August 7 election, latest update

Fellow voters & Politiblog readers,

       A number of you have contacted me to ask why I haven't covered all the offices up for election this year. Fact is, I have. The whole thing is so massive that I had to do separate posts. You will see those listed down the right hand side of the blog page. Please do check out all of them.

       Also, a number of people have contacted me with new information about a candidate running against Rick Larsen. He had a great line on his website. The part he forgot to mention is that he has been convicted of insurance fraud - twice. I also hear that in his enthusiasm for Bernie he had developed a bad habit of bad-mouthing and name-calling Democrats. I am hereby withdrawing the nice things I said about the young man. Note that I was  not recommending him personally, but I did like his platform. I guess we'll have to find someone with some stronger ethics and a greater degree of civility to move that platform forward.

        Now go find that ballot and vote.

Ok, got it, NO STAMP IS NEEDED

I have now gotten the definitive word from a whole bunch of you that there is a card in the envelope with the ballot which says, in large print NO STAMP IS NEEDED TO RETURN YOUR BALLOT. Ok, message received. Which means you have no excuse for failing to return the ballot.

Several people have mentioned that the race which needs to be highlighted is the judicial one. I agree that very few people know a lot about lawyers and judges. I posted the races in the order they appear on the ballot. If some of you feel it really needs more emphasis, I will re-post so it shows at the top.

Thanks for the feedback and the kind words.

August 7, 2018 Primary crib sheet

Welcome to the Primary marathon. Note that your ballot is particularly long this time. Because of the open primary system in Washington, there are no fewer than 29 candidates for Maria Cantwell’s Senate seat. Luckily there are not quite so many for most of the other positions. In fact, I am appalled that a number of important county offices have no challenger to the incumbent at all. I will list those positions, but see no point in going into great detail. For the most part, unless they have done really wonderful things, I do not vote for unchallenged candidates.

Here’s the basic information:

Ballots must be returned no later than August 7.

            You can mail your ballot as long as the postmark is on or before August 7. To be sure that happens, get your ballot in the mail before 4:00 pm. Remember, it needs a stamp if you mail it.

            There are also drop boxes for depositing ballots without need of a stamp. There are now 6 of those, in the following locations:

            Island County Elections Office            400 N Main Street                    Coupeville

            Oak Harbor City Hall                           865 SE Barrington                   Oak Harbor

            Trinity Lutheran Church                      18341 Hwy 525                                   Freeland

            Langley Post Office                             115  2^nd Street                           Langley

            Ken’s Corner Red Apple                      4141 Hwy 525                         Clinton

            Camano Annex                                                121 N East Camano Dr            Camano

Deadline for dropping in the collection box is 8:00 pm on August 7.

There have been some unusual and worrisome communications coming out of the elections office this year, so make sure you are registered. If you have not received your ballot by July 21/22, contact the elections office. Like jurisdictions elsewhere, Island County sent out notices to some people that they were being removed from the voter rolls, but the notices looked so much like junk mail that many may have been tossed out. If you’re not sure, you can check on line at https://weiapplets.sos.wa.gov/myvote/#/login

or with the Island County elections office at elections@co.island.wa.us or phone 360-679-7366 M-F 9:00 – 4:00.

Marianne’s usual disclaimer. I’m not telling you how to vote. I’m just telling you how I would/will vote and why. You, obviously, will decide for yourself. Please, I have spent a lot of time and energy researching all of this, so do NOT yield to the temptation just to find the name in red at the bottom of each race. Its really important to me that your votes be informed.

After a vigorous initiative campaign season, you will note that there are no initiatives on the primary ballot. The deadline for submitting signatures to the Secretary of State was July 6. That office is still counting and tabulating and deciding, and those initiatives with enough signatures will be on the November general election ballot.

Two further points: Blogger and I are having a disagreement about posting. Some of the contents are underlined where I didn't want it and some are italicized where I didn't want it. Since I'm getting phone calls, emails, and people stopping me on the street, I'm posting with all the bloops just to get it out there in a timely fashion.

