How Much Money Will Hauge's Vendetta Ultimately Cost Us?

If you follow local news, it shouldn't come as a shock to you that Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge has spent most of the entire time he's been in office trying to put Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club (KRRC) Executive Director Marcus Carter in jail. After losing in court — three times, with Carter acting as his own attorney — on some bogus trumped up charges that Carter modified a rifle to become an illegal, fully automatic weapon, Hauge enlisted the Kitsap County Department of Community Development (DCD) to help him shut down KRRC by using the land use code. 

You know DCD — that's the same County department that threatened a Southworth home owner with having to tear down the tree house he built for his kids because it wasn't an allowed use under the zoning code, didn't meet the building code, and was constructed without a building permit.

The latest episode in this sad saga revolves around the county convening a 5-member committee made up of Carter, and four gun range opponents — including one of the Commissioner's favorite partisan lapdogs — a loudmouth blowhard who is a self-styled "expert" on any and all things — just pick a subject and ask him. Their job was to propose a countywide gun range ordinance that in the end proved to be nothing more than your basic predetermined outcome from the get go. Carter was the only one to vote against sending it to the commissioners for adoption. 

This entire thing is nothing but an absolute farce. It's gone on for about 15 years now, and is simply a personal vendetta against Marcus Carter that Prosecutor Russ Hauge is financing with OUR tax dollars — so far over a half a million of them. Personally, I resent my tax dollars being wasted this way when we have so many other, more important needs that money could be used for.

It's time for this to come to an end. The County Commissioners have the power to call a halt to this vendetta, however, I don't see that happening. I personally asked Commissioner Linda Striessguth in a recent endorsement interview if she would be willing to stand up to Hauge on this, and she talked all around it, and never answered what was a very direct question. In my book, such a non-answer IS an answer, and apparently the answer is, NO, she won't.

If this ultimately ends up in the Supreme Court — which is a very real possibility — it will be us, the taxpayers of Kitsap County, who foot the bill. Also, if Mr. Carter takes the County to court after winning, it will also be us who get to pay his legal costs and most likely millions in damages, all because one elected official has severely abused the power of government to further his own personal vendetta, while the County Commissioners — who control his budget — refuse to stop him.

Enough...

BTW, how many of you are aware that CK Safe and Quiet is NOT a non-profit citizens group, but a for profit L.L.C.? Inquiring minds are curious why...