Tuesday, July 14, 2020

County Commissioner, District 1

Curt Gordon Independent


https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=202872234462700

- we need trusted independent leadership
- he will continue to respect the ‘spectacular backdrop’ of wildlife, views, & outdoor activities, while supporting a diverse population
- he will ensure everyone can afford to buy a home, build a business, start a family, retire
- he knows how to get things done

plans:
- bring parties together for the common good, like the budget crisis.
- focus on healthy environment. 
- reduce noise & air pollution with transit & foot ferry options. 
- maintain open space by promoting local farms. 
- adjusting ag code restrictions. 
- working with Assessor to enhance and maintain Forest Tax.
- support business by improving transport on/off islands. 
- more affordable rentals for workers.

Housing needs
- make it easier to live here, with
- affordable housing
- transportation alternatives
- promote high speed internet

He blames zoning for the aging population. 
The rise of air b&bs has decreased rentals. 
He wants to allow more small secondary dwellings. 
He wants to adjust Urban Growth Areas and Rural Areas of Intense Development to allow for infill. 

Transportation alternatives:
- reduce congestion, noise, and pollution by moving people, not cars
- increase parking in Mukilteo
- establish foot ferries

High Speed Internet
- lacking in parts of Island County
- team with local port districts to expand

I’ve known Curt peripherally for a long time. He’s a decent human being. I disagree with a lot of his ideas but we can debate them in a civilized fashion. He has done good work on the Port District. My favorite quote from Curt came as we were carpooling to a meeting and drove by a particular environmental disaster. He said “Now I’m no environmentalist, but this is just plain wrong.” Makes me think his gut is in the right place.

Late breaking news: candidate Gary Wray has withdrawn from this race and endorsed Curt Gordon.

As I’ve been saying with a number of races, we have an embarrassment of riches in the multiple candidates running this time. We could do worse than Curt Gordon, but we can also do better.


Damian Greene R



Make county government more responsive without increasing tax burden.
Will pursue ways to improve your life without increasing your financial burden.

video with sound track: God bless the red, white, and blue, with images of eagles and Blue Angels jets.

letter to editor touting his commitment to efficiency and streamlining of all county processing. Somehow this involves a full-time commitment, not to be divided with other board commitments. 
“The salmon watershed needs repair from neglect.” and more such incomprehensibilities.
signed by Char Henderson, his campaign manager. 

He proposes to:
~ streamline all county processing to help minimize lengthy delays
~ repair neglected salmon watersheds
~ ease commuting for Boeing employees
~ promote more accessibility to Paine field and ferry parking

Damien posts that he attended a “love of country” rally in Oak Harbor May 24, with Char Henderson. The photo shows no sign either of masks or of distancing. I have a lot of trouble with people who do not take COVID seriously. Makes me think either they’re not conscious of the threat, which makes them a danger to those around them, or they don’t care, which makes them callous to the harm they’re doing. He was obviously aware of the problem, as he posted about disaster assistance for small businesses and a link to the News Times story about COVID testing being available back in March. 

He says he will work to create a more robust business community to increase our standard of living while protecting our natural resources and rural character.

He advocates for a transit connection to Boeing, and Paine Field, with potential long term parking at the Mukilteo ferry, and ‘strategic growth management’ to improve quality of living while limiting cost burdens to taxpayers. There is uncertainty in this COVID era because of reduced sales & taxes.


His vision:
~ help the ferry advisory board toward a cost saving 24 hr ferry service, combat line cutting, pursue passenger loading ramp, and implement county resident priority boarding
~ pursue light rail up Japanese Gulch to Boeing and Paine Field, and add ferry parking
~ improve fire/EMS to save on property insurance
~ improve application processing time; accept payment on line
~ understand assessor’s use of algorithm to determine property taxes
~ if there is to be no sewer in Freeland, then review its Non Municipal Urban Growth Area status 
~ sewers are good for health, business, & affordable housing
~ review housing policies monthly to assure relevance, compliance, and effectiveness

Given Mr Green’s stated priorities, I think he would be better off running for the South Whidbey Port District. That is the place to work on such matters as light rail on the mainland and parking in Mukilteo. I am very unfavorably impressed with his failure to address the actual health impacts of COVID rather than  just the economic impacts. There’s a lot more not to like, but I won’t go into it.
Given all the great alternatives available, I would not vote for Damian Greene.


