By Ralph Schwartz
I got a call a little bit ago from Pinky Vargas, who announced yesterday she is running for Bellingham City Council’s Ward 4 seat.
She wanted me to know she always calls people back, contrary to what I reported in today’s paper.
The story was about the coinciding announcements of Stan Snapp’s retirement from the council and Vargas’ bid for his seat. I tried yesterday to reach her by phone and sent a direct message to her new Twitter account but didn’t hear back.
I don’t know what happened to my Twitter message, but Vargas told me she didn’t get my voice mail — left on her work phone — until today.
There was also a breakdown in communication over email, as we never saw the campaign announcement she says she sent us.
I’ll blame the no-callback on an unfortunate set of miscommunications. So Vargas is off the hook.
While I had her on the phone, I picked her brain about the three city issues she mentioned in her announcement: business growth, waterfront redevelopment and Lake Whatcom water quality.
Vargas is active in the Whatcom Futures Project, an effort being managed by the Northwest Economic Council.
The project’s plan will be released soon, Vargas said.
“I think there’s some really, really great stuff in here. What I like about it the most, people think that economic development and environmental protection are at two ends of the scale, and I don’t believe that. I think both can be complementary. … The Whatcom Futures report really kind of heads in that direction,” Vargas said.
I’ve been hearing a lot recently about how the biggest challenge to protecting water quality in Lake Whatcom is existing and future development in the watershed.
“We need to maybe step up some efforts in regards to education,” Vargas said. “I think things need to be put in simpler terms about how actions correlate to the effects on the water.”
Much of the discussion around the effects of phosphorus and how to keep it out of the lake tends to be too scientific to make an impact on people, she said.
“We should be giving them an example and showing them how easily it can be done,” Vargas said, rather than simply lecturing residents about what they must do on their properties.
She wants to “raise the level of education through examples and through mentorship, and make it easy for people to understand what their actions do and what they can do to make an actual difference.”
Vargas’ approach is taken from her job, providing outreach on energy efficiency strategies for Puget Sound Energy.
Expect Vargas to file for the City Council position during filing week, May 13-17. Also expect her to have several opponents. Seats not being defended by an incumbent tend to attract more than the usual number of candidates.
Education is for the already educated,
rules and fines and moratoriums are the way to instill good habits in the watershed.
But renaming the place a reservoir and meaning it
would be a good first step towards the proper attitude about drinking water.
I’m curious about Ms. Vargas’ comment about “being active in the Whatcom Futures Project.” She is not listed as a member of WFP Vision Committee or the NWEC board or voting directors.
Is there another way to be active in the WFP?
The release of the WFP ‘plan’ is more almost 3 months past its projected release date. Wonder what’s going on there. Any ideas, Ralph?
Thanks for your comment, @SA. I could only speculate as to how exactly Pinky Vargas is involved in WFP. If she’s a blog reader, maybe she’d be willing to tell us. I hear your concern about the WFP plan being 3 months behind schedule, but a lot of plans of this type come out late. I wouldn’t condemn it on that count alone.
Ralph and SA, I wish I could take some credit for the Whatcom Futures Project Report, it’s outstanding. There were a lot of really smart and dedicated people who developed it, but I was not one of them. When you asked me today about my big ideas around Economic development, I said, “ There are already some great ideas out there, we just need to support them. For example, I recently reviewed the Whatcom Futures Project Report at the last NWEC meeting, and I will stand behind it.” It has strong vision statements and great action items to move our city forward.
We are all human, I would not claim I “always” call people back. I do my best but nobody is perfect and life is hectic. As you yourself told me today about the sheer volume of emails you receive, when I assured you we sent our Press Release to you and the newsroom on Wed. Our announcement included sending Press Releases to 10 media sources, sending Letters to the Editor, launching a website and a Facebook page. The team worked very hard to get it all together and I feel it diminishes their efforts by implying we only announced on Facebook. We fully recognize the influence of the Herald and know it’s a great way to reach the residents of Bellingham.
PSE is very supportive of my candidacy but they expect me to be accountable during work hours and my job is my first priority. If anyone has questions please do not call me at my work. My responsibility is community outreach which means I am often out in the community and work varied hours. We will do our best to get back to everyone in a timely manner.
