Councilors voted 4-1 at the end of a four-hour meeting Tuesday night to reject the petition
Members of the Clark County Council voted Tuesday night to reject a mini initiative petition to stop some mandates in Clark County.
Voting on a motion to reject the petition, the councilors voted 4-1 in favor of rejecting the petition. Councilors Temple Lentz, Julie Olson, Karen Bowerman and Gary Medvigy voted in favor of the motion to reject the petition. Chair Eileen Quiring O’Brien voted against the motion.
The efforts of dozens of volunteers and support of 11,505 Clark County citizens over the past few months culminated Tuesday evening when members of the County Council held a public hearing in a virtual format to address the mini initiative petition. Councilors heard two hours of testimony from Clark County citizens, including those who spoke in favor of and against the petition.
The councilors also listened to counsel from a representative of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s office about legal interpretations of potential impacts for the county and its citizens if the petition was approved. Prior to the meeting, the councilors also received a communication from the office of Gov. Jay Inslee about the petition.
Area resident Rob Anderson began the effort last fall. He and many other citizens believed the forced vaccination mandates, as well as other mandates that aren’t equally applied, ultimately discriminate and should be challenged. Anderson addressed the members of the County Council at the beginning of the public comments during Tuesday’s meeting.
The summary statement on the petition reads as follows:
AN ORDINANCE prohibiting all mandates within Clark County that discriminate against citizens regarding their health status and or that violates existing rights to health information privacy.
Volunteers quickly picked up mini initiative petitions, placing them at area businesses and collecting signatures from friends and neighbors. Hundreds of supporters attended an anti-mandate rally on Oct. 30 in Vancouver.
On Nov. 30, Anderson and Vancouver attorney Angus Lee presented 11,505 signed petitions to Cathie Garber, Clark County Elections supervisor. The proponents needed 8,311 signatures for the mini initiative to be valid. After a 30-day window to validate the signatures, the County Council then had 60 days to hold a public meeting, after which the councilors had a 30-day time limit to make a decision.
Please check back with Clark County Today for extensive coverage of Tuesday’s meeting.
Also read:
- Study: Risk for getting COVID rises with each shot
A new report from the Epoch Times warns that the more COVID shots an individual has taken, the higher the risk of getting COVID. - ‘That’s a scandal’: CDC knew COVID shots caused deaths, but lied with public denials
A new report from the Epoch Times reveals its investigation shows that the CDC knew of the links between the COVID shots and death – and lied about them. - FDA agrees to remove anti-ivermectin posts off the internet in lawsuit settlementThe Food and Drug Administration has reportedly settled a lawsuit brought by three doctors who accused the health regulator of interfering with their ability to practice medicine and prescribe Ivermectin to treat COVID.
- No good news about student learning on 4-year anniversary of COVID school closuresFour years ago this month, schools nationwide shut down as COVID-19 numbers skyrocketed and students were sent home for what was initially planned to be two weeks.
- NBA Hall-of-Famer among plaintiffs in lawsuit over WA state COVID-19 restrictionsNBA Hall-of-Famer John Stockton of Spokane is among the plaintiffs suing over alleged free-speech sanctions levied against health care providers who spoke out against state restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Very disappointed in GARY AND Karen. We knew Temple and Julie were RATS. Eileen is the only one that believes in rights…Karen Bowerman said they all care about Clark county residents… that was a completed and utter LIE.
They were intimidated by Jay and also by seeing their potential pockets pinched. Mandates are not law. Jay alone cannot enact laws. i know he hides under the emergency powers and its all convoluted- we do have power. These counselors are cowards and terrified of the virus.
It was the right call. Many involved in this effort want what they want, without the constraints of the law or responsibility for the actions they wanted to take place.
But that’s not how this works.
State preemption is a thing that supporters of this effort simply do not care about. By law, the councilors HAD to keep that in their consideration of this issue.
It was what they had to do. Period.
There was no viable alternative.