Ed Jenkins Independent

10-12-19 Whidbey Record Port Candidate Lambastes Incumbent at Forum
The story is all about Ed slamming and slandering Curt Gordon – who remained cool and refused to rise to the bait. The story is rather mild. I attended that meeting and took notes of the whole thing. I even spoke briefly with Curt afterward. He just kind of writes Ed off as a loony to be tolerated but not accommodated. I think Curt underestimates the ill Ed can do.

I was not able to find any website, Facebook page, or other contact information – which is probably just as well. I have had interactions with Ed and they have been uniformly unpleasant. He disliked what I had to say about him in this blog last year and threatened me with a lawsuit if I did not pay to print a retraction in the Whidbey Record.

Ed should be considered an ‘also ran.’


Gary Wray R

Well, I was going to do a whole write-up about Gary, but it seems that his participation in Civility First has convinced him to bow out. Today’s (7-11-20) Whidbey News Times reports that Gary has dropped out of the race for Island County Commissioner to focus on his affordable housing projects, and has endorsed Curt Gordon.

Bottom line: Gary is out of the race. Don’t waste your vote.


Melanie Bacon D


"I feel deeply committed to serve as a devoted caretaker of this amazing place known as Island County. Having spent the last nine years working intimately with the Board of Island County Commissioners, and living on Whidbey, I wish to continue the forward movement of both sense and compassion established by Helen Price-Johnson and other community leaders."

~ Smart government on a budget
~ common sense ‘green policy’
~ growth with preservation

She presents a 2030 Plan for Island County. I have not read all of it but it appears to be rather well thought through. I just don’t have the energy to wade through her whole program. Overall it looks good. Having interviewed her, I get a good hit. I like this woman.

So why am I not backing her? I am bothered by the rather mainstream Dem line she is taking, aligning with Helen Price-Johnson and Suzanne Woodard. They have pretty much formed a ticket. They are appearing together on-line at all manner of events. I would have preferred to see Melanie stand on her own feet and ideas.

What killed it for me was Melanie’s insistence that public employees have no right to strike. This was based on her belief that the services provided to the public are too important to be stopped over such issues as pay and worker safety. She also was disdainful of the notion that electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) can have an adverse health impact on humans and the environment. At least as much as the specific issues is the notion that she simply brushed off the issues raised. She certainly has a very positive agenda overall, much to be praised, but I am not the least happy with the notion that she may simply brush aside a new issue for reasons she feels no need to explain.

Breaking update: Melanie has responded to my critique of her position on EMF with a video stating her position. Check it out at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw8PvWMaGDA&feature=youtu.be
I've listened to it several times and she makes a lot of good points about broadband and cell access. I particularly like the idea of making it a public utility. While she raises the issue of EMF, she only says that she has questions about 5G. The issue is far broader than that. Cooked into any plan for expansion of wireless technology must be an examination of the health impacts, both of present technologies and any proposed future technologies. Think of all the other wonderful benefits to our quality of life which after many years proved to be dangerous/deadly. We are all electromagnetic beings. We need to look at the effect of electromagnetic frequencies on our bodies. I'm not hearing a commitment to that inquiry.

Under other circumstances I would likely have voted for Melanie. Given the current embarrassment of riches in candidate choice, I will vote otherwise.


Nathan Howard D

What I didn’t know about Nathan until reading his website. The man must have nerves of steel. He served two tours in Afghanistan doing explosive ordnance disposal. 

Being a planner, it is no surprise that Nathan has a detailed outline of his platform. I’m not going to copy out the whole thing. You can check it on his website. But I will give you the subject headers:
01 – Create local jobs in a robust, diverse economy
02 – Invest in sound infrastructure
03 – Modernize our government to better serve the community and support workers
04 – Preserve and strengthen our vibrant communities
05 – Progressive environmental conservation
06 – Bring more civility and civil discourse to local politics

Nathan has been holding weekly talks “from the camper”. He has one photo of a fair sized group of people, all appropriately masked, holding up their Nathan signs. Yeah, he’s taking it seriously. That makes big points with me.

