Port Angeles Council candidate Todd Negus said Thursday he is dropping out of the race for Position 1, conceding the Nov. 7 election to his opponent Jim Moron.
Didn't one of you actually (and accurately) predict this a while back? And what is with this? And what is with Negus going so far as to drop out and even conceding the election, but he can't tell us why...Until a "future interview."
What the..?
This is such a bizarre, and may I say, blatantly corrupt, state of affairs. Another great day in Port Angeles, and another only in Clallam County story. But hey, at least Negus served his purpose, right? I mean, gee, his presence did keep Marolee Smith from making it to the general election - which meant it kept her from having a forum for months and months in which to ask "uncomfortable" questions about how City Hall conducts business.
"I told Negus to get out of my damned yard, and he did! 'Nuff said!"
That won't be a problem with Jim Moron. Even though he's not a Rough Rider by birthright, he's a good ol' boy through and through. He won't make any waves, or cause even a slight ripple of disturbance in City Hall's incestuous cesspool. He'll be like having Karen Rogers back, with a mustache. More of the same lame game.
*********UPDATED!*********
And now comes the not-even-fooling-a-third-grader "explanation" for dropping out, as well as the inevitable logrolling...
Moran said he was surprised that Negus is bowing out.
“To step away takes some personal courage, and I admire that,” Moran said. “Obviously, the guy has high moral character.”
In departing the race, Negus also praised Moran, calling him “a stand-up guy.”
“I feel that Jim Moran is in a position where he would represent the city of Port Angeles better than me as far as time he has to put on the council,” Negus said.
Hey, guys, if you wanna blow each other, get a room. But don't waste your hot air in public, thinking you're fooling anyone.
Democracy in Clallam County, at work.
ReplyDeleteProud Americans.
This was orchestrated from the beginning. Look no further than the chamber of commerce to see how this happens. Also, look for a similar situation in the Ohole race. The city is already paying off ohole with ball park lighting and sound system for his lame baseball team--even before he takes office. Another good reason to vote to return city government to its former system. At least it kept the rats out for the first hundred years.
ReplyDeleteIf Marolee's going to alienate easily half of the locals by sitting for the Pledge, and then double down on it by trying to ennoble it in a letter to the PDN, well I can't see how Negus got in the way much.
ReplyDeleteIf trying to explain yourself is "ennobling" well, I guess you'd say she was sunk either way?
DeleteI never SAT for the pledge...EVER in my life. I just refrain from parroting something without thinking about it. I believe in the right of people to think for themselves.
DeleteThe joke is...a lot of people just mouth the pledge. So they're more patriotic? Nothing like supporting lies and appearances, over substance.
Gotcha.
We have these little rituals as symbolic gestures of shared respect and common purpose. If you place yourself above or beyond that, you're not going to succeed in politics. Candidates need to display that they're different from all the rest -- but not alien. It didn't come across as "I'm not one of them" but as "I'm not one of you."
DeleteAnd yeah, sunk, but I would say anyway, not either way. The ethics stuff was no road to glory. Most of this town couldn't wait for it to end.
Only in this country, and North Korea. The pledge was created to sell flags, period. Then used to brainwash immigrant children.
DeleteGuess that is what the country is about...consumerism and brainwashing.
2:51pm is correct. The author Mr. Bellamy was among other things, a socialist. The pledge was a scam to sell more flags. And PA can only follow a scam, any scam, never ever avoid one.
DeleteMarolee is right. "...lies and appearances, over substance." Absolutely right on target.
DeleteMy friends in Europe laughed hysterically at the pledge -- when I was trying to show them the Cherie Groundhog day meltdown meeting. They watched it over and over, and screamed with laughter, tears flowing down their faces. "What is that?"
DeleteI had to patiently explain how we were all robot-like forced to say it as children, and in this town we're crazy with it -- at any drop of the hat, like zombies people will start reciting it.
One person said it was like the old Time Machine movie where at the sound of Air Raid sires people would stand and march towards their doom.
