A Venue for Citizen Journalists
New 33-unit project makes matters worse
Thanks to generous donations from readers, this site is renovated and improved.
Affordability has been a ruse for creating market rate housing.
Represent Us and Our Interests. Please!
Local action in support of a proposal to rebuild nationwide infrastructure
Who’s Superman when you need him? We are.
From Musk’s big investment all the way to local campaigns, political “contributions” will be re-paid. Here’s how.
Private banks are fighting hard to keep us from starting our own state bank. There’s a reason.
To be so manifestly unqualified and yet not be deeply aware of that speaks exactly to the very point of not being qualified.
Chaos likely to ensue. Catastrophe cannot be ruled out.
There is no escape from the deep-throated roar and the clouds of filth produced by these machines.
A perspective from a very old liberal political junkie.
Deeds, not talk, count on Veterans Day
Several days ago, I received the following from Veterans Service Officer (VSO), Liz Witowski, of the Whatcom County Veterans Program (items below in bold are mine). On this Veterans Day, the
An off-budget $5 Trillion National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), along the lines of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) that operated between 1932-1957, means low-cost loans and no additions to the deficit.
Medicare Advantage is NOT Medicare. Medicare is there to provide health care. Medicare Advantage is a business, there to make money.
David Swanson verifies what Jon Humphrey has said for years: good internet access benefits people, cities, counties, and states.
Or perhaps tragic farce or farcical tragedy might be more apt descriptors. Pick one, or both.
After nearly 30 years online, and literally being one of the oldest blogs on the internet, Northwest Citizen needs a major programming overhaul. To do so, we need your help.
The top 20% of commercial banks in the United States control 95% of our total banking assets. Remember “Too-Big-to-Fail”?
The City has created another useless document ensuring nothing changes and mediocre communication services are protected.
Why a vote for Jason Call for Congress is a good vote for conservatives, liberals, Democrats and Republicans. Yes, an unusual idea.
Heaven forbid our reps should attack the main problem, Medicare Advantage, head on. But no. They must nibble around the edges to give the appearance of doing something.
Morally significant double binds force doctors and combat soldiers into identical life and death quandaries, damaging their moral centers. To these two groups we can also add law enforcement officers.
Eric Hirst gives us a brief and clear explanation of the water adjudication process that is beginning now in Whatcom County
“Citing the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the paper  [Less Care at Higher Cost—The Medicare Advantage Paradox] notes that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have overcharged the
Aggressive citizen involvement carried the day.
Build-for-profit, incarceration-inspired housing is destroying our souls.
A 54-photo tour of the ruptured pipe area of the Whatcom Creek explosion taken in July 1999.
The last of the scrap metal is loaded on the ship and it will be gone from our town.
Below is an audio tape of 911 calls, emergency responders’ radio communications, and local radio coverage from June 10, 1999 when Whatcom Creek exploded in Bellingham
Whatcom County’s confusing water rights will be defined by court proceedings beginning now
The foam of secrecy hides all.
If not killed-in-action, they are still dying from the effects of their service in Vietnam.
Local presentations scheduled on a reasonable use framework for water resource management
Broadband-Washing: Greenwashing the Internet
Pacific Northwest organizers join a global campaign to abolish all nukes and push for a city council resolution to start
If the hospitals are smelling a rat, so should Medicare (Dis)Advantage victims (AKA enrollees).
With such a bank in place, we would likely not be scrambling around and asking Congress for rebuild monies, as we are now with the catastrophic event involving the Francis Scott Key bridge on March 26, 2024.
Port of Bellingham commissioners terminate last 13 years of ABC Recycling lease

Count ‘em: 29 people seek vacancy on Whatcom County Council

Seth Fleetwood, right, at a forum during his 2014 campaign for state Senate. His opponent, Sen. Doug Ericksen, is pictured at left. Fleetwood headlines a long list of applicants for a Whatcom County Council vacancy.

