Manuregate

What the hell. If there's to be a pile of manure on a city street, I say it should be identified.

(Think of the children?)

Pile of Manure

Life is stranger (and funnier!) than fiction.

I swung by Fletcher Landing today and witnessed something most unexpected. There was a giant mound of dirt piled in the very spot where the Saturday get-together occurred, right smack dab on the paved city street.

I got out of my car and quickly learned -- courtesy of my olfactory senses -- this is no mere pile of dirt. It's a pile of manure.

Welcome to Libertopia, aka Fletcher Landing, a place where the boundaries are ever-shifting in stinky, comedic fashion.

(I halfway expect to awake from a dream any minute now.)

Comic Relief

The City Attorney wrote a letter that appeared in The Review several weeks ago that sort of (?) explains the City's position on Fletcher Landing.

The same letter was posted at Fletcher Landing. Remember, the City enforces no trespassing on the road-end (though not the beach), and the purpose of the letter is to explain this bizarre fact.

I took this photograph standing on the city street immediately adjoining the road end, facing the water.

See the little piece of paper on the fence? That's the letter, written with a 10 pt font.

Yup, you got that right: In order to read the letter, one must walk onto the road-end.

You know. The road-end where trespassing is forbidden.

At least I had the common sense to post my sign on the cement post that sits on the line of demarcation.

Libertopia Run Amok

Towards the end of today's "mayoral forum", held on the unambiguously public road adjoining Fletcher Landing, a gentleman walked up and joined the crowd of 15 or so.

As folks started to amble away, this individual approached me. Our strange conversation went something like this...
________________________

Him: Why are you doing this?
Me: I contend the City doesn't have the right to enforce...

Him: (interrupting) It's in litigation. This has no meaning.
Me: OK, but it still makes no sense for the status to default to private because...

Him: (interrupting) So what. That's your opinion.
Me: My opinion happens to be based on the state appeals court ruling which states that...

Him: (interrupting) You don't even know the facts.
Me: I know the facts as stated by the state appeals court...

Him: (interrupting) This is a waste of time.
Me: Have you even read the ruling?

Him: In detail.
Me: Good, then you know that it states...

Him: (interrupting)
Me: Why aren't you letting me talk?

Him: I'm not interested in what you have to say.
Me: Then why are you baiting me?

Him: I don't want you on my property.
Me: HUH? I'm not on your property. I checked with the City attorney and..

Him: (interrupting) You have no business here.
Me: Look, I'm standing on a paved city street. I'm going to record this conversation.

(I grab my recorder.)
(He turns and walks away.)

Me: Go piss off. (*)
Him: Now you're going too far!

Me: Yeah right.
(He continues walking away.)
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Welcome to libertopia run amok, a place where the boundaries are ever-shifting.

* I doubt I help the cause by speaking in this way. I feel obligated to include this as I wish to be a fair reporter. I have a tendency towards the blunt side when confronted with this degree of obnoxious irrationality.

Three Surprises Today

In order of occurrence...

#1
To my dismay, one of the two premium Free Fletcher Landing signs is gone -- the one that was located at 305 and Winslow Way in front of the licensing office. (I haven't checked it in a week or so -- I'm not sure what day it went missing.)

I assumed this was a lawful spot, especially once the sign went undisturbed for two weeks. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe the City confiscated it.

(With no small degree of amusement, I suppose I must inquire with Code Compliance Officer Will Peddy.)

Either that, or else it was stolen by a counter-democratic libertopian who doesn't believe in lawful political expression.

_______________________

#2
To my great surprise, approximately 15 enthusiastic fellow Islanders came to the "mayoral forum", mostly residents of Fletcher Landing area.

I hope we continue to build momentum, and and hope the City gets the message that access to Puget Sound is a high priority to many Islanders.

Hopefully the lack of mayoral candidates wasn't a huge disappointment. (Don't blame the candidates -- there was a big event today surrounding the cross-island trail. My mistake.)

