SGGL LIBRARY
This page contains membership meeting notes, press releases, corporate documents, and other useful SGGL information.
GOVERNING DOCUMENTS
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NONPROFIT IRS LETTER
PAC IRS LETTER
NONPROFIT ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
NONPROFIT BYLAWS
MEMBERSHIP MEETING NOTES
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PRESS RELEASES
Sequim Good Governance League Supports Local and Statewide Public Health Efforts to Keep Our Community Safe
September 6, 2021
For Immediate Release
September 6, 2021
Contact Sequim Good Governance League: Dale Jarvis, SGGL board member
dale@djconsult.net, 206-714-7710
The Sequim Good Governance League is very grateful that Dr. Allison Berry, Clallam County Public Health Officer, is working on our behalf, and we have every confidence in her decisions. Tired as we are of restrictions, we understand that the delta variant spreads much more easily than the alpha variant of last year. It only makes sense that people who go into public places to eat and drink unmasked should be vaccinated.
We are also grateful that Governor Inslee has decided that those who work in health care or with children must be vaccinated. Children are especially vulnerable to COVID, as many cannot be protected by the vaccination. People seeking help with health conditions are also especially vulnerable to the effects of COVID.
Until lately, the measures taken in Clallam and Jefferson Counties, and the public support of them, have protected us from the worst of the pandemic. Our soaring numbers and the strain our health care system is under are evidence that we must do more.
Dr. Berry’s decision is what good governance looks like: Qualified people doing their research, consulting with those affected, and making decisions that protect public health and safety. It has always been a legitimate purpose of government to protect public health and safety, even if it limits our activity.
This is our time to pull together to support decisions made by our public officials. Even though they may inconvenience us, they can slow or stop the community spread of COVID.
Let’s support our public officials as they make the difficult decisions that confront us in these times. It’s the least we can do for each other.
Dale
Dale Jarvis, CPA-retired
(m) 206 714-7710
dale@djconsult.net
SEQUIM GOOD GOVERNANCE LEAGUE CALLS FOR PAUSE IN CITY MANAGER SEARCH UNTIL AFTER ELECTION
March 19, 2021
For Immediate Release
March 19, 2021
Contact Sequim Good Governance League: Candace Pratt, SGGL board member and former Mayor of Sequim
cpratt7545@gmail.com, 408-888-7613
The Sequim Good Governance League (SGGL), which was formed in response to the Sequim City Council’s unexplained firing of former City Manager Charlie Bush in January, is calling on the Council to reject a proposal to start an immediate search process for yet another City Manager just one month after appointing and signing a binding contract with Assistant City Manager Charisse Deschenes to act as Interim City Manager.
“There has been enough turmoil at Sequim City Hall in the past few months. Ms. Deschenes has only been in her current position for a month. Why are they talking about replacing her without giving her a chance to do the job?” said Eileen Cummings, President of SGGL, in response to Mayor Armacost’s call to move forward at the March 8 Council meeting.
SGGL is particularly concerned because the Mayor said he wants to "look at what we have within our own city," rather than doing a more wide-ranging search. “This is a position that oversees a budget of more than $33 million and almost 100 employees, and requires competent, experienced management. The citizens of Sequim should expect the City Council to have a pool of highly qualified candidates to choose from, and citizens should expect a transparent process in the selection of the best candidate to serve as city manager when the time comes,” said Cummings.
SGGL notes that the Mayor’s comments about saving the cost of a professional search are not well-founded. “The City incurred significant costs in firing Charlie Bush, a highly competent
Manager, for no stated reasons without mentioning a concern about those costs.”
SGGL member and former Sequim Mayor Candace Pratt noted that four members of the Council were appointed to fill vacancies and two ran unopposed – only one of seven was elected in a contested race. “Five of the Council seats are up for election in November,” said Pratt. “We should wait until we have an elected and representative City Council to move forward with the decision about the City Manager, which is one of the most important decisions that the Council makes on behalf of the citizens of Sequim. It is a simple matter to extend Ms. Deschenes’ contract a few months to provide for a smooth search process. And that would have the added advantage that whoever is hired as City Manager will know who will be on the City Council, which is their boss, for the next several years.”