Seth Fleetwood, right, at a forum during his 2014 campaign for state Senate. His opponent, Sen. Doug Ericksen, is pictured at left. Fleetwood headlines a long list of applicants for a Whatcom County Council vacancy.
Seth Fleetwood, right, at a forum during his 2014 campaign for state Senate. His opponent, Sen. Doug Ericksen, is pictured at left. Fleetwood headlines a long list of applicants for a Whatcom County Council vacancy.

Count ‘em: 29 people seek vacancy on Whatcom County Council

Count ‘em: 29 people seek vacancy on Whatcom County Council

Current County Council members will need to do their homework to separate the wheat from the chaff from the Eric Bostrom.

I feel I need to walk back the statement in my last article about the importance of participating in democracy by stepping up to take public office.

The Whatcom County Council intends to fill a vacancy on its seven-member body on Jan. 9 and accepted applications through noon today, Wednesday, Dec. 20. All told, 29 individuals put in their names—and some of them their resumes, letters of recommendation, and “selected interviews, articles, speeches, and symposia.” (I reported a few days ago on the applications that had come in as of noon Friday, Dec. 15—11 names at the time.)

OK all you leading lights of the county: You realize you will be only one council member out of seven, and your chances of making a measurable impact on the council in the first year is negligible. And this is only a one-year appointment. The seat being vacated by Todd Donovan, who chose to run for a different seat on council this year and won, will be up for an election in about 10 and a half months. You don’t want to bother with all that campaign business, do you? It involves a lot of walking and ringing strangers’ doorbells, asking other strangers for money, and supplicating yourselves to one political party or the other. Then, if you’re still interested in the job after all the rigors and public exposure that comes with a campaign, and after what by then will be two years of mostly fruitless efforts to assert your agenda, you’ll need to run for election again in 2019. Who needs it?

Seriously, this is kind of crazy. The last time I recall when the council had to appoint someone to a vacant seat was after Sam Crawford resigned in March 2015 to focus on his job. That time, three people applied for the seat. Satpal Sidhu was picked over ex-council member Kathy Kershner and Jim Cozad. Sidhu went on to defeat Kershner in the 2015 election and remains on council.

Political heavyweights who have joined the race include Carolyn Anderson, a top official in the Whatcom County Republican Party; Tim Ballew II, who was chairman of Lummi Nation when the tribe almost single-handedly defeated the hugely unpopular coal port proposal known as Gateway Pacific Terminal; Seth Fleetwood, former County Council and Bellingham City Council member who lost in 2014 to Republican/Trumpian Doug Ericksen in a bid for Ericksen’s state Senate seat; Kathy Kershner, County Council member 2010-2013 who was conservative but earned a reputation for voting her conscience and not the party line; Natalie McClendon, who has been in leadership with in the Whatcom Democrats and who served four years on the county Planning Commission; Stan Snapp, Bellingham City Council member 2007-13; and Alicia Rule, recently elected to the Blaine City Council.

At the risk of overkill—after all, only six people in the entire county get to pick from this list, not the voting public—here are the rest of the applications received after noon on Dec. 15:

Michael Ashby: He’s the Nooksack Indian Tribe police chief.

Ellen Barnes: A senior at Western Washington University who’s looking for a challenging internship.

Richard Berglund: The retired auctioneer “would enjoy spending time helping to make important decisions for our community.”

Eileen Coughlin: Recently retired Western Washington University administrator who would like to bring her experience in shaping budgets and making policy.

Patricia Dunn: A CPA and former director of finance at Whatcom Transportation Authority who said she wouldn’t be burdened by political affiliations.

Jasmine Fast: Moved to Whatcom in 2010 and cut her teeth on local affairs on the Greenways Advisory Committee. Would represent the needs of north Bellingham, especially regarding environmental protections and affordable housing.

Carol Frazey: Owns the Bellingham business Fit School, Inc., and teaches health and fitness.

Victor Gotelaere: Magazine advertising sales rep and event promoter who has organized fundraisers for the Bellingham Food Bank, Opportunity Council and others.

