This is a follow-up article on my public records requests as I tried to find out what was going on with our city-wide public fiber-optic network. This is a network we have already paid for, but that our government still won’t allow us to access, including non-profits that want to help the homeless and poorest among us. What I ran into instead were obvious, definite, and blatant violations of the Public Records Act.

Public record requests are supposed to be for records you have practical reason to believe exist; like the living document called the fiber-optic network map and correspondence between private vendors that provide the critical backhaul for Bellingham’s emergency communications systems. And yes, we are 100% sure the records we requested do exist.

I submitted requests to the Police Department and several other COB departments including IT and Public Works. What I should have received, at the very least, was either the same public works fiber map from years ago showing that no work has been done, or an updated map showing that the system has been altered/upgraded in some way. I also should have received communications between the various departments and CSSNW, the colocation data center facility, as well as other entities. 

Instead, most of the COB departments, including Public Works, NEVER responded, and likely never will. The police punted the request to IT. The city attorney tried to pretend that the request wasn’t clear, even after I clarified, in writing, what documents I wanted, and IT only provided a list of equipment and logs. The map and e-mail correspondence were never provided even though explicitly requested.

So what does this mean to us? It means we have:

1. No records of any tests conducted on backup systems for our emergency communications systems.

2. No updated fiber map, likely meaning that no work has been done to maintain or improve our critical infrastructure, in spite of their assertions that they are going to put $8 million into the system to improve it. Like I said before, they probably never will, they just lied to us so we’d stop “bothering” them.

3. No indication they might allow us to use the network in an OpenAccess fashion, like Mount Vernon does, to help the poor and homeless get proper internet access.

4. Incomplete responses to public record requests, or not providing documents we know exist. This is illegal.

The Public Records Act is important. It is one of the laws that makes Washington state more transparent than other states. Without it, we get even less access to our government.

So why mention all of this now? Well, Whatcom County Council candidate Barry Buchanan sent an e-mail recently about how important the No Kings rally was. And I agree with him, but if he, or any of you, think that most of his running mates aren’t part of the problem, think again. We officially have a government that recognizes two systems of law: one for the wealthy and one for the rest of us. There is no accountability and there will not be if we stick with major party candidates. They literally don’t listen to us and are annoyed if we even ask them reasonable questions.

For example, former Democratic Party Chair, and now City Council candidate, Andrew Reding indicated to me that he does not believe in the Public Records Act. By association and affiliation I’m sure that means Alex Ramel, Sharon Shewmake and their oligarch friends don’t either.  

I have contacted the attorney general, but my guess is that since, like city hall, they are all part of the Duopoly, there will be no action taken even though we have multiple, clear violations of the Act spanning at least 15 years, all with the goal of protecting big telecom. It started with former public works director, Ted Carlson, and while firing his successor, Eric Johnston, was the right move, it has had little effect. They simply replaced him with Johnston’s understudy, Joel Pfundt, ensuring the exact same behavior.

I end by reminding you that this all started when I asked Public Works five questions, including “Has any progress been made on public fiber?” Instead of answering, they obfuscated and dodged and ignored the Public Records Act. In essence, they refuse to answer even the most basic questions put to them. We should remember that there are already governments and organizations that behave the way I’ve described here. They are NOT “of the people, by the people, for the people.” They are dictatorships, monarchies, and fascist regimes.

Well, I’m sure you are getting the picture. Be very thoughtful about who you vote for in this upcoming election. Also, why not send an e-mail to askpw@cob.org and ask them if they believe they can get away with refusing to answer the questions of a boss at any other job, while clearly breaking the law and putting that organization in jeopardy, without getting fired.