(Hey, guys, most cities have given up on it, and no one noticed. The Olympia City Council dropped it years ago, and no one complained or noticed.)
You are madly, sadly mistaken if you really believe that these "little rituals and symbolic gestures" have any common purpose. This is one of the most dysfunctional towns I have ever witnessed. There is no community -- so I guess that pledge doesn't work on the local brain trust?
7:30..what letter in the PDN?
DeleteThey don't publish letters from active candidates, and sure as hell, they wouldn't publish anything from Marolee.
And as far as I know Gotleaf didn't write anything.
I sure didn't see it.
But maybe I didn't pay my $.99 that month. Or, more likely you dreamed it (or you were high?).
Aug 19, 7:30
DeleteI don't think she did anything to alienate anyone. She always said she wasn't a politician, and had no intention of being one. She didn't try to "get votes" which is exactly WHY we needed her in office.
Meanwhile, clearly, people are so jaded that they can't believe someone with true, honest intentions and honorable motives.
People just love to sling mud, just like monkeys in the zoo like to fling their poo.
CK, you ought to catalogue how many times this fake candidate, drop out game has been played here, just in the last decade. It's been done so many times, it's obviously the favored tool of the established corrupt network.
ReplyDeleteOn one hand, it would be great to be able to identify these fake candidates well ahead of time, to be able to out them. Of course, the times that has happened (here and other forums) it hasn't made a difference.
As I'm talking through this, it comes clear again that, at the end of the day, the voters here are the real challenge to overcome. So many of them are checked out, and complicit in their own exploitation.
And that is something I have no idea how to address. This whole town really is sick, needs a therapist. The poverty, the need, is impossible to miss here. Yet people just keep voting for the people who will keep us all sick, poor and stupid.
TOO MANY TO LIST!
DeleteThe first thing that springs to mind is back in the day when John Miller's "opponent" in the race to be Director of Community Development at the County dropped out. By all accounts, it was a backroom, handshake deal. Wink, wink, and passive, do-nothing John Miller was in.
But there are lots of variations on it in Clallam County. I mean, someone has talked Peter Ripley into running how many times?
Then you've got vote sabotaging like when Linda Barnfather ran for County Commissioner, and her own party (Hello, Democrats!) would schedule events to conflict with her campaign events, thereby splitting Democratic attention, and resources, and fatally hobbling her efforts.
Then, there's all the BS the Democrats (Hello, again!) did to sabotage Dale Holiday's race for County Commissioner. Again, all the scuttlebutt is that sure-fire losers Sandy Longshot and Patty Morris were urged to run to split the primary vote - which they did. This easily threw the general election to (non-Democrat-but-connected) Mike Chapman, who "ran" against Maggie Roth - who was never, ever going to win. (Never, ever - sorry, Maggie.)
There was the craziness with Larry Little, running so hard for City Council, insisting on getting sworn in early, then resigning two days later. That threw the decision to the City Council, and brought us Brad Collins. (Who himself had pretty much thrown his previous campaign for Port Commissioner...)
Someone convinced Lee Whetham, would-be progressive, to run against Max Mania, who was, at the time, the only dependable progressive on the City Council. Lee's decision left other, much more conservative Council members unchallenged, or lightly challenged.
This last primary cycle saw Lee get primaried out, and also saw a number of declared candidates withdraw after filing. What's up with that?
And there are more, I know, but I just can't think of them now, and, frankly, I want to get to the gym. But others should feel free to add to this, because there are...
TOO MANY TO LIST!
8:16am nailed it. The vast majority of Clallam citizens are absolutely complicit in their exploitation. I'd go so far as to suggest they demand it. Very, very sick.
DeleteGenerally, people are so insecure about the future, their future, that they try to hold onto what they "know". And we get this.
DeleteGonna make the call on the reclassification prop. Too many people have no idea what it means, what it can do, and what power it gives citizens to counter the crazy. And in PA there are zero f#*&s to give. You cannot fix apathetic stupid.
