Port Angeles B&B

Being that this is Port Angeles we're talking about, that B&B stands for Bullshit and Bullying, needless to say.

Starting with the BS...I think we all know that the only people who could ever rank Port Angeles as a Top 10 small town are people who have never actually been there. The only Top 10 Port Angeles belongs in is the Top 10 Places to Move Away From - and I know. Life is indeed so much sweeter elsewhere.

But one person who might be believing the totally unbelievable hype is Police Chief Terry Gallagher. You see, Terry wants to open a B&B at his house. Yes, a B&B. Now, doing this wouldn't violate any City codes, but it would violate a covenant that Gallagher signed along with his neighbors - including the past and present mayor, Dan DiGuilio. Apparently Terry Gallagher doesn't care about pissing off his neighbors, or the mayor, so I assume he's planning on retiring soon. Good riddance.

The only kind of B&B that might make money in Port Angeles.

 

Ah, but we're not quite done with talking about Terry quite yet, since he does play a major part in the story of Yvonne Ziomkowski's wrongful termination from the City. You see, back in the day, Terry wanted to spend a bunch of money (and go for a bunch of grants that wind up having costs in the long-term) to buy telecom toys for his department. As the head of the City's finances, Yvonne didn't support his spendthrift ways.

"I'd just like to say to my friends, neighbors,

and co-workers...Fuck you. Don't make me do something

you'll end up regretting."

 

So, when a new City Council got elected, and the slimy good ol' boys in City Hall were freaking out, they wanted to put Yvonne - who knew pretty much everything that went on behind closed doors there - out of commission, to prevent new, nosy Council members from being able to pick her brain. That's when Terry and Kent Myers went across the street and asked that Yvonne be investigated by an outside agency. That made her off limits to Council members.

"You mean after all that smearing and lying and backstabbing

and everything else I did to make Port Angeles a great place

to live, I still got kicked out?"



And so, Terry got his toys. Kent Myers got the boot. And poor Yvonne got her name and reputation smeared, lost her job, and has been fighting the City ever since.

Of course, it hasn't been a fair or even fight. From everything I've heard, Yvonne's own attorney, Karen Unger, is doing all she can to scuttle Yvonne's case. Remember, this all went down years ago. In the past few weeks, I've talked to at least half a dozen people who should have been deposed by Unger by this point, but apparently Unger hasn't deposed a single person yet. Not one. In the meantime, the City has been deposing witnesses, alternating between stalling things and then trying to hurry them along, and even accusing Yvonne of filing a SLAPP lawsuit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation), which doesn't even make sense.

"Oh, sure, I could make money doing my job and all that,

but I figure, why break a sweat? Plus, I really don't want to

get Terry Gallagher mad at me, so..."



Meanwhile, I keep hearing that Toxic Teresa Pierce - who hasn't quit or been fired - may be coming back to a job at the City. While still proceeding with her utterly baseless suit against the City and Brad Collins. Whom she would then be having to work with again. Despite her "permanent disability" due to the non-existent harassment she never faced.

Crooked attorneys. Crooked City Managers and Police Chiefs. Crooked political parties. Everybody lying and stabbing everybody else in the back. Widespread apathy and a stagnant economy. A crumbling infrastructure. Rampant substance abuse. The same small circle of sharks circulating in and out of cushy jibs and positions of influence. A downtown that's a ghost town. A newspaper that's not fit to wipe your ass with. Sinkholes and assholes. Gee, yeah, Port Angeles sure does sound like a Top 10 town, alright.

A Top 10 waterfront view, for sure! The Turd Tank, too!



Gosh, I'm just ever so sorry that I left such a fabulous, wonderful and totally not at all corrupt place. I'm absolutely sure that all the other people who have fled Port Angeles (remember those shrinking Census numbers!) feel that way too.

No, really.

Leadership Roundup (AKA Clallam County Circle Jerks)

Starting with your friends in the County Courthouse...Selinda Barkhuis has upped her pissing contest with the ever-slimy Jim Jones by taking it to the blogs. You can find her at patoday.com, where she once again accuses Jim Jones of lying and generally being a filthy undesirable scumbag (can't argue with that), as well as takes two of the three County Commissioners to task for, well, allowing Jim Jones to be a filthy undesirable scumbag (can't really argue with that, either). She ends her latest post by urging people to contact said County Commissioners and tell them to fire Jones.

No, tell us what you really think, Selinda. Hmmm...