Mason Luvera: Communications director for the Downtown Bellingham Partnership whose community roles have him working on economic development and solutions to homelessness.

Robert Lynch: Retired president of Premier, the Bellingham school agenda company (those calendars students bring home from school that tell parents what their kids are supposed to be doing).

Nick Moss: Executive chef and manager at Restaurant 9 at North Bellingham Golf Course who said he would balance competing interests, from oil refineries to small businesses and the environment.

* * *

Here are the 11 who had applied by noon on Friday, Dec. 15. This is a repeat of my first article:

Rhayma Blake: Researched all the “best places” books then decided to move to Lummi Island, 10 years ago. Got active on ferry issues. Believes in a “right-sized” jail with funding for alternatives to incarceration, and believes in incorporating environmental goals into economic development.

Eric Bostrom: Provocateur who preaches hate in the guise of Christianity on Bellingham street corners. Ran a spectacularly unsuccessful campaign for Bellingham City Council this year, losing to incumbent Roxanne Murphy with less than 20 percent of the vote. If there is a God, and He is just, then Bostrom is going to hell, not to a place on the County Council.

Bob Burr: Ran unsuccessfully for Bellingham Council (2013) and Whatcom Public Utility District (2014)—the latter as an assault from the flank on Gateway Pacific Terminal. The PUD had issued water rights for the proposed coal port. Burr was arrested in December 2011 for blocking railroad tracks in Bellingham, in an attempt to stop coal trains from reaching Canadian ports. He was sentenced in 2014 to a noise infraction. Burr said on his application that the County Council seat he seeks is likely his last opportunity to serve his community. He would not seek re-election if appointed, he said.

George Edwards: Retired chef who worked at Ferndale and Point Roberts senior centers. Whatcom County has been good to him and his family, he said, so it’s time for him to give back.

Jared Jones-Valentine: Barber shop owner recently featured on The Bellingham Herald’s business page. His work, whether in the barber shop or with local nonprofits, is about improving the outlooks of people in need.

Keegan Kenfield: Youth-sports coach with a background in banking who is also active in local nonprofits. He would counteract the “hostile political climate” in Whatcom County, he said, and work to protect the most at-risk members of the community.

John Kolz: Retired auto repair shop owner who has run for local office in the past. Said he would bring a business owner’s perspective to council deliberations.

Cliff Langley: Conservative who didn’t get past the August primaries in a race for a rural seat on the County Council. Retired after 27 years as a Whatcom County sheriff’s deputy. Was elected and served on the 2015 county Charter Review Commission. The biggest splash he made in that group, in this reporter’s mind, was his failed proposal to open every commission meeting with a prayer.

Jim Moren: An M.D. who has lived and worked in Bellingham since 1979. Says he wants to preserve quality of life for the next 50 to 100 years.

Aaron Thomas: Works at Ferndale School District supporting Native American students at Horizon Middle School. Says he would bring diversity and an ability to serve all county residents to the job.

Emily Weaver: A County Council member 1988-92. Has a resume as long as my arm with relevant experience on public boards and committees. Said she would not seek election if appointed.



1 Comment, most recent 7 years ago

Fri Dec 22, 2017

In the “for what it’s worth department. Outgoing Carl Weimer just sent out a self developed questionnaire to all 29 candidates asking us to respond to a set of issues that he sees the county dealing with. As is usual for Carl, the questions are well thought out, very pertinent to current county issues and will help current voting council members as they decide on who they want to work with them for 2018.  (Carl does not get a vote on this selection)

Lastly, I’m amazed that so many have applied although I do recall applying long ago to the Bellingham City Council to be appointed to a vacant Ward Four seat and I didn’t get selected. I then ran and had to get through the Primary in order to run in the General election and I’m better for the process. I hope that 2018 establishes a level playing field for the electorite to speak on who should represent the county in the At-Large seat for the future. If elected in 2018 for 2019, they get to run immediately for the 2020 to 2024 full term seat. 

