Re Change of venue for Ken Berger's Recall hearing (originally scheduled for 9:30 a.m., 3/21st in Snohomish Superior court, it was changed at the last minute to Skagit Co. Superior court on Friday, March 23rd at 2:00 PM

• Monroe Councilman Ken Berger's recall hearing has changd venues - The hearing to decide legal and factual sufficiency of recall charges against Ken Berger were set for 9:30 a.m., March 21st in Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett. It was changed at the last minute. Petitioners were only advised via letter, received via regular mail the night before (March 20, 2007- (691 kb, pdf). The new venue is:

2:00 PM Friday, Skagit Superior Court, 205 West Kincaid, Ste. 202, Mount Vernon

Will someone please scream, "Ppreposterous!" so I won't have to waste my breath? Recalls by the people are supposed to be citizen-centric. Does that include the non-existant communication (not to mention the lack of basic courtesy) by the court to the citizen-petitioners, or the -non-existant advance notice of the 12th Hour change of venue, or the change of venue to such a non-citizen-friendly time and place (i.e., by the time the hearing is completed, Friday night rush hour on both I-5 and U. S. 2 will be in full swing, 50 miles north of the City of Monroe.)

The answer to the change in venue was given by Snohomish County Court Judge Wynne: Berger practices law in Snohomish County. However, because Mr. Berger worked on the election campaign of sitting Snohomish Superior Court Judge Lucas, they wished to avoid any appearnce of fairness questions.