One of my deepest immersions in joy that I imagine to be similar to what Black people felt during the election of President Barack Obama occurred on Aug. 6, when Vice President Kamala Harris introduced her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (pronounced “walls”), in Philadelphia.

Rather than sticking to abortion and other surefire hot button issues, Harris and Walz repeatedly championed my community by name.

After lamenting that only two candidates in the liberal state of Washington, Eric Pickens and Emily Randall, had mentioned LGBTQ+ in their JeffCo voter pamphlet statements, I found myself holding back tears every time Harris/Walz proclaimed “LGBTQ” and embraced our minority.

Thankfully, those who love freedom locally spoke loudly in the recent primary election. Ballots postmarked on Aug. 6 had not been tabulated at press time, but it looked as though the strongest Democratic candidates had come out on top in statewide and JeffCo races. This bodes well for the Nov. 5 election and the enthusiastically received Harris/Walz candidacy.

Nationally, fury builds around the pro-Netanyahu AIPAC lobby’s influence on US elections. Given the decisive role AIPAC played in the defeat of progressive Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, and Trump’s willingness to play to up to AIPAC and Netanyahu for all its worth, few Democrats are willing to publicly move beyond the Biden administration’s stance, which amounts to “You’re a bad boy, Netanyahu, but we’ll stand by you nonetheless as you callously slaughter Palestinians and bomb Gaza to smithereens.” 

On the home front, multiple divisions within our city continue to fester. Among them: The dismaying discord at the Port Townsend Food Co-op involving the expulsion from the Board of one person-of-color, Cameron Jones, and the resignation-in-protest of another, former Board chair Juri Jennings.

Up the block, accusations fly unabated around the Golf Course lease. As someone who thought all parties were more or less in accord after the Dec. 11 lease signing cemented plans for a refreshingly re-envisioned multi-use golf park that promises to preserve the course while finally opening its never really “open space” to the general public and multiple municipal uses, I’ve grown increasingly appalled at the orchestrated series of attacks on the agreement and City Council’s plans for workforce housing on a small, legally unrestricted portion of the land.

Witness the Leader Guest Opinion of July 31, “The fate of the golf course and the Kah Tai Prairie,” authored by Ann and Fred Weinmann [https://tinyurl.com/4trfvp5b]. Followed by Gary Jonland’s letter of  August 7 [https://tinyurl.com/yrdbaves] that begins, “The mayor is on a one-person mission to destroy the golf course,” and preceded by two letters on July 17 — Nancy Erreca’s begins, “The city is still trying to kill the golf course.”

The Weinmanns’ piece declares, “In effect, the City’s plan will result in the eventual loss of the golf course, and has potential for significant negative impacts on the Kah Tai Prairie Preserve.”

Is either of these scenarios inevitable, let alone intended? As someone who is constitutionally averse to scapegoating and bullying, I resolved not to make Mayor David Faber the boogyman. Instead of interviewing him, I spent an hour chatting about City Council’s unanimous golf course decisions with one of Council’s sharpest and most articulate members, Libby Urner Wennstrom.   

Wennstrom pointed to what transpired during the meetings of Oct. 9, Nov. 6, and Nov. 20 where Council became aware that the legal definition of “affordable housing,” which caps income at such low levels as to preclude building workforce housing. “Even a Habitat project is not ‘affordable housing’ under the legal definition, because Habitat residents aren’t poor enough,” she said.

“We had to change the wording. The narrow strip of land along Blaine Street where we’re discussing building housing does not have the driving range on it, and there are already utilities in the street. It is one of the few large parcels in the city limits that’s already publicly owned and has infrastructure in place that’s suitable for housing.”

Wennstrom insists that if and when housing is built, the prairie will be protected. While one or possibly two of the course’s nine holes will have to be reconfigured, she points to Robert Harner’s proposed alternate map for the course which shows that you can move some holes and still preserve the driving range.

“I’m very disappointed that current golf course leadership is choosing to undermine the agreement’s core principles within months of signing the lease,” she said.

“The city did not do an 11th hour bait and switch. David Faber does not want to build McMansions on the prairie. That is 180º opposite of what all seven Councilmembers unanimously agreed to and signed.

“If golf park leadership genuinely believed that the park was not viable if those two holes had to be relocated, why did they sign the lease in the first place? Their recent May newsletter even included plans for how to stop the lease from going forward. Their actions are completely at odds with the spirit of cooperation that led to the creation of the golf park and the signing of the lease.”

And there you have it. For now.

Jason Victor Serinus is a critic of culture, music, and audio. A longtime advocate for rights, equality, and freedom, he is also a professional whistler. Column tips: jvsaisi24@gmail.com