What you get from his Facebook posts is that this is someone who thinks hard about issues and draws conclusions which very much parallel my own. He is a progressive who believes that the whole big structure of government exists to improve the quality of life for all of us. He’s well worth reading.

I know Nathan in the context of his former job with Island County Planning. He was one planner we could count on to give us genuine information, and to take our concerns seriously. And unlike many of his co-workers, he actually understood what we were talking about. He knows his stuff. Its nice to talk with people who speak your language. Recently we’ve been talking about environmental and land use issues in Island County. He’s on top of it.

I’m having trouble with Google (imagine that!) so can’t get to the long discussions on specific topics, particularly on environmental issues. I tried again today and was able to open the document - only to realize that if this blog is going to get posted before ballots drop, I can’t take the time to read his thoughtful and detailed plan. That will have to wait until you have this blog in hand. 

He’s a supporter of Ranked Choice Voting, a great way to give your vote more weight. You basically go down the ballot (like those 36 governor candidates) and mark #1 for your favorite, #2 for your next favorite – and on down. There’s usually a cutoff around 10 – 15 candidates. If your favorite got the least votes, your vote counts toward your second favorite. If that one doesn’t make it, your vote goes to your #3 – and on down until one candidate breaks the magic 50%. As with many things, its harder to explain than to do. I’d love to see it adopted and appreciate that Nathan would too. 

Along with fellow candidate Fe Mischo, Nathan has created and signed the 15% pay cut pledge. He is encouraging public officials to sign on. He knows full well that most of us are hurting, and he wants to share the burden while lessening it for others. The pledge is to reduce their own salaries by at least 15% before considering any staff furloughs or layoffs or service cuts to programs for poor and vulnerable people. That carries a lot of weight with me. 

He echoes my strong belief that government is NOT a business and should not be run like one. The bottom line (pardon the pun) for business is in fact the bottom line. The bottom line for government is to provide the services the people want and need. Yes, government can and must be careful in how it spends the people’s money, but its bottom line is not profit.

One of his conversation topics is systemic racism and how we can do something about that at the local level. 

His discussion on the right of public employees to strike demonstrates that he took his duties as a union official seriously. He cites the relevant laws and discusses the applicability and limitations. Clearly he has done some serious thinking on this subject. 

I thought I knew Nathan. Boy way I wrong. There is so much more there than I ever realized. This is one very intelligent, very articulate, very thoughtful, very progressive, but mostly very decent human being.

7-24-20 update. I have received a truly scurrilous email targeting Nathan and calling him a forger and misogynist. I'm pretty disgusted. The posting party evidently used a pseudonym. Now that's what I call brave. The accusation, as nearly as I can tell amidst the garbage, is that Nathan forged an endorsement letter from sitting commissioner Janet St Clair which was printed in the Whidbey News-Times. So I phoned Janet to ask. And of course it turned out to be a miscommunication between Nathan's campaign manager and the News-Times staff, all of which has long since been settled. Janet has indeed endorsed Nathan. She asked me to specify that she would be happy to have Melanie Bacon or Curt Gordon in that position, but that she endorsed Nathan because of his strong background in environmental policy, transportation planning, and long range planning, all issues important to her. And she wanted to make it abundantly clear that neither Melanie nor Curt would ever have anything to do with such a hit piece. We're all still wondering who is behind it. 

While there are a lot of other competent candidates, Nathan is just head and shoulders above them all. I will be voting for Nathan Howard.



