O Vancouvria Sits Down With Lauren Colas, GOP Candidate for County Treasurer; More Insights From Rotting Jail

AN INTERVIEW WITH LAUREN COLAS, GOP CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY TREASURER, AND THOUGHTS ON CURRENT COUNTY TREASURY WOES

 I had the pleasure of meeting Lauren Colas, GOP candidate for County Treasurer (the seat held for the last 25 years by Doug Lasher), outside the Kiggins Theater at Hello Vancouver!'s Sept 24 event. Lauren, an avid gardener from way back (and coordinator of the Crown Park Community Garden in Camas) and I had alot to share on the subject of gardening, and the need for sustainable living and new ways of doing so in our area. 

Lauren and I also had much to say on the current woeful state of affairs at the Treasurer's Office. She mentioned, perhaps most importantly, that the County would currently get a better return on its money by investing in savings accounts at a credit union than its current investments under the longtime tenure of Doug Lasher, current Treasurer. Lasher, who has had his own troubles with employee morale and attendance, isn't doing his best by Clark County taxpayers' money - as our current return indicates. In an age where County budgets are woefully underfunded (former County Administrator Bill Barron left over said financial policies that are currently leaving the County's annual budget 15% in the hole) its important to have someone on top of County finances, doing the best job they can by taxpayers to get us the services as a suburban and urban County of around 500K population that we now need. 

Here's what Lauren had to say to O Vancouvria!, read on:

1) What would you like us to know about yourself? 

From a personal perspective as a resident of the Pacific Northwest, I enjoy hiking, golfing, biking, and I’m also the coordinator of the Camas Community Garden.  After having hiked Mt. St. Helens two years ago, the next challenging outdoor quest on my list is the Cycle Oregon event with numerous friends.  Although I don’t currently have any pets, I do enjoy borrowing my friend’s dogs for an exercise weekend and giving them back tired.  In the many years I have lived here, I have met and made numerous genuine friends who, like me, care about their community, the environment, and the local economy.  I am also an elected Precinct Committee Officer. 

                                                                                          

2) What would you like us to know about your opponent? 

     I applaud my opponent’s 30 years of public service in the same job and hope that he’s planning his retirement party soon.

3) What experience do you bring to this office? 

From a professional prospective, my 25-year business and consulting career includes financial leadership with two public accounting firms, Fortune 100 and privately-held companies in Alaska, California and Washington.  My education includes a Bachelors of Business Administration from Cedarville University, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Washington. 

4) What strengths do you have for the position? 

In my private-sector career, I have worked with and for a variety of very successful companies.  My specialized skills and experience include business process improvement, billing and revenue management, customer service management, system implementation, budgets, contract compliance auditing and fraud detection.  All of this experience will benefit the county, the taxpayers, and current Treasurer customers.

5) What hopes do you have for this office if elected? 

My due diligence research, conversations with local taxpayers and current Treasurer customers, has enlightened me with several critical issues.  Examples include:

Dissatisfied customers.  The Treasurer has current customers that he hasn’t visited in years, some of whom he has yet to meet, plus two that were so dissatisfied that they took their money and ran (Port of Vancouver and Port of Ridgefield).  The Treasurer’s office should provide the best service and technology possible.  Currently it is not.

Poor investment performance.  The Treasurer is responsible for an abysmal average rate of return in 2013 of .383% on the $550 million dollar county investment pool, plus the ROI has decreased by 24% in the last three years.  Even the local banks and credit unions offer a higher rate of return on a basic savings account. Taxpayers want to be satisfied that their hard-earned money is being well spent and invested.  Currently it is not.

Not a taxpayer advocate.  This county does not need foreclosed homes.  Of the 5,000+ taxpayers who are delinquent on their property taxes, only 36 are on a payment plan.  The Treasurer’s office should be working for the citizens.   It should do everything possible to notify the taxpayers that they do have options, and help those with financial difficulties stay their homes without going into foreclosure.  Based on these dismal numbers, improvements are critically needed.

6) How will you bring that vision (for the office) into action? 

Well-known management consultant and author Peter Drucker said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”  With a fresh business perspective, I will instigate accountability and transparency into a stale, local government office.  One example is implementation of strategic planning and performance management systems, i.e. Balanced Scorecard, Six Sigma, etc., that businesses, non-profits and governments around the world continue to use on a daily basis.

7) Why are you running for this job? 

Government can learn a lot from successful businesses.  As a business leader, I know that I will bring to this office extensive, real-world experience and qualifications necessary to benefit our county. 

Additionally, our founding fathers did not intend for political positions to become a lifetime career, and it’s time for a change.

8) Tell us something humorous that's happened on the campaign trail. 

