Olympia Considers Trump Impeachment Investigation

Above: Supporters of Puget Sound Communities 4 Impeachment call for the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump outside Olympia City Hall on Tuesday evening. 

Council to Send Letter to State Congressional Delegation Asking for Investigation into Trump’s Activities

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A resolution calling upon the House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings and investigate President Donald J. Trump’s alleged wrongdoings was up for consideration at Tuesday evening's Olympia city council meeting. 

Fourteen cities nationwide, from Los Angeles, California to Newton, Massachusetts, have passed resolutions calling for an the initiation of impeachment proceedings.

But in a 4 - 3 vote, council members voted to send just a letter to Washington State's congressional representatives asking them to call for an investigation into impeachment. 

Mayor Cheryl Selby and Councilmembers Hankins, Bateman, and Roe voted for just sending the letter, with Councilmembers Nathaniel Jones, Clark Gilman, and Jim Cooper voting for the resolution and letter.

Council entertained the possibility of spending more time drafting a resolution after gathering more public input.

With the item pulled from the consent calendar, Councilmember Julie Hankins proposed a motion to not pass the resolution and instead send a letter to Washington State congressional representatives asking them to call for the investigation.

Councilmember Jeannine Roe, who said she is troubled by the actions of the president in “style and actions,” asked staff for clarification on the difference between the resolution and the letter.

Olympia city manager Steve Hall admitted that the resolution was hastily written with firm statements of criminal wrongdoing by President Trump that have not yet been verified, saying the resolution “goes deeper” than a letter.

Several councilmembers said they wanted it put on the record that they have heard constituent’s concerns about President Trump’s activities.

Saying he found no joy in discussing the issue, when it comes to matters of law and misconduct by an elected leader, “it’s our responsibility to voice our concerns into possible illegal activities and obstructing justice,” said Councilmember Nathaniel Jones.

“It’s clear to reasonable people that laws are being broken,” said Councilmember Clark Gilman.

During public comment, several community members spoke in favor of combining the power of a resolution and a letter to congressional representatives.

Phil Schulte was the lone speaker who said that the whole matter was a federal issue, not a city issue, and suggested that the question of a resolution in support of calling for an investigation be placed on the ballot so citizens can decide if it’s appropriate or not.

Bonnie Jones, of Olympia, started a group called Puget Sound Communities 4 Impeachment and was the first to speak before council. 

The group's mission is to ask the Olympia City Council to adopt a resolution calling on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to open an impeachment investigation of President Trump, based on his alleged violations of the U.S. Constitution.

Jones told Little Hollywood before the council meeting that she has been politically active before, but has never been the leader of an organization. She felt compelled to act because she feels the country is in peril. She hoped Olympia would be the first city in the Pacific Northwest to recommend impeachment proceedings. 

Her husband, Marc Jones, also spoke in support of the resolution and a letter to congressional representatives.

“…So why an impeachment resolution six months into a presidential term? The resolution addresses two matters: emoluments and obstruction of justice….Emoluments….Is it skin cream? Is it candy?” he began, eliciting chuckles from the audience in the packed council chambers.

“The issue of emoluments was serious business to the writers of our Constitution. They feared Presidents using the office to enrich themselves. They feared foreign interests influencing the President through bribery….They put clauses into both Article I and Article II of the Constitution that basically said ‘no’ to emoluments. Since then, many statutes and ethics rules have been put in place to reinforce this….

“Our problem is we now have a President who acts as if he is not bound by any of this. He refuses to reveal the extent of his financial interests here and abroad. He refuses to divest those interests…He claims it sufficient to turn things over to a trust run by his sons. But the sole legal beneficiary of that trust is himself. That is not a blind trust.  That is not divestment.

“He can take actions that benefit him financially. Foreign entities have paths to either enrich or financially threaten him. That is what the Founders feared. This is what the Emoluments Clauses were meant to prevent. I believe this situation is not just illegal. I believe it is dangerous. This situation must be investigated,” said Jones.

The Olympia city council often comments and acts upon national and international issues.

In early June, the city stated that it was “highly disappointed” in the decision of the Trump Administration to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. 