ReplyDeleteSo a landslide for the "against" votes. No guts, no glory. And the town will get even worse with its scams, just to test whether that's possible.
if only the simple folk can be convinced that the government has no interest in them.
DeleteHmm, lets see cut the after school program mid school year. Failed to deliver the floatie docks for 3 years running (but have had the money for 4 years) no real excuses, just empty promises.
The ridiculous, ongoing, increases in fees for utility services (does it really cost the city $40 bucks to change a name on a bill??)
No animal control.
Giving our fiber optic high speed data lines to some darlings of the city in a sweet, sweet deal.
Squandering money -- ever wonder what "credit card" is for $20k on the published monthly budgets submitted to the council? The council never asks.
Allowing Bloor to hire as many consultants as he can. He gets a kings ransom for never speaking up at the council meetings, and never actually doing his job.
Letting senior city staff negotiate labor contracts -- which benefit them -- whatever is agreed to in collective bargaining with the unions they also receive. (You can look it up on the Open Payroll, that the past CEO put online. You can see the across the board raises, which coincide with the Union COLAs).
Grant chasing. Does anyone actually think that spending oodles of cash (in matching funds for the grant) to re-do Race Street as a "bike friendly" boulevard is a good idea. Hey, no parking, right? What about the fake beach and the windmills? What about that fine "transit center"? Corruption is corruption, and bid fixing, grant chasing, and kickbacks are all stealing from the American people.
The city does what the city does -- without thought for the people, the economy, or the costs to the people of Port Angeles.
I think we should, at least, try something different. If it doesn't work, we can go back to our current government.
State oversight would be a good thing. Better than our city going bankrupt, our property values plummeting, and our utility fees and additional taxes making us all cold, hungry and poor.
The best action would be to re-clasify, see how it goes, and if the majority don't like their new-found checks & balances, go back to a dictatorial council that so graciously permits the non-deserving public a few whole minutes to speak to them at the royal audience.
DeletePray tell, what are these new checks and balances of which you speak? Please specify, we're all ears.
DeleteYes, I'm curious about these "new" items as well...
DeleteI don't know what 6:20pm meant, but I hope it's because the city has to go by state imposed rules (not make up their own code).
DeleteI don't think that will make any different with the level of corruption here. A previous poster on a previous thread hit the nail on the head -- Ponerization.
The definition: The ultimate cause of evil lies in the interaction of two human factors: 1) normal human ignorance and weakness and 2) the existence and action of a statistically small (4-8% of the general population) but extremely active group of psychologically deviant individuals.
This area is ripe with carpetbaggers that show up and take over. I'm sure CK could supply us with lots of names (Karen Rogers, for one). These people won't stop their criminal endeavors just because we change to a code city.
It might clear out some of the scum at city hall, and bounce out a few council members, but all the fake non-profits, and the insider deals would continue. We'd have to get rid of the Real Estate and Lawyer cabal, too.
And, then do something to educate the overwhelmingly uneducated long time locals who protect these scammers and plotters.
I don't see any checks-and-balances, other than sending a message, and swinging for the fences.
6:20 again. In a second class cities, the positions of mayor, council members, city attorney, city clerk, and treasurer all become elected offices. Optional elective offices may also include chief of police, municipal judges, city engineer, street superintendent, health officer, and other formerly appointed positions. Wouldn't YOU like to have a say in the structure of your own city?
DeleteIn second class cities, the elected mayor can VETO what the council does, if he or she thinks that's what the citizens would do.
In a second class cities, the non-union management does not get automatic raises. The council has to measure their performance, and again, the elected mayor can veto any raise.
In a second class cities, all franchises for utilities and infrastructure must have a supermajority of at least 5 councilmembers. So the problems with the wireless network, the stolen fiber optic system, the cable system not able to serve capacity, and all the utility scams that took place, etc. would have been more difficult to pull off with a second-class city council.
Other transactions have to publish the actual contract before signing, for public input.
