To Rural Landowners, Government Types,
Interested Parties and the News Media:
If you don't live in King County, WA,
don't think for one minute that this kind of arrogance and corruption won't find
your neck of the woods. A government not monitored is a government out of
control, which leads to arrogance and corruption, as it has in King
County.
King County Government (along with Seattle government) and its 1,800,000
inhabitants, drives everything in Washington State. It drives
elections. It drives regulation. It drives social programs and it
drives radical environmentalism. It elects social and radical
environmental representatives that stack the deck in the Washington State
Legislature, like Senators Adam Kline and Ken Jacobsen. It sends
similar-bent socialist representatives to the U. S. Congress, like Jim
McDermott. Its entrenched roots are abject socialism and radical
environmentalism. It has over 16,000 employees at an average annual salary
of $55,000. King County Government is not only arrogant, but it is corrupt
as well. And it's not the first time. Their power comes from
your taxes and you pay way too many taxes and fees for what you are getting in
services. It's a rip off.
Chuck Pillon and I found evidence of
such corruption with several K/C departments and filed a formal RICO (racketeering) criminal complaint with the FBI in May
2005. It's almost a year now and we have heard nothing from the FBI.
Bob Williams, President of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, filed documented
evidence of King County voter fraud in the 2004 election, with the U. S.
Attorney in Seattle (John McKay). John has failed to move forward on that
evidence. The pattern of corruption extends through all of King County's
agencies and it is ever more so in the Department of Development and
Environmental Services (DDES) under the direction of one Stephanie Warden, the
County Executive's (Ron Sims) hand-picked minion. Check out Ms. Warden's
PDC file and see how much money she has given to Ron Sims' election
campaign.
In further illustration of their
arrogance and the exercise of power, way beyond any legislative or
constitutional limits, DDES has abused that power [with the help of
the County Prosecutor's Office (Timothy Barnes) and the Sheriff's
Office (Sue Rahr)] by coming down hard, with both
barrels on rural landowners in King County, to make examples of them so
that others will be sure to come into compliance with their draconian rules,
regulations and ordinances. Cases of over-abuse abound throughout the
County, but two such cases are egregious examples of that
abuse. The case of Mr. Charles Strouss (40
acres-Redmond) and the case of Mr. Ron Rowe (20
acres-Issaquah) are prime examples. Their lives have been
turned up-side-down by DDES's over-zealous prosecution of insane
ordinances. There is not space here to outline those cases as they have
been chronicled before in previous messages. Suffice it to say, these
two law-abiding King landowners have been "savaged" by their government, for
little or no reason. The handling of each case was bungled by 3 County
departments all the way down the line and cost us, the taxpayers, huge sums to
prosecute what were essentially non events.
Finally, some
builder/applicants to DDES's lucrative department of corruption had enough and
filed a class-action lawsuit against DDES, alleging over $20,000,000 in
over-charges to all permit applicants. I have attached just 4 pages of a
110-page brief filed in Snohomish County Superior Court (Judge
James H. Allendoerfer) covering
what the plaintiffs are seeking in relief and a chronology of the actions that
have taken place before and after the filing of the class-action
lawsuit. It is an expose' of just how arrogant and corrupt King
County Government and DDES really are.
When King County Executive Ron Sims
got "wind" of the class-action lawsuit, he dug up $2,000,000 out of your tax
dollars to refund applicants in order to defuse or make the lawsuit go
away. His half-hearted "olive
branch" did nothing of the kind and only angered the
plaintiffs more.
Also in the brief you will find reference to Covell
v. Seattle. Here is that link.
A hearing is scheduled on
June 16, 2006 at 9:00 AM before Judge Allendoerfer in Snohomish County Superior
Court on the class action lawsuit. Please get the word out on as many of
the email lists you have on those who may wish to attend. Stay in the left
hand lane for the Broadway Exit to Everett, straight ahead to Pacific Avenue, up
the hill 2 blocks and look for available parking, or parking under the
Courthouse complex.
It is our intent to inform, educate
and alert folks, especially rural landowners, to what is going on with their
government, no matter where they live. One example of arrogance and
corruption in one jurisdiction, can be the alarm bell for people in other
jurisdictions. We hope you will take the time to read through
this material and inform yourself on just how arrogant your government has,
or will become.
Ron Ewart, President
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RURAL
LANDOWNERS
P. O. Box 1031, Issaquah, WA
98027
425 222-4742 or 1 800
682-7848
(Fax No. 425 222-4743)