“The City was proud to participate in the Paris Climate Summit and remains strongly committed to the global effort against climate change. In 2015, the City joined the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. In doing so, Olympia joined with more than 7,000 other cities all around the world committing to bold action on climate change. The decision by the Trump Administration only strengthens our resolve that leadership must continue to come from local communities,” said a press release.

By resolution in December, 2016, the City of Olympia declared itself a sanctuary city that will serve and protect its residents regardless of their immigration status, and refuse any requests that are an extension of any federal immigration policy enforcement actions.

Above: Sharon Herting and Robert Lovitt, members of the South Sound Buddhist Peace Fellowship, made their opinions known outside Olympia city hall Tuesday evening. Herting's sign says, “We want positive leadership.” Lovitt's sign says, “Sending him prayers and loving kindness - resisting his policies.”

Lovitt, who was wearing a “Nixon Now” button, said Nixon was a sweetheart compared to President Trump.“It’s not about hating Trump. I really feel sorry for him, actually, because he is so unaware of how he harms others. I support democracy and don’t want to see its erosion,” said Lovitt.

Big Money in Politics: WAmend Initiative Efforts Begin Again

 

Above: President Andrew Jackson says, "Not To Be Used For Buying Elections" - Amend the Constitution

 

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A new and improved initiative to get big money out of politics has Washington  Coalition to Amend the Constitution (WAmend) organizers in Olympia motivated, once again, to start the signature collection process. The group had its first public strategy meeting Thursday evening.

The Move to Amend organization seeks to overrule the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision which declared in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission that a corporation is a person and unlimited campaign money is free speech. If successful, it would make Washington State the 17th state to ask that Congress pass a 28th Amendment to overrule the decision.

Formerly called I-1329, the new initiative is easy to understand, say WAmend organizers. The new initiative language stills needs a number, and is expected to soon be approved by the state Attorney General and Secretary of State.

“The new language is better because it is far shorter – fewer words than the old 1329, by more than half. Our aim in penning this new version is to minimize, or avoid altogether, language which could be misinterpreted, polarizing or partisan. The new language takes into consideration language which has been successfully passed in over one dozen states,” says Michael Savoca, acting chair of the Olympia Chapter of WAmend.

“We endeavored to craft language that would unite people on both the left and the right,” says Savoca, who participated in the initiative’s rewrite, a process that took WAmend steering committee organizers about three months.

Savoca intends to hold monthly meetings and coordinate volunteers to collect the estimated 300,000 signatures needed for the initiative’s placement on a statewide ballot.The deadline to collect signatures is at the end of December.

New Initiative Strategy

In early January, Fix Democracy First! and Move On organizers showed the movie Pay to Play, a film about the corrupting influence of money in politics, which successfully galvanized a standing room only crowd at downtown Olympia’s Traditions Fair Trade to begin focused, local organizing efforts.

Activists took time to examine its efforts and discuss lessons learned from the last signature gathering process. The campaign fell short, generating about 175,000 signatures: there was little time for volunteers to gather enough signatures and little to no money to advertise or pay signature gatherers.

Unlike the last initiative, which went straight to the voters, this year’s strategy for success means that this initiative, when certified as having enough signatures, will be submitted to the Legislature at its regular session in January of 2016. 

Signature gathering will take place during all of 2015, from April until December.  Activists are ready to start gathering signatures as soon as possible, says Savoca.

An over-simplified explanation of the new strategy process means that the Legislature can pass it as written, bring it to a vote, or change it.

After the initiative is submitted to the Legislature, the Legislature can take one of three options:

• The Legislature can adopt the initiative as it has been proposed by the public and in this case it becomes law without it a vote by the people;

• The Legislature can reject the proposed initiative or refuse to act on it and in this case the initiative must be placed on the ballot for the state’s next general election;

• The Legislature can approve an amended version of the proposed initiative and this this case both the amended and the original versions of the bill will appear on the state’s next general election ballot.

Above: Jennifer Sprague, Olympia, collected thousands of signatures for last year's initiative to the people to overturn the Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court ruling. She's ready to do it again this year!

Efforts United

Olympia WAmend activist Jennifer Sprague collected thousands of signatures for last year’s initiative. She said she found it easy and fun.

“I collected 200 signatures in one afternoon before the Procession of the Species,” said Sprague.

Savoca and Sprague encourage activists to track several pieces of state legislation this session that affect campaign finance reform.