My first fundraiser was an ice cream social.  That afternoon a flash storm caused power outages in most of the Camas area.  While traveling home from work to pick up the ice cream for the fundraiser, my garage door opener did not work.  I quickly devised Plan B, so fortunately I located a grocery store in Vancouver that was open.  Thank goodness I was only 20 minutes late to my own event.

                                           

9) What's your favorite color/s, and why? 

     Mint and spring green have been my two favorite colors for many years.

CONTINUED WOES AT ROTTING CLARK COUNTY JAIL

O Vancouvria! went to press two days ago on new and intriguing insights into conditions at our overcrowded County jail. The jail, owned privately by a consortium of Superior Court judges (and contracted out to the County by their holding company) currently holds, on average, 2.5 to 3x its capacity of around 275 inmates - giving it the "worst in the state" rating by state Dept of Corrections, and causing the ACLU to investigate its infringement on inmates' rights. 

Jail officials, including Press Sgt Fred Neiman and Sheriff Gary Lucas, had nothing to say to O Vancouvria! for this article. Neither did Shane Gardner, the "progressive" candidate for Clark County Sheriff in this November 4's elections. In fact, Neiman is "out of the office", per his automated email response. 

What's clear is that the jail, as is, no longer works properly for a County of 500K people. Below, point by point, is a list of why things are failing to work at said overcrowded jail. 

-Jail is at 2.5x - 3x capacity, every night: this means around 600 inmates, or over 40 to a "pod" (capable of holding, on average, 20 inmates), plus 4-5 inmates in one solitary cell (with either 2 beds or no beds), plus around 10 inmates, on average, in the holding cell (where one is processed for booking). 

-Overcrowding has resulted in a crisis in providing nutritious food to inmates, leaving inmates to enjoy American cheese and bologna sandwiches, plus an apple, a cookie, and milk, for both breakfast and lunch - at an average cost, wholesale, of 6 cents per meal. No telling what the consortium which owns the jail charges retail to the County. 

-Overcrowding, and improperly maintained jail facilities as a result, has led to automated toilets that DON'T flush automatically after each inmate uses the restroom, including "number two". This leads easily to unsanitary conditions. 

-Jail HVAC, struggling with dealing with the huge numbers of people inside, is breaking down, causing horrible humid conditions 24/7, along with cold, wet air (or warm, moist air) inside the building - leading to black mold in all the cells, as well as in the fingerprinting and medical processing areas. 

-Jail inmates use the staples (that hold jail paperwork together) to routinely tattoo eachother (per Deps. Ragan, Costello, and Bond), in said unsanitary conditions: leading to infections and worse. 

-Jail staff (Dep. Ragan) blame inmates for bringing black mold, fungus, and fleas into the building, but refuse to have "trustee" inmates do anything about it (like mop cell floors regularly with bleach water, or scrub toilets).

-Holding areas, and jail pods, routinely place sober and clean inmates together with inmates coming down off of crystal meth, IV cocaine, and other drunk and drink binges, leading to severely unsafe environments for those trying to stay clean and sober. Interestingly enough, jail staff, under Sheriff Lucas in the late 1980s, actually closed our Clark County detox center (where Clark College's "T" Building is now), choosing instead to place these dangerous folks in with other inmates. The Jail also does not stock Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous literature, nor allows meetings of AA/NA to take place inside - thus leaving inmates trying to stay clean on the verge of relapse when released. 

-Inmates in holding are routinely denied water for upwards of 8 hours at a time. Jail staff routinely ignore requests for water, even when its clear inmates are suffering from dehydration. 

-Inmates have regular Internet access at kiosks inside pod cells, where they're allowed to view, and download, salacious music videos, photos, and the like (minimal Internet filters). Inmates are also allowed to rent Ipads, for $50 on their account. Meanwhile, the Jail charges $5 for inmates who want a toothbrush/mini toothpaste, soap, and a drinking cup. Inmates share an electric shaver - a practice which spreads disease. The Jail contracts with an outside company, Getting Out, to provide these "services" - at taxpayer expense. 

Now I know Sheriff Lucas is tired, and wants to retire after 32 years of service to our County. I understand jail staff aren't pleased by their jobs, routinely having to deal with hostile, depressed, or otherwise upset inmates inside the jail, as well as with a bureaucratic maze of regulations imposed by their own holding company (that owns the jail services), County, State, and federal government. Jail staff routinely swill Red Bull on shift just to keep up with the craziness. I am not here to contribute to that craziness, nor point fingers. I'm here to constructively critique, and open dialogue, on a building and Sheriff department which NO LONGER WORK for we the people. Given the Sheriff's office consumes 76% of our County budget, you'd think we the people could demand, and insist, on fixing what's wrong with the Jail - particularly facilities conditions and lack of detox, access to nutritious food and water - and move forward more efficiently. Perhaps jail staff, including Sheriff Lucas, lack the will to see this done. I'm not sure. In the end, this is a sad state of affairs that needs fixing.