SULTAN'S ANONYMOUS "CONCERNED CITIZEN(S)"
Following in the time-honored tradition of Sultan's traditional method of politicking: Anonymous harassment and intimidation
The term, "Concerned Citizen," first made itself known -- er, I guess, more accurately, "not known" -- to Sultan's voters and taxpayers in October, 2001 (before that year's council elections) by distributing anonymous, libelous hit-piece flyers to residents' doorsteps. Click here to read some of those flyers.
After a call to the PDC (Public Disclosure Commission), Derek Boyd (Boucher) came forward as the culprit, thereafter signing the flyers. They were at least partially successful, as they derailed Sultan Planning Commissioner Ron Kraut's bid for a council seat against Derek's brother, Dusty Boucher, as well as current councilwoman Cindy Broughton's bid against Rob Criswell. The Criswell-Broughton election resulted in a two recounts, the denouement of which ended in a coin toss which wouldn't have been necessary had non-Sultan resident Rusty Drivstuen and his wife (who were actually Monroe residents at the time) not illegally voted.
As most of us are aware, it's easier to plant the seeds of voter doubt using lies and mistruths and win the election, than to run a clean and honest campaign, lose, but be vindicated later. It seems to be the American Way. Moreover, it's human nature because of what remains of the largely-uninformed, certainly-disenchanged and -apathetic voter base.
"Concerned Citizen" then began writing for Kenton Coy's one-year wonder, The Sky Valley Weekly. Then CC disappeared, we thought and hoped, forever. CC's spirit, at least, was revived Phoneix-like in the Boucher-published The Valley Review, a bi-monthly newspaper, as a political platform for the views of the Bouchers. Sultan Councilmen Derek Boyd and Dusty Boucher were, and still are, liberal content contributors to TVR.
Now comes a third (and fourth, depending on your point of view) iteration of "Concerned Citizen," the identify of which is a mystery. Who is Its/His/Her/Their latest victim? Planning Commissioner Josie Fallgatter and her husband, Mark. She is taking her turn in the CC public stocks for "wrong-doing"; i.e., delaying or thwarting the financial self-interests of some of Sultan's finest S.I.R.E.s (Self Interests Rule All). She is, however, only one in a long line of victims who have preceded her: Debbie Copple, Mark Raney, Ron Kraut, Jeff Everett, Cindy Broughton, John Dick, Jeff Kirkman and yours truly and her husband, Ray Kistenmacher, and others.
July, 2004 Iteration of Concerned Citizen
A packet of documentation (Acrobat, 116 kb) from an anonymous source, identified only as "Concerned Citizens, Sultan, Wasington" was sent to Sultan's Council and Planning Commissioner Members. Below are our comments on this action, published on our front page July 26, 2004:
" Welcome back, "Concerned Citizen"! Whomever he, she, they or it may be. We have been told by one of our sources that this/these person(s), paper bag placed firmly over their head(s), is once again using this anonymous name. This "Concerned Citizen" moniker has been trotted out numerous times in Sultan's past and is meant to convey a deep, abiding, and unselfish concern for all Sultan citizens. In its current form, "Concerned Citizen" is attached to an ANONYMOUS hit piece sent via the U. S. Mail, defaming a Sultan Planning Commissioner, one who has been standing up for what's right rather than holding out their hand to grab financial goodies. Our take on this? Yawn. It's a spitball projectile fired from the back of a grade school classroom. We can't help but wonder what "Concerned Citizen" is so concerned about. It's safe to say that if someone will not to take responsibility for the "facts" they wish to communicate to others, then they are not only cowardly bullies, but liars as well. (But, then, history has shown that the most important tools in a bully's arsenal are lies spread through skulking, stealth and harassment. Good job, fellows! And welcome back....Again.]
Update 7-27: Yesterday afternoon we obtained copies of an anonymous 7-23-04 letter of complaint sent to Sultan Council and Planning Commission members, consisting of a packet of virtually-unreadable, poorly-copied documents, along with a cover sheet/letter and a copy of a 2-17-04 anonymous letter sent to Mayor Tolson February 17, 2004. Whomever sent these letters is advocating for the removal of Josie Fallgatter from Sultan's Planning Commission, as well as Josie's husband, Mark Fallgatter, who "purports to be some sort of inspector." (Mr. Fallgatter works for a jurisdiction other than Sultan.) The letterhead on both letters reads "Concerned Citizens Sultan, Washington," and reflect no signature(s), address or phone number. The subject of the letter was "Illegal Structure on Fallgatter Property," and concerns construction of "...an addition of a second floor without first obtaining the required building permit(s)...." The then-Fallgatters had, apparently, begun to renovate an already-existing out-building by adding a second story. (Sultan Plng. Commish Josie Fallgatter was not involved legally in any of these actions.) The then-Fallgatters were court-ordered to obtain a building permit, which they did. The Fallgatters are currently in posssession of a valid building permit for this renovation, which expires October, 2005. We will be posting these two letters a bit later.
The key issue here is harassment masquerading as an unselfishly-directed -- noble, even -- call to action by Mayor Tolson and the Sultan Planning Commission and Council, by an anonymous person, or group of persons, whose motivations are so transparent we can name at least some of them even without their signatures, yet they feared to sign their names. The only way this involves Josie Fallgatter is that her single-minded determination to try and save some semblance of the future quality of life for Sultan citizens, is causing them delays in slam-dunking through their developer-friendly codes. She, and others, have opposed codes that deeply affect current and future Sultan residents, such as the Open/Green Space revisions unwisely passed at the last council meeting. Such codes reflect a strong pro-Barclays North, pro-"more-money-for-us-Less-green-space-for-you" position. Keep it up guys. Who do you think you're fooling?
If this individual/group of individuals truly want action, then I suggest they come forward during tomorrow night's [July 28, 2004] council meeting, as sincerely-"outraged" men and women would do, and present their case in a bare-faced, courageous manner. Then, perhaps, someone will at least listen to their groundless complaints. "