Clallam County Watchdog

Breaking: Charter Review Commission rejects Water Steward position amendment. Proposition will not be on the ballot. Just months after Sequim voters approved a $149 million school bond, the school district is raising rental fees on community groups—making it nearly impossible for local youth sports and nonprofits to use the very facilities taxpayers just funded. Is this fiscal responsibility, or a...

What started as a hopeful exercise in citizen-led reform has unraveled into dysfunction, censorship, and calls for security. The Clallam County Charter Review Commission promised transparency and public engagement—but instead wasted months on personal agendas, ignored public input, and tried to silence dissent. Now, after being called a name during public comment, one commissioner wants law enforc...

Should working-class residents in Clallam County continue paying for the sins of generations past? As Commissioner Mark Ozias reads yearly proclamations about colonization and equity, he also leads an NGO steering millions in taxpayer-funded grants—many going to tribal entities with deep political influence and millions in annual revenue. The growing web of money, power, and ideological reparation...

The Charter Review Commission just voted to advance a permanent new county position—the “Water Resources Specialist”—based on claims of a $14 million surplus. But the truth came out too late: the money is a reserve, not extra cash. County Administrator Todd Mielke wasn’t allowed to clarify the budget until after the vote. Now, with that amendment moving forward and the County Commissioners proposi...

This is an audio-only interview, available at the top of this article or through your favorite podcast app. An auto-generated transcript is also provided for your convenience. In this episode, we dive into the details of Fire District 3’s proposed Levy Lid Lift, which appears on the ballot for residents living east of Deer Park Road to the county line, including parts of Gardiner in Jefferson Coun...

Commissioner Mike French campaigned on transparency and public engagement—but many Clallam County residents are wondering where that commitment went. From unanswered emails to coordinated policy rollouts with minimal public input, recent actions raise serious questions about whether ideology is replacing dialogue. Examine the growing disconnect between the county’s stated values and how decisions...

The Clallam Conservation District wants to charge every property owner a $5 parcel fee, claiming it’s to support conservation. But behind the scenes, the agency is piping ditches that recharge wells, exempting powerful landowners, partnering with tribal entities expanding into the water utility business, and sidestepping public transparency. All this comes after the County cut their funding—follow...

In Clallam County, taxpayer-funded grants meant to promote “equity” are increasingly going to select groups—while many struggling rural communities are left behind. From exclusive funding rules to electric vehicles for well-connected tribal programs, question whether identity-based priorities are overriding actual community need. Who decides what’s fair—and who’s footing the bill? In economically...

When a fuel truck plunges into Port Angeles’ water supply, tribal-owned PetroCard is barely mentioned. Meanwhile, taxpayers face massive new levies for “essential services” while still footing the bill for meth pipes and million-dollar vehicle fleets. From city council races to tribal land grabs, uncover the quiet decisions draining your wallet—and ask why no one’s held accountable when the damage...

As the cost of living in Washington State skyrockets, Clallam County residents are being hit from all sides—rising fuel costs, school levies, a recent hospital levy, and now new tax hikes disguised as essential service funding. But behind the curtain is a pattern of reckless local spending, bloated projects, and political misdirection. Pull back the curtain on where your tax dollars are really goi...

With Olympic Medical Center limiting new patient intake, many Clallam County residents have turned to Jamestown Family Health Clinic—without realizing they are entering a sovereign nation where Washington state laws do not always apply. One disabled woman discovered this the hard way when her legal rights disappeared at the clinic door—and she was banned from returning. In August 2021, Sequim resi...

What do boofing kits, broken tractors, and free meth pipes have in common? In Clallam County, they’re all taxpayer-funded. Dive into a local economy fueled by grant grifting, public spending with no receipts, and “harm reduction” that forgets the harm. From rigged school bond campaigns to fire-prone homeless encampments, the people paying the price are the ones playing by the rules. When policy en...