Second point. I apologize to the Camano folks for not researching the numerous candidates for Snohomish PUD seats. I don't feel like I know enough about those issues, and am feeling very pushed for time. I hope someone with the PUD boundaries has done this homework. Again, sorry it wasn't me.

Ok, now to the ballot. 

US Representative, 2nd Congressional District

Rick Larsen, D, incumbent  https://www.ricklarsen.org/

rick@ricklarsen.org

Senior member, House Armed Services Committee

We all pretty much know Rick from the years he’s been in office. And we’ve had some knock down/drag outs with him over his support of the military over the people of Island County, and his support for climate killing fossil fuel trans-shipment facilities in the name of jobs. We all know that he doesn’t get it on a lot of issues important to us.

And then the coup of 2016 happened and suddenly Rick is a new man. He voted against the Trump budget, against many of the insane and egregious proposals coming out of the fascist right. And he now believes in dealing with climate change, including cap & trade as one means to limit CO2. One has the distinct impression that the farther right the fascists push, the farther left Rick leans.

He now touts his voting record of trying to eliminate subsidies for the oil industry.

He wrote that exiting the Paris agreement is/was a big mistake.

He says he fought to keep transit/light rail funds in the federal budget.

He claims to have secured impact aid for schools with children of active military.

Now here’s an interesting one. He issued a press release just last week demanding that the Navy explain why it is insisting on putting all its Growlers in the Whidbey basket and expressing his concerns for Whidbey communities. Aw shucks and golly gee. We didn’t know you cared.

He’s against the Trump tariffs, as they hurt US workers and businesses.

He supports salmon habitat restoration, protecting critical habitat areas, and conserving open space. He worked to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is vital to acquiring and protecting special places.

He signed a joint letter to NOAA fisheries and the Army Corps of Engineers asking them to deal with the Atlantic salmon fish farm disaster by not permitting any new or refurbishment of existing pens.

He supports Medicare and Obamacare, and is fighting to prevent the destruction of both. He

cosponsored the DREAM act.

Since he sits on the Armed Services committee, it is no surprise that he continues to support the Everett and NAS Whidbey facilities, including increased # of Growlers – which, in light of the letter mentioned above, seems kind of internally contradictory.

He favors women’s right to make decisions about their own bodies, equal pay for equal work, and stronger economic opportunity. He has authored or cosponsored every women’s rights bill. 

He participated in Keep Families Together rallies in Mt Vernon and Bellingham.

There are reports in the last week that he has called out the Navy on how they intend to make whole the people of central Whidbey under their favored option of vastly increased Growler flights. I will be most interested to hear the Navy’s response.

Brian Luke, Libertarian           https://www.luke4congress.com/

luke4congress@frontier.com

If the name and party sound familiar, that’s because they are. His brother is running for Senate. This brother has a more coherent platform.

·      keep US people and money out of foreign countries. Allow them to be responsible for their own government.

·      collect sufficient taxes to pay for necessary government functions. Cut domestic, foreign, and military spending.

·      repeal federal prohibition on marijuana.

·      grant native tribes greater sovereignty over their own affairs.

·      cut military spending, reduce the military to what is actually needed. Do not neglect veterans.

Like his brother, Mr Luke is a former Republican. He says he left the party because he found them fiscally irresponsible. Can’t disagree with him on that point. I am not enamored of the Libertarian philosophy, which basically is “every man for himself and devil take the hindmost.”

Collin Richard Carlson, D       http://collinforcongress.blogspot.com/

collinforcongress2018@gmail.com

Mr Carlson is part of that young progressive movement. He was a Bernie delegate to the state convention who was aced out of his seat and vote by the Hillary faction. He calls himself a humanist voice. His goal is to change the federal budget, emphasizing education and the environment. He intends to re-design the economy to eliminate poverty and reverse climate change. (Ain’t youth grand?)

