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Anti-jail effort will persist
John Craig’s Feb. 15 article, “Commissioners postpone vote on jail bond,” left me spluttering too. Commissioner Mark Richard claims the No New Jail coalition is very small and very deceptive. Is that sour grapes because the group is a nuisance to the sheriff and county commissioners?
No New Jail is a coalition of many individuals and organizations, including Eastern Washington Voters, Eastern Washington Education Association, Center for Justice, Voices, November Coalition and Peace and Justice Action League. The coalition wants the citizens of Spokane to know about alternatives to a new jail and that a new jail will cost each household about $2,000 in taxes.
The commissioners hired a P.R. firm to sell the jail to the public. No New Jail advocates are volunteers.
The sheriff reduced the cost of the jail two weeks ago. No New Jails has been active since 2009. To correct a deceptive comment by Commissioner Richard, former Commissioner Bonnie Mager is not a member of the No New Jail coalition, let alone the chair. She was the only commissioner voting to table the jail while the county implemented recommendations from a $1.5 million study on the overhaul of Spokane’s justice system.
Linda Krogh
Spokane