Attn: Prosecutor Janice Ellis, Gordon Sivley

Dear Ms. Ellis and Mr. Sivley:

I am in receipt of Auditor Terwilliger's June 5th letter to you, detailing his findings of fact and his conclusion that this matter be reviewed and action taken by the Prosecutor's Office.

I am writing you, Ms. Ellis, and Mr. Sivley (with whom I spoke briefly following the June 3rd hearing on this matter), to offer information that I hope will encourage you to take swift and firm action in fulfilling the spirit and intent of the Secretary of State-requested and legislature-passed enhancements to the voter fraud statutes.

1. Mr. Drivstuen and his wife, Jana, are well-known in the Sky Valley, particularly in Sultan. They are well-respected, considering their position of influence as major business owners in Sultan, and developer-hopefuls and part owners of the Eddie Bauer annexation near Gold Bar. Additionally, Mr. Drivstuen is a charter member of the Highway 2 Safety Coalition, currently Chaired by Sultan Police Chief Fred Walser. They are intelligent, well-educated individuals, deeply involved in the Sultan political arena, and have been for many years.
2. As you may be aware, citizens who champion legal and professional governance for the Sultan people have been sacrificing significant personal resources (finances, time, volunteer effort and other talents) to bring Sultan to a professional and accountable leadership. The recent ProSultan Change of Government ballot issue was a direct result of this continuing effort to bring Sultan into the Year 2003.
3. The last 2001 city council final election results ended in a tied vote. A mandatory recount was won by Ms. Broughton with a 5-vote margin. However, Mr. Rob Criswell requested a second recount. Mr. Criswell is a an almost-rabid champion of Mayor Rowe's actions. That recount ended in another tie, the coin toss won by Mr. Criswell, and the balance of power then weighted toward C. H. Rowe's administration and the "status quo" of Sultan. That coin toss would not have been necessary, had the Drivstuens not voted.
4. The Drivstuens were publicly known to be pro-Rowe, pro-Criswell, and supporting political signs to that effect graced their Sultan business, the Mountainview Chevron.
5. Because of the coin-toss denouement of the 2001 election, Sultan's future landscape has been, and will continue to be, forged by the developer-heavy interests in Sultan, of which the Drivstuens have long been an active partner. This situation has left many, perhaps most, family-oriented residents feeling disenfranchised.
6. If Cindy Broughton had won, many of us believe the city's future would look significantly different than it might had the legislative sculpting it has undergone over the last two years not occurred.

I am respectfully requesting that you review this charge, not only when reflecting upon the Drivtsuens' full awareness of their actions, but also in light of the wrongs they have perpetrated on the greater Sultan community, all of the thousands of good-hearted, non-special interest, non-moneyed families who have been hurt by their willful actions. Had he any honor, Mr. Drivstuen would have come forward after the coin toss to declare his voting status and voluntarily re-register in Monroe. At that point the election could have been challenged. Now it cannot.

I'm also requesting that you review this charge by keeping in mind that this is not a single action, an anomaly, but part of a clear pattern of previous corrupted behavior of many "older" Sultan politicos. As I told Mr. Sivley following the hearing, it is this "gray" area of behavior growing within America -- actions that are simply overlooked or glossed over when "good" people do bad things -- which is a major reason for the need for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

But even if you ignore the mitigating circumstances offered above and use only the criteria contained with Mr. Terwilliger's letter -- voting with full knowledge they are ineligible -- your decision should be an easy one: you must find them guilty of voter fraud. I believe those in powerful and influential positions, whether elected or achieving that status by personal action, have the moral duty to set a high example for others, not harvest favor by their elevated position.

Thank you for your serious consideration, and, we hope, appropriate action, of the egregious fraud perpetrated against the people of Sultan.

Sincerely,

Loretta Storm
Co-founder, G.R.I.T.
(Governmental Responsibility, Integrity and Truth)
www.ittakesgrit.org
360-793-6684
33520 - 116th Street S. E., Sultan, WA 98294