He presents an actual draft budget and program:

Department of People - $1.3 Trillion (34%)

  Increase Social Security Benefits 

  Lower SS Age to 55 (Lift cap on taxable income)

  Provide 5 Year Contract for Citizenship

  Provide citizens with SS Account

Department of Health - $1.1 Trillion (29%)

  Provide Universal Healthcare to all people

  Provide Universal Healthcare to all animals

  Expand medical and healthcare facilities

Department of Knowledge - $250 Billion (6.8%)

  Provide Tuition-Free Education PreK-PHD

  Build more schools and education centers

  Invest more in scientific research

Department of Earth - $250 Billion (6.8%)

  Take care of and expand public rivers and lakes

  Clean Super-Fund sites and invest in re-forestation

  Collect and sort all trash and recycling

Department of Agriculture - $150 Billion (4.0%)

  Provide and cultivate vegatation

  Limit the size of farms and invest in small farming

  Create Animal Rights to mitigate inhumane behaviors

Department of Protection - $150 Billion (4.0%)

  Protect American citizens from external/internal threats

  Protect Americans during expeditions and adventures

Department of Transportation - $125 Billion (3.3%)

  Expand public and cheap transportation

  Provide universal car service check-ups

Department of Economics - $100 Billion (2.6%)

  Provide Basic Banking services to all citizens

  Invest in a modern Glass Steagle

  Expend the CFPB

Department of Housing - $100 Billion (2.6%)

  Expand public housing

  Provide public breakfast and dinner

Department of Energy - $50 Billion (1.32%)

  Provide universal clean and green energy to all buildings

  Transfer America to 100% renewable energy

  Invest in research in fusion

Department of Communication - $50 Billion (1.32%)

  Provide universal broadband internet to all buildings

  Expand the capacities of USPS

Department of State - $50 Billion (1.32%)

  Provide foreign assistance and aide

Department of Justice - $40 Billion (1.0%)

Department of Creation - $25 Billion (0.07%)

  Expand public theaters and creative venues

  Expand public sports teams

Department of Labor - $25 Billion (0.07%)

  Provide headquarters to act as Union representatives

  Fight for labor rights

  Create communication boards and certifications for laborers

  Organize and train labor

This is a person and a program I could happily support. Realistic? Well . . .   On the other hand, if you don’t start somewhere you will definitely get nowhere. Someone has to dream big.

Uncle Mover, Moderate GOP party  http://theoriginalmikethemover.com/about-mike/

mike_the_mover@comcast.net

This one fries my cookies. Mike the Mover is a perennial candidate who uses the political process to advertise his business. He has no discernible platform and his only on-line presence is his moving business. I do NOT like people who abuse what to me is a very important part of our political life.

Gary Franco, Independent  https://www.garyfranco4congress.com/

garyfranco@hotmail.com

He promises genuine representation, hard work, honesty, and overall integrity. He will not accept any donations with strings attached or any single donation of more than $1k. His personal and political philosophy are based in the New Testament. He pledges truth, justice, compassion, and peace. And he pledges to serve no more than 6 years.

His platform:

*responsible fiscal management of the national budget.

*an affordable military budget

*high quality health care available to all citizens

*curing the homelessness epidemic

*helping college graduates pay back student loans

*creating a vibrant economy with good paying jobs

*holding the president to the promise of stimulus spending to repair infrastructure and     create good jobs.

My impression is of a well intentioned lightweight. I wish him the best but he’s a bit out of  his league here.

Stonewall (Stoney) Jackson Bird, Green party    www.stonewallforcongress.org

contact@stonewallforcongress.org

I’ve actually had interactions with Stoney Bird over the years. A deeply thoughtful man. Turns out he is a former corporate lawyer trying to make up for what he did then.

