Governor Gregoire:
As a King County resident and Kittitas County property owner, I have followed closely the planning process for the Kittitas Valley Wind Power project and Desert Claim project, attending hearings on both sides of the state. I have heard the testimony of consultants hired by the developers of these projects, inaccurate and or incomplete statements by state department representatives with unresolved conflict of interest issues, and real concerns of many citizens of Kittitas County and their elected representatives.
On March 27, I traveled to Ellensburg to hear the outcome of the recommendation to be presented to you by the Energy Facilities Siting Evaluation Council. I was feeling comfortable that anyone that had studied the real issues and knew the area and residents would say, “Let’s look for a more appropriate site.”
As the realization that the EFSEC had overturned five years of exhaustive study by the Kittitas County Planning Commission and the Kittitas County commissioners regarding the Kittitas Valley Wind, I thought of the words of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in 1863: “That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this Earth.” This simple, easily understood statement is considered by many historians to be history’s most powerful definition of democracy.
Our current state government officials, elected and appointed, appear to have taken the liberty to redefine “Freedom and Democracy,” to read, government of greedy commercial enterprises, by a select few, for the enhancement of the future political careers of current officials “green” aspirations, at the expense of many.
Governor, prove my fears wrong. Deny the present site requests for the Kittitas Valley power project and the Desert Claim project and work with the people of Kittitas County to identify more appropriate sites for wind power projects.
Ann L. Gabrielson
Bellevue
28 May 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/05/29/governor-has-chance-to-protect-local-democracy/