A rally held January 21 at the State Capitol marked the fifth year anniversary of the Citizens United decision. Several statewide organizations participated, including WashPIRG, Fix Democracy First! (formerly Washington Public Campaigns), WAmend, and the Backbone Campaign.

Representative Andy Billig (D-3) spoke to his proposed legislation, SB5153, that would serve to increase transparency in elections by requiring greater reporting of who gives to political campaigns.

Senate Joint Memorial 8002, sponsored by state Senator Bob Hasegawa (D-11), urges Congress to pass a U.S. Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United. It has 12 co-sponsors.

Sprague says she asked Representative Sam Hunt (D-22) to co-sponsor the Senate’s companion bill, HJM 4004, and is pleased that he has done so. A first reading of the bill occurred February 2 and was referred, subject to approval, to the State Government Committee. Hunt is chair of the House State Government Committee. HJM 4004 has 34 co-sponsors, including Representative Chris Reykdal (D-22).

Koch Brothers Threaten Washington State Senator Murray

In an email sent yesterday to constituents, Washington State Senator Patty Murray said the Koch Brothers are planning to go after her Democratic seat and spend a billion dollars up front to buy her office.

“You and I now have an opponent in my re-election campaign: the Koch brothers. There wasn't a flashy press conference or anything, but a week ago, at a secretive meeting in California, the Koch brothers announced that they are going to spend nearly $900 million on the next election…and some of that money is going to be heading to Washington State.

“….David and Charles Kochs' names won't actually be on the ballot in Washington state, but their fingerprints are going to be ALL over this election. With close to $1 billion to spend, and only nine incumbent Democratic senators, they're sure to spend millions to try to repeat their 2014 success,” says the Murray email.

Olympia activist Bev Bassett received Murray’s email. Wearing several buttons, saying No Oil Trains, Bassett attended the WAmend meeting Thursday night. She said she worked “half-assed and half-hearted” on last year’s campaign. This time, she will work harder to collect signatures for the initiative.

Citing the interconnectedness of all local issues, Bassett said, “Big money clouds everything. It makes our politicians answerable to corporations, not us….Now, Patty Murray is not perfect, I'll be the first to say, but she is not as bad as, say, Mitch McConnell, who is completely owned by the wealthy interests.

“….So many times in my lifetime I have looked at our political situation and thought, ‘It could not be worse.’ And now, it’s worse. I believe that we no longer have the luxury of prioritizing any issue below the issue of big money in politics. It has already cost us most of our democracy, and what little we have left of it is circling the drain. So, while we still have a Constitutional framework to work with to make positive change, I am working with WAmend,” said Bassett.

Move to Amend organizers will meet monthly, and will host an upcoming event, “Challenging Corporate Rule and Creating Democracy,” with national spokesperson David Cobb on Thursday, February 12, 7:00 p.m., at Traditions Fair Trade, 300 5^th Avenue, in downtown Olympia.

For more information about the Washington State Legislature, specific bills and members, go to www.leg.wa.gov.

To read more about the difference between an initiative to the Legislature and an initiative to the people, go to:  http://participedia.net/en/methods/washington-state-initiative-process

For more information about the initiative or future Olympia area meetings, contact Michael Savoca at (360) 951-6518 or go to www.WAmend.org.

Previous Little Hollywood articles about WAmend and getting big money out of politics can be found by typing keywords into the search engine at Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com.

Crazy Faith Pastor Ben Charles Fined For Using Downtown Parking Lot; Hearing Today

Above: Crazy Faith Outreach pastor Ben Charles, right, meets with his wife, Denise, and his attorney, David Roland, before his civil infraction hearing this morning at the Lee Creighton Justice Center in Olympia. Charles was cited and fined on June 19 in violation of a city code for using a downtown parking lot without a permit to serve food to street people.

 

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The City of Olympia came prepared for battle this morning at a civil infraction hearing against Crazy Faith Outreach pastor Ben Charles.

Charles was cited on June 19 by the City of Olympia and the Olympia Police Department for using a downtown parking lot without a permit. Crazy Faith was using the lot to feed street people, an activity they have done for about four years. The city owned lot in question is on the corner of Washington and State streets, located across from the Intercity Transit station.