Stoney has a very broad and very well developed agenda. His website goes into great detail. Here are his 4 core issues:

democracy - Winner-take-all elections present an irresistible temptation to engage in gerrymandering of congressional districts. They are a means for both the Democrats and Republicans to defraud the public. Gerrymandering and legalized bribery mean that our elected “representatives” don’t represent us. For more on Congressional gerrymandering in Washington State, go here.

Money is not “Speech” – Corporations aren’t people. There are many issues on which voters agree across the political spectrum and often Democrats and Republicans do nothing about. Implementing automatic voter registration, stopping voter suppression, public funding of elections, proportional representation and rank choice voting.
Ecology - The current legal system subsidizes corporations, and elevates commerce over people and nature.  We need environmental policies based on the well-being of communities and nature, not corporations. We need a Green New Deal in which new jobs and industries are created by building new sources of energy and leaving outdated fuels behind. Rights for nature are needed now more than ever.
Social justice

• Need for a progressive income tax
• Unions should be available – easily – to every employee
• It’s time for a Universal Basic Income
• Housing for all – no matter what
• End  the cash bail system – it puts people in jail and wrecks their lives because they are poor
• End for-profit prisons

Peace - Cut the Military Budget Big Time! The US has over 900 military bases abroad while our infrastructure is falling apart at home, we need to redirect that money to serve the interests of the people, not the wealthy “defense” industry.

A real investigation into 9/11 also needs to be done. There are multiple pieces of evidence to indicate that the story that was sold to the American public was misinformation.
And further:

• Medicare for all and government negotiation of drug prices
• Free education through college
• Big cuts to the war budget
• A progressive income tax with rates like those of the 1940s and 1950s
• Expanded Social Security benefits and raising or elimination of the Social Security tax cap
• Guaranteed net neutrality
• Trade agreements that protect workers and the environment
• Special prosecutor for killings by the police
• Financial transactions tax
• Restore Glass-Steagall

Stoney very much represents my positions and opinions. I would happily vote for Stoney. I think he would do a great job in the House. Aside from his platform, he is an attorney, articulate, able to marshall his thoughts and his arguments to persuade his audience, able to understand the nuances of negotiation and deal-making.

            This race presents us with interesting possibilities. Because Rick’s position is so secure, no major Republican even bothered to run against him. Because Washington’s is a “top 2” primary, there is an opportunity for a 3^rd party candidate. This is our chance to put Stoney Bird on the ballot as the 2^nd candidate in November. It is all but certain that Rick will take the majority of the vote. With Stoney in 2^nd place we could have a genuine debate on real issues. This is our chance to hold Rick accountable via a “challenge from the left.” I hear its all the rage this year. Wouldn’t it be great to have a November election in which either of the 2 candidates is ok? I will very likely vote for Stoney Bird in the primary.

State Legislature, positions 1 and 2

 Here we go again with the gratuitous underlining. It means nothing. I just don't know how to get rid of it. Sorry 'bout that.

Someone asked me at a candidates’ night how it is that we are voting for 2 positions in the legislature. Just in case you didn’t realize it, each legislative district is allotted one senator and two representatives in the legislature. Which is why you will find ‘position 1’ and ‘position 2’ below.

position #1

Norma Smith, R, incumbent   http://normasmith.houserepublicans.wa.gov/

https://www.facebook.com/normasmithpage/

office@votenormasmith.com

She has no campaign website. Her Facebook page is pretty silent on her positions, so I’ve had to go to her voting record.

voted against automatic voter registration

voted against requiring health insurance to cover contraceptives and abortion

voted against a prohibition on ‘conversion therapy’ of juveniles

chose not to vote on banning bump stocks

chose not to vote on exempting the legislature from public disclosure

voted against amending greenhouse gas emission targets downward

co-sponsored a bill (which passed) to charge fees for public records

voted to authorize charter schools

voted against requiring paid sick leave

in her favor, she did vote in favor of net neutrality.

She’s rated 100% by the American Conservative Union and Associated General Contractors of Washington, a mere 93% by the NRA. She’s rated 0% by NARAL. She’s endorsed by Builders Association of Washington, NRA, Washington Farm Bureau. She has links to the Northwest Policy Center, a right-wing think tank.

