Tuesday, July 22, 2014

August 5, 2014 Primary Election


Another election, another crib sheet. I've dropped all pretense of objectivity. I am of the Green persuasion and view all candidates through that filter. First and foremost I want to be sure we have a functioning planet on which to live. Then I want to be sure that everyone has the minimum necessary to live a meaningful life. You will find that bias evident in all my comments on candidates. I have really tried to keep the snark level to a dull roar.

Where a candidate has provided contact information, I have posted it. A surprising number have not. I was also surprised to discover that some of the candidates have not filed any reports with the state Public Disclosure Commission. For those who did, I have included the basic financial information. 

For more information (precious little of it from what I see), check out the on-line voters' pamphlet at https://wei.sos.wa.gov/county/island/en/Elections/Pages/OnlineVotersGuide.aspx

And then there are the basics of the voting process. Your ballot envelopes need to be stamped and in the mail before the last dispatch (somewhere around 4:00 pm) on August 5, or in one of the special collection boxes (no stamp needed) before 8:00 pm on August 5. 
Those boxes are at:
Island County Elections Office    400 N Main Street                 Coupeville
Oak Harbor City Hall                   865 Barrington Drive            Oak Harbor
Trinity Lutheran Church (in the parking lot)   18341  SR 525   Freeland
Ken's Corner (in front of Red Apple)   4141  SR 525                Clinton
Camano Annex                            121 N East Camano Drive     Camano Island


U.S. Representative

Partisan Office,   2-year term



Mike Lapointe    Independent

            Mike Lapointe is that refreshing phenomenon: someone who speaks his mind, without first weighing how his response will play with this or that constituency or potential donor. And what I heard him say was also refreshing, as well as encouraging. He calls himself the 99% Independent for the People. Here is a genuine populist in the mold of Jim Hightower. He is clear that corporations are not people and money is not speech, and that we must not destroy the environment for profit. His focus is jobs, but along the way he also has good positions on issues such as the Growlers at OLF and coal trains to Bellingham. I intend to vote for Mike.


http://mikelapointe.org/voter-guide-statement/

 

Rick Larsen        Democratic - incumbent

            I used to hold my nose and vote for Rick because the alternative was usually some unthinkable right wing loonie. No more. Rick has overstepped the last bound as far as I’m concerned. He does not recognize the global impacts of the proposed coal terminal at Bellingham, trotting out the tired old mantra of ‘jobs’ to justify this planet killer, and he says “if we don’t do it, somebody else will”.  He supports the KXL pipeline for the same tired old reasons. He also supports the Navy in any and everything it does, whether its driving people out of their heads on central Whidbey or killing Orcas and just about anything else in the ocean with ‘active sonar’ military exercises.

Sorry Rick, but you can’t keep spitting on your constituents and expect them to continue to support you.

http://www.ricklarsen.org/

 

B.J. Guillot        Republican

            Your typical computer geek, working in “public safety” related fields. His take on issues appears to be Libertarian Republican, and overly simple. Because he’s a geek he favors internet freedom and curbs on NSA spying. But he is focused on the national debt and what is euphemistically called a ‘fair’ tax, a shift from income taxes to sales taxes. The best I can say after checking their website is that the ‘fair’ tax folks are well meaning but deluded. The worst I can say is that they are trying to bankrupt the country.  He favors a strong military, but not endless war (well, one positive point). On the other hand he “fully supports the 2nd amendment” and has a concealed pistol license (so he's against gun control). On energy he says he wants ‘all forms of energy’, including nuclear, oil, gas, coal, hydro, geothermal, solar, and wind. He thinks research on nuclear should be a priority, along with fusion reactors. Oh boy.

http://www.vote4bj.com/ 



State Representative  Position 1

Partisan office, 2 year term


Norma Smith      Republican - incumbent

            Norma wants to promote jobs by making life easier for business, reducing the cost of doing business, “attracting job creators.” This usually means foregoing serious review and analysis. She talks a good line about protecting farmland (by protecting farmers from environmental regulations), supporting state parks (gotta say, she’s good on this issue). My personal dealings with Norma have been positive. Its just her votes that bother me – a lot.  Given that she has only one opponent and he is downright scary, I’ll be voting for Norma.


$56k raised, $18k spent



Michael Scott     Libertarian

            Libertarians are so far out there its hard to explain. They want to move to a “uniform consumption tax on all final retail sales of goods and services.” They prefer user fees to taxes. That includes for transportation. Sure, all the folks who use the ferry will just pay a user fee to support building new boats. Oh, we already do that. Hmm.  On health care, they want to focus on catastrophic instead of comprehensive insurance and care. Oh boy. Don’t bother with preventive medicine, just wait until after the heart attack. And they want to focus on cash subsidies. Not clear where that cash would come from since they don’t want to collect taxes. Fundamentally, they don’t believe there should be a state to oversee commerce, and a doctor/patient relationship is a commercial one, so they see not need for government oversight of doctors (or other professionals). You just decide for yourself if this person is competent to perform surgery on you, and we don't need to bother with all that paperwork involved in certification. Who needs all those bureaucratic departments like public health, food inspections, occupational safety, etc? Individuals will just make their individual decisions about whether the water is drinkable or the food untainted. 

