Put simply, the question is how does a tie-dyed, long-haired, natural food and food bank loving hippie like this...
End up turning into a secrecy-embracing, backroom loving, status quo maintaining and public concerns ignoring piece of fruitcake like this?
It would seem to defy logic, to cancel out common sense. "But...But...He was one of us! He was on the side of the angels! What happened?!?" But this is hardly the first time this has happened. Betsy Wharton, anyone? She too was a groovy, peace and love hippie type who quickly became chummy with the crummy Karen Rogers. Brad Collins? He was done the dirty and forced out of City Hall as an employee by the rotten crew there. You'd think he'd have wanted to get a little getback, and maybe turn some tables on that same rotten crew once he got onto the City Council. Vengeance is mine and righteous justice and all that. Instead, he self-neutered and has been content to be the fattest of fat cats for the Fluoride Four.
And now we have the Son of Peach, Mark Ozias, the latest and greatest disappointment to come sliding out of the political bowels of Clallam County. So yeah, what happened?
Well, per Tyler's comments, I'd say that there's an ingredient missing from that Ozias Peach pie: Pressure. Real, sustained public pressure, both on Ozias himself, and the County, and (perhaps most importantly) on the Clallam County Democratic Party. Without eyes on the prize, boots on the ground, and letters to the editor (or something like that), we all know that the political establishment here will quickly and easily sleazy slide right back to...Well, to that backroom.
Lord knows there are enough examples of that as well. (Good morning, Steve Tharinger!)
My point being...Tyler is right. It's not enough to invest your hope and vote in someone and then just let them go. They're going into a corrupt and cynical environment, a poisonous atmosphere. If they are just left on their own to "adjust" to holding office, you're only going to keep getting more versions of Betsy Wharton-Rogers and Mark Peach.
They need to know you're watching. They need to know what you're thinking. And they, and their party handlers further up the food chain, need to know that you won't be voting for them again if they don't live up to expectations.
Please note: There are exceptions to this rule. When you've elected someone without a functional brain, a la Cherie Kidd, then all bets are off and logic has no part of any discussion.
Tyler is the best. We need Tyler on the City Council!
ReplyDeleteThank you to Tyler for not only being brave enough to speak out, but to put your name out there. As many people, like myself,can tell you: 'if you speak out and they can identify you - you will be hammered down.' So you are very brave.
ReplyDeleteI want to tell my story now. I live in fear in this town. I was threatened by someone at City Hall and, later, the cops showed up at my house about 'complaints' about my son. He is a good kid, maybe a little wild, but he is a kid and he is not doing drugs or stealing and he is doing pretty good in school. Still, cops came round my house after I got threatened and they started digging through my garage. I asked "you got a warrant?" and the cops said "Are we gonna have trouble with you? You can get fucked up in this town, you know." My son was there and he heard this and the cops said they'd take him to juvie.
I went to a lawyer and he said "forget it. You'd better move out of the town. Your screwed here."
So watch out bro cos the people in City Hall can be like this.
Thanks Anon 8:27 Sorry to hear they beat up on you.
DeleteI'm not worried. I learned how to be vocal years ago, and will launch as is needed! LOL!
Right now we'll call Ozias simply lazy for not being "up" on things. He has not done the heavy lifting he needs to excel in this position. The more info we can get to him the better he will find his way back to some semblance of sanity. Right now he is merely "McIntire Lite."
ReplyDeleteThanks, CK.
ReplyDeleteTo elaborate a bit further, I view politicians like I view a house painter, or a web page designer. They solicit my business, offering their skills, to accomplish my goals. I interview the house painter, and tell them which room I want painted, with which color. They don't tell me.
When I interview web page designers, I tell them what I want, in as specific terms as I can. I want buttons to take the visitor to other information that is in this or that order. I want a "PayPal" button, and links to these other related sites, etc. They may have suggestions, but nothing happens without me being informed first, without our talking it over, and my ultimate approval.
Politicians should be no different, and are not in my eyes. But too many others seem to get buffaloed by the position, as if we still live under a monarchy. As if we live in post war Eastern Europe, with secret police and informers lurking everywhere, ready to turn us in, and cart us off to the torture chambers.
Or, are we really just that lazy? Can't be bothered? That we just come up with excuses for not being involved, because we just too lazy?
It is so easy to have impact on government, but we need to change our attitudes about government, and those we entrust with the jobs of administration, management and execution of what is needed to maintain and improve our communities. They don't rule us. They work for us.
Tyler
Thanks to CK for providing this forum and this information, both functions the PDN should be doing, but doesn't. Our system is broken, and it takes a lot of effort by the PDN to try and paper over that fact. But more and more of us are waking up to the reality, the cold, frightening reality, of our local situation.
ReplyDeleteOur local politicians are either clueless dupes, or crass opportunists, looking for ways to advance their own (financial) well being. Pocket lining is so common as to be almost mandatory. This is natural for the local Republicans, with their long-standing ties to timber and extraction industries, but our local Democrats are also bad through and through. We don't have a local Democratic party; it's more like a criminal cartel, aiding and abetting those who are willing to turn a blind eye to corruption, or (even better) join right in.
