Letter: ‘Bend to our will to put light rail into Clark County or we will remove you via backdoor shenanigans’

Camas resident Anna Miller addresses the recent actions of members of the Clark County Council

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

It seems that the County Council is doubling down on bad judgement if not potentially a legal misstep.

You probably know this by now. The Clark County Councilors choose by their votes who among them will serve on the various outside committees and boards. They chose Michelle Belkot to serve on the C-TRAN Board of Directors.

This is what the governing document (The Charter) says about those “appointments.”

Article 3 The Executive Branch

Section 3.3 Appointments by the county manager

B. The county manager shall appoint members of boards, commissions and task forces except as provided by state law, intergovernmental agreement or this charter. Appointments by the county manager shall be presented to the council during a regular council meeting. Within thirty (30) calendar days, the council shall accept or reject the appointment by a majority vote. Failure to act within thirty (30) days constitutes acceptance of the appointment. A rejection applies to that board, commission or task force position only.

There is no provision in the County Home Rule Charter that allows for a vote of the Councilors or by the will of the County Manager to remove a duly appointed Councilor from a committee or board if said Councilor does not vote in “lock step” with the opinions of the other CC Councilors or the County Manager.

There is no provision in the County Charter for any such action. And yet, that is exactly what this rogue Council did. Bend to our will to put light rail into Clark County or we will remove you via backdoor shenanigans.

So, that brings me to think about the Ethics Commission.

Section 8.13 Ethics Review Commission and Oversight Office

On or before July 31, 2022, the County Manager, in conjunction with the County Council and as per Section 3.3B of this charter, shall appoint an autonomous ethics review commission comprised of qualified individuals in the area of ethical conduct in government which will be charged with hearing and ruling on complaints of violations of the code of ethics. An ethics oversight office shall be established by the County Manager to operate an ethics complaint hotline, accept and investigate potential ethics complaints and provide staff support to the ethics review commission. The ethics review commission and oversight office will be administered through the office of the County Manager.

So, some action choices I’ve been mulling over:

1) Start now to remove these rogue councilors by seeking out and vetting winnable candidates who will respect the law and the people.

2) Start now to assemble a candidate team for election to the Charter Review Committee to ensure this does not happen again.

3) File a formal complaint with the Ethics Review Commission.

To submit an Ethics Complaint: Email CCEthicsVM@clark.wa.gov with your complaint and contact information. Call (564) 397-2525 and leave a voicemail detailing your complaint, and your contact information.

4) Should the harmed & offended party (Michelle Belkot) decide to file a lawsuit, help her with the financial burden.

5) The stress of this type of treatment and the decision to fight it is palpable. Keep her in your prayers daily. However, remember, prayers to action.

6) Contact your CITY Councilors. Ask them to form an “all team” for the will of the people to do an intervention with the County Councilors.

https://www.cityofcamas.us/citycouncil/page/city-council-members

https://www.cityofwashougal.us/382/Mayor-City-Council

https://cityofbg.org/522/Meet-your-City-Council