"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." (From the movie, 'Chinatown')

Calkins awaits his fate

Pacific's fired public safety director, John Calkins, is awaiting word on how Pacific's civil service commission will rule on his dismissal. Mr. Calkins' civil service hearing on his firing by Pacific Mayor Cy Sun took place last week.

A fairly thorough (and presumably, accurate) report on this hearing has been presented on the blog for the Committee to Recall Cy Sun.

Of particular interest to me in the recall committee's blog were these three points:

• Police Lt. Ed Massey was a witness whose testimony appeared to support Calkins. It should be noted that, when Calkins was stopped for driving while intoxicated in Bonney Lake three years ago, it was Massey who he summoned and who quickly appeared, and who became a defense witness for Calkins during the pre-trial evidence hearings.

• City Council Member Clint Steiger, chair of the public safety committee, also presented testimony which appeared to favor Calkins. Steiger has been pretty close to Calkins since he was hired, and apparently was one of the city council members who all but yawned when a Kittitas County Sheriff's Department investigation determined that Calkins had on two occasions abused his authority. It was also Mr. Steiger who tried to suppress the taping of a public safety committee hearing, and who walked out, leaving behind a memorandum from Mr. Calkins that supported increasing city revenue by writing more traffic tickets. The memorandum made no mention of improving public safety by increasing the tickets written. That memorandum abruptly disappeared from city files, but I retained my copy.

• According to the recall committee's blog, Mr. Calkins testified he had never been investigated for anger issues. That's simply not true. In 2002, he failed a polygraph examination on the issue of whether he had ever menaced his wife's former husband with a handgun, and the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office investigated this issue in 2010, concluding that he quite likely did point the handgun at that individual. That represent two investigations on a rather serious breach of ethics, and something that conceivably could have resulted in criminal charges. You wonder why the city's attorney didn't ask him about this during cross examination. Did no-one remember any of this? Really?

This is the second time that the city's top public safety official has had a civil service hearing on improper behavior. The last time was in the 1970s, and resulted in a sea change in Pacific's political makeup. That story is told on a separate Web site, entitled 100 Years of Law and Order in Pacific 1909-2009.

What seems abundanty clear is that this time the procedure is more tightly controlled, offering greater advantage to the appelant, Mr. Calkins, than that enjoyed by his predecessor. This time around, a bumbling mayor is swimming upstream against the good 'ol boy's club that has allowed Mr. Calkins a very long, loose leash. It's highly conceiveable that Calkins will win his job back. There would be irony in that. The only reason he got this job in the first place was the dismissal of a more competent police chief who ran afoul of the mayor at that time, Howard Erickson, who was as much a bumbler as Cy Sun. Also, Calkins may win a job back only to find out that there is no city to return to, or that the city's credibility is so badly tarnished, it won't be a job worth having.

There are two reasons you might want to turn to the "100 years" site. The first is for an in-depth report on what happened in the 1970s and how that compares with more current history.

The second reason is for a little diversion. If you feel that Mr. Calkins is the kind of guy who needs to be locked up, you'll have a chance to put him in jail! I invite you to visit 100 Years of Law and Order in Pacific 1909-2009.

Knock yourself out!

Proclamation: Rachel Kringle

Years ago, I founded an organization called Pacific Candlelighters. Its purpose was to use a small steering committee of activists to create projects and draw in participants, who would emerge as the core of a growing community. The aim was to reverse the community disintegration that had been happening incrementally over many years in Pacific.

I abandoned that effort when I was elected to city council, because my direct participation would have represented a conflict of interest. However, there is an individual in the Pacific community who seems to have picked up the baton. Initially, she became involved in the effort of "Taking Back Pacific," which meant recalling Mayor Cy Sun. But she has transcended that lesser objective for a greater and, I hope,  a more lasting one—identifying  the people in the community who are part of a rich resource of human talent, and illuminating them for the rest of the community to discover, or rediscover.

