Speaking at the Rome Grange in Whatcom County, Chuck Cushman put the various county secession campaigns in focus. "What are the three most important most important words in real estate?," he asked the crowd. "Location, location, location!," they immediately chorused back. "What are the three most important words in organizing?," Cushman shot back. There was a long and confused silence. Cushman supplied the answer, "Lists, lists, lists!"
Secession requires valid signatures from 50% of the voters in the proposed new county. This may be an unattainable goal, especially given the economic realities of the tax base, which are firmly rooted in urban areas. The secession drives have placed great emphasis on assessed property values, but this only accounts for less than half of the tax base. The "feasibility" studies done by University of Washington professor Richard O. Zerbe and his graduate students completely neglect this reality.
Like the referendum campaigns, the secession drives are a potent organizing tool. At a meeting of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce in the Spring of 1994, Freedom County leader John Stokes claimed that the Freedom County organization held the "largest mass swearing-in of voter registrars in the history of Snohomish County." The secession drives were highlighted in an analysis of precinct returns in the 1993 Whatcom County election. Though it is unlikely that the ostensible goal of creating new counties will ever be achieved, the petitions are a valuable way of gathering the names of sympathizers and registering new voters.
Failing to obtain the required number of valid signatures is another form of "perpetual grievance" like the other grudges manufactured by Wise Use. They can never be resolved and continue to fester. As he was departing for other pastures in Montana, John Stokes announced that he had gathered the necessary 50% approval from registered voters in northern Snohomish County. The petitions were not submitted to the appropriate authorities until long after he had left the state. When the signatures were finally validated by the Snohomish County Auditor's election staff, the number of valid signatures fell far short of the needed number.
When we asked Ron Arnold about the secession movement, his recollection was that Jim Klauser -- exec.director of SNOCO PRA and founder of the Washington Property Rights Network -- was the first to tell him of the county secession movement:
"...the secession thing came up and I said, 'Come on, give me a break, are you kidding?' Because I didn't know anything about the legal structure for doing that. 'Is that legal?', 'Oh yes, the constitution has provisions for it.' 'Oh really!', so I read it."
Asked why he supported people like Klauser, Arnold said,
"Because I intend to win. I don't fight to lose. And because I know that movement theory is right, that if I help segments along, I'd create leaders. I help leaders. ...There are so many people doing what I need done, but I don't have to sit at their desk."
The situation goes much deeper than this, since Arnold is working at the top level of Wise Use. Below him and the other national Wise Use organizations is a middle level of regional trade associations, business groups and industry lobbying organizations. These groups, such as the Master Builders Association, the various county chapters of the Affordable Housing Council, the local Chambers of Commerce, and realtor's associations, provide the leadership and funding for creating front groups like the Property Rights Alliance, SNOCO PRA, Whatcom CLUE and other so-called grass-roots groups.
These local front groups, which are invariably organized by commercial interests, soon become self-supporting as the industry people like Terre Harris, Jim Klauser, Art Castle, Bruce Ayers, and Bill Geyer distance themselves from the organizations. The majority of people involved in the local front groups never know of the ties to Wise Use, since the creators of the non-profit corporations are usually careful to conceal this information. The members' innocent ignorance is the first line of defense for protecting the credible deniability of Wise Use.
The property rights front groups then "spin-off" (to use Whatcom CLUE's phrase) other organizations like the referendum campaigns, candidates and secession lobbying groups. In most cases, the evasions and denials of the participants are sufficient to misdirect press attention. The secession organizations form the bottom tier of the Wise Use organizational structure in Puget Sound.
Using the tactics and lists that they had developed in the referendum campaigns against critical areas ordinances, the secession petition drives in King, Snohomish and Whatcom Counties rapidly peaked and then got locked into holding actions. Pierce County saw its attempt to form Liberty County die for lack of interest, and Pierce secessionists started to talk of merging with the Cedar committee in King County.
The exposure of the county secession groups activities is detailed in "Steal This State," included in the articles reprinted in Appendix VIII of this report. Since that article was written, the lawsuit by the Cedar County Committee was heard in Thurston County Superior Court. The court ruled that the secession organizations were engaged in lobbying and ordered them to comply with the financial reporting provisions of the public disclosure laws. The Cedar County Committee has appealed the matter to the Washington State Supreme Court. No enforcement action by the Washington Public Disclosure Commission will take place until the Washington State Supreme Court allows the Superior Court ruling to stand or hears the case and delivers a ruling.
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