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/

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 2^nd 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.

http://votenormasmith.com/

$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.

https://www.facebook.com/michaelScott4WA1st

$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.

https://www.facebook.com/ElectDaveHayesStateRep

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.

http://www.davidsponheim.com/

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.

http://nicklovesskagit.org/2012/08/29/sustainability-in-washington/

$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.

http://www.islandcountyassessor.com/

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.

http://onyourballot.vote411.org/race-detail.do?id=12452798#.U87tYaiW9wk

$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.

https://wei.sos.wa.gov/county/island/en/pages/default.aspx

$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.

http://www.wandagrone.com/

$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.

http://www.canellfortreasurer.com/

$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.

http://www.reelectnunez.com/

$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.

http://jacksforcommissioner.org/

Rick Hannold   Republican

Yet another retired Navy guy, tea party type. He supports the Navy (natch) and the 2^nd 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.

http://www.rickhannold.com/

$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.

http://onyourballot.vote411.org/race-detail.do?id=12452890#.U873aqiW9wk

$3144.20 raised, $1381.31 spent

 

 

 

November 5, 2013 election, the issues

Its that time again, an election – which means its time for Marianne’s election crib sheet. We have almost no contested positions this time, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have important questions.

I have not listed all the many positions on the ballot county-wide. Sorry, my focus is south Whidbey. But if you want information about those other positions and the people running for them, here’s a website with the names and contact information:

https://weiapplets.sos.wa.gov/elections/Candidates/WhoFiled?countyCode=IS

First, there are two initiatives, one very good and one very bad.

Then there are a whole series of “advisory votes.” This is something new, forced on us by one of Tim Eyman’s initiatives. The wording is intensely one-sided and prejudicial. The issues are beyond obscure. And yet they’re very important. They all involve closing peculiar little (and not so little) tax loopholes. Eyman’s initiative defines closing a loophole as imposing a new tax, and we now have to vote on any increase in income to the public coffers.

These are pretty heavy wading. I’ll try to be as clear as possible. The language in italics is what you will find on your ballot.    

11-5-13 General Election ballot

Initiative to the Legislature 517

Concerns initiative and referendum measures

This measure would set penalties for interfering with or retaliating against signature gatherers and petition signers; require that all measures receiving sufficient signatures appear on the ballot; and extend time for gathering initiative petition signatures.

Should this measure be enacted into low?

Yes

No

This is another Eyman special. The claim is that petition signature gatherers are being ‘interfered with.’   This initiative would make ‘interference’ a crime. There is a long list of what constitutes ‘interference’, including “maintaining an intimidating presence within 25 ft”.  It further expands the locations where signature gathering must be allowed, including “all sidewalks and walkways that carry pedestrian traffic, including those in front of entrances and exits of any store, inside and outside pubic buildings such as sport stadiums, convention/exhibition centers, and public fairs.” Turns out that includes schools, hospitals, post offices, libraries, the works. It goes on to say that law enforcement must vigorously protect signature gatherers. The crime would be disorderly conduct. 

There’s one more item, and this may be the more important part of this initiative. Many of Eyman’s initiatives are tossed out by the state Attorney General because they fail some basic legal standard. This part of the initiative says that, regardless of the Attorney General, if an initiative gets the signatures, it must be put on the ballot.

And then, just to be sure, the time for gathering signatures would be extended to 16 months.

Tim Eyman makes a lot of money running initiative campaigns for anyone willing to pay. Some are truly bizarre. Others bollix our entire government and end up costing huge sums. I’m sure you have noticed that government appears to be broke. Thank you Tim Eyman. One of his early initiatives said that property taxes may be raised no more than 1%/year. That’s a lot less than inflation and doesn’t take into account the increased cost of government from increased development. So cities and counties in Washington have been tightening and tightening their belts, with no respite in sight. Now imagine him having 16 months instead of 6 to get more of his hare-brained initiatives on the ballot – and having to put up with signature gatherers just about everywhere.

This is an Eyman job security initiative. If I could vote NO a hundred times I would do so.