Rachel Kringle regularly produces these reports on her blog's features page, and she must have hit the right nerve, because it is my understanding that people are reading what she has to say and are finding pleasure in it. Based on the numbers of visitors she tracks, she may have become one of the touchstones for many Pacific residents. I'm awaiting her discussion of more of the members of Pacific Partnerships, whose organization is known in the community, but whose actors have gone too long unrecognized. Fortunately she's already started recognizing that group with a profile of Glenda White, Pacific's postmistress and a notary for the community. Contrary to the common wisdom behind commercial media, in some venues, good news does sell.

Rachel is not alone in her effort. My friend, Jeanne Fancher, has been casting about for some time to find a way to create a common communication medium for the community, hoping to obtain grants to facilitate that. What Jeanne probably has figured out by now is that her Pacific City Signal has become a source that people turn to in order to find out what's happening with city government. Both women are doing the community a great service in reconnecting people in the way print media used to.

There is no shortage of blogs in Pacific. A blog to recall the mayor is updated regularly. My blog was created to serve the purpose of community gadfly.

Of all the blogs that have cropped up in Pacific, Rachel’s is my favorite. While I don't wish to diminish Jeanne's contribution, I want to focus on Rachel's, because she is a neophyte, coming to this avocation cautiously, carefully, by fits and starts, and then finally finding her way. There is no pay, just the joy of service. But her blog is truly an expression of her personality, and it serves this community well. She is illustrating that old adage that a fool curses the darkness, but a wise man lights a candle.  I hope she continues to find the time to discover and rediscover the positive  individuals who can shape and reshape the soul of this community.

As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, 

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal..."

Pacific is caught in that peculiar position for which both are true: it is time to wound and heal at the same moment. Rachel has chosen to be the healer. What she is discovering in this community, and what she expresses in her service, is an idea that 

 in every life, no matter how seemingly insignificant, there are opportunities for endeavor, courage, grace and nobility. And in that, there is majesty.

Therefore, by the power vested in me, as founder of Pacific Candlelighters, an observer of the Pacific community, and a person with a hope that Pacific's people can rise above the rancor that has choked the community for many years, I hereby bestow upon Rachel Kringle, author, blogger, activist and creator of community infrastructure, the Honor of the Order of the Pacific Candlelighters. Accompanying that honor are 19 personalized postage stamps with the legend, Rachel Kringle, A Pacific Candlelighter.*

Shine On, Rachel! Shine On!

*Although anyone in the community could so honor someone with a stamp, I would ask that the prerogative to bestow the Honor of the Order of Pacific Candlelighters be reserved to me, out of courtesy, so that the honor does not become diluted.

On taking the bit between your teeth

The people who are pushing recall of Pacific Mayor Cy Sun might want to know where the title for today's blog comes from. It was in a stanza in a John Dryden satirical poem, the Medal, written in 1682:

But this new Jehu spurs the hot-mounted horse,
Instructs the beast to know his native force,
To take the bit between his teeth and fly
To the next headlong steep of anarchy.

Recall might get you everything you hope for, but you are playing the game of brinksmanship with a man who may be able to determine the fate of the city simply by ignoring you.

There might be another way to get things done, if you think creatively. It's always exhilarating to have a good donnybrook, but even if you win, you can lose. Sometimes it's better to lose, so that you can win. Thinking is the hardest work you can ever do. It can be far more exhausting than physical labor. But now it's time to think, and think hard.

I was involved in an almost useless political experiment 11 years ago, working with people who had the bit in their teeth and wouldn't spit it out. And they clearly lacked the determination to think. They took the easy way out. Before you dismiss this as old history, you might consider the fact that this particular piece of history built the foundation on which we stand today. Both action and inaction have consequences.