Crossing the street to City Hall...Handsome young Dan Gase, totally non-conflicted City Council Member, having recovered from being called a "traitor" by the Tree People of Lincoln Park, has managed to spew out a new newsletter in his guise as handsome young Dan Gase, totally awesome realtor. His message reads, in part:

Let's begin with the total listing count of residential properties. On January 1, 2014 we had a total of 210 homes on the market. On July 1st that number increased to 273 homes! That is a 30% increase in inventory during this six month time period...because there may be a pent up desire in the minds of many to sell their homes...the same homes that they wanted to put on the market over the past few years...I foresee many more listing (sic) in the coming months if conditions remain stable.

"A pent up desire in the minds of many to sell their homes...I foresee many more...if conditions remain stable." Wow, tell us what you really think, Dan. Do you think all those people selling their homes are just wanting to upgrade to an even bigger house in Port Angeles? Or could this be part of the exodus of intelligent, capable people leaving Port Angeles? Hmmm...

Speaking of which...It feels so good to be living somewhere other than Port Angeles. So good I cannot even tell you all. Let me just give you one example. This week, our local City Council, responding to the protests of the public, voted to reject a very suspect "public-private" partnership that seemed risky and foolish. You know, the kind of thing that would sail right through the Port Angeles City Council. And you know what? Not only did the City Council here do the right thing, the newspaper covered the meeting fairly accurately, and had the article about it in the next morning's paper - not one two or three days after the fact.

Good government, minus Paul Gottlieb, equals a greatly improved quality of life. And that's just one example of many I could give. So what are you all waiting for, people? Help prove Dan Gase can be right about something - put that house on the market and get out while you can.

It's Only (Public) Money

So you may recall...The City recently went to the County, hat in hand, asking for a multi-million dollar "Loan" to help the City deal with the garbage bluff issue. What you probably don't recall, because it wasn't reported, is that the County Treasurer, Selinda Barkhuis, attended the meeting where this remarkably bad idea was discussed, and objected to the County moving forward with it based on existing legal constraints on such actions.

Well, gosh, Jim Jones sure doesn't like being told what to do, especially by a mere woman, so he still supports the idea. And, gosh, what do you know? Selinda's objections didn't seem to make it into the minutes for that meeting. Jeepers, what an oversight, I'm sure.

Anyway, since then, Selinda, apparently trying to simply do her job and protect the public's money and, oh, you know, obey the law, has sent out an official objection/correction to the minutes of that earlier meeting. In other words, she's not backing down. Good for her - ethically anyway. But given how vengeful Jim Jones is, probably bad for her professionally.

The text below is what Selinda has written in response to this latest round of Clallam County sleaze:

Executive Summary:

Please find attached a report I compiled entitled "The City's Request to Borrow $7.75 Million, the Law of Public Funds, and the Clallam County Administrator's Recommendation."

During the September 30, 2013 work session between the City ofPort Angeles and the Board of Clallam County Commissioners (BOCC), the County Administrator rendered a grossly inaccurate explanation of Washington State Attorney General Opinion AGO 61-62 No. 139 while trying to convince the BOCC to loan $7.75 million to the City of Port Angeles for its landfill problem.

This grossly inaccurate explanation was then reported by the Peninsula Daily News, leaving all those who listened to or read about it (the BOCC, other county elected officials and department heads, the press, other taxing districts, taxpayers, and voters) with the gross misunderstanding that the Clallam County Commissioners can lawfully loan up to $30 million from the County's General Fund, Road Fund, and Capital Projects Fund to other taxing districts.

As the duly elected Clallam County Treasurer, I am "the people's representative with the people's money," and directly accountable to Clallam County's taxpayers for the safekeeping of their taxpayer funds. As such, I believe it is well within my due diligence duty to attempt to correct any gross misunderstanding the County Administrator may have left in the minds of Clallam County taxpayers as to how their taxpayer funds may be lawfully used.

The purpose of this public work session is one such attempt to try and correct that misunderstanding.

I think that Monday's County Commissioner meeting just got a lot more interesting...

Wastewaterfront Opportunities!

So the Oak Street deal fell through...Who cares?!?

Our waterfront has plenty to offer even without

a convention center!

 

For starters, if we just rescale our vision of a new

Marine Center, it's still a possibility!

 

I mean, we already got wading pools for the kids...

 

 

...And the City is gonna build us a swell new beach, too!

 

 

We already got us some waterfalls all over town...

 

...Heck, we even got some underwater waterfalls, too!

