Seemingly emboldened by the recent election results, some local elected officials in Seattle and in two of the largest counties in the state have been eager to propose and vote on various tax hikes before the end of the year. But they didn’t count on the response from constituents they’ve been seeing thanks to your...
Project 42 is pleased to announce Hannah Ordos as its new Future 42 Whatcom County Project Director. Ordos brings a wealth of leadership experience and love for her community through service to this role. You may recognize Ordos as she ran for the Whatcom County at-large council seat in 2023. She is known for her commitment...
Do you use natural gas? Do you support energy choice? Could you afford the $40,000 to $50,000 to retrofit your entire home or business to a more expensive energy source? If this subject is important to you, we need your help. As we have written previously, Governor Inslee signed the Legislature’s bill, HB 1589, effectively allowing Puget Sound...
Do you ever feel like it’s difficult to keep track of local politics? With the busyness of life, it’s hard to volunteer hours in the evening to attend council meetings. Or perhaps you’ve wanted something simple that gives you an overview of what your local leaders voted for to can show to a neighbor. To...
The progressive approaches of “housing first” and “harm reduction” are failing our communities. While taxes increase and hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on these ineffective programs, homelessness, overdose deaths, and drug-associated crime have been on the rise. To counter these harmful progressive approaches, 50+ local elected officials throughout Washington State have signed on...
How did our state legislators vote this year? Learn more in our Whatcom County 2024 Legislative Session Recap. The 60-day 2024 legislative session adjourned on March 7. Legislators debated several important bills during this year’s “short session” that lacked the biennial state budget present in odd-numbered years. Some of the critical policies considered included a plan...
This article originally appeared in Cascadia Daily News. In 1912, Washington state pioneered “direct democracy” as one of the first to formalize an initiative and referendum process, allowing citizens to organize and directly create and reform laws. This gave a voice to people beyond the halls of a distant capitol building. The Secretary of State’s...
Just over half of Whatcom County voters participated (51% voter turnout) in this year’s election that featured key races for County Executive, Mayor of Bellingham, a sales tax increase to address public safety/build a new correction facility, and two, voter-approved initiatives that will impact small businesses in Bellingham. Whatcom Business Alliance engaged on these issues...
It is not always easy to find time to track and then engage on legislative issues that impact you, your family, your business, etc. That is where, working with the Whatcom Business Alliance and their Business Pulse magazine, Future 42 and our new Whatcom County Project can be a helpful resource. Hopefully you were able to track...
This evening, Tuesday, Aug. 8, Councilmember Todd Donovan intends to propose resolution AB2023-518, a “Resolution proposing an amendment to the Whatcom County Charter to define the Sheriff as an appointed rather than elected position.” Following up on our email from last week, this is a significant suggested change, and we need your input. The Whatcom County Council chambers are located...
At the last Whatcom County Council meeting, Councilmember Donovan announced his intentions to submit a resolution that favors appointing – not electing – Whatcom County’s Sheriff. He will likely present this resolution at the August 8th meeting. This unnecessary and damaging policy has been tried in King County, but now Councilmember Donovan wants to bring...
While enjoying the beauty of Whatcom County, you have likely noticed a sharp increase in fuel prices. We want to share our recent op-ed written by Future 42 Whatcom County Project’s leader Simon Sefzik in the Cascadia Daily News that explains the main cause of this increase: Washington State’s new cap-and-trade program. This functions as a tax...
The Downtown Bellingham Partnership and Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce recently launched a community campaign for Public Safety Solutions asking the Mayor and City Council of Bellingham to take action to increase public safety in the City. The petition requests Bellingham’s public officials to increase security personnel in Downtown, work with Whatcom County to ease...