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Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

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Letter: Council should seek public input

By Anne Brock, Brush Prairie
Published: October 6, 2022, 6:00am

Not only did the current county council decide to separate the jail out from the sheriff’s department with limited public input, they have now appointed Mr. Shook (who lost the primary for the sheriff’s seat) to head it as director of Jail Services (“Former sheriff candidate will helm new Clark County Jail Services department,” The Columbian, Sept. 26).

Maybe separating the jail out was the best decision — but it should have had much more public input and, with three new council members coming in January, it would have been good to have that as an issue for them to run on.

And maybe Mr. Shook was the best candidate for the job, but without an open recruiting process, we don’t know that.

The announcement said, “As we move forward, we are committed to having a transparent process, including involvement of key stakeholders and will provide continual updates to our employees and residents,” said County Manager Kathleen Otto.

Based on actions so far, I doubt that commitment.

I hope those voting for new council members in November look for people who will be open and who will listen to their constituents. We need fresh faces.

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