I may have my differences with Norma, but at least she believes in government.


$0 raised, $0 spent



State Representative  Position 2

Partisan Office, 2 year term


Dave Hayes        Republican - incumbent

Your typical middle aged white cop (He’s a Snohomish County deputy). He is endorsed by the National Rifle Association and by Human Life of Washington for his votes against gun control and insurance coverage for abortion. He’s also endorsed by some very anti-environmental organizations such as the Farm Bureau and Association of Washington Business. Probably because he voted against a proposed carbon emission reduction study. He voted in favor of law enforcement being able to use “extraordinary sensing devices” – a bill Governor Inslee vetoed. And he sponsored a bill to make compliance with water quality standards voluntary. He failed Project Vote Smart’s “Political Courage Test” in 2012 (politicalcourage@votesmart.org). He’s had his turn. Now its time for someone who actually represents us and our values.


50k raised, 29k spent



David Sponheim  Democratic

This guy is not actually a democrat. He’s with something called America’s Third Party, which appears to have a fairly typical Libertarian agenda. This is the guy who does a takeoff of Barack Obama, in blackface and phony ‘darky’ accent, and can’t understand why people are put off.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWXMqpb8tpg. His website touts “Free Speech, Gun Rights, and Privacy.” One of his major issues is repealing the septic tank inspection requirement. Hard to take him seriously as a candidate.


no record



Nick Petrish       Democratic

Starting from a focus on jobs and the infrastructure necessary to create and maintain them, Mr Petrish goes on to specify the need for clean energy, support for local agricultural production, and local (in-state) banking services. He has a comprehensive overview on state budgets and how we support positive change. I would like to know a whole lot more about this guy, but given the three other candidates, I’ll be voting for Nick Petrish.


$1925 raised,  $0 spent



Brien Lillquist     Republican

Mr Lillquist has been running for one office or another for decades. We are all very lucky that he has never won. There is no information about him available from Project Vote Smart or Ballotopedia. He has no website, no facebook page, and no twitter account. He has been a gadfly around Oak Harbor for many years, throwing the school board and the parks board into turmoil on various occasions. He had a Huey helicopter sitting in his front yard for 5 years. He’s a former airplane mechanic, inspector, and pilot. He used to write semi-coherent letters to the editor. Not a serious candidate.

$0 raised, $0 spent



County Assessor

Partisan Office   4 year term


Mary Wilson-Engle          Republican - incumbent

She is running unopposed so I will not be voting for this position.




County Auditor

Partisan Office    4 year term

Pretty stupid to have this be a partisan position.



Rebecca (Becky) Wagner   Independent

Becky has a ton of experience in the field. She actually has an accounting background and has worked in both the Skagit and Island county auditors’ offices. She knows the job and has the head for the accounting and record-keeping part of it. She has provided long and thoughtful responses to questions about the office and how she would handle it. From personal interactions with Becky I believe that she will assure that elections are open and honest, and that voter registration will be encouraged. I’ll be voting for Becky.


$0 raised, $0 spent



Sheilah Crider     Republican - incumbent

I’ve known Sheilah Crider since she sat on the county planning commission, many years ago. She was for many years a realtor in Oak Harbor. She went on to Oak Harbor city council and eventually to Island County Auditor. The auditor’s office has several broad functions: 1) it oversees elections 2) it maintains records relating to marriages, property titles, and property taxes. It is an important job with a lot of nit-picky detail. Sheilah has been doing a minimally adequate job with a lot of help from long-employed support staff. I was not able to find anything on line more recent that 2-6-13. Sheilah did not respond to the Vote 411 questionnaire.


$1348 raised,  $706 spent


County Clerk

Partisan Office    4 year term


Debra Van Pelt     Democratic - incumbent 
Because there is only a single candidate, I will not be voting for this office.


County Coroner

Partisan Office    4 year term


Robert Bishop    Republican - incumbent 

Because there is only a single candidate, I will not be voting for this office.

County Prosecutor

Partisan Office    4 year term


Greg Banks     No Party Preference - incumbent 

Even though I think of Greg as a friend, because there is only one candidate, I will not be voting for this office.



County Sheriff

Partisan Office    4 year term



Mark C Brown    Republican - incumbent

Mr Brown has been a disappointment. He appears to represent his friends and the owners of certain private property rather than the community at large.  Thus far he and his deputies have threatened people with arrest for walking on public tidelands based on unsubstantiated (because they are not true) claims by neighboring private property owners that they owned those public tidelands. I deal with a lot of  panicky phone calls from people reporting unpermitted logging and ground clearing, usually beginning on Friday afternoon and finishing up late on Sunday. I asked Sheriff Brown shortly after he began his first term if he would send a deputy to ask the operator to hold off until Monday morning so that county staff could come check it out. He replied that he would not risk one of his deputies on a “mere civil matter.”


