Dear friend:
I have been working tirelessly to reach each and every voter in the 28th district as I seek re-election to the State Senate. I wanted to provide a campaign update for you all. Thanks for reading.
Going Door-to-Door to Meet Voters
I’ve been doorbelling nearly every day – in the sun, wind and rain – meeting new people and families and talking with them about the issues they’re most concerned about. I want you to know that the comments shared with me don’t fall on deaf ears.
I’ve reached over 5,000 homes so far this year – and I plan to doorbell at least 12,000 before I’m done. The 28th District is a little bigger than it used to be, so there are new areas I need to doorbell.
If you are interested in helping me doorbell your neighborhood, please call or email me:
mike@senatorcarrell.com
253-581-2859
Campaign Kickoff Event at Thornewood Castle
Last month, I hosted nearly 200 people at Lakewood’s historic Thornewood Castle where I officially kicked off my 2012 reelection campaign for the Washington State Senate.
The event was a huge success, and we raised over $26,000. Thanks to each and every one who participated.
The kickoff party included a silent auction with items including Mariners tickets, bed & breakfast stays at Thornewood Castle, a dinner for six at Villa Madera, and many more items. Thanks to all for your generosity and friendship.
Steilacoom and Dupont Parades
On the 4th of July, I was in two parades with supporters. The turnouts were great in both, and we were lucky enough to celebrate our nation’s independence in style as one of our supporters took his Ford Pantera out to carry my campaign signs!
Another “War Wagon Lite” discovered at DOC facility
Here is an update as part of my continuing efforts to keep you informed about what is happening in our state government.
Last session, I broke the story about how the state Department of Corrections had spent over $50,000 in taxpayer funds just before the previous budget cycle ended to fully equip a mobile incident response vehicle that I dubbed a “war wagon.” The purpose of this vehicle was supposedly to serve as a mobile command post for a yet-to-be-highly-trained special emergency response team (SERT), but I took issue with the fact that all the money was spent at the last minute on a dubious project. When I asked DOC prisons chief Dan Pacholke to come to my office and explain his rationale for so much 11th hour spending, he conceded that the vehicle did in fact exist and was being kept at DOC’s Cedar Creek facility.
Just recently, I’ve learned of the existence of yet another one of these SERT vehicles at the Monroe Correctional Facility. As you can see from the pictures, it’s a military-type HMMWV (HumVee) that I’m calling a “war wagon lite.” It was originally olive drab green, but was recently painted black as was intended to supplement the multi-thousand dollar war wagon as part of the statewide mobile response team.
I believe Pacholke purchased this vehicle last year around the time as the larger vehicle. I have been told he was forming the “SERT” that would be based out of Tumwater to respond to whatever was needed throughout the state. The SERT was dismantled before it ever got off the ground, likely because of the publicity the media brought to the issue.
This Hum-Vee was being kept in a garage in Tumwater until it was apparently given to the Monroe facility a few weeks ago to be used as a snow plow vehicle. I find it laughable that such an expensive piece of military-type equipment with significant ongoing maintenance costs is going to be used as a snowplow in a place that has an 50-year average snowfall of less than 10 inches and average snow cover of exactly zero.
Like most areas of state government, DOC has repeatedly said it cannot afford to make improvements to safety – yet it can afford two war wagons while at the same time releasing dangerous felons from supervision? I intend to continue putting the department under the microscope until it begins to change the culture that exists at a management level and start making decisions that focus more on public safety and less on the status quo.
As always, if you would like to contact me, you can write, call, email or stop by. We also have plenty of yard signs available. If you would like one, please call me at (253) 581-2859 or email me at mike@senatorcarrell.com.
Sincerely,
Mike Carrell