Norma comes across as friendly, outgoing, concerned. Good front. When we try to talk to her about specifics, like how the Forest Practices Act allows wholesale logging of wetlands and steep slopes, she slides off into her favorite topic, rare earths. No matter what subject you bring up, she talks about rare earths. After a while you just don’t bother any more, which I think is the whole point. Pretty clearly, whatever she says, her voting record speaks for itself and it is not pretty.

A really important point is that it appears we are in process of losing the US Supreme Court, and with it we are likely to lose Roe v Wade. As mentioned below, it will fall to the states to legislate a woman’s autonomy. Norma has demonstrated with her vote that she will  NOT support a woman’s right to control her own body. To me this is a drop-dead issue.

Scott McMullen, D    https://www.scottmcmullen.org/

info@scottmcmullen.org

Scott is very much a political novice in spite of his 8 years on the Mt Vernon city council and it shows. He is still scrambling to put together a viable campaign. His day job is as a firefighter, and he’s used up all his personal leave days, which is pinching his ability to campaign.

Here are the priorities he has listed on his website:

education: fully fund k-12 education, no-debt school, safe schools, apprenticeship programs

transportation: fully fund transportation programs, invest in infrastructure, safe & efficient ferries

public safety: support first responders, common sense measures to protect students in schools & curb gun violence

quality of life: protect native fisheries & natural bounty of Salish Sea, GMA is vital, climate change is real, need to prepare for effects and mitigate further damage, invest in clean energy to create jobs; public/private partnerships to end affordable housing crisis.

I contacted Mr McMullen and we had a very positive conversation which was unfortunately cut short. I want to continue that conversation. I did send him a rather comprehensive list of questions. To date those are not reflected on his website.

One question I posed on the phone was: It looks from your church and your 8 children that you are a Catholic. What is your position on abortion? He never hesitated. He said that yes, he is Catholic, but that he believes in a woman’s right to control her own body. Period. Good answer. Given the very strong (and disgusting) possibility that we are going to lose Roe v Wade at the federal level, power to legislate on such issues will devolve to the states. What we know about Norma Smith is that she has in fact voted to restrict women’s access to reproductive health care. Scott McMullen will stand up for women’s autonomy.

I’m waiting to hear more from Mr McMullen, but this issue, as mentioned above, is a drop-dead for me. I’ll be voting for Scott McMullen.

position #2

Dave Hayes, R, incumbent     http://www.electdavehayes.com/

electdavehayes@gmail.com

sits on these legislative committees:

Public Safety (Assistant Ranking Republican)

Education

Transportation

Joint Committee on Veterans’ and Military Affairs

Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB)

Issues:

Affordable Housing – he will solve that by reducing government regulation, although he doesn’t say which ones or how that will reduce housing costs.

Opioid & Heroin Addiction – sponsored legislation to fund a Snohomish County Diversion Center to provide services to homeless people suffering from mental illness and addiction. Co-sponsored proposals to provide prevention and treatment resources statewide. Working toward increased enforcement against suppliers/dealers. Note that this conflates homelessness with mental illness and addiction.

Fiscal Responsibility – he is bent at having to fully fund education. Calls a capital gains income tax “irresponsible and must be defeated.”

Transportation – he is opposed to any mileage tax, claiming it disproportionately punishes rural districts. Reforming the permitting process for roads & bridges will reduce costs. Really? Need funding for maintenance and preservation. Seems like a really narrow definition of transportation.

Safe Communities – he wants more funding for local cops and more cops in schools. He will “continue to stand for first responders” and “ensure those who have committed crimes are held accountable.”

