WEEK OF 10/8/12 MEETINGS IN REVIEW

TOM'S TALES FOR THE WEEK

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Tom Davis  Mason County Progressive

Tuesday, October 9, 2012
 
 9:00 AM: Regular session of Board of County Commissioners

There were only five items on the agenda this week, as commissioners struggle to keep their heads down until after the election. As a result, recent meetings have become little more than a platform from which the current crop of political tigers attempt to change their stripes.

Bob Simmons, Director, WSU Mason County Extension, introduced two new members of AmeriCorps to the Board. Commissioner Sheldon took the opportunity to recall his own community service, and all hearts crackled with warmth, at least until the issue of commissioner salaries reared its ugly head. I blame the weather: one second the sun is shining, the next we’re being beaten to the ground in a political maelstrom. Making matters worse, is an exceptionally hot wind blowing in from Commissioner District No. 2.

Sheldon wasted no time casting his bait upon the waters, complaining that my comments are always politically motivated, and attacking my blog posts. But what Sheldon was really fishing for was an opportunity to state on the public record that he had returned his salary raise to the County, which he apparently thinks is the same as not getting one. So backward and downward we spiraled through a history of automatic pay increases, reassigning blame and generally doing whatever was needed to draw attention away from the issue. You know, the usual stuff.

Commissioner Bloomfield jumped in to ask me to be patient, a reasonable request under most circumstances. Here are a few of the comments I’ve had to put up with after waiting patiently for the commissioners to address my concerns: “You’re new here"; "You’re from California"; "You’re misinformed"; "You’re being political"; "You have an agenda"; and my all-time favorite, “You’re telling us how to run the County". Now, after kicking the can down the road for the past four (some would say eight) years, the commissioners ask that we all be patient while they trade one bad mechanism for pay increases for another.

Some commissioners would like to silence opposing voices altogether. They say they don’t, but their actions tell a different story: Citizens are not allowed to speak at briefings, and we can’t respond to commissioner comments at meetings, no matter how wrong-headed, insipid or untrue. It’s kind of like a game, though the stakes are pretty high: every time they win, we lose another opportunity to be heard.

Recent history tells us that when it comes to addressing citizen concerns, our commissioners are lousy with excuses, windy as the day is long and painfully short on action. But put their pay check on the block for some serious cutting and they’ll snatch it off faster than a New York second.

(Note: Some of my comments may not apply to all the commissioners all of the time; it’s not my job to make clear those distinctions, it’s theirs.)

Next up was John Gunter, Chair of the Belfair Citizens Advisory Committee. John is bright, well-intentioned and enthusiastic, maybe a bit too enthusiastic. He wrote what most people would assume was a confidential email to Commissioners Sheldon and Ring-Erickson, asking that the available grant money for the construction of Phase ll of the Belfair Sewer Project be rejected. 

In a shameless demonstration of political opportunism, Commissioner Sheldon chose to read Gunter’s frustrations into the public record. And as unseemly as this spectacle was, Sheldon did not stop there; he provided copies of the email to members of the press and the attending public. 

I have seen this tactic used before, most recently in the disemboweling of Jack Miles’ military service record during the race for Port of Shelton Commissioner. While such an unsavory tactic is meant to damage an opponent’s credibility, it often says more about the person administering the damage. Sheldon used John’s unfortunate choice of words to bolster his own political ends, declaring that he would not be bullied into a decision on the sewer project.

Be that as it may, Gunter made a good case and commissioners voted to reject the grant from the Department of Ecology, effectively halting the Belfair Sewer Project, at least for the time being. Commissioner Ring-Erickson tried to make political hay by saying she had long been opposed to construction of Phase ll. I don’t remember it quite that way, but then I’m a bit deaf in that ear.

At the end of the day, Mr. Gunter stuck his neck out and walked away with a slap on the wrist and a victory for his community; Mr. Sheldon gave us a peak at the man behind the smile; Mr. Bloomfield remained coiled to make a bad decision on future commissioner pay; and Ms. Erickson learned that even the unwanted chickens eventually find their way home. 

It’s good to know there are people out there still willing to get their nose a little bloodied fighting for their community. Of course, we could do ourselves a big favor and just stop voting our problems into office, but from experience we seem to learn nothing.

As for me, I am busy converting a work shed into a chicken coop. No one goes through life without acquiring a few chickens along the way, so you might as well get ready for the time when they come home to roost.

Later…