Charles was fined $103. The citation was not given to Charles directly, but mailed to a reservation address. Charles is a member of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

The city was represented by attorney Jeffrey Myers with assistance by deputy city attorney Darren Nienaber. Presenting multiple exhibits over the objections of Charles’ attorney, Myers worked to illustrate that the city has informed Charles and Crazy Faith Outreach that they are in violation of city code OMC 10.16.140, as passed by the Olympia city council in December 2013. The city stated that it has offered alternative locations for Crazy Faith to conduct its mission of feeding street people.

The city ordinance states, in part, that lots may only be used for parking, unless an activity is authorized by a city issued permit, lease or unless the activity is conducted by the city. Crazy Faith uses the parking lot for its service to feed those who come on Thursday and Saturday evenings.

Charles is being represented by former Olympia based Freedom Foundation constitutional rights attorney David Roland, who is now with the Freedom of Missouri.  Roland requested that the case be dismissed, challenged the amount fined, and found inconsistencies in Officer Paul Lower’s report.

Given 20 minutes notice, Municipal Judge Christopher Coker presided over the case, replacing Judge Scott Ahlf, after Ahlf revealed a possible conflict of interest.

The non-traffic civil infraction hearing often felt like a criminal trial, and lasted one and a half hours.

While Myers produced maps, email exchanges, and letters, Roland raised multiple objections that the city was trying to call into question matters that were beyond the scope of the citation. At one point, after Myers asked Charles if he had a permit through the state department of health, and whether or not he believed in the Bible, even Judge Coker asked where Meyers was going in his line of questioning. 

Roland also pointed out inconsistencies in Olympia Police Department Lieutenant Paul Lower’s report. Lower, who has been with the department for about 18 years, is assigned to walking patrols and specialty operations with a focus on downtown.

Although Lower checked the box on the citation indicating that he had checked Charles’ identification, Lt. Lower testified on the stand that in fact he did not check Charles’ identification on that evening, but had on a prior occasion.

In his report, Lower wrote that, “he (Charles) arrived with a large white van…from this van he and other members of his group unloaded large tents and multiple tables and merchandise….” Roland questioned the use of the word “merchandise,”  and Lower admitted that he didn’t know what word to use, but the “merchandise” was in fact food, and there was no buying or selling observed.

Lower also said that he had spoken with City Manager Steve Hall and city attorneys prior to issuing the citation, and that Hall and city attorneys knew that he was going to issue a citation that evening.

Crazy Faith Continues Its Mission
 

Crazy Faith has continued to serve food and beverages to street people since the citation was issued.

“It gets busy toward the end of each month,” said Charles outside the courtroom before the hearing.

“A lot of folks are now telling me that their hours, if they work, are being cut to 25 hours a week. We’re feeding 4,400 servings of food per month. There’s still a great need. Not only is the physical food a benefit, but I believe we are providing emotional and spiritual support as well.”

Crazy Faith supporters Amy and Shea Renecker joined Charles and his wife Denise before the hearing. They said they have been helping serve food with Crazy Faith for almost a year. They said that Papa John's Pizza on the Westside has been especially generous in providing food.

“It’s a service that’s desperately needed in our community – we bring our daughter down and she serves the drinks,” said Shea Renecker.

“The Crazy Faith feed is a safe place, a neutral area. We’re feeding people. It’s a peaceful gathering where people get fellowship. If you need to pray for something, come….” The Reneckers dispute reports that the feeds have posed any problem to downtown businesses.

“We have contact with the Olympia Police Department all the time. They walk on through just to see if everything is o.k. There’s never been an arrest at one of our feeds. We’re being part of the solution to downtown crime. The Harlequin Theater manager even says there’s less crime on the nights we’re here….” said Renecker.

After the hearing, attorney David Roland said that he suspects the city is using Charles as a test case, and that the city hasn’t taken further action against Charles because it wants to see what their next step should be.

“I find it appalling that (the city) wants to reserve this space for a 'better class' citizen. Not everyone can afford cars. The city can’t condition a constitutional right to gather as long as they are peaceful and that’s the definition of what Crazy Faith has been doing – they are doing this for a laudable purpose.”

Judge Coker said he would issue a decision in the case in about a week.

For more information about Ben Charles and the mission of Crazy Faith Outreach, go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and use the search button for past stories.