Here's the story:

In the year 2000, Gary Van Hee was booted off the city council. Prior to his removal, there had been a heated election over the possibility of the city obtaining a "prison." It actually was a detention center for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, to hold undocumented immigrants. But the opponents were arguing that Pacific would become the home of felons, and all sorts of bogeymen. The campaign was crazy. When it was over, there was a split on the council, with almost half the members in the camp of Mayor Howard Erickson.

Mr. Van Hee had worked out an agreement with the previous council that he would be excused to attend night classes. However, the new council discovered that they had not taken formal votes to excuse him, and they took the opportunity of that oversight to oust him. The vote was 3-3 and Mr. Erickson broke the tie. Strangely, as I recall, Van Hee did not vote on his own behalf.

The community was aroused and came to observe. The council met in the old school gymnasium by city hall to decide Mr. Van Hee's fate. The gym was packed with ordinary folks. In the front row of spectators, the local crazy lady was mouthing the words toward Councilwoman Bernadine Harrison, "and you're next!" Nothing subtle about that. When the meeting was over there was a seething rage among the voters.

Mrs. Harrison and others circulated a petition to take the city to a council manager form of government. There was no difficulty gathering the requisite number of signatures from the restive populace. The petition was submitted to the county and the paperwork came back to the city to authorize a spring election for Proposition 1, converting Pacific to a council-manager form of government.

Mayor Erickson "lost" the paperwork.
The paperwork was delivered again.
Mayor Erickson "lost" the paperwork. Again.

Meanwhile, I contacted Mrs. Harrison and asked her, "well, are you folks going to form a committee, or just sit around?" I initiated the creation of the Proposition 1 committee, volunteered to coordinate it until a chair could be selected, and we began meeting at the library on Ellingson Road.

Councilwoman Karen McIver, who had voted for Van Hee's removal, was having a change of heart, and volunteered to file the paperwork for the election, since the Mayor obviously wasn't going to. (This should have been grounds for recall, but a prior effort to recall Mr. Erickson when he had been mayor before had failed.)

As coordinator, I tried to persuade the committee to adopt a rather unusual position: Allow Howard Erickson to sabotage the election.

I pointed out to the Proposition 1 committee that Mr. Erickson had managed to defeat his prececessor, Mayor Debra Jorgensen, because she had lost her credibility over the detention center issue. Now it was Mr. Erickson who had lost his credibility over the removal of Mr. Van Hee from office.

Why would anyone at this stage believe us, I asked. What credibility does this committee have? We are going to lose this election. Wouldn't it be better to simply let the mayor  show his true colors? He would be thumbing his nose at the voters, the public and the election process and save us the embarrassment of losing. There would be a firestorm of press coverage. The voters would be outraged and ready for a change.

"Oh, no!" decided the committee. We MUST have our election!

Yeah, right. King County took over the city's voting booths to prevent further irregularities. We lost by two thirds. The following November, there were five council positions open, and supporters for Mr. Erickson were running for all five seats. Four of them lost, and the fifth one would have lost if we let the mayor have his way.

You see, the crazy person, sent out a mailing opposing Proposition 1, and she used that to savage Bernadine Harrison, softening her up for defeat in November. (Of course, her name didn't show up any place, because it was an illegal mailing, but no-one with a lick of sense doubted who was behind it.) If there had been no election for Proposition 1, there would have been no character assassination of a council candidate in the fall election.

If these people hadn't taken the bit in their teeth, if they had thought rationally about the benefit of losing, there is an exceedingly good chance that an angry electorate, well aware of Mr. Erickson's abuses, would have cast aside ALL his cronies and cooled his jets. There would be a supermajority of non-Erickson council members, able to override his vetoes, if they stuck together.

My message to the recall committee is this: take the bit out of your teeth and figure out how to get some decent department heads hired. Consider the value of losing. If your only focus is on destroying Cy Sun,you are playing a high risk and irresponsible game. You might start by talking to Mr. Sun's friends to see whether they want the outcome that Pacific is heading for. They might be a little upset with what's coming down the road. He might listen to them.

