I wanted to take a minute to thank Eddy Ury for meeting with me and discussing the need for fiber in Whatcom County. Eddy and I talked for over an hour. He showed true interest and he understands the need for fiber countywide and especially the need for a Dig Once Policy and Open Access Network. I do have one way that you can help that I will put at the end of this announcement. It involves supporting Commissioner Deshmane who has fought for equitable access for all of us for almost as long as I have. I've been working on this for about 5 years and I met Atul, through a now departed friend, one year after that.  

Now, onto the specific way you can help. Big Telecom and special interests have been working in the background to block high resolution network testing in Whatcom county. This kind of testing (which I've been doing on my own when I can), called network load testing, is different from the speedtest type of testing most of us are used to. It accurately simulates the way that modern users use network connections. Commissioner Deshmane, and a few others, have proposed high resolution testing for Whatcom County but sadly our Port, PUD, County and City governments are not funding it even though the testing is not expensive. All it would require are a few trained technicians to go on-site, to at least 1,000 sites, to conduct proper scientifically conducted, reproducible, transparent tests using network load testing. Estimates put this testing under $20,000 for the project which is so little to any of these governmental entities that they would hardly notice it financially.Remember, the Port has had millions in the bank for years now to start a rural fiber project that we're still waiting on.

What this type of testing would give us is an accurate map that shows once and for all how inadequate virtually all of our connections are in Whatcom County and Bellingham are and help the PUD and Port decide where to run their fiber first. So please, contact the PUD, Port, and your county and city councils and tell them to support a high resolution, network load testing, project using the RRUL (real-time response under load) testing protocol. Here is a link for further reading on the test.
https://www.bufferbloat.net/projects/bloat/wiki/RRUL_Spec/

I should note again that I have a new personal policy moving forward that I will apply to all candidates. I am no longer endorsing any candidates. This is not a reflection on any particular candidate, and I will continue to meet with candidates and provide them with information. However, it's time for the candidates I did endorse in the past to actually do something about fiber or to resign or withdraw from the race. Because they lied to us and enough is enough of that. To date, Commissioner Atul Deshmane is the only one who has made good on his promises. So I guess what I'm saying is that no matter who we elect, endorsements don't mean much. It's what they'll do once they get into office. So I urge you to take a minute and ask Satpal, Christine Grant, Seth Fleetwood, all of the current city and county council members I've endorsed in the past who said they cared about fiber, equity, jobs and justice when they're going to make good on their promises. We need this now more than ever. Also, ask all of the new candidates what they're planning on doing too.