HomeMy WebLinkAbout022825 email - Small Town & Rural Community ParochialismALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
To the Jefferson County Commissioners.
Small towns & rural communities across America have a problem with parochialism. The people and their leaders don't often recognize when change is needed and are unable or unwilling
to think outside the box. They make decisions based on "it's the way we've always done it". They consider stability and the status quo to be more important than making changes, necessary
or not. They are unwilling to rock the boat but sometimes the boat needs to be rocked. They trust people who have lived with their families in the community for decades over anyone
who has moved there more recently, particularly if one has moved here from a big city.
It appears to me that the leaders of these small towns & rural communities don't like to make difficult or consequential decisions. I understand that big problems cost big bucks to solve
and cannot be taken care of all at once. However, rather than take care of serious problems incrementally they just kick the can down the road until the problems have gotten so serious
they have to be dealt with by someone else, and at a much higher cost. I've watched this play out here in our county for well over 10 years.
Washington needs to reduce its regressive property and sales taxes, as well as the B&O tax, and institute a progressive income tax, which would equitably fund many agencies & programs.
However, as far as I know, none of our Democratic state legislators or county commissioners have taken any notable action to accomplish this. Yes, it is difficult to amend the State
Constitution so that a progressive tax can be instituted and this seems to be one of those difficult, consequential actions no one is willing to take. What is wrong with Washington's
Democrats?
One of the best examples is how our county commissioners have ignored the problems with invasive plant species, especially Scotch broom. In 2013 I co-founded with Jill Silver an organization
dedicated to the elimination of these invasive species, and co-chaired it until 2019. We had representatives from numerous and diverse groups, including seven tribes, the weed boards
of seven counties, Rayonier Forest Resources, Jefferson Land Trust, Wash. State Weed Coordinators Association, Wild Olympics Coalition, WA State Dept. of Natural Resources, WA State
Invasive Species Council, and the Olympic Forest Coalition. My resolution calling for a study of the impact of invasive plant species on Washington's economy was adopted by the Jefferson
County Democrats followed by approval by the WA State Democratic Party. State government was resistant to funding the study and we got no help from our Democratic state legislators.
It was only after a Republican state representative agreed to write and introduce legislation to fund and conduct the study that WA State found the money and funded the study. It was
conducted in 2016 and the report was published in January 2017 (see attachment). Since then, little to nothing has been done at the state or county level, including Jefferson County,
to deal with these invasive species.
What follows is not meant to be a personal attack on any of you and please don't take it that way. My comments below are intended to demonstrate how Jefferson County has the same parochial
problems as many if not most, small towns and rural communities across America.
I attended the BOCC meeting on Monday that was devoted to selecting an Interim Sheriff for our county. It was interesting to hear that Greg and Heather indicated, both indirectly and
directly, that Art Frank's experience, knowledge, and skills were superior to Andy Pernsteiner's and also that Art has a vision for how the JCSO needs to evolve which Andy lacks. Especially
noteworthy were their subtle hints to Andy that he should make use of Art's vision to move the JCSO "slowly" to more up-to-date policing methods. It seemed obvious that you see Andy
as more of a follower than a leader but that did not make a difference. The BOCC considered the fact that all or the vast majority of the deputies wanted Andy to be selected as a major
factor. You placed likeability and stability over experience, knowledge, and skill. You don't seem to realize that popularity does not guarantee effectiveness and is a poor basis for
choosing a Sheriff or any leader. When Dave Stanko was Sheriff and Art Frank was his Undersheriff, they tried to get the deputies to follow community policing practices but the deputies
refused. When Joe Nole became Sheriff and Andy became Undersheriff, they made no effort to implement any form of community policing. They would rather be liked than be effective. Residents
of Quilcine have asked for the presence of a patrol deputy but Andy told me the budget won't allow it and there is not enough crime in Quilcine to justify it. This is another example
of where Washington needs a state income tax that would allow for increased budgets of county agencies. The JCSO needs the kind of budget that will allow it to attract and hire deputies
who are willing to utilize modern policing practices without implementing the practices that only apply to big cities.
I think both Heather and Greg mentioned the mandate Joe and his team received from the voters in the last election for Sheriff, emphasizing that Joe won 68% of the vote. They stated
clearly that the BOCC should not overturn the will of the people, maintain the status quo, and let the voters decide who should be the Sheriff in the next election. However, Heather
and Greg, you don't seem to understand that Art, with little to no name recognition, won 32% of the vote on his first attempt to run against a popular incumbent. That is pretty damn
good! There was no real mandate for Joe or Andy. Too many voters don't take or have the time to learn about the issues and candidates so they can make wise choices. That is why, unless
the voters have heard of serious problems with the incumbent, or the incumbent has become unpopular, incumbents win reelection about 90% of the time. By choosing a 27-year JCSO deputy
to be the Sheriff, you pretty much put your thumb on the scale and made sure Andy would be elected in November.
All I can hope for is that you each think about what I've said, lose some of that small town & rural community parochialism, and start thinking outside the box.
Respectfully,
David Tonkin
Port Townsend