And here’s his voting record:

voted to promote renewable natural gas

voted against gender pay equality

voted against automatic voter registration

voted against protecting students from for-profit schools

voted against creating a Marbled murrelet habitat reporting system

voted against allowing municipalities to bank at credit unions

voted against establishing a Washington State Women’s Commission

voted against a tax increase for public transit funding

voted against restrictions on ‘conversion therapy’ of gay teens

voted against increased reporting requirements on campaign contributions

voted against requiring health insurance to cover contraception and abortion

voted against protecting ag workers and communities from pesticides

voted against the Washington voting rights act

voted against extending the voter registration period

voted against banning bump stocks, stating “I don’t think that banning accessories on a firearm is going to make safer communities.”

Dave Paul, D   http://www.votedavepaul.com/

dave@votedavepaul.com

Dave is an administrator at Skagit Valley College. He has an obvious and particular interest in education. From his website: Dave facilitated expanded outreach of financial aid to community groups, including instituting College Goal Washington events on both the Mount Vernon and Whidbey Island campuses. He has also led the expansion of student support for Latino students, the addition of bilingual staff members, and dedicated financial assistance for DREAMers.

Here are a few other of his focus points:

• Our property tax system in broken.  Instead of fully funding our schools, state legislators have raised property taxes, resulting in greater funding inequities across our state.  A more balanced approach should include decreasing unnecessary tax give-aways to big oil, and removing sales tax exemption for out-of-state residents.
• Climate change affects quality of life and important local industries.  He will work to significantly reduce carbon fuel dependencies and promote renewable energy industry.
• Farmland and agrarian economies are critical to our district.  Pressures from population growth can be mitigated with common-sense solutions, such as public-private partnerships that purchase development rights, and agriculture-friendly entrepreneurial zones.
• A diverse economy is a healthy economy.  We have established employers and industries, as well as fishing, agriculture, timber, tourism, and hospitality.  More can be done to help diversify and strengthen our economy, and thus provide living wage jobs.

I spent a productive evening  posing questions for Dave Paul at a candidate event. He’s better than his campaign literature suggests. One of the issues raised was the fact that certain elected officials go to lengths to avoid facing their constituents. Dave committed to regular town hall events.

I asked about the state’s regressive tax structure and the possibility of an income tax. Dave is enough of a realist to agree that even whispering about an income tax is political suicide in Washington. Instead, he proposes to educate taxpayers, and to institute a comprehensive program addressing the many tax loopholes and giveaways in the current code. He wants to avoid double taxing ordinary working people but says he has seen as many as 700 business tax exemptions, some of which support the fossil fuel industry. He favors a carbon tax (think Initiative 1631) and a Capital Gains tax, among others. Someone pointed out that millions of $$ of our taxes go to support the Washington Military Alliance, a private non-profit supporting the military, and questioned why our taxes pay for that but not for a Peace Alliance. Dave was not aware of this organization but reasoned that it was most likely all about jobs. And Dave proposed that we use such funds to promote peaceful jobs, such as in solar and wind, jobs which improve our communities.

Dave is enough of an environmentalist to understand the connection between the 4 Snake River dams and starving Orcas. He supports removal of the dams, which will open thousands of miles of stream habitat for salmon, which will then provide a food source for our painfully diminished Orcas. Good on him.

Everything I have seen and heard leads me to believe that he has the right ideas and the administrative/bureaucratic background to understand how the legislative system works.

Given Dave Hayes’ legislative record, I would likely support even a less qualified candidate. Luckily Dave Paul is highly qualified and will represent my views in the legislature. I will be voting for Dave Paul.

Island County Commissioner, district 3

 Before beginning the before beginning, I'm not even going to try to get rid of all that underlining. Just as with the sheriff's italics, I don't know how to deal with the underlining and I really don't want to have to retype this whole thing. Be aware the underlining is an artifact and means nothing. If anyone would like to offer me a lesson or two in Blogger, it would not be taken amiss.

Before beginning, I need to clear up some confusion. Island County, like most, has 3 County Commissioners, each representing their own district. Only the residents of the district vote for a commissioner in the primary. The general election, by contrast, is open to everyone in the county. So, while this race will not show on your ballot unless you are in District 3 (Camano and North Whidbey), I might as well do the homework now because 1/3 of you need the information now and the rest of  you are going to need the info in November for the general election.

