By Sue Forde, Guest Author
Sequim, WA – 9/13/2021 – The Sequim City Council held its regular council meeting on September 13, 2021. At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor William Armacost read into the record a Proclamation in remembrance of the 9-11 attack, “Recognizing 9/11 Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance”, and a Proclamation to celebrate Constitution Week Sept. 17- 23, which said, in part, “WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States of America, the guardian of our liberties, embodies the principles of limited government in a republic dedicated to the rule of law; and WHEREAS, September 17, 2021, marks the two hundred and thirty–fourth anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America by the Constitutional Convention…” and asking our citizens “to reaffirm the ideals of the Framers of the constitution had in 1787 by vigilantly protecting the freedoms guaranteed to us through this guardian of our liberties, remembering that lost rights may never be regained.
Public comment followed, with 10 individuals allowed to comment for no more than 3 minutes each. Of those, 7 spoke in favor of the Resolution to be considered later in the meeting.
After general business discussions (see agenda), Councilman Keith Larkin introduced a Resolution Expressing Support for Small Businesses and Essential Workers’ Individual Rights, which addressed “new and more onerous requirements placed on small business and essential workers, including mandatory vaccines, and the Clallam County’s Health Officer, Dr. Unthank-Berry’s mandate for vaccine “passports”, requiring that verification of COVID-19 vaccine be required for anyone dining indoors at a restaurant or a bar. These restrictions and/or requirements placed on American citizens must not infringe on their US Constitutional individual rights, according to the introduction.” The Resolution refers to the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Sections 1 and 2 of the Washington State Constitution, covers the mandates as set forth by Governor Inslee and most recently, the Clallam County Department of Health’s requirement for patrons to include “proof” of vaccinations, or “vaccination passports” to enter restaurants or bars, and how that is adversely affecting those businesses.
The Resolution called for the following: That the City Council of the City of Sequim does hereby resolve to:
(1) Uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of
Washington and to stand in strong support of the people in the City of Sequim and anyone else in Clallam County, and the State that believe their constitutional rights are being violated; and
2) Stand in strong support of all our state workers, educators and healthcare workers who are being forced to submit to vaccines with fear of losing their employment; and
3) Stand in strong support with our restaurant/bar owners who will be financially impacted by the requirement to verify customers have been vaccinated prior to allowing them to dine inside; and
4) Condemn any form of discrimination towards any person that does not possess or present proof of COVID-19 vaccine.
The Resolution passed by a vote of 4-3, with Keith Larkin, Sarah Kincaid, Mike Pence and Mayor William Armacost voting for, and Tom Farrell, Brandon Janisse and Rachel Anderson voting against.
Larkin, as he presented the proposed Resolution, said, “As council members, we take an oath to support the United States and the State of Washington. That is an oath that we all take when we enter into our positions on the Council. Constitution Day is Sept. 17th, the day the Constitution was signed, and Constitution Week is Sept. 17 – 23, as mentioned earlier in the Proclamation. We must listen, as council members, and support all our citizens and businesses in the city of Sequim. Oftentimes, we hear a lot of information from people that live out and around the city of Sequim. We’re obligated to listen to everyone. The restaurants and bars are just getting back to business, starting to get back on their feet again, and now we’ve laid another requirement on them that I feel is adding additional workload, they’re understaffed and having a difficult time filling their staff needs, really trying to keep their businesses going… And after all the essential workers have done for us the last 18 months or more, really working tirelessly working hours and hours, we’re now going to require them to be vaccinated or lose their employment, which again is, I believe, placing an unfair burden on these people. I don’t believe we should be requiring vaccine passports or passport ID’s; I believe that once they get started, they’re going to make their way throughout our community and I believe we should do our best not support anything like that in the future. It just creates more separation and division in our community.
“And the key factor that was brought up by several people in public comment is natural immunity – people that have already had the COVID illness that have antibodies and are not susceptible to the illness, and do not choose to get vaccinated, are probably less likely to carry the disease or get the disease because of their own personal immunities, as some have said, is more powerful or stronger than the vaccine itself. All of these types of considerations ought to be brought in. We also need to look at the Constitution of the United States and our State Constitution. People’s personal choice and right to do so. He added one more “Whereas” to the Resolution that was presented, stating: “The United States Supreme Court has held that a state of emergency does not diminish the constitutional rights guaranteed to the people.”