SEQUIM GOOD GOVERNANCE LEAGUE WELCOMES THE END OF DIVISIVENESS
February 12, 2021
For Immediate Release, Contact:
Karen Hogan Karenlhogan@me.com
360.461.1076
The decision to dismiss the Save Our Sequim (SOS) LUPA suit against the City and the Tribe brings to a close a divisive issue that has dominated the civic discourse during the past eighteen months in Sequim.
The Sequim Good Governance League believes that the decision validates the integrity of our city staff. They followed the law and regulations, treating the Tribe’s proposal for the Healing Clinic as it would any business, as the project moved through permitting processes. The process was transparent. Public notices were posted as required, giving citizens the opportunity for public input along the way.
The Tribe’s medication-assisted-treatment (MAT) facility is based on solid medical science, treating Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) as a brain disorder. It is state-of-the-art health care on par with Johns Hopkins Medical Center. That kind of health care normally does not find its way to rural communities.
It is not a dose-and-go methadone clinic.
It is unfortunate that the controversy about the proposed health care facility became so divisive. Vulnerable groups of people were stigmatized. The Tribe was attacked as being greedy and insensitive to the well-being of Sequim. Many forgot that the Tribe’s connection to the land we call Sequim goes back 10,000 years and that it stepped in and provided a health care facility when Virginia Mason abandoned its clinic.
It is our neighbors, members of our community, who struggle with drug addiction, housing insecurity, income insecurity, and mental fragility. Those problems are neither new nor unique to Sequim. They are human struggles.
The Sequim Good Governance League believes that good governance is the pathway to solutions for problems faced by a community. Good governance thrives on honesty, integrity, openness, inclusiveness, and accountability, using facts, and ethical behaviors to develop non-partisan solutions that serve and protect all residents of Sequim and the surrounding Sequim-Dungeness Valley.
It is time to put aside the divisiveness. A state-of-the-art medical facility will not ruin Sequim. Divisiveness and stigmatization of others will.
For questions, contact Karen Hogan (sequimgoodgovernanceleage@gmail.com) 360.461.1076
SEQUIM GOOD GOVERNANCE LEAGUE PLANS MEET THE APPLICANTS’ NIGHTS
February 6, 2021
For Immediate Release, Contact:
Karen Hogan Karenlhogan@me.com
360 461-1076
The Sequim Good Governance League (SGGL) has planned virtual Meet the Applicants’ Nights on February 9th and 16th. Similar to a Meet the Candidates Night, the event will allow Sequim residents to pose questions to applicants for the City Council vacancy to replace former Mayor Dennis Smith. Both events start at 6:00 P.M.
“The upcoming appointment to fill the vacant council seat is a perfect opportunity to encourage more citizen participation and practice the greater openness the Council says it believes in and stands for,” said Ken Stringer, SGGL executive committee member and moderator for the event. “All applicants will be invited to participate.”
The Zoom meeting is open to the public. The Sequim Good Governance League is reaching out to a wide audience, including the Independent Advisory Association, the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Indivisible Sequim, Save Our Sequim, and the Tribe, to encourage participation. City Council members are also invited but will not be allowed to ask questions. As of Friday, February 5th, council members Tom Ferrell and Brandon Janisse have both expressed their enthusiasm for the event.
“The Meet the Applicants’ Night, gives our citizens the chance to ask questions, listen to the applicants’ responses, then contact council members to give their input on the appointment,” said Shenna Younger, SGGL founder and member of the executive committee. “It is especially important now, as this appointment will give the citizens of Sequim a City Council with 4 of the 7 seats appointed, rather than elected. That will be the case for the next nine months or so.”
Zoom links to Zoom meeting are available on tinyurl.com/1q3dxlck as well as the Sequim Good Governance website (https://www.sequimgoodgovernanceleague.org).