BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A rift has formed in Whatcom County government over political activities during this campaign.
County Council member Todd Donovan has declared that he won’t participate in any executive session with Sheriff Bill Elfo or members of his department because of Elfo’s political endorsements.
Donovan points to a mailer that features Elfo’s picture and makes untrue soft-on-crime claims about two Democratic candidates.
He says he’s lost trust in the sheriff and will recuse himself from any off-the-record meetings with him.
But Elfo says he was no party to the mailer.
“Someone apparently extracted the photo of myself, former prosecutor McEachran, Tasha Dykstra, and attached these statements to the reverse side,” said Elfo. “They aren’t attributable to anyone and I certainly didn’t have any part in that.”
The mailer was apparently paid for by the state Republican Party, which Donovan accuses of running a “nasty, deceitful, fear mongering” campaign.
Elfo says he has endorsed three Republican candidates for the legislature in the 42nd District, but that’s the extent of his involvement in the races.
He says he hasn’t heard any complaints about his political activities from any other council members.