 

 

And there's plenty of swimming and diving opportunities

all around us!

 

Don't forget all our big local events, either, like the Duck Derby!

 

So come on, Port Angeles! Take that frown and turn

it upside down! After all, we're one community that

really knows how to hold things together!

 

 

 

 

 



Popping the Balloon

Here's another blast from the past that will be exploding in the near future.

Those of you who have been living here for a while, and who have been paying attention, may remember when the Transit Center was going in, and property was being bought and all manner of shell games were being played on that block downtown. Part of all that shuffling resulted in the City buying the now infamous Niichel property - a piece of property that's been worthless to the City, but that they've been making regular payments on for years.

This payment plan ends with a giant, million dollar final balloon payment - a payment that the City was supposed to be putting money away for, so they wouldn't get caught short. Well, the last I heard, the City had about $100,000 socked away for this, with the deadline looming very close indeed.

The POP will be louder than Ross Perot's "giant sucking sound" by far.

 

Why hasn't the City been more diligent? Why hasn't PADA held up their end of the bargain? Why has the City Council been asleep at the switch for this? Why, because this is Port Angeles.

Anyone think that having a nearly million dollar hole blown in the City budget - on top of everything else and all the other debt they've loaded on - is going to be a happy event?

PADA (pronounced Pah-DUH)

From today's PDN:

City officials say the 2014 first-quarter report from the Port Angeles Downtown Association, known as PADA, shows the organization isn't doing enough to fulfill its contract.

“City staff reviewed the [quarterly] report and determined 2014 first quarter performance to be in default and not in accordance with the PADA's funding agreement with the city of Port Angeles,” City Manager Dan McKeen wrote in a May 23 letter to PADA President Bob Lumens.

“At this time, you have 30 days from the date of this letter to correct and cure these non-performance concerns.”

“It doesn't come close to covering the items incorporated in the contract,” said Nathan West, the city's community and economic development director, referring to the one-page first-quarter report.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that this description of things could have (and should have) been used YEARS AGO? What took SO LONG to rouse the City from their deep, deep sleep?

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the fact that the PAID head of the PADA, Barb Frederick, won't comment on this is very telling? As in, confirming that she is totally unqualified to do her job, or to deal with non-happy news?

Is it just me, or does anyone else doubt that PA Untied riding to the rescue is really going to change a damned thing in this dysfunctional dystopia? I mean, can the defenders of the status quo really be game-changers?

Or, put another way...

 

Q&A with Sissi Bruch

Below you'll find the questions I sent to County Commissioner candidate Sissi Bruch, along with her (unedited) answers. Thanks to Sissi for participating here this way. Now, read on...

1) Why are you running for County Commissioner?

Glad you asked. We live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, rich in history and natural resources. Though it sometimes feels like paradise, the present and future of our county present many challenges. Our poverty rate is 13.5 % and 33% of the population have incomes below $25,000. Violent crime has doubled since 2000 and similar increases have been seen in the rates of domestic violence, child abuse, and neglect. Furthermore, justice costs continue to increase at alarming rates, we’ve lost more than half of the manufacturing jobs, and we have around 2,800 fewer jobs than we did in 2000. Add that to the impacts of global warming, changing demographics (increase in Latinos and elderly), and a 40% increase in poverty of school age children - that makes for a fairly complex set of issues that will require collaboration, research and transparency to reach workable solutions. I believe I can bring that to this position and that is why I am running for County Commissioner.

2) What uniquely qualifies you to be a good County Commissioner?

I believe that my education and my experience make me a highly qualified candidate. First, my education encompasses a Bachelors in psychology, a Masters in landscape architecture, and a Ph.D. in urban planning. Secondly, my experience includes 10 years in private practice during which I worked with contractors, developers, and engineers to plan, design, and build a variety of projects such as schools, golf courses, housing, and commercial complexes. This was followed by 10 years in academia where I taught the theory and practice that supports all design and development. I covered site engineering, planning and design, ethics, and the application of local ordinances to projects. Now, I’ve spent the last 5 years working for a Native American tribe as their senior planner and the last 2 and a half years as a member of the City Council in Port Angeles. This has given me insights into issues that I believe not only impact Port Angeles, but the entire county.

3) What local/political insights does your experience as a City Council member give you that you think are pertinent to being a County Commissioner?