There was a shared sense of confusion as to why Fletcher Landing has (for all practical purposes) defaulted to private status while the appeal has dragged on for two decades.

There seemed to be consensus that a get-together with the candidates would be valuable. I will try to re-boot this effort.

(For the record, I live on the water. That's in part why I feel obligated to take these actions.)
_______________________

#3
I had an odd encounter with a libertopian extraordinaire.

(See the following post.)
_______________________

#4
This one is not a surprise. The lawful sign that I deployed today on the undisputed public property adjoining Fletcher Landing was missing when I checked back two hours later.

Peddy Implodes

I've always been interested in certain local issues. But until this election, my attention to local government was vague and in the abstract.

Uncharacteristically, over the past weeks I have interacted with a number of elected officials, candidates, and city employees. I have new found respect for anyone willing to run for office or otherwise be in the public eye, especially in a (not so) small (anymore) community like Bainbridge.

Anyone with integrity that is.
___________

Maybe there is a reason that citizens other than real estate developers should take the Will Peddy campaign seriously. If that reason exists, it will never be known. That's because Mr. Peddy's campaign has been polluted and obscured by the irrational individuals he surrounds himself with, principally Jim Olsen, Peddy's whacked out campaign manager.

And now to compound matters, the online publication bainbridge buzz reports troubling news about the Will Peddy campaign regarding widespread and egregious falsification of his resume.

bainbridge buzz:
the registrar at UC/Davis said the school has no record of Will Peddy attending
...
campaign manager Jim Olsen sent us an “amended” copy of Peddy’s resume which no longer contains the claim that Peddy had a bachelor’s degree from UC/Davis.

While this is good news from the standpoint of the road-ends, it's an unfortunate development in my view. I'd rather see Peddy's (diffuse) brand of private property zealotry lose out on the merits, as was destined to happen.

Forum on Sept 17

Per the announcement in The Review, there is a "mayoral forum" being held at Fletcher Landing on Saturday Sept 17 at 11:00.

(It is unlikely any of the candidates will be attending, for a variety of reasons including the fact there is a competing event.)

In deference to the (unlawful) orders from the police department not to trespass on the so-called road end, the event, such that it is, will take place on the street adjoining the road end. (The cement posts are the line of demarcation.)

There will be limited refreshments on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The purpose of this event is to:

1. Meet any interested parties who wish to discuss Fletcher Landing.
2. Deploy a new sign east of the cement posts, and explain why it is unlawful to remove it.
3. Clear the blackberry bramble east of the cement posts so that the sign is visible (and to make some elbow room for the refreshment "stand").

Here are directions, starting at the corner of New Brooklyn and Fletcher Bay Rd:

• proceed west on Fletcher Landing Road (it's a continuation of New Brooklyn)
• turn left on Foster
• follow the bend, then turn right at the stop sign
• turn left on Fletcher Landing Road
  (Fletcher Landing Rd. isn't contiguous, hence these odd directions)
• as the name implies, the road end is at the end of the road

Correction

Here are the facts as told to me by a person in the know, off the record:

The libertopians asked the state appeals court to reconsider, and the court summarily refused. The libertopians supposedly have 30 days (from date unknown) to appeal to the state supreme court.
____________

In my state of confusion, I lost four days of organizing time for the open forum being held at Fletcher Landing Saturday at 11:00. Haphazardly, the event is still on. Please check back for details (which I plan to post this evening).

Free at Last (not)

Update 2005.09.13: The following information is incorrect. I'll clarify as soon as I sort it through.

Big news...

Apparently the State Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal. This is based on a voice message left by a knowledgeable source from the City. I'll fill in the details once I confirm the facts on Monday.