Second class cities can issue bonds to fund their projects, which give the project far more oversight that PA has ever done. Some outside eyes might put the kabosh on a few new scams.
I'm just suggesting that you as PA citizens, regardless of your level of education, might want to take a closer look at the opportunity now in your hands, to prevent some of the horrendous deals that this blog so aptly illuminates.
If second class passes, the city can go after the original petition in court. It is invalid because it deceptively implied that there would be an election of a new council. That deception is unconstitutional. This would be a winner - just ask Tim Eyman, who has had several voter-approved initiatives struck down. It also cited the wrong RCWs for what it requested, a minor glitch that could invalidate it.
DeleteBut the city could just wait for you to demand that election, and say no, forcing you to take to a judge, who will straighten you all out.
In the end it won't matter. It will doubtless go to court. And that will end up like like it did a decade ago, with your bunch out in the cold, after a lot of snarling and wailing, and wasted taxpayer dollars.
McMawm-Make Clallam Middle Aged White Male.
ReplyDeleteIt's tried and true!
You really think anyone who would vote for Negus, admittedly a Xerox of Moran, would have voted for Smith? No. And she filed on the afternoon of the last day, so let's not pretend they saw it coming, and conspired. Plenty of other reasons why she barely drew 20%. The People remember all that crap from last year, and not fondly.
ReplyDeleteWhat crap?
DeleteScreeching Cherie going off the rails and being found guilty by an ethics board that she helps put in place?
Like the "fix" wasn't already in before she filed. Sounds to me like the powers who are almost senile, but still in charge wanted Moran, and solicited the chuckle-head Negus to run.
DeleteThe city pillagers found out the hard way with Larry Little that if the guy doesn't withdraw before the voting, the wrong guy might get in.
Our town is so corrupt that we should call this town Ponzi Angeles.
Dear CK; I voted for Marolee. She did herself no favor with the zombie death cult religious right given her pledge of allegiance stance Those voting for Negus were/are not going to throw their political will behind Ms. Smith. The article suggests at best she could be a gadfly asking "uncomfortable" questions as she raced to non election. Isn't that sorta like tree falling in forest with nobody around? Her questions would be dismissed or ignored or paid lip service to, and then forgotten. Given our federal executive, truth, justice, and the american way are quaint anachronisms we break out for national holidays...rest of the time its blood and soil.
ReplyDeleteYes, but...There is a purpose, and a utility, to at least ask those questions, in public, and on the record. It might - might, maybe, could be, maybe - make a difference, especially over multiple election cycles.
DeleteI'm not saying it WOULD, but...I personally see value in speaking up and fighting the bastards no matter what. Get the truth out there. Then it's up to the citizens to decide whether or not they want to act on it. (And if history is any guide, in Port Angeles, they will probably not.)
But there is honor in the effort, even if some think it is done ham-handedly.
What is so funny is that the original reason that I didn't pledge (in grammar school) was because of a religious issue with a fellow classmate who couldn't pledge (Quaker's, Jehovah's Witnesses, Orthodox Jews, and many sects of Christian religions forbid it).
DeleteSo, excuse me for having some ideals, and morals. Clearly, having one idiot hand picked by old time power-brokers, and another guy who didn't know what any of the issues were (and now has dropped out) are better candidates. GREAT. That's fine.
But to have one of the candidates just drop out, is cheating every single person who voted in the primary. And, then to not say why, is a slap in the face.
You get the government you deserve.
Speaking of getting the government you deserve, let's look at some of the comments thus far on this topic:
Delete"This was orchestrated from the beginning. Look no further than the chamber of commerce to see how this happens."
"CK, you ought to catalogue how many times this fake candidate, drop out game has been played here, just in the last decade. It's been done so many times, it's obviously the favored tool of the established corrupt network."
"Like the "fix" wasn't already in before she filed. Sounds to me like the powers who are almost senile, but still in charge wanted Moran, and solicited the chuckle-head Negus to run."
