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Sequim City Council Chooses to End Conversations About Racism
--- Lowell Rathbun June 16, 2021
Executive Summary
In a rancorous 3 ½ hour city council meeting on Monday, June 14, the conservative members on Sequim’s city council made clear their opposition to the city’s involvement in discussions about racism in the Sequim area. In this meeting, the Sequim City Council voted 6-1 to end the city’s participation in the Community Conversations on Race, Equity and Inclusion, thus effectively ending that program. Brandon Janisse was the lone “no” vote against the motion to end the city’s participation in that program.
At council member Keith Larkin’s urging, the city council also terminated the city’s membership in the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE). His motion to order the city staff to terminate the city’s membership passed on a narrow 4-3 vote. Mayor Armacost, Sarah Kincaid, Mike Pence and Keith Larkin voted for the motion, while Brandon Janisse, Rachel Anderson and Tom Ferrell voted against the order to terminate GARE membership.
In another item of city business, Brandon Janisse’s attempt to push the city to take concrete actions toward solving the city affordable housing crisis may be running into barriers. Late in the meeting, the council took up Mr. Janisse’s proposal to make sweeping changes to the city building code to allow high density housing to be built elsewhere in the city besides just the downtown area. Several objections were raised to his proposal and the whole discussion appeared to end without no conclusions or definitive action taken.
Detailed Discussion:
Terminating Sequim’s Community Discussions on Race, Equity and Inclusion
Late in the meeting, about 1 ½ hours into it, in the City Manager Reports section of the meeting, Interim City Manager Charisse Deschenes gave the floor to Barbara Hanna, the city’s Communications and Marketing Director, who gave a presentation on the topic of Community Conversations on race, Equity and Inclusion.
Background: On June 3 of 2020, a large Black Lives Matter demonstration, probably one of the largest public demonstrations in Sequim’s history took place. During the next two days, the infamous incident involving the terrorizing of 4 tourists, mistaken for Antifa members, took place, drawing national attention to Sequim and Clallam County. An online petition which collected more than 1500 signature was presented to the Sequim city council. As a result, the city council authorized city staff and council members to organize an effort to put together some community conversations about race, equity and inclusion. During that process, city staff contacted an organization called GARE (Government Alliance on Race and Equity to use as a resource for understanding and organizing the community conversations.
As a result of this effort and planning, the city held two virtual forums on March 20 and March 23 where all participants, led by two moderators, were encouraged to present their experiences and opinions regarding racism in the area. These 1 ½ hr. meetings drew about 50 participants each.
At this meeting, Ms. Hanna was seeking the city council’s guidance on what to do next. She offered 4 options: 1. Have dedicated and experienced city resources in equity and inclusion work. 2. Continue staff involvement in a Community Conversations Design Team to develop future conversations. 3. Support the efforts of outside organizations through offering city revenues to support them. or 4. provide city sponsored space at minimal cost for events conducted by outside organizations. (See slide)
In a rancorous 3 ½ hour city council meeting on Monday, June 14, the conservative members on Sequim’s city council made clear their opposition to the city’s involvement in discussions about racism in the Sequim area. In this meeting, the Sequim City Council voted 6-1 to end the city’s participation in the Community Conversations on Race, Equity and Inclusion, thus effectively ending that program. Brandon Janisse was the lone “no” vote against the motion to end the city’s participation in that program.
At council member Keith Larkin’s urging, the city council also terminated the city’s membership in the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE). His motion to order the city staff to terminate the city’s membership passed on a narrow 4-3 vote. Mayor Armacost, Sarah Kincaid, Mike Pence and Keith Larkin voted for the motion, while Brandon Janisse, Rachel Anderson and Tom Ferrell voted against the order to terminate GARE membership.
In another item of city business, Brandon Janisse’s attempt to push the city to take concrete actions toward solving the city affordable housing crisis may be running into barriers. Late in the meeting, the council took up Mr. Janisse’s proposal to make sweeping changes to the city building code to allow high density housing to be built elsewhere in the city besides just the downtown area. Several objections were raised to his proposal and the whole discussion appeared to end without no conclusions or definitive action taken.
