Tumwater Man Asks Court to Halt Enforcement of Tumwater’s Ban on Political Signs

BY: JESSICA BOWMAN, FREEDOM FOUNDATION
On Monday, Barney McClanahan asked a federal judge to order the City of Tumwater to stop removing free speech signs from along streets and sidewalks.
Tumwater business owner Barney McClanahan filed suit against the City of Tumwater earlier this year arguing that Tumwater violated his free speech rights by removing a political sign from his business property.  McClanahan posted a sign for the campaign, “Stop Taking Our Property,” a movement against Thurston County property regulations, to show his support of the effort.  “They stole my voice,” McClanahan said.  City of Tumwater employees told McClanahan his sign was located in the public right-of-way, and therefore was in violation of the Tumwater Municipal Code.
The case against the City of Tumwater’s sign ordinance was originally filed in Thurston County Superior Court on August 11, 2011, and was later transferred to federal court.
The Motion for Preliminary Injunction requests that the judge temporarily order the City of Tumwater and its employees from enforcing the sign ordinance until the case is resolved.
“Our motion points out that there is substantial case law protecting free speech activity such as the sign that Barney McClanahan posted,“ said Michael Reitz, general counsel of the Freedom Foundation, who represents McClanahan.  “The First Amendment provides expansive protection of speech about government activities.  In our motion we argue that Tumwater cannot justify its restriction on speech.”
McClanahan’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction was supported by several former candidates who filed declarations testifying that Tumwater removed their campaign signs in local elections.  Declarations were submitted by former Thurston County Commissioner candidate Pat Beehler, former Mayor of Tumwater and State House of Representatives candidate Justin Kover, and former Port of Olympia Commissioner candidate Will Stakelin.
The case is Barney McClanahan v. City of Tumwater, No. 3:11-cv-05623-RBL, United States District Court, Western District of Washington.  The Motion for Preliminary Injunction is scheduled to be heard on October 28, 2011.  The case is assigned to the Honorable Judge Ronald B. Leighton.

Diversity, Tolerance, Choice and Debate? -Chris Reykal (D) WA 22nd and Stew Henderson

Fundamental beliefs in property rights cut across the political spectrum. People that may have different views on other issues can come together on property rights.
Glen Morgan, project manager of Stop Taking Our Property Thurston County, has been reaching out to every possible public meeting in Thurston County to engage and educate people on the issues of property rights here in Thurston County.
This past Sunday, He was at Sam Garst’s house who hosted a fundraiser for Denny Heck. He was at the Thurston County Democrat’s Central Committee meeting on Monday.
You would be surprised at what Sam Garst, Stew Henderson, and Representative Chris Reykdal (D) of the 22nd Legislative District said to Glen.

Stew Henderson, Chris Reykal (D) WA 22nd LD

Thurston County Commissioners backpedal

Not too long ago, the Thurston County Commissioners were on a mission to save the Mazama Pocket Gopher—a species that the Federal Government had been trying to exterminate for over 50 years, and now the State says is threatened.

Citizens from around Thurston County—now educated by S.T.O.P Thurston County town halls—have been pouring out to Commissioner meetings asking them to remove the regulations. The Commissioners have dug in their heels and have propped themselves up by a small contingent of environmental radicals called GO (Government Only), and puffed-up science.

The Business Examiner reported on the Pocket Gopher situation a few days ago and it seems that the Commissioners are starting to backpedal. It looks like they are trying to shift the conversation from saving the pocket gopher to saving the prairies. Alas, the citizens wouldn’t give up their property rights for a gopher, maybe they will give up their rights for the prairies—which by the way, were made and maintained by humans.

Here is a quote from the Business Examiner article printed September 19th [link to article]:

“This is about the prairie itself,” Valenzuela said. “The word ‘gopher’ has been explosive — but it’s just a candidate for protected species. That’s the only connection between the gophers and the prairies.”

She isn’t worried about a building shutdown. She’s more excited about a recent $450,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant the county will use to create a regional habitat conservation plan for fragile ecosystems, including the prairie.