I believe the issues dealt with by all of our cities are not unique and could/should be addressed in a more regional manner. Take, for instance, our trash. Every city has to deal with its trash. Forks ships its trash to a different place than Port Angeles, and both pay significant amounts to haul it away. Could or should the county work with our neighboring county to come up with a local solution that saves on the shipping cost, reduces our carbon footprint, and maybe even gain some energy in the process? I believe that we need to start to thinking more locally and more sustainably when addressing our issues.　

4) As someone who is socially liberal and concerned about the environment, how do you propose to advance issues in those areas given the views of the other two Commissioners?

I have always found it important to listen and understand the views of the people I work with. Most of the time we ultimately want the same thing, but the methods of getting there are drastically different. I believe that both of the other two Commissioners want a place that is healthy and safe for their grandchildren. If we can start with understanding our similarities, we might be able to move forward. Talking the same language also helps. When I worked with developers, they were interested in making as much profit as possible from a piece of land. Our firm was able to show them that by being more environmentally friendly, they could actually gain more financially. I don’t believe that jobs and the environment need to be at odds.

5) What role do you see local resource extraction industries playing in local politics? Are their interests fairly represented, overrepresented, or underrepresented? 

I don’t know how much the local resource extraction industries influence politics, but I suspect that is well represented. I do believe that the forest industry is a major player in our county and accounted for $641,600 in timber revenue in 2013, but this was 10.8% lower than in 2012. Our industry is changing and we need to plan for these decreasing revenues. We do have other extraction or resource harvesting industries/businesses that are emerging that I believe are less represented. The salal/floral industry and the harvesting of mushrooms and seaweed are just some examples of potential new opportunities.

6) What are the three most important issues facing Clallam County today? What about in the next ten years?

I believe that the three most important issues revolve around education, infrastructure and resource use. I know this may sound like a cliché, but I truly believe that our youth are our greatest assets and our current educational system is not preparing them well to meet the challenges of tomorrow. The graduation rate has gone from 78% (2003) to 33% (2011-2012) – although this includes on-line students, this clearly is showing a problem. The average age of the engineers that sent the first man to the moon was 26. It is youths’ unlimited energy and optimism that we need around here. They teach us much and we must engage them if this county is ever to reach its true potential.

As to infrastructure, we need to make sure that basic services are updated and healthy as this is critical to economic development in this county

When it comes to resource use, besides practical and sustainable use of our natural resources, we need not forget that our most important resource is our people. Our economy in this county is changing from manufacturing and extractive to more social services and administrative (businesses and government jobs).

In the next ten years I believe we have to turn our attention to climate change. Debating whether and to what extent it is man-made diverts our attention from quantifiable evidence that it will impact us regardless of how or what we think about the issue. Clallam County is one of the most vulnerable in the state to the impact of global warming and we need to be ready to protect our people and our infrastructure. To see forecasting maps of raising water levels in Puget Sound should activate everyone to action and commitment to planning and preparation.

7) If you are not elected as a County Commissioner, will you run for City Council again? 

I don’t know, but this does not impact my current decision. Regardless, to do this job right, one must spend a lot of time and as I am still working, this leaves very little time for other endeavors. Researching and understanding the issues is the base for making good decisions. I would certainly appreciate a group of folks to help me with this job and to help educate the public on why I voted one way or another. The more everyone knows, the better Port Angeles will function.　

8) What do you envision your campaign looking like? Will you take corporate donations? Will you place a limit on how much you intend to spend?

Interesting question. I read on your blog that some folks have already assumed that my campaign will be "milktoast" even asserting that I will be a pushover compared to my opponents. Others are seemingly more interested in my divorce status or even how I chose to announce my candidacy.

Truthfully, never having run a campaign of this size, I am not exactly sure what it will end up being. I plan to talk with as many voters as I can, and try to understand the issues that are affecting this county from their point of view. As to fundraising, there are responsible corporations that might support me, but during my run for City Council, I only received donations from individual voters. I do not have a limit set on how much I will spend. It will actually depend on how much I can raise and how well my message is getting to out. Ideally, I would prefer to avoid any expenditures, but this seems impossible in this election climate.

9) Is sexism a problem within local governments in Clallam County? 

This is one issue where I have very little information, but I will seek more. I did have a disturbing conversation with one county employee that pointed to this, but I still need to do much research regarding this topic. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

10) Anything else you'd like to add?

I had a professor tell me that you get the government you deserve, as was quoted often already on this blog. This stuck with me and it became the impetus for my participation in government. I knew I could not whine about our government without putting myself out there. I’ve learned that most issues are more complicated than they seem on the surface. One will never be able to please everyone, but I know that the decisions that I make today do affect folks in the future and I spend the time to really weigh the issues so that I can sleep well at night.