And here's a question for you: Has anyone ever apologized to him for calling him a liar about his war medals? You need to make sure that base is covered. Never underestimate the power of an insult. This is no prediction that an alternate method will succeed. But if you don't try something other than what you are doing, you are as bright as the Proposition 1 committee was 11 years ago.

Afterthought:  There was a useful piece of information generated from the Proposition 1 election. On election day, Richard Hildreth, who would be mayor in only a couple years, stood with me at the Pacific Post Office and we watched voters show up to cast ballots across the street. He took the time to regale me with stories about the crazy lady, and the rap sheet he had collected on her. I might be wrong, but I think he said he had a few hundred pages of documents, including one that she had provided, identifying her mental illness.  I find it particularly disgusting that there were people in town who clearly knew she was ill, and cynically exploited her anyway. One of them was a very close neighbor. This is just one more reason why I have no pity for this government.

Let's reinstate John Calkins

On Monday, Pacific City Councilman Josh Putnam voiced the concern that due to hiring freezes and attrition, the Pacific Police Department may soon be short two patrol officers. Meanwhile, he observes, 

"the terminated Public Safety Director's civil service appeal is proceeding, with a real possibility that the City could be ordered to reinstate him in his position, so Council deferred discussion of municipal code changes to the Public Safety Director and Police Chief positions."

Couple of observations here:

1. The council should have eliminated the public safety director position a few years back, since it had become meaningless once the Regional Fire Authority took over management of Pacific's fire department functions. It appears that the council is considering eliminating the director's position and re-creating the police chief position.
2. With a smaller department, what will Mr. Calkins do to earn his keep? His predecessor, Stan Aston, not only obtained accreditation for Pacific's police department, but he also pulled patrol duty along with his officers. So here's a possible approach to take with Mr. Calkins:

Why not just give in, kinda, sorta? Let him stay on the payroll  and negotiate a new position for him (at an appropriate salary): He can be police chief if he can immediately comply with certain very modest standards and continues to maintain them. And he can be terminated immediately for any failure to meet these standards.

Here's the understanding:

1. No racial profiling.
2. No suppression of civil rights or intimidation of the public.
3. No more shouting at city council members.
4. No more bullying of fellow employees.
5. No porn in the office.
6. No aiming handguns at his wife's ex-husband.
7. No arrest for drunk driving.
8. No wearing of garments that celebrate police brutality.
9. No comp time, since he would be a salaried employee.
10. No witness tampering.
11. No use of ticketing as a revenue measure.
12. No botching of investigations into misuse of the city's credit card.
13. No news releases that increase the vulnerability of crime victims.
14. No failed polygraph examinations.
15. No allowing the department to intimidate political candidates.
16. No release of police files to embarrass individuals critical of police conduct.
17. Perform patrol duty along with subordinates.
18. When a member of the city council asks a question, that individual receives a courteous, complete and accurate reply.
19. One year to get the department accredited, as it was before Mr. Calkins was hired.

Mr. Calkins should breathe a sigh of relief, if this is all the city expects of him, because these are the standards a sane city government would expect anyway. And we're not saying he did any of these things. We just want to be sure they don't happen.


The only task on this list that is above and beyond what you might expect a police chief to perform is the accreditation. I can see the possibility that the city of Pacific might extend the deadline on item 19, if Mr. Calkins meets these other very normal, minimum standards.

If he keeps his nose clean, he could become a real asset to the community.

The 80-20 rule, and recall

Everyone remembers going through school and being graded “on the curve.” But did you ever wonder what “the curve” is? The answer is that it describes the distribution of behavior in nature. Practically every behavior we can track follows the bell curve. Let’s avoid the long discourse and cut to the chase: It’s called the Pareto Principal (you can read about it at Wikipedia, if you are interested) and it basically predicts that 80 percent of the money to recall Pacific Mayor Cy Sun will come from 20 percent of the donors.