- Commenting is closed -

Count ‘em: 29 people seek vacancy on Whatcom County Council

Seth Fleetwood, right, at a forum during his 2014 campaign for state Senate. His opponent, Sen. Doug Ericksen, is pictured at left. Fleetwood headlines a long list of applicants for a Whatcom County Council vacancy.

Seth Fleetwood, right, at a forum during his 2014 campaign for state Senate. His opponent, Sen. Doug Ericksen, is pictured at left. Fleetwood headlines a long list of applicants for a Whatcom County Council vacancy.
Seth Fleetwood, right, at a forum during his 2014 campaign for state Senate. His opponent, Sen. Doug Ericksen, is pictured at left. Fleetwood headlines a long list of applicants for a Whatcom County Council vacancy.

Count ‘em: 29 people seek vacancy on Whatcom County Council

Count ‘em: 29 people seek vacancy on Whatcom County Council

Current County Council members will need to do their homework to separate the wheat from the chaff from the Eric Bostrom.

I feel I need to walk back the statement in my last article about the importance of participating in democracy by stepping up to take public office.

The Whatcom County Council intends to fill a vacancy on its seven-member body on Jan. 9 and accepted applications through noon today, Wednesday, Dec. 20. All told, 29 individuals put in their names—and some of them their resumes, letters of recommendation, and “selected interviews, articles, speeches, and symposia.” (I reported a few days ago on the applications that had come in as of noon Friday, Dec. 15—11 names at the time.)

OK all you leading lights of the county: You realize you will be only one council member out of seven, and your chances of making a measurable impact on the council in the first year is negligible. And this is only a one-year appointment. The seat being vacated by Todd Donovan, who chose to run for a different seat on council this year and won, will be up for an election in about 10 and a half months. You don’t want to bother with all that campaign business, do you? It involves a lot of walking and ringing strangers’ doorbells, asking other strangers for money, and supplicating yourselves to one political party or the other. Then, if you’re still interested in the job after all the rigors and public exposure that comes with a campaign, and after what by then will be two years of mostly fruitless efforts to assert your agenda, you’ll need to run for election again in 2019. Who needs it?

Seriously, this is kind of crazy. The last time I recall when the council had to appoint someone to a vacant seat was after Sam Crawford resigned in March 2015 to focus on his job. That time, three people applied for the seat. Satpal Sidhu was picked over ex-council member Kathy Kershner and Jim Cozad. Sidhu went on to defeat Kershner in the 2015 election and remains on council.

Political heavyweights who have joined the race include Carolyn Anderson, a top official in the Whatcom County Republican Party; Tim Ballew II, who was chairman of Lummi Nation when the tribe almost single-handedly defeated the hugely unpopular coal port proposal known as Gateway Pacific Terminal; Seth Fleetwood, former County Council and Bellingham City Council member who lost in 2014 to Republican/Trumpian Doug Ericksen in a bid for Ericksen’s state Senate seat; Kathy Kershner, County Council member 2010-2013 who was conservative but earned a reputation for voting her conscience and not the party line; Natalie McClendon, who has been in leadership with in the Whatcom Democrats and who served four years on the county Planning Commission; Stan Snapp, Bellingham City Council member 2007-13; and Alicia Rule, recently elected to the Blaine City Council.

At the risk of overkill—after all, only six people in the entire county get to pick from this list, not the voting public—here are the rest of the applications received after noon on Dec. 15:

Michael Ashby: He’s the Nooksack Indian Tribe police chief.

Ellen Barnes: A senior at Western Washington University who’s looking for a challenging internship.

Richard Berglund: The retired auctioneer “would enjoy spending time helping to make important decisions for our community.”

Eileen Coughlin: Recently retired Western Washington University administrator who would like to bring her experience in shaping budgets and making policy.

Patricia Dunn: A CPA and former director of finance at Whatcom Transportation Authority who said she wouldn’t be burdened by political affiliations.

