The businessman whose contribution to a candidate for Clallam County prosecuting attorney stirred a political firestorm in the 2002 election, waited until the last minute to make the largest individual contribution of the 2003 elections.
Jay Ketchum, listed as owner of Olympic Divers of Sequim on state Public Disclosure forms, donated $2,000 to Republican county commissioner candidate Sue Forde, and $3,000 to community development director hopeful Rob Robertsen on the day before the Nov. 4 general election.
Forde, a Sequim Republican who operates an online newsletter and a Web design and hosting business, lost her bid to unseat incumbent Commissioner Steve Tharinger, D-Dungeness.
Robertsen, a former county fire marshal who owns and operates a part-time consulting business, defeated Bob Martin to become the county’s first elected director of the Community Development Department.
Ketchum’s $1,000 contribution to Deb Kelly in the 2002 prosecuting attorney’s election created controversy after he was charged with two felonies for allegedly assaulting a county sheriff’s deputy.
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The rest of the story appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition, as does the full list of campaign contributors.