In 2019, Reps. Mike Chapman and Steve Tharinger told residents that a new MAT clinic in Sequim would reduce crime and homelessness — dismissing critics as fearmongers. Six years later, with overdose deaths at record highs and public disorder growing, their bold predictions haven’t aged well. In 2019, Reps. Mike Chapman and Steve Tharinger defended the then-proposed MAT clinic in Sequim with bold c...

Clallam County residents were told higher taxes were needed to save Olympic Medical Center—but now they’re being turned away from the very hospital they’re funding. As services shrink, clinics close, and financial transparency disappears, county commissioners who pushed the levy hike are silent. Where’s the accountability for a failing public hospital sitting on dozens of vacant, tax-exempt proper...

While Clallam County struggles to meet the basic needs of its residents, one small but politically powerful tribe received over $19 million in federal funding in a single year—plus a taxpayer-funded housing liaison created just for them. With no job description, no transparency, and no oversight, county leaders are quietly funneling public resources toward those who already have the most. Is this...

When a respected community bank quietly loses its CEO and top banking officer within days, pays out a six-figure severance, and posts the worst financial performance in its peer group — shouldn’t someone be asking why? For over a century, First Fed has been a cornerstone of the Olympic Peninsula’s financial and civic life. As the only community bank headquartered in the region — and one of the are...

Despite overwhelming public support for ethics reform, Clallam County’s Charter Review Commission is again turning to government insiders instead of honoring the will of voters. With 74% of the public backing a proposal to bar commissioners from serving on nonprofit boards that receive county funds, the CRC has stalled action—opting instead to invite those very commissioners to justify their dual...

Despite overwhelming public support for restoring district-only voting in Clallam County, political maneuvering and delays threaten to keep the issue off the November ballot—leaving rural District 3 voters effectively silenced in their own elections. At stake is whether West End residents will ever truly choose their own commissioner, or continue to be overruled by voters from Port Angeles and Seq...

This roundup pulls back the curtain on the stories slipping through the cracks — or being buried on purpose. From a major housing discrimination lawsuit in Sequim, to the proposed 600-home development next to John Wayne Marina, to city leaders skipping tours of the very industries that built Port Angeles. We dig into media shakeups, unspoken tax advantages, sneaky fee proposals, and a podcast that...

Clallam County Commissioners say they want public input — but is it only from those who pay to play? Despite repeated calls for open dialogue and a town hall that revealed a costly oversight, the Board has gone silent on real engagement. Emails go unanswered, Q&A sessions are ignored, and public commenters are cut off — unless they happen to be campaign donors. As commissioners find time for parad...

Clallam County’s Charter Review Commission is pushing a deeply unpopular Water Steward proposal despite 70% public opposition — and instead of listening to voters, they’re taking cues from government agencies and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. Unelected actors are shaping policy that could restrict residents while exempting a sovereign nation. If the public doesn’t regain control of the charter, t...

Washington State is offering $4.75 million in electric boat grants—but you might be ineligible. Funded by the Climate Commitment Act, the new program is open exclusively to tribes, leaving out struggling fishing families, local businesses, and rural communities still paying the highest gas prices in years. In Clallam County, where economic hardship runs deep, many are asking: why do well-funded tr...

As Clallam County struggles to fund schools, retain jail staff, and keep essential hospital services, officials are proposing a $100,000 increase to a harm reduction program that hands out free smoking and injection supplies — with no clear data on whether it’s working. Taxpayers are being asked to fund an ever-growing program with no plan for sustainability and no metrics for success. As local te...

Clallam County is poised to grant $800,000 in public funds to Habitat for Humanity—but key questions about transparency remain unanswered. Despite promises of openness, Habitat has withheld documents, backed out of a meeting, and cited questionable incidents to justify cutting off dialogue. The line between nonprofit mission and public accountability has become blurred. When taxpayer dollars are i...

Voters stepped up to save Olympic Medical Center with a tax hike—but now the hospital is shutting out the public, hiding its finances, and quietly planning a merger behind closed doors. What happened to accountability? And who really benefits if OMC goes under? Follow the money, follow the secrecy, and follow the growing pattern of public institutions treating taxpayers like blank checks. This tim...