reimbursed after the original illegal diversion, but current Thurston County Manager Cliff Moore promises that someday those funds will be returned.
Selling a Shrinking Capital Asset – Cutting your losses, and Trust
The empty 3400 Building’s true market value is now $1.8 million. The Capital Assets Report lists this building’s value at near $6 million, which has little basis in reality. The county squandered that much and more hard earned taxpayer funds on the building, but the real world value is far less.
Sometimes it is best to cut your losses, and I support the recent move by Thurston County to sell this white elephant money pit before it drags our community further into pointless debt.
Some of this year’s newest voters were not born when Thurston County purchased this building. During the entirety of their lives, Thurston County was unable to make productive use of this empty building, and gave away half the property for a homeless encampment next door .
Yeah, we can trust our elected officials and bureaucrats, let’s give them even more of our money…
More articles about Thurston County for additional background:
Reward up to $25,000 after dog named “Justice” found raped and killed in Thurston County
Thurston County Punishes Rural Serfs Again
Thurston County invents new $42,000 gopher tax for new home owners
A Plague of Consequences in Thurston County
Thurston County Commissioners Deny the Reality of Math
Thurston County Bag Ban – Paper or Plastic?
Lawsuit Filed Against Thurston County over Pocket Gopher Process
Tales of Tyranny – Bert Wasch Story – Thurston County denies his right to build a home for 5 years
Thurston County to Citizens: Living here is a real gamble
Childish Political Leadership in Thurston County is costing Taxpayers Millions
I’ve been receiving various reports for years that The Olympian, a “local” newspaper, has a practice of censoring letters to the editor if they disagree with the political content of those letters. I was skeptical of those claims because my past experience indicated they would on occasion, print letters critical of the politicians and policies which the paper has endorsed. However, my past experience might be a relic of history as The Olympian appears to be getting more extreme in their censorship efforts. Here is an example of a letter to the editor (written as a poem) rejected by The Olympian last week:
For Whistleblowers, please go here to learn more
MY JOURNEY
My journey began in 1944
Near the end of the Great World War
Six siblings and every one a boy
You might say life wasn’t always a joy
My schooling wasn’t that great
Every other day I’d arrive late
To say that my grade point was a farce
An understatement, as even a C was sparse
My fate took a good turn when I found a wife
She gave me cause to make something of my life
Children and a home
And not far from Olympia did I ever roam
Work became my passion, always self employed
But no vacations and 60-hour weeks weren’t always enjoyed
But years of paying taxes and payments on that piece of commercial land
Was the pot at the end of the rainbow that would make my life grand
I’m 70+ and would like to retire
The joints in my body feel like they’re on fire
If I was in Phoenix now I’d feel no pain
I’d have nothing to lose and everything to gain
So 72 I hit and I want to realize the American dream
And retirement or so it would seem
But low and behold after 50 years of toil
I’m told, “No luck – You have gopher soil!”
Submitted by Thurston County resident George Johnson last week.
The email response back from Brad Shannon, at The Olympian on Friday, March 25 was as follows:
George,
I was ready to move this letter toward publication. Then I learned that your project wasn’t blocked by gopher soil. Rather it was a timing issue – you didn’t get papers in soon enough for a review. If that’s the case, the letter is not quite true. Do you want to revise this?
Thanks.
Brad Shannon
Olympian editorial page editor, 360-754-5495
It is true that a newspaper has every right to censor the letters they publish. This in itself is a reasonable policy because nobody needs a paper to be printing nasty libel, profanity, or other clearly harmful letters that I am certain a newspaper editor has to swim through on a regular basis.
Keep in mind, he didn’t reject the letter because The Olympian doesn’t allow poetry in their LTE section. Brad apparently had Thurston County staff (or some fellow traveller) review the letter and then challenge the writer. The project the author references was indeed denied because of gopher soil for which he didn’t get the paperwork filed in time because of the bizarre timing associated with Thurston County’s approach to the pocket gopher properties in the first place. Despite this fact, there is a sad truth in the widespread belief that local papers have largely lost their objectivity when reporting on issues with any political policy angle.
In this case, even the hint that there might be a problem with the pocket gopher scam perpetuated and enthusiastically pushed by the Thurston County Commissioners and their political allies who control The Olympian is reason enough to deny publication.
The Olympian was once a proud, local paper reporting on important issues in our state Capital and around the region. Accusations of political favoritism have always been around, and there was probably truth behind those accusations. However, there is great community value with a local paper willing to investigate and report on local stories. Traditionally, there was a goal to at least have the veneer of independence. However, with the increasing budget in both local and state agencies on public information officers (PIOs), and with the declining circulation and profit of traditional newspapers, it is inevitable that they become tools of the local political elite – easily manipulated and used for their own purposes.
A few points to remember about The Olympian today:
Local papers like The Olympian are disappearing. They will be replaced, and the pace of change is accelerating. The only question left is what will replace them?
Until we can answer that question with certainty, we will continue to observe the decline of these legacy media efforts, reduce our trust in their reporting (knowing they are becoming more biased over time), and realize that journalistic objectivity is long gone from local media. Local residents like George Johnson won’t be allowed to criticize the pocket gopher scam even in an oblique way by submitting his letter to The Olympian. All of us will just have to keep exposing the truth on our own, using social media, blog sites, and direct communication with our neighbors.
Related articles for reference:
The Olympian Sees Continual Decline in Circulation
The Olympian Circulation Drop Stabilizes
Thurston County Invents a new $42,000 gopher tax for new home owners
Thurston County spends $5K for a $3K Computer, then loses 12 of them
Thurston County punishes Rural Serfs Again
In Olympia, It is time to stand up to rock throwers
Olympia prioritizes housing for sex offenders, felons, and fugitives
Thurston County Commissioners Deny the Reality of Math
Thurston County punishes rural serfs – again
Thurston County Manager Cliff Moore to property owners: Living Here is a Big Gamble
Childish Political Leadership in Thurston County is Costing Taxpayers Millions
Thurston County demonstrates how NOT to build a jail
Thurston County Commissioners create a plague of consequences