Rick Hannold, R, incumbent   http://www.rickhannold.com/

rhannold@comcast.net

I’ve been watching Rick Hannold for the last 4 years and to say that I am underwhelmed would be a gross understatement.

The latest in a series of foot-in-mouth episodes involves Hannold’s appointment of Planning Commission members. Each County Commissioner appoints 3 Planning Commissioners from their district. Hannold chose to appoint 3 women who all believe that people should have to earn the right to live in Island County, and that people who live in tents in the woods do so as a lifestyle choice. After 2 years of work on an Affordable Housing plan, Hannold’s latest appointee torpedoed the whole thing – and Hannold defended her. The Planning Commission holds a great deal of power over how we live our lives in Island County. Hannold has made it clear with his appointments that poor and working people need not apply for residence.

He has consistently refused to spend and even refused to accept funds for projects in districts other than his own – and when he is overridden, claims credit for the good the projects have done.

There was a package of federal and state grants to build a trail from the Clinton ferry to Ken’s Corner. Hannold and Jill Johnson turned back that funding because they had other priorities in their own districts. Never mind that there was no funding for those other priorities. We end up losing the Clinton trail and having no funds for the Oak Harbor and north trails. Good work, guys.

Hannold has consistently tried to shut down the Conservation Futures fund and program. In his campaign literature he claims to have “successfully reorganized” Conservation Futures. Right. His reorganization eliminated the Technical Advisory Group  which did the research on which decisions were based. Conservation Futures is the program which provides the seed money which Whidbey Camano Land Trust so skillfully leverages into significant grants which they then use to buy such places as the Trillium forest, conservation easements all over Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve, and Barnum Point on Camano, among many others. Without that seed money those other grants are not available. Rumor has it that Hannold tried to sell off Barnum Point to developers. Failing that, he then took credit for what I hear is becoming a great public asset. And in his campaign material he even takes credit for the Land Trust’s work securing the Fakkema Farm. Now that is some chutzpah, given that WEAN spent inordinate amounts of $$ defending Island County against Oak Harbor’s demand to annex the farm, and WCLT eventually raised the multiple millions to buy the development rights.

One of Angie Homola’s accomplishments as a commissioner was to create the Clean Water Utility, intended to fund projects to do just that. I found the minutes of a Water Resources Advisory Committee meeting from late 2016 in which it was reported that “C/Johnson and C/Hannold were not in support of implementing this phase of the CWU. Bill Oaks has a million dollars in reserve with approximately $600,000 spent annually. They voted 2-1 to not release the money this year.” One might conclude from this that Hannold is not interested in protecting our water quality, even when specifically designated funds are available and waiting to be spent.

Hannold also claims to have saved Island Transit from bankruptcy. Right.

Most egregious is Hannold’s claim to have “led Island County’s victorious fight to keep multi-national open net fish farms away from Whidbey and Camano Island waters.” Maybe I’m most PO’d about this one because I was so intimately involved in the entire process. It began in 2010 when Angie Homola convinced her fellow commissioners to support a ban on Atlantic salmon net pens in the upcoming review and update of Island County’s Shoreline Master Program. The review and update went forward and eventually was sent to Ecology for review and approval. Ecology held the Shoreline Master Program hostage, demanding Island County remove the ban. There were a series of meetings and hearings, all of which Steve and I attended. Steve wrote a major paper summarizing all the science he could on the subject, and Ecology’s negotiator, Mr Tim Gates, acknowledged that Steve’s paper was the reason they waited 2 whole years to respond, and when they did it was to cave in an allow Island County’s ban. Rick Hannold’s only involvement in any of this was to approve the final adoption.

Oh, and Rick Hannold does not believe that climate change is real, so sees no reason why Island County should prepare for it.

