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…