Jasmine Fast: Moved to Whatcom in 2010 and cut her teeth on local affairs on the Greenways Advisory Committee. Would represent the needs of north Bellingham, especially regarding environmental protections and affordable housing.

Carol Frazey: Owns the Bellingham business Fit School, Inc., and teaches health and fitness.

Victor Gotelaere: Magazine advertising sales rep and event promoter who has organized fundraisers for the Bellingham Food Bank, Opportunity Council and others.

Mason Luvera: Communications director for the Downtown Bellingham Partnership whose community roles have him working on economic development and solutions to homelessness.

Robert Lynch: Retired president of Premier, the Bellingham school agenda company (those calendars students bring home from school that tell parents what their kids are supposed to be doing).

Nick Moss: Executive chef and manager at Restaurant 9 at North Bellingham Golf Course who said he would balance competing interests, from oil refineries to small businesses and the environment.

* * *

Here are the 11 who had applied by noon on Friday, Dec. 15. This is a repeat of my first article:

Rhayma Blake: Researched all the “best places” books then decided to move to Lummi Island, 10 years ago. Got active on ferry issues. Believes in a “right-sized” jail with funding for alternatives to incarceration, and believes in incorporating environmental goals into economic development.

Eric Bostrom: Provocateur who preaches hate in the guise of Christianity on Bellingham street corners. Ran a spectacularly unsuccessful campaign for Bellingham City Council this year, losing to incumbent Roxanne Murphy with less than 20 percent of the vote. If there is a God, and He is just, then Bostrom is going to hell, not to a place on the County Council.

Bob Burr: Ran unsuccessfully for Bellingham Council (2013) and Whatcom Public Utility District (2014)—the latter as an assault from the flank on Gateway Pacific Terminal. The PUD had issued water rights for the proposed coal port. Burr was arrested in December 2011 for blocking railroad tracks in Bellingham, in an attempt to stop coal trains from reaching Canadian ports. He was sentenced in 2014 to a noise infraction. Burr said on his application that the County Council seat he seeks is likely his last opportunity to serve his community. He would not seek re-election if appointed, he said.

George Edwards: Retired chef who worked at Ferndale and Point Roberts senior centers. Whatcom County has been good to him and his family, he said, so it’s time for him to give back.

Jared Jones-Valentine: Barber shop owner recently featured on The Bellingham Herald’s business page. His work, whether in the barber shop or with local nonprofits, is about improving the outlooks of people in need.

Keegan Kenfield: Youth-sports coach with a background in banking who is also active in local nonprofits. He would counteract the “hostile political climate” in Whatcom County, he said, and work to protect the most at-risk members of the community.

John Kolz: Retired auto repair shop owner who has run for local office in the past. Said he would bring a business owner’s perspective to council deliberations.

Cliff Langley: Conservative who didn’t get past the August primaries in a race for a rural seat on the County Council. Retired after 27 years as a Whatcom County sheriff’s deputy. Was elected and served on the 2015 county Charter Review Commission. The biggest splash he made in that group, in this reporter’s mind, was his failed proposal to open every commission meeting with a prayer.

Jim Moren: An M.D. who has lived and worked in Bellingham since 1979. Says he wants to preserve quality of life for the next 50 to 100 years.

Aaron Thomas: Works at Ferndale School District supporting Native American students at Horizon Middle School. Says he would bring diversity and an ability to serve all county residents to the job.

Emily Weaver: A County Council member 1988-92. Has a resume as long as my arm with relevant experience on public boards and committees. Said she would not seek election if appointed.



1 Comment, most recent 7 years ago

Fri Dec 22, 2017

In the “for what it’s worth department. Outgoing Carl Weimer just sent out a self developed questionnaire to all 29 candidates asking us to respond to a set of issues that he sees the county dealing with. As is usual for Carl, the questions are well thought out, very pertinent to current county issues and will help current voting council members as they decide on who they want to work with them for 2018.  (Carl does not get a vote on this selection)

Lastly, I’m amazed that so many have applied although I do recall applying long ago to the Bellingham City Council to be appointed to a vacant Ward Four seat and I didn’t get selected. I then ran and had to get through the Primary in order to run in the General election and I’m better for the process. I hope that 2018 establishes a level playing field for the electorite to speak on who should represent the county in the At-Large seat for the future. If elected in 2018 for 2019, they get to run immediately for the 2020 to 2024 full term seat. 