I have very strong feelings about giving credit where credit is due. There is no shortage of this commodity and it doesn’t cost a lot to acknowledge what others have done. Rick Hannold has obviously never learned this lesson.

Janet St Clair, D          http://www.janetstclair.com/

stclair4islandcounty@gmail.com

Janet is more than a breath of fresh air. She’s a bit of a strong wind who will stir up Island County government in a most positive way. Her background is in human services. She sits on the Island County Community Health Advisory Board, so already has some idea of how things work (or fail to work) at the county. Among other things she has seen just how personally offensive some county commissioners can be, which has caused her to take a pledge for civility. That in itself is a welcome and long needed change.

Unlike incumbent Hannold, Janet has genuine hands-on experience in developing and administering significant budgets.

Here are the points Janet makes in her campaign literature:

·      Access to healthcare, including mental health and substance abuse treatment

·      Dignified retirement and resources to age in place

·      Affordable housing and economic opportunities for Island County residents

·      Parks, access to beach and open space for everyone to explore our outdoor wonders

·      Stewardship of the natural beauty of our islands through sound planning and policies 

·      Respectful, experienced leadership that values community and people above all

Janet believes climate change is real and that human activity is responsible for it. She sees that Island County can reduce its impact and can prepare for such things as sea level rise. She already leads a small environmental organization in pubic education on these issues.  She proposes, as commissioner, to work locally and regionally to develop policies and provide incentives for positive behavior. She is a proponent of low impact development, reducing stormwater runoff, working toward converting the county’s vehicle fleet to lower energy, providing more electric vehicle charging stations, and supporting I-1631, the proposed carbon tax.

She has plans to deal with homelessness and affordable housing, and the background and experience to lend some reality to those plans. Here’s a quote:

     I support the following strategies that can increase housing inventory while staying within GMA mandates and protect the rural and small town nature of our communities.

a. Increase in-fill housing inventory in establish urban growth areas and incorporated towns/cities

b. Create and incentivize co-housing and shared housing policies that do meet septic and water standards

c. Develop policies for micro-housing on large parcels that do not detract or damage our environment and farms

d. Incentives for owners to transfer existing housing from a VRBO inventory to rental inventory where fiscally possible

At the candidates’ night Janet pledged to hold town hall meetings on a regular schedule, both on Camano and North Whidbey, in the evening so working people can attend. She also wants to work on ‘virtual representation.’ Something Angie Homola spent years accomplishing was a video link between the county courthouse and the Camano annex, so people on Camano could participate without driving for several hours. The technology has advanced and Janet wants to make use of those advances to increase distance participation.

On the environmental front, she spoke about the need to  “de-armor” Island County’s shorelines. There are in fact regulations to prevent new bulkheads, but those are honored primarily in the breach. The effect of all these bulkheads is that the waves which would otherwise run out on the shore are blocked, but bulkheads have ends, so the blocked waves go around the ends of those bulkheads with more volume and energy – and erode the neighboring properties. There are technologies called “soft shore armoring” which could in many cases replace those bulkheads, reduce the wave energy, and prevent damaging erosion. Janet gave the recent project(s) at Cornet Bay as a great example.

Someone raised the issue of NAS and Growler noise over Coupeville and the prairie. Janet responded that this was very much an economic issue, and that even the Navy itself says that there are alternatives. They just don’t want to implement them. Janet sees the preferred alternative as having too great an impact on central Whidbey. She is very clear that challenging the current and proposed flight patterns and numbers does not make people anti Navy. She sees a tremendous adverse economic impact which she does not believe the people on central Whidbey should have to shoulder. She intends to consult with Rick Larsen and Senators Murray and Cantwell to address this, and ask them what plans they have to buy out all those homes and farms. Island County needs economic mitigation for the Navy’s plans.

Janet will make a great county commissioner and if I could vote for her in the primary I would do so in a hot flash. I will definitely do so in the general election. I would/will vote for Janet St Clair.