The City has previously stated the fence would come down if the state supreme court rejected the case. If they are true to their word, Fletcher Landing is on the verge of becoming a public road-end in actuality.
_______________

And guess what. The beach is already public. It's only the road-end that was in dispute. (However, without the road-end, the only access to the beach is was via the water.) Or so was explained to me today by city councilman and mayoral candidate Nazem Tooloee. Thank you for taking the time Nazem, and for providing the first coherent explanation I've yet to hear.

Earth to Will Peddy

Last night the candidates for mayor held a debate at city hall. (It is repeatedly airing on Bainbridge Island Broadcasting. Check your local listings.)

The candidates were asked to comment on road-ends and on preservation of public lands.

Darlene Kordonowy and Nezam Tooloee spoke out strongly in support of public access to the road-ends.

Will Peddy spoke out strongly NOT in support of the road-ends:

I'm not certain that most of the people on the island want to spend the money that it takes to get the road ends accessible in accordance with how the committee has been thinking.

I think we should lessen our expectations of what those road-ends look like and not prioritize any of our spending on it.
...
I don't think that a majority of the island feels that road-ends is a big issue.
...
I just think that A majority of the islanders don't feel that road-ends are something the city should be putting a lot of effort into right now.

Ongoing Sign Mayhem

Forgetting Fletcher Landing for a moment, I'm not highly impressed with the Will Peddy for mayor campaign. That's because, from my perspective, despite that there's a Pedddy sign (or four) on nearly every street corner, Mr. Peddy has not communicated his positions on the issues with any specificity.

Suggestion to the Peddy campaign: Add some content to your web site. I get that you want to be mayor. I don't get what you intend to do if you become mayor, other than vague platitudes.

That said...

I deployed a sign at the corner of Miller and New Brooklyn. It was unlawfully removed a week later. The next day there were four Will Peddy signs deployed at the same intersection. (Darn. Just when I thought I had staked out a Peddy-free zone.) Yesterday, the Peddy signs had been vandalized.

The MO was not the same. The Peddy signs were thrown into the bushes, whereas the Free Fletcher Landing sign is missing in action.

Sign vandals are libertopians. They place their own ideals above the law.

Suppressing political speech in this manner is unlawful, counter-democratic, and cowardly.

More Missing Signs

Signs that I have posted regarding Fletcher Landing have been unlawfully removed.

This sign was posted at the corner of Miller and New Brooklyn a week ago. It was removed 2 to 3 days ago.

This sign was posted at the corner of Fletcher Landing and Foster on Saturday, Aug 3. It was removed yesterday. In neither case were the (numerous) other posted signs tampered with -- just the Free Fletcher Landing signs.

A Chat With Mayor K

I went to Farmer's Market this morning and by chance met Mayor Kordonowy, who was seated behind a table and interacting with the public. We had a lively (and enjoyable) discussion.

(While waiting to speak with Mayor K, much discussion ensued regarding development on the island. Even though I wish there would be no new development, I also recognize the rule of law, including the rights of property owners. It's curious how citizens seem to think that The City is a semi-autonomous region, not bound by state or federal law.)

I asked Mayor K to state her position on Fletcher Landing. (She was not as mono-syllabic as this paraphrase indicates.)
_______________________________

Mayor K: When the court ruled in our favor, we were all set to take down the fence. Then came the supersedeas bond which tied the City's hands.

Me: Fair enough. But how does that give The City the right to prevent the public from using the beach? It's a public beach, per every court ruling. Is the public allowed to use the beach?

Mayor K: Yes.

Me: If we leave the fence alone, is there any reason why we can't clear the trail, just like citizens do trail work in Grand Forest?

Mayor K: No.

Me: I intend to quote you. And I have witnesses! [turning to the crowd of 5 or so] All of you are witnesses!

Mayor K: Go right ahead.
_______________________________

From my perspective, Mayor K said all of the right things. I only wish it were (better) on record.

I hope that each mayoral and council candidate will go on record regarding Fletcher Landing and road-ends in general. I intend to solicit and publish their positions.