Commissioner may have a conflict of interest
Letter to the Sequim Gazette Editor
The Happy Valley Gravel Pit initially caught my attention before my interest in the reopening of Towne Road. This letter to the Editor was published in the August 23rd, 2023 Sequim Gazette:
County Commissioner Mark Ozias recently attended a meeting of Happy Valley residents that voiced concerns about a proposed mining site and said, “I shared all of the same concerns” (“Proposed mining operation worries neighbors,” Sequim Gazette, Aug. 9, page A-1, and in Peninsula Daily News).
According to Ozias’ own documentation, “There is no apparent immediate need for the supply of this material.”
Ozias serves this area of Clallam County in his commissioner capacity, but the article neglected to mention that he also lives just a few doors down from the proposed gravel pit.
I appreciate community members uniting for a common cause, but I think Ozias should have attended the meeting as a concerned neighbor, not as a biased commissioner of the county that will be reviewing the proposed site. This seems to be a conflict of interest.
I’d also be interested to see documentation proving crushed rock is unneeded in this area.
Jeff Tozzer
Sequim
Look up how many people work in our courthouse, that were employed with the casino or tribe. Our assessor Pam Rushton, is one of them. It would be interesting to see if the tribe gave to her campaign.
Reading other publications and I’d say crushed rock is very much needed locally unless you’re fortunate to have a paved road or driveway or both? There are homes near the current location of the gravel pit, not any complaints. Did Ozias have anything to do with the robust advocacy against the new location like he did about the MAT clinic in downtown Sequim and the closure of Towne Road?