In addition, we need progressive and innovative people to get involved in government. I never aspired to politics, but I realized that this is what I need to do to help create a plan that supports people, the economy and the environment. I need everyone of you that reads this blog to get involved - volunteer, donate, and take election day off to help get out the vote. 

Weasels Rush In Where Rats Fear To Tread

The headline today says “Groundbreaking for proposed Port Angeles marine science center planned for summer.” But if you read the article about this presentation given to the Port, the key word is “proposed.” This shaky, shady Oak St. deal has a lot of unknowns and weasel word qualifiers attached to it.

A repository of all our hopes and dreams? Or just another

ill-conceived Port Angeles scam?

 

Gary Donnelly, project administrator of Neeser Construction Inc. of Anchorage, Alaska — which has agreed to buy the 1.96-acre plot of land from Tod McClaskey Jr. of Camas, the owner of Olympic Lodge in Port Angeles — declined to discuss whether the sale has been completed.
“I can’t comment on that today,” he said, adding that the latest construction might start is in August.

A deed transferring ownership to Neeser had not been filed as of Tuesday with the Clallam County Auditor’s Office.
McClaskey could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

McAleer and Hallett expressed qualified support for the use of the dock.

Final designs of the phases are in flux, as decisions continue to be made on how the buildings will be used by such tenants as Feiro.
Feiro officials are awaiting the finalization of the project but haven’t yet signed contracts, said Melissa Williams, Feiro executive director.
“I feel positive about the prospect,” she said.

Those plans are under review, said Nathan West, director of economic and community development for the city.
City officials plan to begin construction in July on a city West End Park adjacent to the proposed marine science center and the pier, said Nathan West, director of economic and community development for the city
The City Council is expected to award a construction bid Tuesday.

 

Meanwhile, the City and Port are clearly moving ahead with logging - oh, I mean clearing problem trees from Lincoln Park. Please note the weasel words included in that article as well, though: The exact number and location of trees proposed to be cut for the plan has not been released.

Given all the weasel words used here, and all the weasels sitting in Port offices (except for Jeff Robb, who is sitting at home), and given the dismal history of their enterprises, does anyone feel good about this project? Given the City’s dismal record, and the glaring-but-unaddressed conflict of interest that Dan Gase has, does anyone feel good about the City’s role in this project? In other words, with this collaboration, do you believe two wrongs are going to make it right?

Putting the Rat in Democrat

As of the recent close of filings, Steve Tharinger had drawn two opponents. One is Thomas Greisamer, of Moclips, who describes himself as a “semi-retired” psychiatrist, and who is running as a Republican. The other is Stafford Conway, a neurologist who moved to Sequim less than two years ago, and who is running as a Libertarian.

 

Curiously, both of these men went to the same less-than-stellar, for-profit medical school, the American University of the Caribbean, which is run by DeVry. (Bloomberg News headline from September 11^th, 2013: “DeVry Lures Medical School Rejects as Taxpayers Fund Debt.”) Sadly, both would seem to be unknown kooks who have little chance of winning.

Sadly, you say? Yes, sadly. I’m as progressive as they come, and support progressive candidates - and generally oppose far-right candidates. In my opinion, radical right-wingers can do immeasurable harm to our political system if given control. The only thing that does more damage to progressive ideas and policies are those frauds who masquerade as people who have progressive views, when in fact they do not.

Steve Tharinger is one of those frauds. Though he always has a big Democratic D by his name, his actions are much more like those of a greedy, Republican corporate whore. His actions speak louder than any words. And his actions –  public and private – do much to damage the causes that so many of the people who blindly vote for him support. His hypocrisy is a poison in the political system of our State.

Let’s look back to 2010, shall we? In 2010, the Salmon Recovery Board allocated $525,000 to Clallam County to buy a house as part of salmon recovery efforts. That house was owned by Steve Tharinger, and even he described the price set for it as “on the high end of the market.”

After the State allocated the funds to Clallam County, the County then purchased the property – while Tharinger was a sitting County Commissioner. Tharinger recused himself from discussions of the purchase, but still…Doesn’t it seem more than a little improper?

Oh, and who was the chair of the Salmon Recovery Board when they allocated the money for this purchase? Steve Tharinger. Doesn’t that also seem more than a little improper?