City (Wharton), county (Chapman, Ozias) and state (Tharinger, Van De Wege) we've been sold out by those who are supposed to represent our interests, in favor of their interests, their agendas.
But, like CK says, WE keep electing these people. WE fail to apply the pressure these people need to stay on the straight and narrow. WE create the problem, but WE are also the solution.
Better candidates, better oversight, and (hopefully) better results. WE the people.
Mark Nichols is the real problem here. He is the ultimate bully who runs the courthouse behind the scenes (thanks to the PDN) on threats and intimidation. Mark Nichols is the one doing wrong, and Mark Nichols should be held accountable.
ReplyDeleteIf you really want to blame a democrat in this mess, look to Mike Chapman. While Ozias has been there a mere six months, Chapman has been there sixteen years and is the chair of the board. He only objected on procedural grounds at the end because he got caught trying to sneak this mess through. For the life of me, I don't understand why the democrats are endorsing Chapman.
Agreed. It is dismaying to see Mike Chapman running for state office. If you think he screwed things up here, just wait until you see what he can do on the state level. It is all indicative of how corrupt and incestuous and unaccountable the Democratic Party is here. They prop up losers and sabotage their own good candidates. They don't deserve our support, or our votes, or our forgiveness.
DeleteChapman is the perfect example of do-whatever-it-takes-to-survive political BS that passes for leadership here. From Republican to Independent to Democrat. From fiscal conservative to spendthrift and back again. Sometimes he's on his meds, sometimes he's off. There is NO consistent theme or meaning to his decisions other than that he'd like to hold office and get very well paid, thank you very much.
DeleteWe can expect more than this. We could certainly do better than this. In my opinion, when all we've got are bad choices on the ballot, then write someone in as a protest vote. Let BOTH political parties know you aren't buying what they're selling. Change is incremental, but it can come. But only if we change our behavior as voters. Otherwise the fault will continue to be ours.
Fuhgetabout party affiliations. They are all in the same party--the moneyed party. Get behind someone who has a good heart, a good mind and a flexible intellect. Then support them with time, money and more time. Don't re-elect anyone is a good starting point for where we are right now.
DeleteIf you insist that an elected individual stay "on the straight and narrow," you are inviting disappointment. You have sent an individual to do a job which entails a wide range of issues with many permutations for solution so you will not always agree.
ReplyDeleteI've been in contact with one of the Commishes and he insisted there will be an investigation of the wrongdoings with as much of the findings made public as legally possible in this matter once the terms of the settlement have been completed. He also said his voting for the settlement was simply damage control since it could be much more costly with no gain (public land) and finally ends the matter. Reasonable argument. Still lots of money coming out of the county coffers. Bottomline for me is end the disputes with the Langes and expose the culprits who caused and/or contributed to all facets of the mess.
ReplyDeleteOh, please...
DeleteROTFLMAO
DeleteLets do a thorough investigation AFTER the horse has left the barn, gone to the highway and been hit by a car. Lets look into blaming the hinges on the barn door, and the errors made by the horse.
DeleteMaybe they should have just closed the barn door, preventing the horse from leaving.
Oh yeah, that would have involved some level of responsibility -- which is the thing that is sorely lacking in all areas of government around here.
It's no different than the Stupid Council voting to approve a baseball contract, in a big rush, without hearing from the staff, or the Chief about how alcohol at the Civic Field might have some issue, or how parking in the area (residential neighborhoods) might be impacted, or traffic might have a problem. Maybe look at OTHER CONTRACTS, and hear from other communities regarding this step? Lee W brought all this up, and the council didn't even listen to him. What did they do "oh goodie, we have a new dream to cling to".
Was that responsible? No.
DUH!
Meanwhile...Driver...Car...Dead man...Charges?
ReplyDeleteThe new motto around here, for everything, oughtta be: INF! (It's Nichols' Fault!)
DeleteHe is one smarmy bastard.
Is he smarmy or over his head, and inept?
DeleteSeems that many of the people who are accused of being evil are just stupid, lazy, and unable to actually DO their jobs.
What's up with the dead guys family? He must have somebody. They need to Lawyer up. It is very apparent that whoever hit this poor guy ( and it's been so long now without stopping to look it up I can't remember his name) and drove away leaving him to die is not even going to be identified much less charged.
ReplyDeleteAsk Mark Nichols for a public records request, then wait for a reply.
Deleteand wait. And wait. And wait....
DeleteYou can try a request. But he has no legal or ethical responsibility to tell you anything about an open case.
DeleteWasn't the dead guy one of the despised group around here...you know p-o-o-r and/or homeless, heading out to seek the overnight services of Serenity House?
ReplyDeleteThat would explain the lax attitudes, and the "oh well, nothing lost here".
I'm going to GUESS that the guy was wearing dark clothing, and the driver of the car said they didn't know what they hit. Case closed.
The real issue is the poor, poor excuse for a "newspaper" doesn't give a damn to follow up. We'd be better off having no newspaper at all than one that does such a disservice to the public.
