Whatcom jail campaign season is over, but what will be its legacy? / Letter to the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force

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Click the image of the Wikipedia webpage on Dog whistle (politics) to access the information on the Wikipedia website

November 11, 2023 Dena Jensen

Below is the email I sent to the Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force today:

Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2023, 12:06:47 PM PST

Subject: Whatcom jail campaign season is over but what will be its legacy?

Dear Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force:

It seems apparent that a majority of voters have agreed to an increase in sales tax to fund a new Whatcom County Jail and the other projects noted in the ordinance for the tax associated with Proposition 2023-4. Now that Election Day has passed, I wanted to make sure you were aware of an action the YES! Safe Jail, Healthy Outcomes Political Action Committee took near the end of their campaign to support the sales tax. 

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Whatcom County’s 2023 pro-jail PAC lets their inaccurate allegations stand/ Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the 9/28/23 screenshot to access https://www.facebook.com/VoteYesSafeJailHealthyOutcomes where this 9/15/23 post can be found
Click this 9/28/23 annotated (red oval) screenshot to access the Local Media Coverage list near the bottom of the https://www.yeswhatcomjail.com home page

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.

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Seth Fleetwood: keeping up or falling behind with homeless services? / Noisy Waters Northwest

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https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02rTbWgRaL3nbT9zPz541Kq6kqKAjt8GiYD1y3ARaRBbbTuNwQLdkpngqgPkNSvrB1l&id=100008270613723
https://www.whatcomcounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/75702/2023-PIT-Count-Report?bidId=
https://noisywatersnw.com/2021/07/29/chapter-two-city-staff-and-the-mayor-whatcom-barriers-to-equity-a-review-for-2021-candidates-noisy-waters-northwest/

July 22, 2023 Dena Jensen

For folks who are receiving campaign literature with claims like this one of current Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood’s, “Sustaining and expanding shelters, with a threefold increase in facilities for our unhoused population.” >>>>>>> 

Be sure and do your homework to prevent yourself having illusions of grand services being provided without context for what terms like “threefold increase” really mean related to benefits to the community. In other words, does this mean are we actually getting ahead or falling behind in getting folks into stable living situations?

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Public hearing on jail-first sales tax coming up on 7/11/23 / Noisy Waters Northwest

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July 7, 2023 Dena Jensen

There are two public hearings scheduled for the Tuesday 7/11/23 Whatcom County Council meeting. The one for the sales tax for the jail and services comes first. (The second is about Nooksack River tubing regulations to better protect endangered-species-listed salmon). Here’s the link to the Council meeting agenda: https://whatcom.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=1007093&GUID=EB6D8780-A7ED-41A1-B94C-DAFDD2B40057

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Community voice: Liz Darrow runs for Bellingham City Council Ward 3 / Q&A for Noisy Waters Northwest

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Image of community contributions made during a gathering organized by Liz Darrow for Healthy and Safe Neighborhoods. Darrow is running for Bellingham City Council Ward 3 in the November 2023 election

June 23, 2023 Dena Jensen

The 2023 election season is underway and candidates are busy making themselves known to the community. Liz Darrow is one of those candidates, and is also a person who has been making herself known to the community through her acts of showing up for many years to support and learn from those who live and grapple with challenges in Bellingham and Whatcom County. So much so, that a more home-body type like me, who lives in north Whatcom, has met her in person and is happy to keep getting to know this individual who I am lucky to be able to call a friend.

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Oh joy, let’s bring Universal Healthcare to the 2023 Washington State election ballot / Noisy Waters Northwest

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People wanting to sign a petition to get Initiative 1471 for Universal Healthcare on the 2023 ballot can head to Mallard Ice Cream on Railroad Ave. in downtown Bellingham. Click the image of a Mallard Ice Cream Facebook post displaying a photo of 4 waffle cones full of scooped ice cream and wrappers with the word “Joy” to access the Mallard Ice Cream website.

August 22, 2022 Dena Jensen

Here’s to the opportunity to allow all Washington voters to enroll in non-profit healthcare coverage! Some of our community members are out taking action and organizing right now to ensure that State Initiative 1471 gets enough petition signatures to make it onto the 2023 election ballot so voters can potentially do just that.

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