Detailed Discussion:
Terminating Sequim’s Community Discussions on Race, Equity and Inclusion
Late in the meeting, about 1 ½ hours into it, in the City Manager Reports section of the meeting, Interim City Manager Charisse Deschenes gave the floor to Barbara Hanna, the city’s Communications and Marketing Director, who gave a presentation on the topic of Community Conversations on race, Equity and Inclusion.
Background: On June 3 of 2020, a large Black Lives Matter demonstration, probably one of the largest public demonstrations in Sequim’s history took place. During the next two days, the infamous incident involving the terrorizing of 4 tourists, mistaken for Antifa members, took place, drawing national attention to Sequim and Clallam County. An online petition which collected more than 1500 signature was presented to the Sequim city council. As a result, the city council authorized city staff and council members to organize an effort to put together some community conversations about race, equity and inclusion. During that process, city staff contacted an organization called GARE (Government Alliance on Race and Equity to use as a resource for understanding and organizing the community conversations.
As a result of this effort and planning, the city held two virtual forums on March 20 and March 23 where all participants, led by two moderators, were encouraged to present their experiences and opinions regarding racism in the area. These 1 ½ hr. meetings drew about 50 participants each.
At this meeting, Ms. Hanna was seeking the city council’s guidance on what to do next. She offered 4 options: 1. Have dedicated and experienced city resources in equity and inclusion work. 2. Continue staff involvement in a Community Conversations Design Team to develop future conversations. 3. Support the efforts of outside organizations through offering city revenues to support them. or 4. provide city sponsored space at minimal cost for events conducted by outside organizations. (See slide)
Slide presented by Barbara Hanna seeking city council direction on Community Conversations on Race, Equity and Inclusion.
Conversation by council members ensued. Deputy Mayor, Tom Ferrell was generally supportive of continuing these discussions, but not led by the city. Council member Keith Larkin responded that the city has done a “tremendous job” and “we’ve had a great community conversation”, but now it’s time to drop the subject and move on. Rachel Anderson supported the city’s continued involvement in these conversations, citing that emotional safety is just as important as physical safety. Mayor Armacost agreed with Tom Ferrell that these conversations were “a great platform moving forward” but it was time to let other organizations take over. It’s time to “move this topic to someone else’s court.” Ms. Hanna responded that there was one more conversation between city staff and the community organizations coming up, where she wanted to “tie the bow” and wrap up the city’s involvement.
Keith Larkin then moved to end the city’s participation in these Community Conversations entirely.
Transcribed audio follows:
Larkin: Mayor Armacost, I am prepared to make a motion.
Armacost: Proceed
Larkin: Mayor, I’d like to make a motion that we end the city’s participation, the city’s participation in the Racial Equity and Inclusion Program and turn it over to the community. City staff or councilors can participate on a volunteer basis.
The motion was seconded and voted on. The vote went as follow: Mayor Armacost, Sarah Kincaid, Mike Pence, Rachel Anderson, Keith Larkin and Tom Ferrell voted yes. Brandon Janisse cast the lone “no” vote. At that time, all city participation in Community Conversations on Race, Equity and Inclusion ended.
Ending the City’s Membership in the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)
Three hours into that same meeting, during the city council portion of Reports section, the topic of the city’s membership in the GARE (Government Alliance on Race and Equity) https://www.racialequityalliance.org/ arose. This topic was placed into the meeting agenda at the request of Keith Larkin.
Background: As discussed above, during the period in late 2020 and early 2021, as directed by the city council, city staff began discussing and planning the Conversations on Race, Equity and Inclusion event. At this time, city staff were consulting with outside organizations and were looking for a formal organization to assist them in this task. The city bought a membership in the GARE organization and used their input as a resource in putting together the event. The city’s GARE $1000 annual membership was apparently up for renewal soon.
Mr. Larkin led off the discussion by pointing out that he had requested that this membership renewal be put on the agenda. He argued it was not appropriate for the city to be a member of this organization and requested that membership be dropped immediately. Interim City Manager Charisse Deschenes defended continued membership: GARE was a resource for cities wanting to have race discussions and would be useful in case of another “flare up”. GARE has been a useful resource for dealing with human rights issues.
