A few megawatts were added to the high voltage sparks that are flying within the group that wants to form a public utilities district and take control of Puget Sound Energy’s territory on Whidbey Island.
The dispute between the former spokesman of “People For Yes on Whidbey PUD” and the remaining board continued this week.
Ed Jenkins left his role as communications director for the campaign on Saturday. He then fired off a press statement accusing his organization’s leader of secretly being on the payroll of a trade group that promotes public utility districts. On Monday, Jenkins said he will continue the push for a local PUD on his own.
Bob Kuehn, the treasurer of “People for Yes on Whidbey PUD” countered with an e-mail to the press calling Jenkins’ e-mail “disturbed.”
Kuehn wrote in his statement that Jenkins was officially removed from his position as campaign director of the organization on Aug. 23.
“Mr. Jenkins appears to be disgruntled and emotional at this time,” Kuehn said in an e-mail to reporters Monday.
Jenkins countered with his own statement Monday that said he may have jumped the gun when he complained about payments to the “People for Yes” campaign by the Washington Public Utilities District Association. Jenkins had said the PUD group had mislead the public about its grassroots effort because Dave Metheny, the campaign director for “People for Yes,” was a paid employee of the Washington Public Utilities District Association.
“After consulting with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission this morning it appears that nothing outright illegal was done and I want to make that clear,” Jenkins said.
“It is not clear at this point when we/they must report the salary paid the Metheny. WPUDA’s reporting is their concern. My strong feeling still is legal or not is that a large lobbying organization like WPUDA has no right to unduly attempt to further its own agenda at our expense,” he added.
Jenkins further that it didn’t matter if rules were broken. The actions weren’t in the spirit of the grassroots effort to gain local control of Whidbey’s energy supply.
“It is not right and Whidbey should be angry, legal or not,” he said.
He also said he resigned, even though the group had announced a day earlier that he had been “removed.”
Jenkins vowed to continue his fight for a local PUD.
“I am not interested in anything other than getting electrical independence for our island,” he said. “I do not have career plans out of this as Dave Metheny has told me he does.
“That was my motive in putting in 12 hours days seven days a week for our PUD. That is why I am so angry about our efforts being fractured by WPUDA. I hope a few will join me in making sure that does not happen,” Jenkins added.
