Expose corruption, file records requests— DOGE training comes to Skagit County
BOW, Wash. – A group of about 70 people learned Wednesday about how to file public records requests, expose government ethics violations or catch a corrupt public official.
Leading the training at Heritage Ranch was Glen Morgan, a self-proclaimed “evangelist for liberty and freedom.”
“We are citizens, we are not subjects or peasants,” he told those in attendance. “We actually have the ability to get engaged and involved in government and to try to hold government more accountable than it holds itself.”
We the Governed
Morgan is the founder of We the Governed, which he started in 2016, and the Washington Voter Research Project, according to a bio that was handed out at the Wednesday training.
He is also the 2023 Washington State Republican Party Activist of the Year, and the Olympic Conference’s 2019 Citizen Activist of the Year.
Morgan also is the former executive director for the Citizens Alliance for Property Rights, and the former grassroots director and property rights director for the Freedom Foundation.
His YouTube channel, which has 605 videos and 56,400 subscribers, spreads anti-bureaucracy, anti-corruption and right-wing messaging.
“(Morgan) founded We the Governed in 2016. Corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and the Left has hated him ever since,” his website’s bio says.
The Everett Herald referred to him as a “political conservative with a knack for annoying elected Democrats and their progressive allies,” in a 2018 article that Morgan has reposted on the We the Governed website.
Washington DOGE
The training at Heritage Ranch had a name: Washington State DOGE Training, referencing the federal initiative established by executive order of President Donald Trump this year.
According to the White House, the president created the Department of Government Efficiency Service to “bring accountability and transparency to federal spending, ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and effectively.”
D.C.’s DOGE Service has been criticized by some for lacking Constitutional legitimacy, dismantling the United States Agency for International Development and laying off thousands of federal employees.
“The big difference, of course, between DOGE Washington, which is essentially what you are today, and the DOGE at the federal level, is at the federal level, that is an actual federal agency,” Morgan told attendees.
The training was advertised on the Skagit County Republican Party website and included a reference to a House Bill that failed during this year’s state legislative session.
The bill, which was introduced by Republican Rep. Jim Walsh, would have established Washington’s own version of DOGE.
When Morgan was asked why he would link public records and civic activism training to the controversial federal DOGE, he told the Skagit Valley Herald, “Well, because for the first time since anybody listening or reading this article has been alive, it looks like people are actually trying to find and reform some of the inefficiencies and problems and corruption inside of government.
“Every politician, of both parties, seems to go out and pretend like they care about fraud, waste and abuse, and what I see is that none of them actually do because they almost never do anything to address those issues,” Morgan said.
Morgan said he wasn’t a fan in the past of Elon Musk, who was initially tapped by the president to spearhead DOGE, but he is a fan of “trying to fix some of these problems.”
Skagit DOGE Training
Those at Heritage Ranch on Wednesday came from not only Skagit County, but from neighboring counties.
“We want to be able to help more effectively, we want to be with a larger group so that we’re strung together,” attendee Sylvia Fashant said.
Another attendee, Zane Ware, told the Herald he was part of an organization that has been running for three or four years and is looking to hold local governments accountable.
“Love to make it state level,” he said. “Don’t know if it’s going to happen, but any kind of direction or structure that we could use, that’s what we’re looking for.”
During the training, which ran about 90 minutes, Morgan clearly laid out his objectives, which were to convince participants that they can hold their governments accountable, to demonstrate government accountability isn’t impossible, to inspire participants to choose a project or “target” and to emphasize team building and collaboration.
“The truth is, most people aren’t looking, so that’s what you and I get to do,” Morgan said.
Morgan criticized both parties equally during the training. He encouraged attendees to challenge their own biases.
“One thing that I’ve seen many times is that if you’re trying to become more familiar with how the school district’s operating, or the city council or that agency, and you have a theory about what’s going on, and you put your blinders on, that’s what we call confirmation bias,” he said.
“… You have to be willing to challenge your own assumptions as you dig into it. It’s not a partisan thing, this is very much a human nature thing,” Morgan said.
Morgan gave examples of government corruption and fraud that had been found within the state, including the 2012 case of a former Franklin County Public Works accountant stealing millions of dollars.
In terms of public records requests, Morgan said to file “specific, targeted requests” that can and should be filled by public entities. He stressed the importance of examining government financial documents and “following the money.”
He also taught attendees how to file complaints with the state Public Disclosure Commission.
Morgan emphasized the importance of recruiting whistleblowers and shared his strategies for fighting government inefficiency and corruption.
Morgan shared his definition of government.
“Imagine a mountain of corruption that’s concealed by an ocean of incompetence, with a couple of fish swimming around doing good work, and that is government,” he said.
In a phone call with the Herald on Thursday, Morgan said he estimates that no more than 3% of government employees or civil servants are engaged in outright fraud or of stealing money.
“So, then the question is, how many are just involved in some degree of just incompetence, and where?” he said. “And this is where, oftentimes, people want to assign nefarious intentions, and it’s rarely nefarious.
“It’s just apathetic.”
He estimated 10% to 15% of employees are simply “processing stuff,” providing a rubber stamp.
“They’re wasting the money, they’re wasting their time, they’re wasting resources, but they’re not necessarily doing it nefariously,” Morgan said.
Morgan said his Wednesday training was pro-small government and pro-libertarian. He noted that it is libertarian with a lower case “L” and not affiliated with the Libertarian Party.
Growth of a movement?
Two attendees told the Herald they believe the training is part of a broader movement for government accountability.
Morgan agreed, but only “sort of.”
“The inevitability of smaller government is sort of going to come whether you want it or not because government incompetence and stupidity and failures tend to suck all the resources out of a community,” Morgan said.
“… I’d rather reform it. I’d rather not have it just blow up and create a much worse event that’s harder for my kids to resolve down the road,” he said.
Wednesday’s training included a DOGE Washington Team sign-up form.
“That’s an effort that we’re basically trying to put together where we find like-minded people on projects, and when we see that there’s a pretty good match between a team of people that have a specific focus but they may not be aware of each other, we help try to put them in touch with each other so that they can, you know, join forces,” Morgan said.