After the property was sold, Tharinger bought a house a mile away for $437,000 – clearing almost $90,000 for doing his part for salmon restoration. I’m sure Steve Tharinger still smiles when he thinks about salmon recovery in Clallam County.

 

Steve Tharinger believes salmon recovery efforts are very, very important

to his local economy.

 

Moving ahead to 2011…Tharinger managed to win election to State office while still serving as a County Commissioner. This meant he was making $63,504 annually for being a County Commissioner, while simultaneously being paid $42,106 a year for being a State Representative. That’s a total of $105,610 a year for holding both elected offices. That’s also known as double-dipping. It’s not illegal, but, like so many of Steve Tharinger’s actions, it certainly seems to be highly questionable ethically.

This unusual position brought a little heat down on Tharinger, who promised to pay the County back for any pay he got if he was working less than 40 hours a week on County business – while simultaneously supposedly working full-time in Olympia on State business. He said he would track his own hours, and pay back what he thought he should at the end of the legislative session. Of course, he also said that even when the more than full-time legislature was in session, he wouldn’t give all of his County pay back, because “I don’t work for free.”

No, but you certainly seem to forget who you’re supposed to be working for, Steve.

In any case, after making many wildly different statements on this issue, and generally misleading voters as to his intentions, Steve Tharinger drew two full-size government paychecks – and kept two full-size government paychecks. Based on the Commissioner’s $63,504 annual salary, and a 40 hour work week, Tharinger’s County pay was just over $30.00 an hour. When the legislative session was done, Steve Tharinger “paid back” the County to the tune of just over $300.00, or, about ten hours work.

Now, given that he was missing some Commissioner’s meetings, phoning in for parts of others, running back and forth to Olympia…It seems likely that Steve Tharinger missed much more than ten hours of County work during the full-time legislative session. What he did may have been technically legal, but it sure strikes me as sleazy.

And speaking of sleazy…It was about this time that Steve Tharinger, along with Kevin Van De Wege, introduced a fresh poison to our local political scene, when they installed the infamous Matthew Randazzo as head of the Clallam County Democratic Party. Randazzo’s many misdeeds have been discussed at length elsewhere on this blog, so I’ll keep this short. Suffice to say, this arrogant and sexist little man spent most of his time scamming money, attacking local Democratic and progressive political candidates (especially if they were women), while simultaneously helping to prop up Steve Tharinger’s conservative County Commissioner friend, Mike Chapman – a non-Democrat if ever there was one. Randazzo and his unbalanced cohort, Jack Slowriver, left the CCDP in tatters, before they both left town. Randazzo, with the help of Tharinger, was installed in a position in Peter Goldmark’s office in Olympia.

Around the same time that all the chaos was occurring in the CCDP, a great many environmentalists and progressives were upset by, and working to stop, the Nippon biomass project. They feared for the health of the people of Clallam County, and for the health of our forests, as the project intended to gobble up a great deal of the forest slash and “waste” that feeds the soil of our forests, and burn it instead. Democrats, Greens and progressives worked together and spoke with one voice to oppose this project.

 

Steve Tharinger to Nippon Corporation:

I drink to your health!

 

Meanwhile, Steve Tharinger was sponsoring HB 1663, which extended for another eleven years a State sales and use tax exemption for the purchase of “hog fuel” – the slash and forest “waste” mentioned above – for the production of electricity. In other words, while his constituents were agitating against the Nippon biomass project, Steve Tharinger was busy doing Nippon’s corporate bidding, and supporting corporate welfare over the welfare of his own local residents and local forests.

Once again…This was not illegal, but highly questionable, and certainly more like something you’d expect from a Republican. But corporate whores are where you find them, and Steve Tharinger can be found right in Nippon’s pocket.

Oh, and do remember that Nippon was also actively busting their workers union around this time as well. So much for Democrats being the ones to stand up for unions, eh?

 

Steve Tharinger to union members: Drop dead!

 

Maybe all this two-faced double-talk and money grubbing is why State Rep Steve Tharinger can’t win a majority of votes here in his own County – even as other Democrats (like Obama) are winning here. We know him best, and we like him least. Only a strong Democratic vote out of Jefferson County allows him to continue to hold public office.

In my opinion, Steve Tharinger is a fake. He’s a self-serving hypocrite and a liar. I don’t trust him, and I don’t like him. And I sincerely wish that there were a good choice in the race for his seat. But two kooks and a crook doesn’t make a very good choice, so I guess that I’ll have to write someone in. I’m open to suggestions.