Tom Ferrell concurred with Charisse and argued that the membership decision properly belonged to Charisse. He stated, “Let the staff do their job.” Mr. Armacost asked, “How many other cities are members of GARE? How do we match up?” Charisse responded that other Washington cities were members, including cities in the I-5 corridor and Spokane in the eastern Washington. More discussion about city membership in GARE ensued.
The mayor then spoke up and argued that the city and staff have done their job, and it’s time to quit (membership in GARE) for now. "The Association of Washington Cities (AWC) has other resources to use." Mr. Armacost argued that there were very few racist incidents happening in town now (and therefore there was no more need for GARE membership).
Voice transcript follows:
Mayor Armacost: “… how much of that activity do we actually have (in town)? Until the biggest thing that I've seen change in the last year and a half, you know, White Cup Coffee, got their van spray graffiti(ed) a couple of weeks ago and we've had an occasional (incident) with the overpass. “
Now the discussion started to get more argumentative. Mr. Larkin contended that “very few cities” are members of GARE, “drop the membership now” and he wanted that ($1000) in funding go to the Parks and Recreation Department for youth activities. Mr. Ferrell countered that “this is micromanagement and this has to stop!”. Ms. Anderson agreed, urging the council to let the city staff make the decision.
At that point, Mr. Larkin attempted to make a motion to direct city staff to drop the GARE membership and “earmark” that $1000 to the Parks and Recreation Department. Mr. Larkin made a motion: “I would like to make a motion that we not fund the renewal of GARE program and that the $1000 association fee. It was earmarked for the (sic) directed to the youth programs in the Parks and Recs department.”
This motion was immediately challenged by Ms. Anderson and after discussion, Mr. Larkin agreed to split up his motion into two pieces. He then moved to direct the city staff to not fund the GARE membership. “I make a motion that we not fund a renewal of the association membership with GARE out of the 2021 budget.” This motion was seconded by Ms. Kincaid. This motion passed on a 4-3 vote. Mr. Armacost, Ms. Kincaid, Mr. Pence and Mr. Larkin voted “yes”, while Ms. Anderson, Mr. Janisse and Mr. Ferrell voted “no”.
Then the council took up Mr. Larkin’s second proposal to “earmark” the $1000 membership fee over to the Parks and Recreation department. Now the discussion got pretty heated. Mr. Ferrell objected to earmarking these funds. Mr. Armacost pleaded that the kids really need these funds. Mr. Ferrell argued that these (earmarking processes) are “ugly processes”. Ms. Kristina Nelson-Gross, the city attorney, objected to the earmarking, saying the city doesn’t have a direct mechanism in place (to do earmarking). Ms. Sue Hagener, the city Director of Administrative Services, agreed with Ms. Nelson-Gross.
Mr. Ferrell then challenged the two older city council members (Mr. Larkin and Mr. Armacost) to kick in $300 of their own money along with his to come up with the desired $1000. Ms. Deschenes, the interim city manager, volunteered that the city staff is already providing for taking care of the soccer ball fields and that staff can move funds into providing (storage lockers) if so directed. She requested the city council to stay out of the day-to-day management of the city. Brandon Janisse then terminated the rancor by changing the subject to new City Parks Master Plan that is coming soon.
The Affordable Housing Issue
It appears that the city may end up making little or no progress in taking any more concrete action towards solving Sequim affordable housing crisis this year. This subject arose 2 ½ hours into the City Council Reports section of the meeting at Brandon Janisse’s request.
Background: One of the proposed solutions to Sequim’s affordable housing crisis is to increase density by building multi-family units (apartment houses). Previous to this, the city code required that all multi-story apartment buildings devote their ground floors to commercial businesses (commercial requirement). Brandon Janisse pushed for a change in the city code to eliminate the commercial requirement in apartment buildings built in Sequim’s downtown area, except for buildings facing Washington Street. This code was amended successfully in a previous council meeting. This change was made in order to induce more developers to build high density more affordable housing in Sequim.
Brandon wanted to expand this code change to other zones in the city besides just the downtown commercial zone. Single-family housing zones would be excluded, but he suggested that this code change include the “Economic Opportunity Zone”, an area which includes the area where the new MAT Clinic is being built.