Since he has no declared opponent, this is the perfect time to write in your favorite candidate. I am torn between former sheriff Mike Hawley and our own beach cop, Mike McVay. I’m thinking that a large vote tally for one or both of these would make a fairly strong statement about community priorities.


County Treasurer

Partisan Office    4 year term

Here’s another office which really should not be partisan. As far as I know, cash does not come in red and blue. Its all cash and the treasurer has to account for it and invest it for the benefit of the county.



Wanda J Grone    Republican

She say’s she’s a CPA, and that’s a useful skill in this position. She did declare for the position without notifying her boss, the current Treasurer – which led to her being fired. It feels like this is a petty argument among staffers in one office. I don’t have enough facts and don’t want to contribute to the argument.


$3436.59 raised,   $2972.15 spent

 

Christa E Canell    Republican

I’ve seen her signs on the roads, and her facebook page touts available T-shirts. Her website lists what she sees as her qualifications. She might be able to do the job. She’s a branch manager at Land Title Escrow.


$3816.00 raised, $2835.49 spent



Ana Maria dNuñez    Democratic - incumbent 

She’s the incumbent, and I see no reason not to re-elect her. She has the educational qualifications, complete with a Masters in Accounting & Fiscal Management. She’s been doing the job and upgrading the technology in a very difficult context. And people I consider terribly irresponsible have been gunning for her. If for no other reason, I’ll support her against that sort of attacks. I’ll be voting for Ana Maria.


$0 raised, $0 spent




District 3 only



County Commissioner, district 3

Partisan office   4 year short and full term

Most of us don't get to vote for the District 3 commissioner in the primary. Only residents of District 3, which includes all of Camano and Whidbey north of Oak Harbor. Two of the five candidates below will advance to the general election. All of us in Island County will then vote for one of the two in the general election. 



Karla Jacks      Democratic

I attended a candidate session with Ms Jacks. I wish she had stronger environmental leanings, but at least she favors maintaining what’s left of our environment, the "no net loss" position, as opposed to improving our degraded environment. She is very strong on social services and protecting those without power – children, the elderly, disabled people. I’m not happy with her unwillingness to confront the Navy about the Growler operations at OLF, but understand why that might be hard.  I would call her a Chamber of Commerce Democrat, someone who believes in creating more jobs. I think we will be able to work with her and when I have the opportunity in November, I will vote for Karla.




Rick Hannold   Republican

Yet another retired Navy guy, tea party type. He supports the Navy (natch) and the 2nd amendment (so he’s against gun control). He was one of the 3 candidates nominated to finish out Kelly Emerson’s term and as such was interviewed by the sitting commissioners. I heard him say that he would do whatever the people wanted – as long as it was consistent with his beliefs. I found him scary. He patently has almost zero experience or understanding about how Island County works. He believes that the  climate change  controversy is manufactured, that climate change is just part of the natural course of events. He asserts that ‘mankind is not changing the weather.’ He cites his experience on the Oak Harbor Christian school board as preparation for sitting as a county commissioner.


$0 raised, $0 spent

AubreyVaughan   Republican - very short term incumbent

He is now the incumbent, having been chosen to fill out Kelly Emerson’s term. I couldn’t find any website, facebook or twitter for Mr Vaughan. He did not respond to a Vote 411 survey. I watched Mr Vaughan in action at the 7-21-14 Commissioners’ hearing on a subject near and dear to my heart. I am appalled. His entire focus was on private property rights and blowing up beaver dams. He had no concept at all of protecting rare and endangered species. He wanted Island County to opt out of the Growth Management Act and had trouble believing the planning director when he said that was not an option. He saw no reason why new agriculture should abide by environmental laws. He said it was Island County’s duty to challenge the state and federal governments. Really? This guy is scary. Kelly Emerson with a veneer of civility.

$7041.44 raised, $10,949.91 spent  (no info on source)



Kelly Bagley   Republican

Hey, maybe this guy is onto something. He says as a commissioner it will be his priority to bring Joy to islanders. He learned all about Joy as a missionary in Africa. He wants to focus on GMA and whether the county is serious about it. He’s worried about the long-term water supply. He wants to see if we really need the Conservation Futures Fund.

I couldn’t find any website, facebook page, or twitter account. And this guy makes his living testing smart phones for Amazon. Hmm. https://www.elance.com/s/robertkellybagley/

No financial info available



Marc Hennemann   Republican

One more retired military guy. MA in public administration, USAF  22 yrs, high school social studies teacher 10 years, which makes me pity his students. Clearly of the tea party persuasion. His most important issue is taxation. He basically wants to do away with taxes. He is fixated on property rights. He believes local, state, and federal agencies should take no action on  climate change until it has been proven. Like all the other candidates, he loves Island County and wants to keep it beautiful. He thinks his education & training qualify him above the other candidates.


$3144.20 raised, $1381.31 spent