Bellingham City Club

Watch the conversation with Hart Hodges and James McCafferty of WWU Center for Economic and Business Research who provided their evaluations of how the economy is doing nationally, statewide and locally.
Their discussion included current trends for the cost-of-living, tariffs, and the national debt.
As for housing, Whatcom County now has the worst housing affordability in the Puget Sound region when comparing home prices to incomes. .
What did they say about that? Give this one a listen. https://bellinghamcityclub.org/its-the-economy-stupid/

Bellingham City Club: Coming Sept. 24: Candidate Forum Part 2!

Races for three City Council seats, three County Council seats, and a Port Commissioner are on the ballot in November along with several initiatives. To help our community make informed choices, Bellingham City Club continues our candidate and initiative forums in September and October.

For September, we have scheduled candidate forums for the Whatcom County Council District 3 seat, Christiansen vs. Rienstra, the Whatcom County Council At Large seat, Flowers vs. Buchanan, and the Bellingham City Council Ward 6 seat, Redding vs. Lilliquist.

For October, mark your calendars for our 3rd forum being held on the 3rd Wednesday, October 15 to coordinate with timing for ballot arrival.

Registration recommended by 6 pm on Sunday, September 21 at: https://bhamcityclub.wildapricot.org/event-6322148/registration

If you have questions you’d like us to ask during the forums, please email your suggestions to [email protected].

Bellingham City Club meets in person on the fourth Wednesday of each month, except October and November (3rd Saturday) and December, at: Bellingham Yacht Club, 2625 S Harbor Loop Dr., in Bellingham.

A buffet luncheon is served. Doors open at 11:30am. The meeting starts at 12:00pm and ends at 1:30pm. Tickets are nonrefundable. Ticket prices:
Member, $25
Non-member, $30
Youth under 25, $10
Program only (no meal), $10

Established in 1993, Bellingham City Club’s mission is to inform, connect, and engage our community to strengthen the civic health of our region.

Did you know that in November 2023, Whatcom County voters passed the largest public works project in the history of Whatcom County?!
What was that, you say?
It authorized the construction of a new jail supported by strong behavioral health and diversion programs.

You can now watch our May program on YouTube and hear presenters Stark Follis, Barry Buchanan, and Kayla Schott-Bresler detail the successes and challenges to implementing these critical improvements in Whatcom County's justice system.
Watch here: https://bellinghamcityclub.org/pursuing-justice/

Panelists analyzed the treatment and diversion programs in use today, those that are being designed for a future facility, and provided an update to the jail planning process.

Panelists included: Starck Follis, the Director of the Public Defender’s Office, County Councilperson Barry Buchanan, and Kayla Schott-Bresler, Whatcom County Deputy Executive.

We thank them for their dedicated work and for their time in telling us what's happening on this important community endeavor.

Stay tuned: Since our citizen's historical vote, recent cuts to state and federal funding, inflation, tariffs, and declining sales tax revenue have added new challenges to both jail construction and expanding diversion programs.

May 28, 2025: Pursuing Justice | Bellingham City Club May 28, 2025: Pursuing Justice   May 28, 2025June 6, 2025 by Robin Barker The Proposed New Jail and Diversion Programs – Where We Stand Now In November 2023, voters passed for the largest public works project in the history of Whatcom County: construction of a new jail supported by strong behavio...