I recommend in the strongest terms that we all vote NO.

http://yeson517.com/facts/

http://www.no517.org/

Initiative to the Legislature 522

Concerns labeling of genetically engineered foods

This measure would require most raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, and seeds and seed stocks, if produced using genetic engineering, as defined, to be labeled as genetically engineered when offered for retail sail.

Should this measure be enacted into law?

Yes

No

In the interest of full disclosure (and no surprise to anyone who knows me) I have been actively campaigning for 522 for months now. This initiative would require the labeling of GMO (genetically modified) foods. Its that simple. Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association have thus far put up over $17 million to fight the initiative. I’ve received several mailings and seen ads on various web sites. They tend to focus on: 1. its expensive. 2. its confusing. 3. its unfair. Bullfrogs. Producers change their labels overnight and we all get used to the new label. No big deal, no big expense. As for confusing, I think we’re all grown up enough to know the difference between a label which says “contains GMO ingredients” and one which says “organic”. No confusion. Yes, there are lists of products which need to be labeled and those which don’t. If you think about that a bit, the logic becomes clear. Yes, breaded chicken needs a label because the breading is likely to contain corn or soy, both of which are mostly GMO. A plain old chicken contains no GMO because they’re not modifying chickens (yet). As for the fairness issue, unfair to whom? Everybody eats, and everybody has a right to know what’s in their food. If the industry thinks it is unfair to force them to reveal what they do to our food, maybe they shouldn’t do it. And if they think GMO food is such a great thing, then surely they would trumpet it on their labels. What do they have to hide?

I am voting an emphatic YES and hope you do too.

http://yeson522.com/about/read/

http://www.votenoon522.com/

Here come the Advisory Votes, a whole slew of them. Note the slanted language “the legislature eliminated, without a vote of the people”. And note that each issue is described as "This tax increase . . . " Note also the claim that this costs some huge amount of money. What it actually does is bring that amount into the public treasury. And finally, note that in each case the first option is to repeal, and then to maintain.

As you may have noticed, the bottom fell out of the economy in 2008. You can ascribe blame where you will. I lay it at the feet of Wall Street market manipulators. At the same time Eyman and his friends in the legislature were eliminating one tax after another. Great, you say, fewer taxes. But those taxes actually do things for all of us, and without them you start to see things like the recent I-5 bridge collapse (no money for infrastructure maintenance). So the legislature, hamstrung by the ban on new taxes, looked for ways to plug loopholes in existing taxes. There was a major fight over what constituted a new tax vs closing a loophole. All of the Advisory Vote issues are loopholes being closed, which must now be approved by us voters or they will be reopened. And I have to say, all of them are truly obscure, so hang on.

Advisory Vote No. 3 (Substitute Senate Bill 5444)

Concerns a leasehold excise tax credit for taxpayers who lease publicly-owned property.

The legislature eliminated, without a vote of the people, a leasehold excise tax credit for taxpayers who lease publicly owned property, costing approximately $2,000,000 in the first ten years, for government spending.

This tax increase should be:

Repealed

Maintained

All of us who own property pay property tax. There are people/businesses who lease public land. One of the biggest is shoreline leases from the state. Those people use the public's land as if it were their own but pay no property tax. So the state created something called the leasehold excise tax to make up the difference. The leasehold tax has been around for a long time. This bill amends the act to reduce workload for assessors, and to provide for the same exemptions which apply to property tax. It also provides a break for agriculture and marine product uses of leased land.

I’m going to presume that in this instance the legislature knew what it was doing. I will be voting MAINTAINED

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5444

Advisory Vote No 4 (Senate Bill 5627)

Concerns an aircraft excise tax on commuter air carriers in lieu of property tax.

The legislature imposed, without a vote of the people, an aircraft excise tax on commuter air carriers in lieu of property tax, costing approximately $500,000 in its first ten years, for government spending.

This tax increase should be:

Repealed

Maintained

We all pay annual tab fees on our cars, trucks, boats, etc. Airlines pay the equivalent of annual tab fees on their planes. In this case its called the state aircraft excise tax. For some reason commuter air carriers were exempt from this tax. They’ve been paying all of  $125.00/year for a turbo-jet, multi-engine, fixed-wing plane. The new schedule bases the rate on plane weight, ranging from $500.00 to $4000.00/year.

