|
LETTER TO EDITOR: First power reserved to the people is the initiative Section 8:20 of the Clallam County Home Rule Charter reads, "The first power reserved to the people is the initiative." Despite the simplicity of language and clarity of intent of that section, Clallam County Commissioners Mike Doherty and Steve Tharinger are pursuing a lawsuit against private citizen Bob Forde, who spearheaded an initiative to repeal the critical areas code. Doherty and Tharinger were advised to initiate this lawsuit by Clallam County prosecutors. These prosecutors, who are best known for their propensity to drag their feet, have gleefully accepted the challenge to squelch this outbreak of liberty. While Forde’s initiative specifically addresses the restoration of property rights, the subsequent lawsuit takes aim at the initiative process itself. Citizens who wish to retain and exercise their right of self-government should be mindful of this. The Declaration of Independence states that " . . . Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, .." Commissioners Doherty and Tharinger might consider those words an admonition. Or they might contemplate the wisdom of Confucius who said: "County commissioners who have the temerity to appoint themselves arbiters of liberty may soon be seeking new employment opportunities." Susan P. Blevins, |