You have NO CLUE what you are talking about…. It would of given people of Clark County the FREEDOM to choose for themselves what is best for them. So if you want wear a poppy diaper on your face you can and if you want to
be vaccinated and boosted. Would not have take away your freedoms to choose what was best for you.
No it would not have. And you have not presented any evidence to the contrary. You clearly don’t understand that State law pre-empts County law. You didn’t do your research. By law the county has no authority to create counter initiatives to those things. For claiming to be such patriotic Americans you all seem to have a very unstable grasp of how our democratic Republic works. All you see is something you don’t like and then bully and shout and threaten people, to get what you want while waving American flags and throwing your other fellow citizens under the bus. If you want to not be under WA state law move to a more Republican state. What’s that saying “If you don’t like it you can leave?”
I was born in Washington. Don’t let the door hit YOU in the ass. Talk about unstable, the sky is falling, quick put your mask on and rubber gloves.
Uhhh what that doesn’t even make sense. I’m not trying to leave Clark County but if you don’t like the vote you can leave.
Washington state (Inslee) is breaking Federal law by being a sanctuary state. By aiding and abetting illegals and promoting covid fears. What about that.
Blah blah blah, do you have anything to say to the legality of what this initiative was asking.
KJ, the rightful law that was ignored is Common law and Constitutional law which the Councilors are sworn to.
Administrative law was used to shut down Liberty last night!
Plain and simple!!
Clark County Council Bowerman, Medvigy, Olsen, Lentz are ignorant cowards!!!
I just took a screen shot of the people who won’t be getting my vote in the next election! And Jay Inslee can take a long walk off a short plank as far as I’m concerned! Very disappointed in our elected officials!
I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised by last nights outcome when we have a city council with a rolling average age of 89. .Karen Bowerman is on her 4th vaccine and tests daily to see what her antibody count is . Groundhog Bowerman is afraid of her own shadow. The things she said last night about discrimination for the vaccinated having to be around the unvaccinated is pathetic and nonsensical . If she’s not confused she’s spineless. Karen not only do you lose my vote. I will work hard to replace you. You are feckless, fear filled and impotent.
Agree with everything you posted. And how does this vote fit in with the Supreme Court ruling about mandates?
Extremely disappointing. They bowed to pressure from King Inslee. We have to keep trying and fighting. These mandates are not laws and it goes against everything that is good.
Gary, Karen, and Julie, we elected you to lead. If you allows follow the advice of lawyers and public health, and ignore your constituents, then you have no leadership role. You are just figureheads. Take some time off and go on a vacation. The outcome will be the same. Eileen can stay and fight for us.
Eileen wont stay and fight. She resigned today.
Great news… the mandates will be dropped when the public no longer at risk..again people it’s not just about you and what you want it’s about all of us and out health and safety. Go figure most of this craziness is centered in North Clark County… lived there for years and this type of action is not surprising. Glad to have relocated to a more civil area!!!
What a waste of time. They were never going to change how they were going to vote, so stop wasting our time to make us feel like we have any voice at all. So frustrating! Time to move our businesses out of state! There is no freedom in Washington.
Go for it!
Sad state of affairs that the 4 voted to stay in line with Jay. Thanks to JohnL for the coverage.
It appears that these council members do not want to keep their jobs.
They should just resign instead of pissing off the majority.
Kudos to John Smith. I second that. I hope they are reading the want ads and placing resumes on line.
John Hopkins released yesterday that lock downs had zero benefit on spreading covid, it basically just destroyed the American way of living. With that info, it makes Jay Inslee and Clark County Council look even more stupid and incompetent for being puppets of the “agenda”. Too dangerous to show up at office or excuse for controlling the masses. Thank you Eileen for listening to your constituents. The rest can pound sand until they get voted out.
A Johns Hopkins study says ‘ill-founded’ lockdowns did little to limit COVID deaths | Health News Florida (usf.edu)
Great article