Ellen Gray locks her office door when she’s at work.
Since she was threatened during a public meeting in Everett, Wash.,
this month, her job as director of the Pilchuck Audubon Society’s
SmartGrowth Campaign seems a high-risk occupation. Gray had just
testified about a proposed land-use ordinance at a Snohomish County
Council hearing when a man stood up in front of her with a noose
and said, “This is for you.” During a break, Gray says another man
cornered her and warned, “We have a 10,000-person militia, and if
we can’t stop you at the ballot box we’ll stop you with a bullet.”
Audubon is challenging the county for inaction on its Critical
Areas Ordinance, which defines wetlands and wildlife habitat. The
ordinance is a requirement for all counties under Washington’s
growth management act, passed three years ago. Bonnie
Phillips-Howard, also a member of Pilchuck Audubon, says, “The most
threatening thing is not the threats, but that the politicians are
allowing it.” Audubon’s SmartGrowth Campaign, initiated in January,
was designed to promote education and communication about
development. Meanwhile, Gray is deciding whether to press charges.
“It’s pretty sad, pretty upsetting,” she told the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer. “These guys have no respect for public
process.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Noose threatens planning supporter.
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