I will be voting MAINTAINED

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5627

Advisory Vote No 5 (Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1846)

Concerns the insurance premium tax to some insurance for pediatric oral services.

The legislature extended, without a vote of the people, the insurance premium tax to some insurance for pediatric oral services, costing an amount that cannot currently be estimated, for government spending.

This tax increase should be:

Repealed

Maintained

This is actually a tiny part of the Affordable Care Act. Under Obamacare, states are required to make available a menu of health care services. One of the items on that menu is pediatric oral services – being able to take your kids to the dentist. Some people go for a separate dental plan. Others have health plans which include pediatric oral services. The state charges HMOs a 2% tax on the premiums we pay. Right now pediatric oral services are exempt from that 2% tax on health care premiums. The legislature moved to close that loophole, beginning in 2015.

I will be voting MAINTAINED

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1846

Advisory Vote No 6 (Second Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1971)

Concerns a retail sales tax exemption for certain telephone and telecommunications services.

The legislature eliminated, without a vote of the people, a retail sales tax exemption for certain telephone and telecommunications services, costing approximately $397,000,000 in the first ten years, for government spending.

This tax increase should be:

Repealed

Maintained

This is actually a big one. We all know that phone communications are changing rapidly. A lot of people don’t have land lines any more.  If you look on your (land line) phone bill, you’ll see a line item called Washington E911 surcharge. On my August bill it comes to $0.25. That surcharge funds the 911 network. Cell phones have not been subject to the E911 surcharge. The legislature has moved to close that loophole, now that well over half of the population uses cell phones instead of land lines. This is all a part of a major shift in telecommunications. It seems fundamentally unfair to me that one form of phone service is subject to the surcharge but another is not. And its not exactly a killer at $0.25/month. I think 911 is a good thing and we all ought to support it.

I will be voting MAINTAINED

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1971&year=2013

Advisory Vote No 7 (Engrossed House Bill 2075)

Concerns estate tax on certain property transfers and increased rates for estates over $4,000,000)

The legislature extended, without a vote of the people, estate tax on certain property transfers and increased rates for estates over $4,000,000, costing approximately $478,000,000 in the first ten years, for government spending.

This tax increase should be:

Repealed

Maintained

Washington has a tax on the transfer of property at death, with the first $2 million exempt. Farm land, family businesses, and estates passing to spouses are also exempt. The tax ranges from 10% to 19%. This gets really complicated, but the upshot is that the tax rate needs to be indexed to inflation, and that’s what the legislature did. They provided a grid that indexes both the tax rate and the minimum taxable estate to inflation.  Its hard to call that a new tax.

I will be voting MAINTAINED

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2075&year=2013

November 5, 2013 election, candidates

Its that time again, an election – which means its time for Marianne’s election crib sheet. We have almost no contested positions this time, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have important questions.

I have not listed all the many positions on the ballot county-wide. Sorry, my focus is south Whidbey. But if you want information about those other positions and the people running for them, here’s a website with the names and contact information:

https://weiapplets.sos.wa.gov/elections/Candidates/WhoFiled?countyCode=IS

Whidbey Island Public Hospital District General Obligation Bonds

The Board of Commissioners of Whidbey Island Public Hospital District adopted Resolution No 337 concerning a proposition to improve the District’s health care facilities. This proposition would authorize the District to expand and improve Whidbey General Hospital, including constructing a new inpatient wing for critical care, obstetrics and medical/surgical patients, and make other improvements; issue up to $50,000,000 of general obligation bonds maturing within twenty-six (26) years to pay for such improvements; and levy annual excess property taxes to pay and retire the bonds, all as priced in Resolution 337.

Should this proposition be approved or rejected?

Approved

Rejected

This is one of those situations where I know I’m being had, but can’t put my finger on how its being done. Yes, the hospital is old. Yes, the new standard is for single patient rooms. Yes, there are new infections out there which require isolation. So why am I still skeptical?

