When “Stay Engaged” Replaces Solutions

Clallam County Watchdog · Jan 1, 2026 · 33m

A letter obtained through a public records request highlights a growing gap between what residents are experiencing and how county leadership is responding. After years of reporting crime and watching conditions deteriorate, a Port Angeles resident wrote directly to county commissioners asking for accountability and a change in direction. Commissioner Mike French’s reply is sympathetic in tone, but it largely falls back on the same explanations and approaches residents say have failed—while glossing over clear contradictions in policy around sobriety, public safety, and the use of taxpayer…