Republican Clark County Commissioner Marc Boldt will not be allowed to speak Saturday at the Clark County GOP Convention along with other candidates, party chairman Brandon Vick said Wednesday, March 28.
Candidates are allowed to give a three-minute speech. Vick said Boldt may attend as an observer, but as part of a sanction imposed last year he cannot give a speech.
Boldt, who served five terms as a state legislator, is running for his third term as a county commissioner.
The convention runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hilton Vancouver Washington.
Boldt met Tuesday with the party’s executive board and asked members to remove sanctions aimed at convincing Boldt to vote more in line with the board’s thinking.
“It was a good discussion,” Boldt, a resident of Hockinson, said later Tuesday night. “Everyone got their points out and I’m just hoping for the best.”
Vick said Wednesday that Boldt answered questions for 90 minutes from board members.
“Obviously there were a lot of highs and lows but it was respectful,” Vick said.
After Boldt left the members discussed the fact that when the sanction was imposed in late November, there were no targets for Boldt to meet in order for the sanction to be lifted.
Since the executive board put the sanction in place, they could just lift it, Vick said.
Instead, they decided to form a seven-member committee that will come up with specific goals for Boldt to meet before the sanctions are lifted.
Examples of goals might be attending more Republican functions and a greater acknowledgement of the party’s platform, Vick said.
Under the sanctions, Boldt does not receive any financial assistance from the party and cannot access resources such as mailing lists. His name and picture have been removed from the party’s website under “elected officials.”
Whatever the board’s decision, Boldt said, “In this whole scheme of things, I won’t change. I’ll still remain a Republican and still have my same principles that I vote on.”
Asked how powerful the sanctions have proved to be, Boldt said, “I’m not too sure how it affects me.”
Vick said earlier that the executive board wasn’t happy with Boldt’s endorsing Democratic Commissioner Steve Stuart in 2010, and Boldt’s support of fee increases.
In 2011, Boldt was chairman of the C-Tran Board of Directors when the public approved Proposition 1. That raised the local sales tax rate by 0.2 of a percentage point, which C-Tran said was needed to maintain basic bus service. Also last year, Boldt and Stuart voted to increase the county 911 monthly excise tax from 50 cents to 70 cents to fix Clark Regional Emergency Service- Agency’s unsustainable budget.
Because commissioners decided in 2010 not to follow the state’s suggestion of increasing the monthly tax to the maximum rate of 70 cents, the state responded by withholding $500,000 from the state 911 fund; the law says only counties that are taxing at the maximum rate can benefit from the state fund.
CRESA Director Tom Griffith said if commissioners didn’t approve the increase, he would have to lay off 10 dispatchers.
The executive board was also miffed that, a week before a public hearing on a proposed admissions tax to help build a minor league baseball stadium, Boldt refused to promise to vote no.
Boldt ended up not supporting the tax.
Businessman -David -Madore earlier this month said he will run for Boldt’s seat as a Republican.
Tuesday, Camas resident Roman Battan announced plans to run as a Democrat.
