Letter: We don’t need four more years of lawlessness

Vancouver resident Peter Bracchi weighs in with his thoughts on the race for mayor of Vancouver

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

As ballots are out this week and voters decide whether to give Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle another four years, the people of Vancouver must ask: what has she actually enforced? For eight years, our mayor has allowed entire corners of our city to fall into environmental, legal, and civic collapse — and no place reveals that failure more starkly than the Men’s Share House and the Burnt Bridge Creek corridor.

This isn’t just about homelessness. It’s about lawlessness — tolerated, enabled, and excused by a mayor who swore an oath to uphold the law and protect the public. Instead, what we’ve seen is the non-enforcement of local, state, and federal laws, even as neighborhoods suffer, pollution spreads, and sidewalks become unusable.

Here is what the mayor has refused to enforce:

Federal laws ignored

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, Title II): City sidewalks around Men’s Share House remain blocked by tents, dumpsters, and outhouses, forcing disabled residents into the street in violation of federal law.
Clean Water Act (CWA): Human waste, needles, and trash regularly flow into storm drains and into Burnt Bridge Creek — an illegal discharge the mayor has allowed for years.
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA): Despite PFAS contamination in Vancouver’s drinking water system, the mayor has permitted stormwater pollution in critical aquifer recharge areas without containment.

Washington State laws ignored

RCW 70A.125 – Water Pollution Control: No enforcement of laws requiring pollution prevention from city-managed sites.
RCW 36.32.120(7): Failure to abate chronic public nuisances, including criminal activity, fires, and unsanitary conditions.
RCW 35.21 – General City Powers: City facilities and contractors have operated on public streets with no traffic control plan, no permits, and no accountability.

City of Vancouver codes ignored

VMC 8.22 – Public Nuisance: Long-term filth, fires, violence, and illegal encampments near the Share House meet every definition of a city-declared nuisance. No action taken.
VMC 11.90 & 11.95 – Street Use / Encroachment: Dumpsters and portable toilets placed in the street for years — zero enforcement.
VMC 14.24 – Stormwater Pollution: The mayor has failed to implement her own city’s stormwater management plan at the very locations where it’s most needed.

The oath she took – and broke

Mayor McEnerny-Ogle took an oath to uphold the Constitution, the laws of Washington, and to faithfully execute the duties of her office. Those duties include enforcing the law equally, protecting public access, safeguarding our environment, and ensuring basic order in city operations.

She has failed. And the record is clear.

We don’t need four more years of decline

This isn’t just political — it’s civic. The mayor has shown the public that she will not enforce laws she doesn’t politically favor, even when those laws are designed to protect our most vulnerable residents and the environment we all share.

If this level of dysfunction, pollution, and inaction is acceptable to her, then voters must say clearly: it is not acceptable to us.

Ballots are due Aug. 5. Vote for accountability. Vote for Justin Forsman.

And please — do not vote for four more years of looking the other way.

Peter Bracchi
Vancouver