The mention of including the Economic Opportunity zone precipitated a lot of discussion. Mr. Armacost argued that building multi-family housing in the Economic Opportunity zone may drive away future businesses. At one point, Ms. Anderson had to explain to Mr. Pence that he had already voted to change the building code in the downtown district and that what Mr. Janisse was requesting were new changes. Mr. Pence also objected to the new changes, saying, “Let’s not sweep the lawn... we have zoning for a reason. You can’t just mix them all up!” Other city council members, notably Mr. Pence and Mr. Larkin complained about the energy efficiency requirements in the building code was driving up the cost of housing by over $15,000 per dwelling. Ms. Deschenes requested that the city staff be given time to look at the affordable housing problem and the new zoning change proposals.
Barry Berezowsky, the Community Development Director, objected to devoting a lot of city staff time to looking into this matter. “Our plates are full right now and our resources are slim”. He argued that the current comprehensive city plan is not supportive of high-density development – significant changes to the plan would be necessary. There was talk that the window to revise the city’s comprehensive plan this year was closing since the deadline is next month. More discussion followed, including suggestions about having a “workshop” or discussing things in a “workshop environment”. Ms. Kristina Nelson-Gross reminded the council that it needed to look at the cumulative effects of adding a lot of amendments to the city code in rapid succession. This discussion on affordable housing ended with no conclusions or specific action to be taken.
For a full audio recording of this meeting, visit this web site: https://sequim-wa.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=424 .
Keith Larkin then moved to end the city’s participation in these Community Conversations entirely.
Transcribed audio follows:
Larkin: Mayor Armacost, I am prepared to make a motion.
Armacost: Proceed
Larkin: Mayor, I’d like to make a motion that we end the city’s participation, the city’s participation in the Racial Equity and Inclusion Program and turn it over to the community. City staff or councilors can participate on a volunteer basis.
The motion was seconded and voted on. The vote went as follow: Mayor Armacost, Sarah Kincaid, Mike Pence, Rachel Anderson, Keith Larkin and Tom Ferrell voted yes. Brandon Janisse cast the lone “no” vote. At that time, all city participation in Community Conversations on Race, Equity and Inclusion ended.
Ending the City’s Membership in the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)
Three hours into that same meeting, during the city council portion of Reports section, the topic of the city’s membership in the GARE (Government Alliance on Race and Equity) https://www.racialequityalliance.org/ arose. This topic was placed into the meeting agenda at the request of Keith Larkin.
Background: As discussed above, during the period in late 2020 and early 2021, as directed by the city council, city staff began discussing and planning the Conversations on Race, Equity and Inclusion event. At this time, city staff were consulting with outside organizations and were looking for a formal organization to assist them in this task. The city bought a membership in the GARE organization and used their input as a resource in putting together the event. The city’s GARE $1000 annual membership was apparently up for renewal soon.
Mr. Larkin led off the discussion by pointing out that he had requested that this membership renewal be put on the agenda. He argued it was not appropriate for the city to be a member of this organization and requested that membership be dropped immediately. Interim City Manager Charisse Deschenes defended continued membership: GARE was a resource for cities wanting to have race discussions and would be useful in case of another “flare up”. GARE has been a useful resource for dealing with human rights issues.
Tom Ferrell concurred with Charisse and argued that the membership decision properly belonged to Charisse. He stated, “Let the staff do their job.” Mr. Armacost asked, “How many other cities are members of GARE? How do we match up?” Charisse responded that other Washington cities were members, including cities in the I-5 corridor and Spokane in the eastern Washington. More discussion about city membership in GARE ensued.
The mayor then spoke up and argued that the city and staff have done their job, and it’s time to quit (membership in GARE) for now. "The Association of Washington Cities (AWC) has other resources to use." Mr. Armacost argued that there were very few racist incidents happening in town now (and therefore there was no more need for GARE membership).
Voice transcript follows:
Mayor Armacost: “… how much of that activity do we actually have (in town)? Until the biggest thing that I've seen change in the last year and a half, you know, White Cup Coffee, got their van spray graffiti(ed) a couple of weeks ago and we've had an occasional (incident) with the overpass. “
Now the discussion started to get more argumentative. Mr. Larkin contended that “very few cities” are members of GARE, “drop the membership now” and he wanted that ($1000) in funding go to the Parks and Recreation Department for youth activities. Mr. Ferrell countered that “this is micromanagement and this has to stop!”. Ms. Anderson agreed, urging the council to let the city staff make the decision.