- Commenting is closed -
A Venue for Citizen Journalists
New 33-unit project makes matters worse
Thanks to generous donations from readers, this site is renovated and improved.
Affordability has been a ruse for creating market rate housing.
Represent Us and Our Interests. Please!
Local action in support of a proposal to rebuild nationwide infrastructure
Who’s Superman when you need him? We are.
From Musk’s big investment all the way to local campaigns, political “contributions” will be re-paid. Here’s how.
Private banks are fighting hard to keep us from starting our own state bank. There’s a reason.
To be so manifestly unqualified and yet not be deeply aware of that speaks exactly to the very point of not being qualified.
Chaos likely to ensue. Catastrophe cannot be ruled out.
There is no escape from the deep-throated roar and the clouds of filth produced by these machines.
A perspective from a very old liberal political junkie.
Deeds, not talk, count on Veterans Day
Several days ago, I received the following from Veterans Service Officer (VSO), Liz Witowski, of the Whatcom County Veterans Program (items below in bold are mine). On this Veterans Day, the
An off-budget $5 Trillion National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), along the lines of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) that operated between 1932-1957, means low-cost loans and no additions to the deficit.
Medicare Advantage is NOT Medicare. Medicare is there to provide health care. Medicare Advantage is a business, there to make money.
David Swanson verifies what Jon Humphrey has said for years: good internet access benefits people, cities, counties, and states.
Or perhaps tragic farce or farcical tragedy might be more apt descriptors. Pick one, or both.
After nearly 30 years online, and literally being one of the oldest blogs on the internet, Northwest Citizen needs a major programming overhaul. To do so, we need your help.
The top 20% of commercial banks in the United States control 95% of our total banking assets. Remember “Too-Big-to-Fail”?
The City has created another useless document ensuring nothing changes and mediocre communication services are protected.
Why a vote for Jason Call for Congress is a good vote for conservatives, liberals, Democrats and Republicans. Yes, an unusual idea.
Heaven forbid our reps should attack the main problem, Medicare Advantage, head on. But no. They must nibble around the edges to give the appearance of doing something.
Morally significant double binds force doctors and combat soldiers into identical life and death quandaries, damaging their moral centers. To these two groups we can also add law enforcement officers.
Eric Hirst gives us a brief and clear explanation of the water adjudication process that is beginning now in Whatcom County
“Citing the nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the paper  [Less Care at Higher Cost—The Medicare Advantage Paradox] notes that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have overcharged the
Aggressive citizen involvement carried the day.
Build-for-profit, incarceration-inspired housing is destroying our souls.
A 54-photo tour of the ruptured pipe area of the Whatcom Creek explosion taken in July 1999.
The last of the scrap metal is loaded on the ship and it will be gone from our town.
Below is an audio tape of 911 calls, emergency responders’ radio communications, and local radio coverage from June 10, 1999 when Whatcom Creek exploded in Bellingham
Whatcom County’s confusing water rights will be defined by court proceedings beginning now
The foam of secrecy hides all.
If not killed-in-action, they are still dying from the effects of their service in Vietnam.
Local presentations scheduled on a reasonable use framework for water resource management
Broadband-Washing: Greenwashing the Internet
Pacific Northwest organizers join a global campaign to abolish all nukes and push for a city council resolution to start
If the hospitals are smelling a rat, so should Medicare (Dis)Advantage victims (AKA enrollees).
With such a bank in place, we would likely not be scrambling around and asking Congress for rebuild monies, as we are now with the catastrophic event involving the Francis Scott Key bridge on March 26, 2024.
Port of Bellingham commissioners terminate last 13 years of ABC Recycling lease