By Brian Gawley
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — Clallam County plans to take legal action against Mary Ellen Winborn, the elected director of the Department of Community Development who moved to Mississippi in May.
What action will be taken was unclear as of Tuesday, when Clallam County commissioners voted unanimously to direct county Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols to start legal action against Winborn after a 75-minute executive session Tuesday morning.
Clallam County Commission Chairman Mark Ozias said the action should be filed by the end of week, when he should have more information. Commissioner Bill Peach said more would be decided during another executive session. Neither Commissioner Randy Johnson nor Nichols could be reached on Tuesday for comment.
Reached by phone in Mississippi, Winborn called county legal action “absurd” and “unfair.”
Winborn, who was elected to the post in November 2014 and reelected in November 2018, moved to Mississippi in May. Her term expires in December and she is not seeking reelection. Her position pays $101,000 annually.
She has said she has rented a place and returns to it once a month while conducting most of her duties remotely.
Not now registered to vote in Clallam County, she said she will renew her Clallam County voter registration once she receives her new address from the Washington State Address Confidentiality Program.
The 31-year-old program, through protecting records and providing mail forwarding, offers a safety plan to prevent people’s addresses from being located by perpetrators through public records such as driver’s licenses, voter registries and marriage records.
The intent is to protect survivors of crime. It is available to Washington residents who are targets of stalking, domestic violence, trafficking or sexual assault, as well as criminal justice employees who have been threatened or harassed because of their work.
Participants receive a confidential address where mail can be sent.
Winborn said she entered the program after hearing that someone asked to see her Clallam County voter registration record.
“I’m being stalked,” Winborn said.
“Nobody checks someone’s voter registration.”
She has temporarily canceled her voter registration until she receives her new confidential address. Then she will reapply online, Winborn said.
According to the state Department of Revenue’s website, “Persons are considered residents of this state for sales and use tax purposes if they take actions which indicate that they intend to live in this state on more than a temporary or transient basis. A person may be considered a resident of this state even though the person is a resident of another state.”
The department presumes a person is a Washington state resident if he or she does any of the following:
• Maintains a residence in Washington for personal use;
• Is registered to vote in this state;
• Has a state professional or business license in this state;
• Has a Washington state driver’s license; or
• Claims Washington as a residence for obtaining a hunting or fishing license, eligibility to hold public office or for judicial actions.
Winborn said she is renting a room in the county for when she visits once a month to carry out her official duties.
“I don’t really know what they are doing,” she said of the commissioners.
“It surprises me they are taking legal action. I’m working every day, fulfilling my obligations. This is really absurd.
“In code compliance, when someone does something wrong, we give them an opportunity to correct it,” she said.
“I’m working online. I’m working a minimum of a day a month,” Winborn said.
“Put it on the ballot if people want to recall me.
“My term is up at the end of the year. They can’t even let me do my time. Let me do my job. I know more about it than anyone. Just let me finish it out. People work online all over the world,” Winborn said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached by email at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
