Comments
Please wait...
Comments are closed.
Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.
is a proud member of the
media network
media network
All contents © Index Newspapers LLC
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
Here's a brief list of the reasons I will never-ever support John Ladenburg for anything…
For years he claimed that “nothing’s broken in Pierce County” when in fact MANY things are broken in Pierce County–and most are associated with the departments that he was responsible for.
A few examples would be:
>> failure to insure that Planning & Land Services (PALS) identified ALL critical/sensitive land and removed ALL from the buildable lands map (as per GMA).
>> failure to insure departments fully enforce the code, such as the dire issue of the majority of Pierce County’s wetlands being destroyed yet the violators have not/are not made to undo the damage they cause, nor fined. Instead, they were, and still are, issued permits to allow them to finish their developments.
>> failure to insure responsible departments complied with NPDES requirements, leaving Pierce County taxpayers at risk of paying the $10,000 (per day) fines which the state can rightfully impose.
>> failure to insure that PALS and Public Works imposed allowable fines for violations of sign code, leaving communities blanketed with illegal, off-premise signs by the thousands–the majority of which belong to the development and real-estate industries. The Council did their part, he never did his.
>> failure to recognize the need for Charter changes, demonstrated by the fact that he wrote or co-wrote the statements against seven of the nine 2006 Charter Amendments–repeatedly saying “The current system has served us well for 25 years”. If this were true, how is it that 21 elected commissions concluded the amendments should be put on the ballot (which The People passed all but two of the amendments as a result)?
>> failure to address and correct the issue of Pierce County’s CrimeWarp (coined by Prosecutor Gerry Horne) which led to a disproportionate number of violent felons being exported to Pierce County for decades.
>> failure to properly support the Sheriff’s Department during his reign, which, while ranking a matched 2nd lowest in the state for LEO-to-citizen ratio, had the responsibility of manning the #1 most violent crime county in the state. Thanks to the passing of Charter Amendment 1 (one which he and the TNT opposed), The People’s vote freed the Sheriff from the Executive, making him/her answerable to The People he/she serves.
>> He not only failed to disclose his stock ownership in Prometa, but at the same time, authorized funding for AND lobbied for even more public funding to support Prometa, earning his second slap on the wrist from the PDC. The first slap was a result of him committing one of the two “biggest violations in the commission’s 30-year history” (PDC quote from a TNT article) when he used public money to pay to create and distribute biased campaign material on Proposition 1 (More Cops Now campaign). He claims that he was “not found guilty”, rather than admitting the truth which is that he was indeed guilty, though got off on a technicality.
>> The NW Detention Center in downtown Tacoma was allowed to be built and opened during both Mr. and Mrs. Ladenburg’s reigns, even though both were well aware of the fact that the facility was being built atop an EPA Superfund site (see http://tinyurl.com/9opyv6) —and, without-permits, and without the knowledge or oversight of EPA or DOE, contractors drilled and augured through the contamination “cap” in preparation of a 545-bed expansion project (see http://tinyurl.com/af86ba), releasing known cancer-causing carcinogens (visible to the naked eye via bio swells).
>> Ladenburg, as he was terming-out as Pierce County Executive, crafted a 27-year, near two-billion dollar solid-waste contract with private, for-profit landfill owners/operators ( see http://tinyurl.com/almjtn). As reported by The News Tribune, Mr. Ladenburg financially benefited from this “deal” (see http://tinyurl.com/bt897s). In addition to this, Ladenburg overstepped his authority by drafting and sending an eminent domain threat letter to members of a community adjacent to the landfill.
>> The Washington State Native Plant Society, who fought hard to protect ecologically-sensitive lands and habitat from Ladenburg’s proposed development, said in their Fall 2007 newsletter (The Acorn, page 7 – see http://tinyurl.com/an8793): "Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, unwilling to accept our success, threatened to resign from his position of Sound Transit board chair, and veto the entire roads and transit package if cross-base was not included. Executive Ladenburg is a skilled, tenacious, and stubborn politician. By the time it came to a final vote at the RTID Planning Committee meeting on June 8th, it was apparent that the political will was gone, and potentially our victory."
The above is a sampling of reasons why John Ladenburg SHOULD NOT be voted in as our A.G.
If Ladenburg is to "win" the A.G. seat, he will no doubt have the ease and ability to continue "covering-up" the wrongs he's either committed himself, or allowed to be committed, or neglected to correct.
Ladenburg has, on several occasions, has accused me of lying about how poorly he “managed” Pierce County. That’s par for Ladenburg, though – instead of ever admitting a mistake, he tries to discredit people who disagree with him or his supporters.
Stacy Emerson
Pierce County, WA
Here's a brief list of the reasons I will never-ever support John Ladenburg for anything…
For years he claimed that “nothing’s broken in Pierce County” when in fact MANY things are broken in Pierce County–and most are associated with the departments that he was responsible for.
A few examples would be:
>> failure to insure that Planning & Land Services (PALS) identified ALL critical/sensitive land and removed ALL from the buildable lands map (as per GMA).