Councilor Kincaid made a statement in favor of the Resolution. She said: “First, I would like to state that I am not anti-vaccine nor am I anti-mask. I am, however, pro- choice. Since April, 2020 in Clallam County we have had: 3,425 positive tests (no mention of multiple tests on the same person); 153 hospitalizations, currently 20 are hospitalized ( no mention of age or underlying medical conditions). Total deaths at 33 (no mention of age or underlying medical conditions). From January through July, 2021 we have had: 16 deaths from overdose; 10 deaths from suicide. That is a total of 26, only 7 less than the total of Covid deaths. I believe Covid is a very real threat, but, is the cure doing more damage than the disease? In closing, I would like to quote Benjamin Franklin:“’They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.’”
Councilor Mike Pence spoke in favor of the Resolution, citing the Constitution and freedom of choice.
Councilor Tom Farrell asked “What does this do for us?”
Larkin responded that we should honor the personal choice of citizens. It [the Resolution] shows that we do honor the choice of individuals to make their own decisions.
Farrell talked about “rule of law”, and said he wasn’t going to discuss how he even feels about this. He said he would not support the Resolution.
Councilor Brandon Janisse said he agreed with Tom, regardless of what he feels about it. “I’m not going to subject myself to a malfeasance claim and a possible recall,” he said.
Councilor Rachel Anderson said she wanted to “throw in some comments that I joined this council with the priority of public safety, I feel that it’s in everyone’s best interest to try to protect each other, regardless of how you feel about things. For instance, I have 3 kids at home who cannot be vaccinated yet, and that’s also the reason I’m not at in person meetings or volunteering at the farmer’s market, or anything like that in case anyone was wondering. It’s because I want to do everything I can to protect my kids and protect other people’s kids. I want to do everything I can to protect the immunocompromised, especially, and I just don’t see a basis for this Resolution. Um, if people are worried about the financial impact on a business, you can order curbside, like, I guess I don’t really understand why people can’t just make that choice instead of showing their vaccine card at the door of a restaurant – just order curbside. I feel like that’s safer physically and financially for business to be able to order curbside rather than having everybody in the business get sick from COVID and have to shut down – that’s like, the worst option and I feel like that’s what we were trying to avoid.”
Anderson made a motion to change the rules so that they would require a unanimous vote. Mayor Armacost explained in order to revisit a change the rules would need to be placed on a future agenda, as the council had previously voted against a unanimous vote in a prior meeting.
Janisse asked that City Attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross weigh in. She stated that she had gone over the Resolution with Larkin to get it in the shape it is before you now. He has addressed all her concerns, she said.
Mayor Armacost shared his thoughts in support of the Resolution. He talked about how the council worked quickly with small business relief grants during Covid, distributing half a million dollars to over 58 businesses in our community. He encouraged citizens to support local businesses. He said the bigger picture is “our freedom that comes in our Bill of Rights”. He said we need to remember that lost rights may never be regained, as stated in the Proclamation. I am not suggesting that we go against any professional who is an expert in their field. What I am hearing, and I believe the reason for this resolution, are small businesses are finally starting to get their legs under them, and this will chop them off. I’m not suggesting breaking any laws; I’m looking at the need and our support as elected officials to that need. We looked at several resolutions – Woodland, for example, and reduced that to meet our needs. Individuals generally will stay home when they are sick; they are responsible adults, he said. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
Farrell talked about the “lifeboat” program to add more money to give to businesses. “That would be more productive,” he said.
Armacost responded that he is hearing from many citizens, that “We the people have rights, and we’re not being heard…. It’s an attempt to honor people’s choice.”
Counselor Anderson commented that she had received approximately 60 comments from people opposing the resolution and in support of the vaccine card mandate.
It is interesting to note that a very strong majority of individuals testifying at the County Commissioners’ meeting on Sept. 7th, 2021 were opposed to the mandate, most of whom expressed concern and alarm at the removal of their right to make their own decision in the matter, and cited that the mandate was against their Constitutional rights as an individual.
In an interview on KONP posted Sept. 14, 2021, City Attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross told KONP via email it does not, saying of the resolution, “…there is nothing contradicting State and local laws. It is a mere position statement and as such has no legal effect.”
The meeting can be viewed here: City Council meeting of Sept. 13, 2021.
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