Is the mailer a Public Disclosure Commission violation? I understand from reading a post on NW Citizen that a formal complaint has already been filed, so I assume that we will have an answer to the potential PDC violation question sometime in 2016, after the PDC has had a chance to examine the flyer and all applicable campaign/public information mailing rules.
There is no need for me to write a detailed article on this issue. Other talented writers have already completed detailed research on this issue and posted articles in our local media. But readers should be aware that Sheriff Dart from Cook County estimates that a mentally ill inmate costs somewhere between $300 to $400 to house per day. That's a hefty price to pay for incarcerating the mentally ill. Sheriff Dart is interviewed in the NYT editorial posted at the bottom of this article.
Here's a link to an article written by Samantha Wohlfeil in The Bellingham Herald and another link to Northwest Citizen, where a group of community bloggers and journalists, including former City Council Member, Tip Johnson, have posted articles regarding the adverse impact of Proposition 2015-1, as written, on our community.
Samantha Wohlfeil stated in the October 15th Bellingham Herald article that the budget to pay for the public information piece was approved by the Whatcom County Council in September of 2014, as part of an $825,887 thousand dollar contract amendment with DLR Group, the consultant working on the jail. Council Member Ken Mann said he did not know that the amendment provided funds for a public information mailer. Kudos to Samantha for doing her homework. I always appreciate a well-researched article. Call me old fashioned, but I believe elected officials have an obligation to thoroughly read all proposed legislation, prior to adopting it. After all, the devil is and will always remain in the details. Here is a link to Bellingham Politics and Economics blog, which has also posted a wealth of research on local Criminal Justice statistics.
So, if one or more of our County Council Members were not aware that they approved the funds for the mailer - I can't help but wonder what other line item(s) were in the $825,887 thousand dollar contract amendment that our current Council Members are not aware of?
So, I am recommending that readers vote No on Proposition 2015-1. Or, "Proposition 1" as it is referred to in the recently mailed Whatcom County flyer.
I am confident that Whatcom County can draft a cost-effective proposition that will also include key elements of Community Justice Reform. Reforms that have already been tested and successfully implemented across the state and our great nation. Reforms that are designed to prevent recidivism while saving local, state and federal taxpayers billions and billions of dollars.
Believe it or not. Just this once. We can have it all. A safer jail. A healthier jail population. Treatment for mental illness and a safer workplace for corrections employees. We can also have effective diversion programs and a united community. Please vote No on Proposition 2015-1.
Quick facts about the criminalization of mental illness in the USA:
A recent nationwide study estimates that of the approximately 2.1 million Americans in jail and prison, approximately one in five inmates, are seriously mentally ill. These figures indicate that the number of mentally ill in jails and prisons far outnumber those in the nation's state psychiatric hospitals. In 2002, PCDCC (Pierce County Detention and Corrections Center) mental health professionals (MHP) recorded a total of 12,143 contacts with inmates suffering from a mental disorder.
NYT article: Inside a Mental Hospital Called Jail by Nicholas Kristof
WA ST DSHS Mental Health Services link
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