One thing I want to know is how much sustainability is being designed into this new wing. Will it be solar oriented? Will it be thoroughly insulated? Will it integrate recycling into the structure? This is the stage where these questions need to be considered, and I have not heard anything about that.

All of my reservations aside, I will be voting to APPROVE the hospital levy.

https://www.whidbeygen.org/about-wgh/about-the-2013-hospital-bond

And now, finally, we get to actual human candidates – and find that for most positions there is no competition. People are running unopposed. I’m not even going to bother commenting on single-candidate races.  And in the only few contested races, well . . .

Public Hospital District

Commissioner, position 2

Non-partisan office, 2 year unexpired term

Georgia Gardner

Commissioner, position 3

Nonpartisan office, 6 year term

Ron Wallin

South Whidbey School District

Director, position 2

Non-partisan office, 4 year term

Fred O’Neal

Director, position 5

Nonpartisan office, 4 year term

Rocco J Gianni

            Mr Gianni is a long time and much loved teacher at south Whidbey. He cares fiercely about kids, and it shows. He is also a bit of a flake. I think he could do well on the school board if others on the board remind him of deadlines and issues. I think his decisions will always be based on what is best for the kids rather than what is most convenient or easiest for administration.

Betty Bond

            Ms Bond appears to be a highly qualified administrator. I have not spoken with her, and what has been written does not reveal how she feels about kids. Her short time on the island is a disadvantage. We have seen other relative newcomers make extremely unpopular decisions based on a lack of local history. Trying to shut down the middle school would fall into that category.

            I truly have not made up my mind between these two. I will try to attend some of the candidate nights to see what more I can glean. I’ll update the Politiblog if/when I have more information.

Port of South Whidbey

Commissioner, position 3

Non-partisan office, 6 year term

Curt Gordon

            Curt used to be a good guy. He did good things on the Conservation Futures Technical Advisory Group. I watched him try to minimize the damage being proposed on Glendale Road after the great washout of 1997. And then he became a Port commissioner. He traded in his white hat for a very black one. Now he’s in it for the bucks. He’s pushing the cell tower application on the Possession Point ridge – where it will trash a part of the Dorothy Cleveland Trail and endanger communities at both Possession Point and Sandy Hook. I cannot and will not vote for Curt Gordon.

Ed Jenkins

            Sadly, Curt’s only opposition is Ed Jenkins, a loose cannon who is more dangerous to his friends than to his enemies. He has serious anger management issues. He claims to have done everything and been everywhere, but when it comes to producing actual results, not so much. I cannot and will not vote for Ed Jenkins.

            That leaves an empty space. I recommend a write-in for “none of the above.”

South Whidbey Fire/EMS

Commissioner, position 2

Non-partisan office 6 year term

Kenon J Simmons

South Whidbey  Parks & Recreation

Commissioner, position 2

Non-partisan office, 4 year short and full term

Mark F Helpenstell

Commissioner, position 3

Non –partisan office, 4 year term

I don’t know either of the two candidates, other than comments I’ve seen on line from Captn Blynd and the stories in the Record. There are two issues which are very important to me at Parks & Rec. 1. I really want a community swimming pool. 2. I want the open spaces managed by Parks & Rec to remain genuine open spaces, not groomed sports fields.

Both candidates say they will work toward the goal of a community pool. Good. Bob Hezel says he wants more developed recreation, including at “Trustland Trails”, the 200 acres between Craw Road and Pioneer Park. That land was acquired from Dept of Natural Resources by Whidbey Camano Land Trust and transferred to South Whidbey Parks & Rec. There was an agreement to keep the land in its natural condition, with perhaps a few trails. That was somehow not included in the transfer documents, so the promise remains verbal only. Obviously Mr Hezel doesn’t know about that promise. I did find uTube videos about Mr Hezel downhill mountain biking on Whidbey island.

My impression is that Mr Hezel does not appreciate leaving wild places alone. As of 10-19  I have posted a query on Captn Blynd’s Facebook page. I couldn’t find any contact info for Bob Hezel.