The committee to recall Mr. Sun seems to be gaining steam. $11,000 has been raised, according to the recall site, and another $10,000 may be needed. There are a lot of $25 donations. However, there was also a $5,000 donation offered, and turned  down because it was over the allowable limit. 

Who has $5,000 to give, and why? And who are the other deep pockets? If Mr. Sun is going to be recalled, the process should be transparent. Mr. Sun ran on a platform of removing corruption, and it would be a bit disgusting if the people who removed him weren’t honest about the source of the funds that accomplished the task, and what the donors stood to gain.

It wouldn’t bother me to know that XYZ Storage (made-up name) was putting up the money because the company was losing its shirt due to inability to obtain a building permit. Who could blame them? But in a case of changing the city’s administration, you want to know who is making the large donations, and why.

The people involved in the campaign want to save the city of Pacific. There have been campaigns before to change things in Pacific, and they were betrayed by the winners, who just retained the same old bad practices, which were the reason Mr. Sun  was elected in the first place. And while it looks like a lot of people are up in arms, you can’t predict the outcome of an election without some sophisticated polling, and even then you won’t know until the ballots are counted.  Lose this one, and he’s there for his full term, or the city folds, whichever comes first.

So, if there’s going to be a change, it would be good to know that the people funding the change have something to offer beside the same-old same-old.

And if they really are interested in saving the city, they have to keep in mind that the recall may not come in time. The recall supporters need to be working on a second front – getting qualified people appointed as department heads to meet the city’s obligation to its insurance carrier at the same time they are racing to decapitate the administration. That's a tall order.

In a way, Mr. Sun is holding the city hostage. Maybe it’s time for a hostage negotiator.

The hunter comes to Molehaven*

It came to Molehaven this Sunday morning. On long straight legs built for speed it trotted out of the blackberry thicket, rounded the pond by the pipe that crosses under Milwaukee Boulevard by the Christmas tree farm, passed beneath the fir tree by the hedge where the children hide on their way home from the school, and headed toward the far end of Molehaven.

It paused at the top of the low bank by the holly tree and listened. I raced from my upstairs window to the bedroom window to see where it would appear next, but couldn’t find it. So down to the laundry room for a clear look at ground level to the back, where the coyote was in plain view, nosing around the grape arbor. It sniffed the ground, then lifted its nose almost in howl fashion and sampled the air. No stray pets today, apparently.

I had always known it was there, somewhere out in the field by the school. Its pups would yip and howl at night every time a train passed. But this was the first that I had actually laid eyes on it. And it was magnificent.

It was leading a good life. Its gait was almost a canter. Its coat was a rich, velvety gray, and the tail fur fluffy as a feather duster.

This hunter didn't dawdle. After checking the ground thoroughly, and testing the wind from several directions, it retreated back the way it came, pausing under the fir tree for a moment, then darting to cover in an effortless burst of movement to seek concealment from two passing autos. It didn't lope; it flew, straight as an arrow or a gliding airplane, and faster than a greyhound. It was almost a blur.

It waited quietly, patiently, for silence to return. And then it ambled off into the blackberries. And then it was gone.

* Molhaven was the home of the writer, so christened in about the year 2000, before the madness gripped the city. It was named for Dustinian Mole, the city's Pacific Days mascot for a brief period prior to the madness. At that time, he was the Grand Klekug of Molezania, the subterranean underworld where the creatures gathered to guide the future of their domain, over which the founders of Pacific had become temporary squatters a century ago. There are no mole traps at Molhaven. No-one tries to drown the sovereign lords of Pacific with garden hoses. Or kill them with poison peanuts. Or asphixiate them with burning smoke pellets. Or drive them crazy with vibrations from whirling, spinning plastic sunflowers. Forseeing the coming of the madness, I publicly declared, Chief Joseph Style, that "where the sun now stands, I will fight no mole forever." I've kept my word. At Molehaven, the sovereign lords of Pacific enjoy sanctuary and gather their earthworms in peace, and molehood.