>> failure to insure departments fully enforce the code, such as the dire issue of the majority of Pierce County’s wetlands being destroyed yet the violators have not/are not made to undo the damage they cause, nor fined. Instead, they were, and still are, issued permits to allow them to finish their developments.
>> failure to insure responsible departments complied with NPDES requirements, leaving Pierce County taxpayers at risk of paying the $10,000 (per day) fines which the state can rightfully impose.
>> failure to insure that PALS and Public Works imposed allowable fines for violations of sign code, leaving communities blanketed with illegal, off-premise signs by the thousands–the majority of which belong to the development and real-estate industries. The Council did their part, he never did his.
>> failure to recognize the need for Charter changes, demonstrated by the fact that he wrote or co-wrote the statements against seven of the nine 2006 Charter Amendments–repeatedly saying “The current system has served us well for 25 years”. If this were true, how is it that 21 elected commissions concluded the amendments should be put on the ballot (which The People passed all but two of the amendments as a result)?
>> failure to address and correct the issue of Pierce County’s CrimeWarp (coined by Prosecutor Gerry Horne) which led to a disproportionate number of violent felons being exported to Pierce County for decades.
>> failure to properly support the Sheriff’s Department during his reign, which, while ranking a matched 2nd lowest in the state for LEO-to-citizen ratio, had the responsibility of manning the #1 most violent crime county in the state. Thanks to the passing of Charter Amendment 1 (one which he and the TNT opposed), The People’s vote freed the Sheriff from the Executive, making him/her answerable to The People he/she serves.
>> He not only failed to disclose his stock ownership in Prometa, but at the same time, authorized funding for AND lobbied for even more public funding to support Prometa, earning his second slap on the wrist from the PDC. The first slap was a result of him committing one of the two “biggest violations in the commission’s 30-year history” (PDC quote from a TNT article) when he used public money to pay to create and distribute biased campaign material on Proposition 1 (More Cops Now campaign). He claims that he was “not found guilty”, rather than admitting the truth which is that he was indeed guilty, though got off on a technicality.
>> The NW Detention Center in downtown Tacoma was allowed to be built and opened during both Mr. and Mrs. Ladenburg’s reigns, even though both were well aware of the fact that the facility was being built atop an EPA Superfund site (see http://tinyurl.com/9opyv6) —and, without-permits, and without the knowledge or oversight of EPA or DOE, contractors drilled and augured through the contamination “cap” in preparation of a 545-bed expansion project (see http://tinyurl.com/af86ba), releasing known cancer-causing carcinogens (visible to the naked eye via bio swells).
>> Ladenburg, as he was terming-out as Pierce County Executive, crafted a 27-year, near two-billion dollar solid-waste contract with private, for-profit landfill owners/operators ( see http://tinyurl.com/almjtn). As reported by The News Tribune, Mr. Ladenburg financially benefited from this “deal” (see http://tinyurl.com/bt897s). In addition to this, Ladenburg overstepped his authority by drafting and sending an eminent domain threat letter to members of a community adjacent to the landfill.
>> The Washington State Native Plant Society, who fought hard to protect ecologically-sensitive lands and habitat from Ladenburg’s proposed development, said in their Fall 2007 newsletter (The Acorn, page 7 – see http://tinyurl.com/an8793): "Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, unwilling to accept our success, threatened to resign from his position of Sound Transit board chair, and veto the entire roads and transit package if cross-base was not included. Executive Ladenburg is a skilled, tenacious, and stubborn politician. By the time it came to a final vote at the RTID Planning Committee meeting on June 8th, it was apparent that the political will was gone, and potentially our victory."
The above is a sampling of reasons why John Ladenburg SHOULD NOT be voted in as our A.G.
If Ladenburg is to "win" the A.G. seat, he will no doubt have the ease and ability to continue "covering-up" the wrongs he's either committed himself, or allowed to be committed, or neglected to correct.
Ladenburg has, on several occasions, has accused me of lying about how poorly he “managed” Pierce County. That’s par for Ladenburg, though – instead of ever admitting a mistake, he tries to discredit people who disagree with him or his supporters, even when it's all verifiable information.
Stacy Emerson
Pierce County, WA
And how about his dealings with the bankrupt Cascadia Development? You would think it would be clear that his "Too Big To Fail" take on this development has huge ethical problems and conflicts of interest coming out his ears! Wasn't he supposed to be representing the people? Mr. Ladenburg has demonstrated his ethical lapses with his legal representation of this development corporation in its bankruptcy proceedings as their attorney. Costing the taxpayers of Pierce County 10's of thousands in lost tax dollars.
He then became the COO(Chief Operating Officer)of the Cascadia Development! That is tantamount to a slap in the face of every resident in Pierce County who has ever voted him into office or not! At a minimum it reeks as a severe conflict of interest and a betrayal of the public trust for any politician to behave in this way!
Does our local newspaper cover any stories like this? Hell no!
Business as usual in Pierce County government! Good grief!
Yeah I'm with ya...he's not the type of politician we need as the AG!