For all inquiries on Pinky Vargas for city council please contact the campaign directly at info@votepinkyvargas.com or (360)224-¬4313 or vist http://www.votepinkyvargas.com
Thanks Pinky
Mr. Schwartz, this saga you’ve written over the past few days has hopefully caused us all to think more about your own shortcomings in creating a community of fair discourse and etiquette. These rash postings, resulting from what you are calling a lack of communication from Ms. Vargas and her team, are very disrespectful considering you seem to be under the impression that Twitter messenger is an appropriate or effective means of communication. If you sought real information and in a timely fashion, which I hope you receive and provide us with in the future, you would have done so through less informal channels as an at best 3rd tier form of social media. I don’t know whether I will support Ms. Vargas yet, but I do know that I will be looking well beyond this particular resource for well informed takes on the candidate’s viability.
@ Ralph, as you know, there are many reasons to condemn the plan, none of which relate to the fact that its publication is 3 months late.
The blog is fully working again. Sigh of relief. @SA, I have not been talking to WFP’s critics, so I am not sure what the disadvantages of the plan are. I think I’ve heard vaguely that some people see it as too business oriented.
Pinky and R. MacDonald: Maybe my post wasn’t clear, but I sure hope I was clear to you over the phone, Pinky. I took responsibility for the miscommunication and the missing email. It wasn’t Pinky’s fault, and if my post read as if I was implying that, then I apologize once again. (I did say she was “off the hook,” and by that I meant “free from blame,” not “off the chain.”) Whew. That’s a double apology. I hope we’re good now.
Turns out the original emailed press release went into the Herald’s spam folder. It happens sometimes. I did what reporters always do, which is reach out to a source in as many ways as possible, whether work phone, Twitter or yelling out the window, if I think that might work. Twitter is actually an effective way to find someone and send them a message, as are Facebook and LinkedIn. More and more tools are becoming available to journalists, and we will use them all to their fullest.
Ralph, Thank you for your dedication. I in no way thought you were picking on Ms. Vargas or her campaign staff. I think to be successful in political pursuits, she will have to develop a thick skin.
Thanks Bob. People don’t realize I’m the nice blogger. It’s Stark who you don’t want to mess with. Hasn’t everyone taken a good look at our blog photo?
I don’t understand the obsession with pinning a person to any one organization or philosophy with whom they might be involved.
It seems like the lazy way to operate your priorities as a voter.
BTW,
the board is much nicer to play on since things got less crabby and more responsive,
which is a shame in a small way since Mr. Stark could be a fabulous communicator
if he’d stoop to our level once in a while.
There are traces of humor and satire in both your entries and his
and that encourages a wide variety of responses.
Like it or not.
If Pinky cannot keep up with what is on her plate now, how will she be able to perform her duties on the council? Just asking as a concerned voter.
Amen, @Rubie. I went through a lot of growing pains since joining this blog in August, and I have learned a lot. Thanks to you and the others for your forbearance. You are right, I am “asking for it” with the tone of my posts. And I’m learning to roll with it because I certainly wouldn’t want to write them any other way. A note about Stark: I’ve been silent on the issue so far this year, but as some of you probably know, he’s had family matters to attend to over the past several months. He has been out of town on and off since December. When he is not posting, it is because he is not here.
Best to John and his family.
Thanks for your sentiments, Hank. I could not agree more. My family & I also wish the best for John and his family. Curmudgeonly photo aside, John is a pleasure to work with!
Hey Rubie,
Check out the 1992 Joint Resolution……..
http://www.lakewhatcom.whatcomcounty.org/resources
Thanks D Alan, I’d never heard of that resolution.
Must have been window dressing for some other purpose
since reservoirs are fenced off and devoid of development of any kind.
Especially prohibited are septic systems, motor boats and roads.
Seems like forward thinkers would then be a step ahead by putting the city water in other scattered reservoirs and filling them with an intake good for another 50 years. But bottom line, it is not a reservoir and never has been. It has been a maritime highway and recreational draw for centuries.
It was only a convenient system when GP was using twice per day what the entire city used and we were reaping the benefits. Now we have an empty property caught up in endless bickering over varying fantasies. And there is work to be done correcting the problems around the lake, sewers being the obvious bottom line we have to be heading for if we are serious about anything other than posturing; but we can not lose the lake as a source of high end property tax and that requires allowing homeowners to enjoy the advantages of lake front property. I know many believe in the healing and meditative powers of endlessly attempting to round up horses already free of the paddock, but at some point one just stakes out wider fences and calls it good.