September 28, 2023 Dena Jensen

We can try, right? And keep trying. Because even when we fail, we learn.

If elected officials and those leading the charge in the political campaign to promote funds to prioritize building a new jail – and in a few years a few new services don’t make amends for inaccuracies in media assertions that can marginalize and discredit, not only people they have worked with on the Justice Project, but an array of voices promoting an end to injustice against themselves and/or their communities, then we discover a bad sign, on top of others, regarding at least some of those pro-new-jail political action committee (PAC) members and the project they are pushing. It helps offer another confirmation to our sense that there is some bad faith in the mix, and to an increasing degree.

A little over a week ago on September 19, 2023, I sent an email to the Whatcom County Council related to issues generally described above, without any action from them apparently forthcoming. Therefore, I wrote to the Yes! Safe Jails, and Healthy Outcomes PAC five days later, on September 23. Both emails are included below:

To: council@co.whatcom.wa.us <council@co.whatcom.wa.us>; Barry Buchanan <bbuchana@co.whatcom.wa.us>; Kathy Kershner <kkershne@co.whatcom.wa.us>; Ben Elenbaas <belenbaa@co.whatcom.wa.us>; Kaylee Galloway <kgallowa@co.whatcom.wa.us>; Todd Donovan <tdonovan@co.whatcom.wa.us>; Tyler Byrd <tbyrd@co.whatcom.wa.us>; Carol Frazey <cfrazey@co.whatcom.wa.us>

Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2023, 04:31:31 PM PDT

Subject: Related to actions taken that can serve to discredit IPRTF members and other Justice Project
participants

Dear Whatcom County Council:

I recently started looking at the Yes! Safe Jail, Healthy Outcomes website. It is a group that alternates in being referred to as a political action committee and a campaign, and it supports the November 2023 ballot measure sales tax. I noticed that County Council Chair Buchanan and Council Member Kershner are listed as a committee members. 

This information has prompted me to write to you all today because there was a guest commentary article published on September 15, 2023 in Cascadia Daily News that was co-written by the Chair of Yes! Safe Jail, Healthy Outcomes, Peter Frazier, and the Co-chair of Whatcom County’s Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force, Stephen Gockley, in which assertions were made that, among other things, opponents to the November 2023 ballot measure sales tax “provide no guidance for expanding treatment capacity quickly or building facilities for new services,” and that they have a “treatment-but-not-jail” approach.

I wrote a post for my blog site detailing numerous examples of how assertions in the 9/15/23 commentary – which cast the guidance and contributions toward treatment and facilities for new services of 2023 sales tax opponents universally in a negative light – are inaccurate. Here is a link to that post: https://noisywatersnw.com/2023/09/17/injustice-in-whatcom-county-the-push-to-marginalize-continues-noisy-waters-northwest/

Furthermore, the assertions in the commentary do a deep disservice and can serve to marginalize many people who are opposed to the sales tax for meaningful reasons, including some who faithfully participated in the Justice Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee and the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force.  

I know from meeting minutes and video that the County Council Chair was present at virtually all of the meetings where some of the 2023 sales tax opponents have made invaluable contributions toward speeding up and developing guidance for treatment capacity and building facilities for new services while supporting efforts to come to an agreement regarding the quality, size, and location of a a new jail facility, among their many other important contributions to the Justice Project and preventing and reducing incarceration.

I also want to point out that some of the people serving in the positions I have noted above are members of already marginalized communities, and that there may be members of communities who have experienced such discrimination who are both opponents to the 2023 ballot measure sales tax and are also those who have offered their experienced input during Justice Project focus groups.

I encourage all County Council Members and Whatcom County IPRTF members to remind themselves of the part of the IPRTF meeting’s Land Acknowledgement which says, “We begin this effort to acknowledge what has been buried by honoring the truth. We pay respect to their elders past and present. Please take a moment to consider the many legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that bring us together here today. And please join us in uncovering such truths at any and all public events.”

Regardless of any Council Members’ positions on the 2023 sales tax, I hope you continue to strive to bridge divides with all people regardless of their positions on the 2023 sales tax, and work together with them for the well-being of the community. It also will be powerful toward that end, to be true to the level of integrity you have shown in various commendable endeavors by making amends for harm done, as in this case, by unsubstantiated aspersions that have been cast on your community members and associates, and by making meaningful efforts to help ensure that any group which you decide to remain part of does not continue to do such harm.

Sincerely, 

Dena Jensen
Birch Bay, WA

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To: safejailhealthyoutcomes@gmail.com <safejailhealthyoutcomes@gmail.com>

Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2023, 06:49:40 PM PDT

Subject: Fw: Related to actions taken that can serve to discredit IPRTF members and other Justice Project participants

Dear Yes! Safe Jail, Healthy Outcomes:

I have been waiting a number of days since I sent the Septembr 19, 2023 email, included below [included above in this blog post], to Whatcom County Council Members, 2 of whom serve on your committee. 

I was hoping to see that those committee members would have alerted you to take down the links to the September 15, 2023 Cascadia Daily News guest commentary written by Yes! Safe Jail, Healthy Outcomes chair, Peter Frazier and Co-chair of Whatcom County’s Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force, Stephen Gockley which mischaracterizes actions of some 2023 ballot measure sales tax opponents by asserting universally that, among other things, “Levy opponents paint a wishful picture without practical solutions. Their treatment-but-not-jail approach offers no answers for handling the high-risk individuals now in jail. They provide no guidance for expanding treatment capacity quickly or building facilities for new services.”

The blanket assertions against Levy opponents in your September 15 commentary can serve to marginalize unknown numbers of people who have offered valuable, practical, and constructive input, proposals, and research – some of which are included in the Justice Project Implementation Plan – but still oppose the tax which you are promoting. And as I pointed out to County Council Members, some of these opponents whose efforts and contributions have been inaccurately portrayed are members of communities who are historically marginalized. 

This is not to mention that there are many opponents to this year’s ballot measure sales-tax who do not have a treatment-but-not-jail approach and yet this was your assertion in the commentary. I am confident that new commentaries can be written by your committee members that do not cast aspersions upon community members in harmful ways and can present factual material instead in order to promote passage of the sales tax. Therefore, I urge you to promptly remove the links to “Voters can have both: a safe jail and more treatment,” that are posted on your Yes! Safe Jail, Healthy Outcomes website homepage, as well as your Facebook page and any other social media where it may be posted. Along with this, I hope you will consider approaching those you know whom the commentary inaccurately portrays and make amends for any potential harm to them.

Also, I wanted to point out that the email address on your website seems to be a sample address, email@example.com. I found the address I am using in this communication on the Public Disclosure Commission.

Sincerely, 

Dena Jensen

Birch Bay, WA

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I became aware yesterday that the chair of the PAC was aware of my email. He did choose to attach an accurate email address to the link for it on their website. However, as shown in the screenshots taken today, September 28, 2023, no action was taken to remove the faulty commentary in question from the Yes! Safe Jail, Healthy Outcomes webpage or Facebook page.