At that point, Mr. Larkin attempted to make a motion to direct city staff to drop the GARE membership and “earmark” that $1000 to the Parks and Recreation Department. Mr. Larkin made a motion: “I would like to make a motion that we not fund the renewal of GARE program and that the $1000 association fee. It was earmarked for the (sic) directed to the youth programs in the Parks and Recs department.”
This motion was immediately challenged by Ms. Anderson and after discussion, Mr. Larkin agreed to split up his motion into two pieces. He then moved to direct the city staff to not fund the GARE membership. “I make a motion that we not fund a renewal of the association membership with GARE out of the 2021 budget.” This motion was seconded by Ms. Kincaid. This motion passed on a 4-3 vote. Mr. Armacost, Ms. Kincaid, Mr. Pence and Mr. Larkin voted “yes”, while Ms. Anderson, Mr. Janisse and Mr. Ferrell voted “no”.
Then the council took up Mr. Larkin’s second proposal to “earmark” the $1000 membership fee over to the Parks and Recreation department. Now the discussion got pretty heated. Mr. Ferrell objected to earmarking these funds. Mr. Armacost pleaded that the kids really need these funds. Mr. Ferrell argued that these (earmarking processes) are “ugly processes”. Ms. Kristina Nelson-Gross, the city attorney, objected to the earmarking, saying the city doesn’t have a direct mechanism in place (to do earmarking). Ms. Sue Hagener, the city Director of Administrative Services, agreed with Ms. Nelson-Gross.
Mr. Ferrell then challenged the two older city council members (Mr. Larkin and Mr. Armacost) to kick in $300 of their own money along with his to come up with the desired $1000. Ms. Deschenes, the interim city manager, volunteered that the city staff is already providing for taking care of the soccer ball fields and that staff can move funds into providing (storage lockers) if so directed. She requested the city council to stay out of the day-to-day management of the city. Brandon Janisse then terminated the rancor by changing the subject to new City Parks Master Plan that is coming soon.
The Affordable Housing Issue
It appears that the city may end up making little or no progress in taking any more concrete action towards solving Sequim affordable housing crisis this year. This subject arose 2 ½ hours into the City Council Reports section of the meeting at Brandon Janisse’s request.
Background: One of the proposed solutions to Sequim’s affordable housing crisis is to increase density by building multi-family units (apartment houses). Previous to this, the city code required that all multi-story apartment buildings devote their ground floors to commercial businesses (commercial requirement). Brandon Janisse pushed for a change in the city code to eliminate the commercial requirement in apartment buildings built in Sequim’s downtown area, except for buildings facing Washington Street. This code was amended successfully in a previous council meeting. This change was made in order to induce more developers to build high density more affordable housing in Sequim.
Brandon wanted to expand this code change to other zones in the city besides just the downtown commercial zone. Single-family housing zones would be excluded, but he suggested that this code change include the “Economic Opportunity Zone”, an area which includes the area where the new MAT Clinic is being built.
The mention of including the Economic Opportunity zone precipitated a lot of discussion. Mr. Armacost argued that building multi-family housing in the Economic Opportunity zone may drive away future businesses. At one point, Ms. Anderson had to explain to Mr. Pence that he had already voted to change the building code in the downtown district and that what Mr. Janisse was requesting were new changes. Mr. Pence also objected to the new changes, saying, “Let’s not sweep the lawn... we have zoning for a reason. You can’t just mix them all up!” Other city council members, notably Mr. Pence and Mr. Larkin complained about the energy efficiency requirements in the building code was driving up the cost of housing by over $15,000 per dwelling. Ms. Deschenes requested that the city staff be given time to look at the affordable housing problem and the new zoning change proposals.