For a town such as this (with only 50% of the town computer savvy) a good newspaper is vital to the health of the community. What was the first thing Gandhi would suggest for a village? Set up a newspaper, a central point through which all the news is filtered and which brings the people together. Likewise, what was the first thing that Hitler did upon assuming power? Take over the newspapers, and control content.
Mein Kampf: "The receptivity of the great masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan.”
Clearly, we need to support and fund Port O'Call, as our "alternative" newspaper in town. It is vital to the community, and our mental health.
(No, I am NOT part of PoC, I am an independent citizen of Port Angeles. I just see a real need for news. If we could all send a donation, every month, it would vastly improve our ability to hang together as a community.)
Splendid idea, get a subscription, a great gift idea, or buy an ad and sound off to 20,000 readers of the Port O Call.
DeleteDigital subscriptions only $18 per year, hard copy mailed to your home only $36 per year. Let's face it folks Port O Call is the only media doing investigative journalism for miles around. If you appreciate it--support it. http://www.portocallpublishing.com
And thanks for whomever suggested this...
CK, forgive this shameless self-promotion-Port O Call
The "slogan" around here, and has been for 25 years is: drum roll please..."economic development." They have ridden this slogan to great success without ever delivering economic development but it has funded so many grants and made a few wealthy. Every time you hear someone mouth this platitude make them follow up with exactly what the hell they mean. Is it the Gateway center, pocket beaches, handing the chamber a gazillion dollars, all this done in the name of economic development and the streets are still crumbling, the syringes pile up in alleys and the kids keep jumping off bridges. Yeah, keep yelling economic development and the smart ones know you are pulling the wool over the eyes one more time. Randy Johnson has been chair of the Economic Development Council for years and they have done nothing but feed at the public trough and sideline any competitive businesses and depress wages for those jobs in "retention."
ReplyDeleteHey CK, remember this statement you made? " In any case, it seems clear to me that, if it's change you're after, Mark Ozias is the way to go." YOU WERE WRONG and should admit that. You may very well have aided in cooking up that "Mark Peach" Pie now you go ahead and enjoy eating it. How's that for "getting in your face"?
ReplyDeleteRemember you said this too; "BUT...I must caution you...Anyone posting any nonsense about "knocking McEntire out in the primary" had better do so with something stronger than wishful thinking to back up such a long-shot notion." Well, I lost the primary to Mark and Jim but the ultimate goal was achieved and "Dim King Jim" LOST his seat.
Did I support Mark after the primary? Yes I did because unseating McEntire was the ultimate goal. Did I warn about Mark being malleable and too "go along to get along"? Yes I did and the results are very apparent and I knew this would happen with Mark going forward, so I am just as culpable as you in creating this "Mark Peach" Pie.
I did warn the electorate to keep pressure on Mark to do the right things and that didn't happen. I warned that Mark was too easily influenced and questioned him on who he would build his "coalition" with, that result is also very apparent. I warned Mark that Steve Tharinger was not his friend, he didn't listen.
I said that I would end the status quo,look out for the taxpayers, bring transparency and openness to county government.
Is this what scared you into backing Ozias or was it that I am willing to look outside the box and be open to other ways to bring business, jobs and development "like the Tram" you chided me about to the region?
This "fantasy tram" as you call it would have been a far better investment than the EDC and all the waterfront development that has taken place since the election. I have been more places than the Olympic Peninsula and have seen the trams and the positive "economic development" and jobs they have brought to the regions where they operate.
The tram would have provided year around access to Hurricane Ridge and associated activities that would have provided year around jobs, lowered the carbon footprint in the park and would have been a true enhancement to the "Gateway to the Olympics" moniker that Port Angeles touts. It's called being "progressive".
Being "progressive", I also support the Peninsula Area Public Access Channel that brings a greater sense of openness to county politics that provides real time video access and video archives to our county electorate so they can hold our politicians feet to the fire without relying on the biased PDN spin and obfuscation of issues like the $500,000 settlement, Fluoride Four and the failing Clallam Bay/Sekiu sewer system that can't fund it's self.
On my "conservative" side, I would discontinue funding the EDC and their failed policies and projects that have already cost the taxpayers millions with no results, no new businesses, no new jobs and no airline service.
On my "conservative" side, I would require performance contracts for any funding or grants provided by the county taxpayers from county coffers. That is called being accountable.
On my "conservative" side, I would not have voted to sweep the land use/public records debacle under the rug. I would have investigated it and brought out into the open all culpable parties to be held accountable for their actions and subject to public scrutiny. That's called being responsible.
The public made their choice for Mark clear and now they have to deal with it and eat their share of "Mark Peach" Pie along side you and me.
Bryan...I think part of what put people off you is crazy stuff like this rambling post on a topic no one has posted on in nearly two weeks. Like supporting the Fantasy Tram, this seems to show that you don't quite get it, aren't quite tethered to the same reality that most are. I'm not saying this to be mean, just to give you some feedback on how you're perceived.
DeleteNow, you make some good points - like not trusting that rat Steve Tharinger, and stopping funding for the useless EDC. But these too little too late tirades...I just don't see the point. Again, I'm not trying to be mean, but...Just trying to understand here.