The final product, Valenzuela said, will circumvent development issues.

“Our goal is to ultimately create a plan that will take a big-picture approach toward managing impacts to sensitive species,” she said, “rather than putting the burden on each and every permit applicant to come up with a plan.”

With the grant, one of three awarded in the state, the county will work with the Washington Fish and Wildlife Service to establish permit regulations that will allow development — while protecting ecosystems and species.

“This will eventually result in a large, countywide habitat conservation plan so that individual landowners could be relieved of the burden of having to make changes,” Valenzuela said. “It will be more efficient. We think this is the better approach.”

Commissioner Cathy Wolfe agreed.

“We’re thrilled to get this grant,” she said. “It’s going to help the county respond to some of the requests we hear most often — (including) take a landscape approach to conservation, and make the process easier.”

Let me translate the Commissioner’s comments for you. It means that they have taxpayer’s money, they will waste it on hiring staff, and figure out new and creative ways to limit the use of your property.

Ken Berg, Manager at US Fish and Wildlife, was at a recent Thurston County Planning Commission meeting and he said that the new approach isn’t about saving species, it’s about taking property (managing habitiat). Most likely, the Commissioners are now going to be taking directions from Ken Berg since that’s where they have found their new funding source.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this issue. Check back here to see our updates.

Sandra Romero, Cathy Wolfe, Karen Valenzuela: want to impose a FEE for public participation

Cathy Wolfe, Sandra Romero, and Karen Valenzuela are proposing a FEE for public participation at hearings. Our research exposes that if this proposal passes, then the Commissioners—at their own discretion may impose a fee for ideas that the public may bring forward.
This is a bad idea because it discourages public participation and enables the Commissioners to decide who gets charged a fee. Presumably, if you agree with the Commissioners, then your participation will be free.

Cathy Wolfe voted for Innovative Techniques that was really a rural downzone

In August of ‘07, Cathy Wolfe called in from England to phone in a vote that destroyed her public trust and evaporated any hope of ‘open and honest government’. After barely one day of unveiling an ordinance the Thurston County Commission voted to approve it.
It wasn’t just a housekeeping ordinance. No! This was one of the most sweeping land grabs in the history of Thurston County. It was slid through under the guise of ‘innovative techniques’ a title and method of downzoning cooked up between Craig Ottavelli and Cathy Wolfe.
What this ordinance does is it changes the way that density is calculated from a gross density calculation to a net density calculation. Basically you must subtract all of the critical areas from your parcel prior to making the density calculation. The Commissioners have no idea how many housing units they lost from the County with this ordinance, or if they did the weren’t telling the public about it.
I made serveral requests in the hours prior to the Commissioner’s vote asking them to have just one public hearing to voice testimony about the ordinance. They denied it and Cathy thought that the Commission had, “Met the technical definition of public process.”
Cathy was absent from this particular board meeting, and called in her vote from England, the very country our forefathers escaped so they could own land.

Cathy Wolfe voted for “innovative techniques”–which was really a downzone.

Sam Anderson, Executive Director of the Master Builders of King Snohomish Counties $700k Salary.

Sam Anderson, the Executive Director of the Master Builders of King Snohomish Counties makes over $700k per year as reported below. Now to be fair, his base salary is only $279,826 so the other part comes in bonuses, incentives, benefits, deferred and other compensation. I'm not really sure what the difference is, although it kinda makes up a pretty monstrous salary pie. I wonder what benefit the members of the MBA of King Snohomish are getting for that? I could probably hire a team of people if someone would underwrite nearly $1million a year.
Yowza. Well, download the official Form 990.

Crazy prediction?

Once in a while, I get a feeling. Sadly, most of the time I don't write them down and end up saying, "I told you so!" Well here it it:

I predict that Gregoire gets a Federal Judgeship and leaves her post as Governor, Rossi comes back and runs (3 times a charm), and Rob McKenna takes on Murray for the US Senate.

Call me crazy ... what are your thoughts?