Barry Berezowsky, the Community Development Director, objected to devoting a lot of city staff time to looking into this matter. “Our plates are full right now and our resources are slim”. He argued that the current comprehensive city plan is not supportive of high-density development – significant changes to the plan would be necessary. There was talk that the window to revise the city’s comprehensive plan this year was closing since the deadline is next month. More discussion followed, including suggestions about having a “workshop” or discussing things in a “workshop environment”. Ms. Kristina Nelson-Gross reminded the council that it needed to look at the cumulative effects of adding a lot of amendments to the city code in rapid succession. This discussion on affordable housing ended with no conclusions or specific action to be taken.
For a full audio recording of this meeting, visit this web site: https://sequim-wa.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=424 .
Candidate Values Are Important in the Upcoming Election
--- June 12, 2021
Sequim City Council -- March 2020
Executive Summary
The upcoming primary and general elections in Sequim this year will be critical in setting the direction that Sequim takes in the next two years. The Clallam County Republican Party made clear its intention to influence these upcoming elections and pull public policy in its favor. Its subsidiary, the Independent Advisory Association has recruited and fielded candidates for almost every race on the Sequim ballot. Therefore, it is important to have a look at the kind of values the Clallam GOP holds and what kind of city they want Sequim to become going forward.
By examining their platform, it is readily apparent that the local GOP favors a fairly conservative agenda. Their platform advocates “limited government”, implying reduced funding for human services, among other things. They oppose government bailouts of any kind. They oppose public health care and government assistance in general. Their platform advocates that government should not buy private property. Public employees are not entitled to collective bargaining rights.
In the area of culture and education, they believe that voting is a privilege. Although they favor “limited government”, they believe taxpayers should fund private education and home schooling. They seem to advocate for prayer in public schools. They claim that English is the “official national and state language”. Of course, they adamantly oppose abortion and appear to be opposed to contraception, advocating for abstinence-only sex education. Their platform and values are discussed in more detail below.
Voters should have a careful look at the values that this party and their candidates stand for. Are these conservative and “populist” values compatible with their own? A lot is at stake for Sequim in these upcoming off-year elections.
Detailed Discussion
There is an important election coming up this November. The choices the voters make in this critical election will set the direction Sequim takes in the next two years. Thus, it is important to be aware of the political values that each of the candidates brings to the election.
The Independent Advisory Association (https://www.restoreclallam.com/our-candidates) has fielded candidates for each of five Sequim city council seats, one school board seat and a seat on the Hospital Commission. For the Sequim city council, the IAA is sponsoring Daryl Ness, running against Rachel Anderson; Mike Pence, who is opposed by Vicki Lowe, Patrick Day who is running against incumbent Brandon Janisse, Sarah Kincaid who is opposed by Kathy Downer and Keith Larkin who is running against Lowell Rathbun. In the Sequim school board race, the IAA has sponsored Virginia Sheppard in Position #4 which has a total of 4 candidates running. One of the founders of IAA, Jim McEntire is running against J. Thomas Oblak for Hospital Commissioner, Position 2. What are the values that each of these candidates might bring to these elections?
First, the “Independent” Advisory Association is anything but independent. There is a clear connection between the IAA, its present and former candidates, and the Clallam County Republican Party. Jim McEntire and Donnie Hall who founded IAA ( https://www.restoreclallam.com/our-team )currently serve on the Clallam County Republicans Executive Board. https://clallamrepublicans.org/party-leadership/#board. Furthermore, candidate Sarah Kincaid serves on the GOP board as their RWCC President. Mayor William Armacost, one of their past candidates, is Republican and openly campaigned for GOP candidates in the 2020 election. Virginia Sheppard, running for school board is a Republican PCO (Precinct Committee Officer) for the Coyote precinct 218. Sarah Kincaid also serves as a GOP PCO for precinct 403 in Sequim. From the record of their past candidates and present office holders, it is reasonable to expect that Jim McEntire and Donnie Hall will be looking for and sponsoring candidates who share their GOP values. “As such, we seek a particular type of citizen to be a candidate we support.” ( https://www.restoreclallam.com/what-we-look-for-in-our-canidates )
What are the values of the Clallam County GOP and most likely, their candidates? The Clallam County has proudly posted their values in their official platform. ( https://clallamrepublicans.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FINAL-APPROVED-CCRP-County-Platform-2016.pdf ) Here is a summary of some of the values set forth in the current Clallam County GOP platform.
