SNOHOMISH — The state still would like the rebel barber of Avenue D to pay up a slew of fines which he’s said before are a violation of his Constitutional rights to make a living.
The state Department of Licensing socked Bob Martin with $5,000 a day in penalties — $90,000 in total — when he reopened his business during the pandemic when businesses like his were closed.
He appealed and fought in both county superior court and an administrative hearings court. Judges in neither sided with him. (Story on administrative hearings court result.)
The $90,000 is still unpaid, state Department of Licensing spokesman Nate Olson said July 25, and the state will continue to seek being repaid.
Martin is not currently racking up further fines, but the fines he’s collected will accrue 12 percent interest per year if it goes unpaid, Olson said.
The department does not disclose its fine collecting tactics for specific cases, Olson said.
“The law provides multiple options to enforce judgments, and the Department will consider all of them,” he wrote.
Olson did not explain what these options are when asked.
The state fined Martin the total of $90,000 during 2020 for continuing to cut hair without a license
Martin’s cosmetology license was ordered suspended by the DOL in May 2020 within weeks of reopening against state coronavirus rules and later his license was revoked for 10 years.
The DOL, through the state attorney general’s office, began seeking a cease and desist order in December 2020.
The DOL fined him a cumulative $90,000 — $5,000 a day — for continuing to cut hair without a license. These fines stopped in June 2020 when the DOL issued a Statement of Charges.
The department says it is open to working with Martin.
Generally, the 80-something-year-old buzzcutter has told authorities to buzz off when it comes to his right to operate.
Stag Barber & Styling opened in 1969 as the first tenant of the Snohomish Square shopping plaza on Avenue D.
