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Public comments: advocates call for counting unhoused deaths; resident raises clerk-oath concerns and identity-theft struggles
Summary
Speakers at the community forum urged the council to better count unhoused deaths, asked whether the Superior Court clerk’s oath is on file, and raised barriers victims face when replacing identity documents; the council said it would follow up on the clerk oath.
At the community forum, three members of the public pressed the council on separate but substantive issues: the need to track deaths among unhoused people, concerns about the clerk of the Superior Court’s oath of office, and persistent identity-theft harms that impede victims’ recovery.
Sally Perkins, speaking about Homeless Persons Memorial Day, described an unhoused neighbor in Tacoma who died in September after repeated sweeps and gaps in services. Perkins said the county does not know how many unhoused residents die each month and urged the council to count those deaths and improve systems so fewer people die on the street. "If we counted the deaths accurately, I believe we would be stunned at the numbers," she said.
Online commenter Angela E. Schuardo described an extended identity-theft struggle that has lasted about eight years, cited FTC and credit-bureau data on millions of national identity-theft reports and billions in losses, and asked the county to consider ways to help victims obtain temporary documents to avoid cascading harms (missed work, late fees, inability to access benefits).
Heather Benedick asked the council whether the Pierce County Clerk of the Superior Court has a valid oath of office on file, saying she could not find an oath for an interim clerk and has waited more than 30 days for an oath for the newly confirmed clerk, Ivan Sandoval. "No oath means no lawful authority," she said, arguing this creates risk for court records and probate matters.
Chair Hitchin responded that Council member Robert Denson swore in Clerk Ivan Sandoval along with other department heads in January and said the council would follow up to confirm the date and ensure the oath is on file.
The community forum item closed after no further speakers were raised online; the council committed to follow up about the clerk oath and to accept the memorial-day proclamation and related advocacy as matters for future attention.