In summary, the values and positions put forth here are significant and many of them do not appear to be mainstream. If Sequim’s school board and city council fall under the control of elected officials who favor these policies, Sequim will be pulled into a quite different direction than it has taken in the past. Sequim’s voters should examine the candidates and their values carefully before making a decision in August and again in November. A lot is at stake here.
The upcoming primary and general elections in Sequim this year will be critical in setting the direction that Sequim takes in the next two years. The Clallam County Republican Party made clear its intention to influence these upcoming elections and pull public policy in its favor. Its subsidiary, the Independent Advisory Association has recruited and fielded candidates for almost every race on the Sequim ballot. Therefore, it is important to have a look at the kind of values the Clallam GOP holds and what kind of city they want Sequim to become going forward.
By examining their platform, it is readily apparent that the local GOP favors a fairly conservative agenda. Their platform advocates “limited government”, implying reduced funding for human services, among other things. They oppose government bailouts of any kind. They oppose public health care and government assistance in general. Their platform advocates that government should not buy private property. Public employees are not entitled to collective bargaining rights.
In the area of culture and education, they believe that voting is a privilege. Although they favor “limited government”, they believe taxpayers should fund private education and home schooling. They seem to advocate for prayer in public schools. They claim that English is the “official national and state language”. Of course, they adamantly oppose abortion and appear to be opposed to contraception, advocating for abstinence-only sex education. Their platform and values are discussed in more detail below.
Voters should have a careful look at the values that this party and their candidates stand for. Are these conservative and “populist” values compatible with their own? A lot is at stake for Sequim in these upcoming off-year elections.
Detailed Discussion
There is an important election coming up this November. The choices the voters make in this critical election will set the direction Sequim takes in the next two years. Thus, it is important to be aware of the political values that each of the candidates brings to the election.
The Independent Advisory Association (https://www.restoreclallam.com/our-candidates) has fielded candidates for each of five Sequim city council seats, one school board seat and a seat on the Hospital Commission. For the Sequim city council, the IAA is sponsoring Daryl Ness, running against Rachel Anderson; Mike Pence, who is opposed by Vicki Lowe, Patrick Day who is running against incumbent Brandon Janisse, Sarah Kincaid who is opposed by Kathy Downer and Keith Larkin who is running against Lowell Rathbun. In the Sequim school board race, the IAA has sponsored Virginia Sheppard in Position #4 which has a total of 4 candidates running. One of the founders of IAA, Jim McEntire is running against J. Thomas Oblak for Hospital Commissioner, Position 2. What are the values that each of these candidates might bring to these elections?
First, the “Independent” Advisory Association is anything but independent. There is a clear connection between the IAA, its present and former candidates, and the Clallam County Republican Party. Jim McEntire and Donnie Hall who founded IAA ( https://www.restoreclallam.com/our-team )currently serve on the Clallam County Republicans Executive Board. https://clallamrepublicans.org/party-leadership/#board. Furthermore, candidate Sarah Kincaid serves on the GOP board as their RWCC President. Mayor William Armacost, one of their past candidates, is Republican and openly campaigned for GOP candidates in the 2020 election. Virginia Sheppard, running for school board is a Republican PCO (Precinct Committee Officer) for the Coyote precinct 218. Sarah Kincaid also serves as a GOP PCO for precinct 403 in Sequim. From the record of their past candidates and present office holders, it is reasonable to expect that Jim McEntire and Donnie Hall will be looking for and sponsoring candidates who share their GOP values. “As such, we seek a particular type of citizen to be a candidate we support.” ( https://www.restoreclallam.com/what-we-look-for-in-our-canidates )
What are the values of the Clallam County GOP and most likely, their candidates? The Clallam County has proudly posted their values in their official platform. ( https://clallamrepublicans.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FINAL-APPROVED-CCRP-County-Platform-2016.pdf ) Here is a summary of some of the values set forth in the current Clallam County GOP platform.
- Voting Rights -- Voting is a “privilege”, not necessarily a right: “The privilege of voting should be reserved to those who can prove they are eligible to vote.” (Apparently it’s incumbent on the voter to prove that they are eligible to vote. The 15th amendment to the Constitution says this: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude– “)
- Abortion -- They are, of course, opposed to almost all forms of abortion, which, according to the Supreme Court, is now a right guaranteed by the Constitution. “we oppose abortion (except where required to save the life of the mother), euthanasia, the use of embryos in stem cell research,”
- Same Sex Marriage -- They oppose same-sex marriage. “We support defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman.”
