Local blogger and friend of The Political Junkie, Shane Roth (who you might remember was threatened by Doug Ericksen earlier this year) has filed an ethics complaint over Sam Crawford's backroom deals with developers. You can read the entire text of the complaint here or read the official press release reprinted below. You might remember this is not Sam Crawford's first brush with ethical issues. Or even his second. Or his third.

The next step for this complaint is the Ethics Commission of Whatcom County has to decide to consider the issue. Contact them today and urge them to consider Shane Roth's complaint. The contact is:

Suzanne Mildner, Whatcom County Executive Office, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham,  (360) 676-6717

 smildner@co.whatcom.wa.us

Political Watchdog Files Ethics Complaint over Crawford

BELLINGHAM - Local political watchdog and blogger Shane Roth has filed a formal ethics complaint with the County alleging that, “Mr. Crawford's otherwise lawful actions were the cause of irreparable financial harm to the County, causing those actions to constitute a breach of the Code of Ethics.”

The ethics complaint focuses on Crawford’s efforts to help a developer avoid paying the standard fees for rezoning his property. In providing this service for one particular developer, Crawford has “cost the County $7,500 of fees.” The complaint has been filed with the Ethics Commission of Whatcom County.

“We need a moral and transparent county government,” said Roth when asked why he brought forward the complaint. “How can we trust our elected officials when they are making sweetheart deals behind closed doors?”

Sam Crawford has been dogged by ethical concerns in the last couple of years over backroom deals to appoint a conservative to fill Bob Kelly’s seat, then during his last campaign, concerns over Crawford deleting electronic evidence of his deal-making with local developers.

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