Questions and concerns about the new Jefferson County Oath of Office have prompted County Administrator Philip Morley to prepare and distribute a special memorandum detailing the change, but the document fails to address key questions.
Morley’s December 21 memo cited, “questions and misunderstandings about the updated Oath of Office,” and informed county elected officials and officials-elect that the Oath, “has received attention recently with some in the community questioning County motives for changing the oath,” which no longer requires Jefferson County elected officials to affirm their support for federal law. Missing from Morley’s five-page memo is any information on why the oath was changed.
The memo said, “In April 2018, the Auditor’s Office updated the Oath of Office for Jefferson County’s elected officials.” However, Elections Coordinator Betty Johnson said the Auditor’s Office was “directed” to alter the oath and Central Services Director Mark McCauley said Morley himself initiated the change.
Morley’s change followed media reports that cannabis store owner Greg Brotherton was under consideration by county Democrats to be the nominee to fill the open seat on the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners in the 2018 election. Brotherton won the November election with a 68% – 32% margin of victory.
The sale of marijuana, while legal in Washington state, is illegal under federal law, meaning Brotherton would be unable to fulfill the old oath’s pledge to, “support the Constitution and Laws of the United States.” The new oath removes any problems associated with pledging to support federal laws on cannabis that differ from state laws. He is scheduled to be sworn into office December 31.
Morley refused to respond to numerous email and telephone requests for comment, so it is not known what or who prompted him to initiate the change, what discussions were held prior to changing the oath, what public input was sought, or what county resources were utilized in affecting the change. The wording of the new oath, which is consistent with oaths taken elsewhere in Washington state, is not required by any state law or regulation, and elected officials in Clallam and Kitsap Counties continue to swear oaths affirming their support for federal law.
The new oath also makes it easier for officials to seek or implement sanctuary status for illegal immigrants in Jefferson County without violating a pledge to support the laws of the United States. Immigration, whether legal or illegal, is governed by federal law. However, a growing number of states and municipalities have voted in recent years to defy federal law by declaring themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants.
Jefferson County is not a sanctuary locale per se but county commissioners approved a proclamation in February, 2017, saying commissioners will, “strive to make Jefferson County a welcoming place,” for people regardless of, “immigration and citizenship status.”
Morley’s refusal to answer questions about the change to the oath also raises questions about transparency in county government and contradicts the position of at least one of his professional affiliations. Morley’s biography on the county website states that he holds a certificate from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
The AICP stresses that, “Honesty, integrity, and transparency are key to maintaining professional credibility in the public arena.” An AICP article further promotes the importance of transparency in local government by asking the question, “Want to maintain professional credibility in the public arena? For planners, honesty, integrity, and transparency are the keys.”
The lack of transparency regarding the oath appears to contradict the transparency guidelines of the organization that issued Morley’s certificate. The contradiction also parallels concerns raised in an earlier critique of the American Planning Association (APA), the parent organization of the AICP.
In a February, 2013, analysis of APA by Bent Flyvbjerg, a professor at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, Flyvbjerg found that, “APA escalated its strategy for dealing with uncomfortable knowledge from denial to diversion, diversion being defined as the organizational strategy of establishing a decoy activity that distracts attention from a subject or problem, thus trying to ensure that knowledge about it is not created or shared.”
Morley’s December 21 memo explained that the new oath is similar to other oaths taken by some state and federal officials, provided four pages of background information on oaths taken by others, and acknowledged that some county residents were curious about why the change was made. However, Morley did not explain why he initiated the change in early 2018.
Flyvbjerg, who also chairs the BT Centre for Major Programme Management, concluded in his report, “APA appears to have disregarded and violated its own Code of Ethics on multiple counts. In so doing, APA is potentially placing principles of transparency and democracy at risk.”
Scott Hogenson is a prize-winning journalist who has been a member of the academic staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he lectured in the School of Journalism and served as managing editor for the Wisconsin Public Radio News Network. Scott has also been a contributing editor for National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., a broadcast editor for United Press International, and a news director for radio stations in Virginia and Texas.
The Constitution of The United States Of America, a Republic, and all the Ammedments of the Constitution are Federal Law. If Mr. Morley and the Elected? Representatives of the people are going to ignore our constitutional freedoms, speech, religion, search and seizure and the others does that maybe we should give up paying taxes since by giving up our freedoms we become indentured slaves. Of course slavery wert out in the 1800’s but that was federal law so if we live in Jefferson County and have a Pot Head for a Commissioner and a less than transparent unelected official (mr. Morley) whose veracity is challenged I guess we can buy slaves?
Since slaves are considered property do we have to pay sales tax?
It is very obvious that County Givernment is plain and simply violating federal law in order to create their own little kingdom where they can further the rules of socialism!
America First