- Judeo-Christian Heritage -- Our national heritage is properly “Judeo-Christian”. “We support recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and intensive teaching of the Constitution, American and Washington State history, including our Judeo-Christian heritage, civics, U.S. Government, and economics, free of revisionist influence.” (I wonder if the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe considers their heritage to be “Judeo-Christian”? And, of course, there is the whole matter of teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) in our school system.)
- English is the Official Language -- They insist that English is the official language of the nation and the state of Washington: “(We support) English as the official national and state language.” “Every student has a right, an obligation and a need to become proficient in the English language, both verbally and in written form.” (Does this imply that non-English speakers are less than totally American? Is it even appropriate to believe that our nation has an “official language”?)
- Church and State -- They have some strange language about “freedom of religion, but not freedom from religion”: “The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of—not freedom from— religion.” (What does that phrase mean?) There is more language in the platform that appears to favor prayer in public schools: “We call on all school authorities … to respect the rights of individuals and groups of individuals to engage in voluntary prayer and other religious speech …” (There is no language in their platform that advocates for a clear separation of church and state.)
- Health Care -- They oppose publicly provided health care and the ACA: Apparently health care should be delivered by the “free market”: “We believe in free-market solutions to curtail health care costs, including health savings accounts, tax deductible private-pay medical insurance and health care services, … and ending state health insurance coverage mandates.” “ We …. support repeal of the Affordable Care Act.” (I wonder if they also oppose the federal Medicare Program in its entirety. What happens to people who cannot afford private health care? If the ACA were repealed today, 20 million Americans would lose their healthcare.)
- Social Welfare or Government Assistance -- They appear to oppose any form of social welfare programs or government assistance and want to abolish any form of inheritance tax. “(We support) Eliminating government bailouts of any kind”…. “Abolition of death taxes, both state and federal.” (Will this plank lead IAA candidates and city council members to get the city out of the business of providing or paying for human services, such providing shelter and medical care for the homeless? Does this also mean that they oppose Social Security and Medicare?)
- Death Penalty -- While they believe that “all life is sacred”, they support the death penalty. “all life is sacred,”…”We support the death penalty.” (One suspects that when they use the term “all life is sacred”, it mainly applies to unborn fetuses.)
- Unrestricted Gun Ownership -- They believe in the completely unrestricted right to own and carry guns: “We oppose mandatory gun registration, licensing of gun owners, and restrictions on law abiding citizens’ right to purchase, own and carry firearms, ammunition or their components.”
- Collective Bargaining Rights -- They are opposed to the right of public employees (presumably including Sequim city staff) to have unions and engage in collective bargaining. “(We support) Ending strikes and collective bargaining for wages and benefits for public employees.” (Will this value influence the attitude of GOP city council members toward our city employees, such as thinking that said employees are overpaid.)
- Government Purchase of Private Property -- “We oppose further government acquisition of privately owned properties and encourage sale to U.S. citizens of excess government property.” Will this plank influence IAA candidates (and council members) to oppose the city’s purchase of private land to put into an affordable housing trust?
- Public Education – They advocate that public tax dollars be used to finance private schools or home-schooling. “We support … (the) parents’ right to choose home-schooling, private schools, charter schools, or public schools. Educational funding should follow the child, thus we support tax credits and vouchers for those who choose alternatives to public schools.” (This plank would seem to be significant in the thinking of a GOP school board member.)
- Abstinence Only – They appear to be opposed to contraception and favor abstinence-only sex education. “we support emphasizing informed abstinence regarding sexual behavior.” (Again, this might be significant in the policies pursued by a GOP school board member.)
In summary, the values and positions put forth here are significant and many of them do not appear to be mainstream. If Sequim’s school board and city council fall under the control of elected officials who favor these policies, Sequim will be pulled into a quite different direction than it has taken in the past. Sequim’s voters should examine the candidates and their values carefully before making a decision in August and again in November. A lot is at stake here.