So which is the real, actual threat to democracy and representative government: Someone who doesn't just parrot the pledge, or a cabal of people intentionally working to subvert voter's ability to chose a candidate?
Let's not lose sight of the real problem here, people.
Again, CK, you're right.
DeleteAnd, sadly, I think ANY candidate here has to remember the audience to whom they are addressing.
Remember that traffic safety ad trying to get people to look for on coming traffic at crosswalks: "You may be right, dead right".
Marolee is of course correct in her stance and beliefs. In today's America, everything seems to have become stratified by polarizing rhetoric. No one talks about the ridiculous way our community is being destroyed by the scamsters, but whether some parrots the pledge? Oh boy, that is something to get lathered up about.
Really?
Our country carries out live ammunition military exercises on the border of North Korea this week, and we wonder why they are concerned about their future? Obviously they are unpredictable crazy people for being concerned. How many live fire military exercises are being held on the border, or anywhere near the US, by any other country? What countries are flying military flights over the US? Military bases built near the US by ANY other country?
We're selling billions in military weaponry to the Saudis, the very government that supported the 911 attackers. Where are those conversations? Where is the accountability?
The rhetoric nationally, and locally, intentionally diverts us all away from the issues that are REALLY the problem. As CK and others here point out, we are being manipulated by ".. a cabal of people intentionally working to subvert voter's ability to chose a candidate."
And, I see Ohole is busy putting up very slick signs all over town. Speaking of being diverted and manipulated. And not addressing the real problems we face.
In light of Negus' withdrawal, the state Public Disclosure Commission might want to know which campaign paid for the joint OHole/Negus signs.
DeleteNegus PDC filings are weird anyway. He claims only $3800 was raised (from the company he worked for) but in the filing that is whacky (from July11 to Aug31) it lists $4800.
DeleteI thought with that pesky full reporting, he still need to file every Monday -- and, will continue to need to do so, because he can drop out(but can't take his name off the ballot), but filing reports are still necessary, weekly.
The joke of all this is that he could have amended his filing at any point and gone to mini filing.
Guess he just doesn't read instructions.
They are CRAZY in Port Angeles, I tell ya! Watch out.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Jesse Farmer alone?
ReplyDeleteBecause he is a moron
You must be confused...Moran is a MORON.
DeleteWho is Jesse Farmer? And why are you calling him out?
When people post incomplete thoughts, it can get confusing.
DeleteMust be local.
Jesse was Marolee's campaign manager advising her on speaking points. He is about 40 and is in a garage band, anit-fluoride, anti-progress. He is a real contrarian if you tell him something is good he says its bad, if you tell him something is bad he says its good. Marolee was derailed by his antics. She doesn't want to admit it but I witnessed it happening.
DeleteWhoever posted that about me is full of shit. I want a fucking retraction now assholes!
Delete11:01 am
DeleteHey, idiot....no he wasn't. And, what "antics" are you speaking of?
Lay off the pot, you seem to be hallucinating.
In driving around town today, it really struck me how many businesses have closed down. How many houses are up for sale.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the Chamber and PABA are spinning numbers to say everything is great, and getting better, but I've been around here for a pretty long time, and I've never seen it like this.
Astute readers know that rock bottom for PA has not yet been reached. But it's racing itself there!
DeleteNo, rock bottom hasn't been reached yet, but the decline is really evident.
DeleteAlso seeing so many properties up for sale. Big rural properties that have been in the family for a long time.
And, places that have been for sale for a long time, that still are. The Lumbermans building on 101 has been for sale for years, as has the POE building on 8th Street, as examples. Look at so many properties on 8th Street now for sale.
Does it have to do with the mill shutting down? The politics of the area? The vigilantes? All of the above?
Was talking to a person who moved here a few years ago, earlier today. They are ready to leave. Can't believe what a screwed up place this is.
Delete"Beer, Bongs and Bullshit" ... this should be the official motto of Port Angeles.
ReplyDelete