Here is the Facebook post I referenced in post #6.

First, I have never sent an unsigned letter in my life, and I don’t know anything about the sender of the letter he mentions. However, my husband received an anonymous letter this weekend, and based on the contents, it may be from the same source. The letter was mailed in mid-August to our PO Box, which we rarely check.

My husband was a candidate for Milton City Council, but he decided against running after realizing the amount of information made public on the F-1 form. He has been a victim of employment identity theft (the person would change jobs whenever we caught up with him). It took weeks to secure his information, and so we’re very careful about providing detailed information, especially financial, and certainly not online for everyone to see. He notified the PDC in early June, but missed the deadline to have his name removed from the ballot or the voters pamphlet.

Whoever wrote the letter that my husband received is clearly concerned about Milton and appears to be familiar with the workings of the city. Since there’s no way to verify the source, I’m not publishing it here.

Second, why is he calling me out about my public records request with the City of Olympia (he states “employees”, but it’s only one employee) like it’s a bad thing. They are allowed by law, and anyone who supports transparency should support them. Also, who told him about my request? I can think of only two people: his wife or Mr. Sloan. And why does my request appear to personally bother him?

Third, yes, I have a neighbor who is a public works employee. He has worked for the City of Milton for over 15 years, and he has lived in Milton his entire life. He is as laid back as they come, and is not the person Mr. Sherrell describes. He also supported Mr. Sherrell’s wife during her campaign for Mayor. So why does he find what he’s doing to be a problem now?

Maybe he isn’t aware of the Milton Employee Handbook, which states:

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
Employees shall not use or authorize the use of City facilities, property or assets for working on campaigns for the election of any person to any office or for the promotion of, or opposition to, any ballot proposition, except as authorized by the provisions of RCW 42.17.130.

What types of activities are prohibited under this policy?
City employees are prohibited from using their official position to unlawfully influence, interfere with, or affect the results of an election. Therefore, no employee or group of employees, while representing themselves as City employees, shall campaign for or against any political candidate or ballot measure, or endorse or oppose a political advertisement, broadcast, statement, or campaign literature except as allowed by state and federal law. Nothing in this section prohibits a City employee from personally supporting or opposing any candidate for public office during off-duty hours.

So his outrage appears to be misplaced. When the Milton City Council increased the mayor’s salary, one of the reasons given was that it would attract additional qualified candidates, and it did. Surely he doesn’t believe his wife is entitled to the position, and she should run unopposed until she decides to leave office? That’s not how our political system works.

And last, I agree with him about one thing, just as his wife “won’t be bullied and bow to entitlement”, neither should anyone else.