December 07, 2005
Sacked in Nooksack
Sometimes there are consequences for illegal voter registrations:
A Nooksack City Councilman resigned his position Monday night after having his voter registration revoked that afternoon.
Lynn W. Knutsen, a three-term council member, admitted he hasn't lived in Nooksack since May, though he continued to serve on the City Council. State law requires elected officials to live and be registered to vote in the cities they represent.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at December 07, 2005
12:05 PM | Email This
1. It,s about time!!!
2. I was amused how Knutsen, the council member, argued that the challenge to his residency was a "personal matter," and then Jones (the person who seems to have initiated the challenge), pointed out the following:
"It's not just that somebody happens to be living out of their district and maybe hasn't changed their registration and voted...It happens to be a City Council member who is not living where he was elected, voting on issues, passing taxes and doing all of these certain things."
This is exactly why it matters, and I am still baffled why some people think that other reasons are more important than this.
3. To be fair to Knutsen, Nooksack is a wide spot in the road along SR544 and SR9 and there aren't a lot of places in the city limits to live (trust me, I grew a few miles outside of town)... but tough. He should have known that when he moved and made more of an effort to find a place or step down. State law is what it is.
4. Not so fast Mike H. Knutsen moved 20 miles away to an appartment complex in Bellingham on Alabama street near the Public Works compond where he works. This isn't just a technical violation, it's a gross one.
5. Chuck, I don't disagree. I would have a lot more sympathy if he temporarily moved half a mile down the road to Everson, and let the councel know what he was doing and that it was temporary due to his divorce. But he didn't, and he didn't move anywhere even remotely close.
6. Incredible!
7. What's amazing is that he didn't feel he did anything wrong.