Captn Blynd    https://www.facebook.com/captn.blynd

Bob Hezel, Jr

I think I’ll be voting for Captn Blynd.

Commissioner, position 5

Non-partisan office, 4 year term

Matthew E Simms

For central Whidbey residents, there are two important positions on the Port of Coupeville

Port of Coupeville

Commissioner, District 2

Jim Patton – according to the Whidbey Examiner, he is running to continue Benye Weber’s work and policies on the Port District. Good reason to vote against him.

Bill Larsen – 48, retired Navy, substance abuse counselor, looking to ‘get involved with the community.’ “interested in maintaining a balance of promoting the Greenbank Farm while preserving and maintaining the landscape.” Applied for Port District manager.

From what little I’ve been able to find, I would vote for Bill Larsen if I had the option.

Commissioner, District 3

Richard G Bowen – retired real estate developer, thinks there are more constructive ag ways to use the open spaces at Greenbank farm. “there’s got to be some use for that open space.” Member of WCLT. Sat on Bainbridge city council in 1980s. 

Hot news in the Whidbey Examiner of 10-24-13 to the effect that Mr Bowen was lead partner in a shady development deal in Montana (325 houses on 260 acres) which lost its permits because of unreported environmental impacts, leaving a lot of very unhappy investors. Mr Bowen has claimed that his experience as an environmental developer would help the Port in dealing with Greenbank Farm.

Mike Diamanti – appointed incumbent. Has served on various port committees.

I have heard complaints about Mike Diamanti, but I have not heard that he wants to develop the Greenbank farm. When someone says he’s looking for a ‘use’ for open space, especially someone who is a retired developer, I vote against him. If I were voting in the Coupeville district, I would vote for Mike Diamanti.

School Board primary

Hey folks, did you notice those letters from the Island County Auditor? Yep, they’re ballots. There’s an election coming up. Deadline to vote and mail in your ballots is August 3.



If you don’t want to spend $0.46 to mail them, you can drop off your ballots in special boxes at:

Trinity Lutheran Church, Freeland, in the parking lot

Ken’s Corner Shopping mall, in the parking lot

County elections office, 400 N Main St, Coupeville

Oak Harbor City Hall, 865 Barrington Dr, Oak Harbor

If you miss the post office on August 3, the drop boxes will be open until 8:00 pm.

Here on South Whidbey there is only a single item on the ballot, but its an important one: South Whidbey School Board. There’s a primary because there are 3 candidates for a single position. An embarrassment of riches.

 The candidates are:
Betty Bond
Rocco Gianni
Miriam Coates

You can find their statements at: https://wei.sos.wa.gov/county/island/en/Elections/Pages/OnlineVotersGuide.aspx

 All 3 have impressive qualifications as educators. All 3 have experience as teachers. All 3 have done a lot of community volunteering. I read their on line statements and felt like they were all saying pretty much the same thing. Hard to choose.

 Rocco Gianni has been on south Whidbey for many years, a bit of an institution. He retired from teaching here.

Betty Bond is relatively new to the island. She’s working on integrating into the community.

Miriam Coates has been on south Whidbey for years and has children currently in the schools.


I will admit that I was going to sit this one out but I got a call from Miriam Coates which resulted in a long conversation. She convinced me that this is important, and that she has a lot of valuable ideas to contribute.

In order to be fair, I emailed both Ms Bond and Mr Gianni. Ms Bond never responded. Mr Gianni sent me his profile and at my suggestion posted same on the county’s voter’s guide.

Without going into the details of educational philosophy, I’m going to vote for Miriam Coates because:

1.     She took the time and energy to ask for my support and to explain why she was running.

2.     Everything she said about the schools, administration, education, and kids rang true for me.

3.     She’s young. Traditionally only retired people (as both Gianni and Bond are) are able to take the time to sit on such boards. Retired people have had a whole lifetime to get their minds set a particular way. I like the idea of someone who is young and not yet cast in concrete on the school board.

This point is the one that won me over. She says she wants to represent the students. She contends that school boards pretty much represent administration, oversight, faculty, operations – everybody but the kids. I’d like to see the kids have a voice.