Imagine this scene... you’re a mayor, doing all of the daily things that mayors do, and your phone is lighting up with a concerned citizen journalist from a neighboring community. Do you take the call? Do you pass it along to your assistant? Maybe just ignore it – after all, you aren’t the mayor in their community. Nope – you actually take the call. You listen. You ask questions. You ask more questions. You then do your own research. Then you have the courage to make a statement. That’s exactly what Mayor Hester from Nooksack did. 

 

Our question was this: 

 

“What is your city’s policy or your feelings on a city receiving gifts from developers who are active in the process of changing a zoning code?” We felt like that was a pretty simple question. 

 

So far, we have heard back from two cities. Nooksack and Bellingham, in that order. We were fortunate to talk to Mayor Hester on two occasions. He took the time to listen, ask questions, and care about these types of issues. He then spoke to people in his inner circle, including his city attorney for their insight. He then called back and went on the record.  

​

Mayor Hester - Nooksack 

 

"I would like to avoid any conflict of interest or anything that might be questionable in the city's light. You want to be above the board. We as a city would be hesitant about receiving a gift of anything. That's a fine line."

Winner of our Protector of the People Award​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mayor Hester emphasized in his discussions with us on how important it is to have a transparent government. He thoroughly thought through the question and put a great deal of consideration into it. It seems that one of the positive things is that other local governments are considering their stance on this very question.  

 

We applaud Mayor Hester to have the moral compass to stand strong in his beliefs. Imagine the strength that it took to be the first mayor to reach out. He developed his own opinion based on the question. The Nooksack community is so lucky to have Mayor Hester representing their community.

 

Bellingham

 

We also reached out to the mayor’s office in Bellingham, where we were able to speak to a spokesperson for the mayor. At first, the representative sent us their policy on an individual city employee receiving gifts, which is specifically governed by law in Washington.  We then clarified our point about the beneficiary being the city and not an individual. The mayor’s spokesperson went on the record as saying: 

​

“We are agents of the City of Bellingham. We as the city try to be above board and try to work for the community. We don’t do backroom handshakes.”

​

​

So far we have gotten one official “no comment”. We understand this, and we don’t cast any judgement. We know that it takes a strong, independent leader without regard to regional connections to stand up for what they believe in. After all, it’s not a stretch to think that all of the mayors know each other in this small area.

 

Mt. Vernon

Jill Boudreau’s office:

“No Comment”  

 

As the other area mayors respond, we’ll update this list. We encourage not only the mayors in the area, but everyone to do their own research on this question and come to their own opinion on the one. simple. question.  “What is your city’s policy or your feelings on a city receiving gifts from developers that are active in the process of changing a zoning code?”

​

As we've mentioned previously, philanthropy is a meaningful endeavor. And, our city could use generosity just as most cities could. However, the responsibility is fully on the city to evaluate when accepting gifts is appropriate and when they should not. The responsibility is not on the giver - but the one receiving. 

​

Here are the cities that we are still waiting on an official comment from:

​

Lynden:  No reply - still waiting

Ferndale: No reply - still waiting

Sumas: No reply - still waiting