Posted by at 5 comments:

County Commissioner, District 2

Chris Reed D


The web page shows a series of videos which make very little sense. One shows a pair of Growlers screaming over Ebey’s near Keystone. The only words one can hear are “Cool. Wonder why they’re flying in formation.” One shows him mowing a lawn with a female voice commenting that it had grown tall because they were not able to work during the shutdown. One which might be interesting appears to be ruminations about COVID and the shutdown, but it is done while he is driving and the car is loud enough that I can only catch a phrase here and there. I do not have the patience to listen to 14 minutes of car roar with a few disjointed words. There’s another one titled “on my way to test for COVID.” Again, the car is so loud the words are incomprehensible. There’s one “after testing” which is a little more intelligible. Just not all that exciting. He thinks they need to do more testing. He would like to test 1000 people at random – at this point the video failed. He notes the test came back negative. I’m happy for him, and for all of us that he tested negative, and I appreciate his wish to see more testing. I agree. 


Most of the Facebook page is fairly incomprehensible. We see that he is encouraging people to register to vote. That is a good thing. And he shows the video of the July 4 Oak Harbor Republican event at which politicians did nothing while a non-R observer was beaten and his camera trashed.

He expresses frustration with other commissioner candidates who he believes think most constituents earn $40 – 50k/year. He uses language that I use at home but not in public. He believes the other candidates are elitists and that’s why we need him, a ‘worker bee.’ He does have a cute graphic about police handling too many situations and “many hands make light work.” I agree with the graphic and the sentiment.

While not very elegantly expressed, he does have a pretty clear understanding of the basic fact that the wealthy are using COVID to improve their own condition at the cost of the many who are truly hurting. 

There’s a post about the need for a halfway community for people coming out of Island County jail. He proposes a tiny home village financed by local community services. It’s a long rap and not at all a bad idea. I prefer prevention, but there are people in jail and they do need some sort of safety net as they come out. 

He proposes to return no less than 25% of his commissioner salary and claims that other candidates have hijacked his idea. As I have mentioned elsewhere, Angie Homola returned 20% of her salary from 2009 - 2013.

My sense is that part of his head is in the right place but he is not able to articulate his ideas very clearly. And he does not have much of the basic information necessary to oversee the county. I would like to see him educate himself a lot further and begin working with local organizations to accomplish some of the good things he proposes. But I won’t be voting for him.


Dan Evans R

https://friendsofdanevans.com/contact-us

Lives and works in Oak Harbor, American Family Insurance Agency. Board president of Oak Harbor Main Street. “This year we have been successful in stopping the LIHI housing project that was pushed by our current Island County Commissioner in an illegal zoning area in the city.”

My take on that: LIHI = Low Income Housing Institute. The proposal is for 51 units of affordable housing with retail businesses both at the Pioneer Way level and down below. 20% of the units would be set aside for veterans. The Pioneer Way business community has had a meltdown over the very idea of having poor people actually living right there in the middle of their business district. It is very telling to me that Mr Evans touts proudly his work to prevent such housing. 

And of course he’s a Navy booster and loves local law enforcement, who need to be ‘treated with the respect that they deserve.”

So, he hates affordable housing in Oak Harbor, but says he will make affordable housing a primary focus during his first 4 year term. This is more easily explained by knowing that he is the chosen candidate of Scott Thompson, the developer trying to push through Wright’s Crossing, the 1500 house proposal at Monroe Landing, well outside Oak Harbor. 

Sure enough, a quick perusal of the PDC reports shows that his top two campaign contributors are both Scott Thompson and a woman most likely his wife. And on July 4 that very same Thompson held an open air campaign event which included Mr Evans. That event, to which you will find a link on the review of Chris Reed, shows a whole slew of candidates and their supporters all crammed together with nary a mask in sight. Not very safe or respectful. And evidently he had no objection to the targeting and beating of a peaceful person who thought “all are welcome” meant he could attend as well. That person ended up in Harborview with a concussion. Evans’ sponsor, Scott Thompson, was the instigator of that violence. 

To say that his issues are sparse is an understatement. What is happening here is that Mr Scott Thompson, having lost repeatedly in court and before the Island County commissioners in his attempt to permit Wright’s Crossing, is trying to buy himself a commissioner. I sincerely hope the people of District 2 are not fooled by this developer in candidate’s clothing.


Jill Johnson R incumbent

I have not been able to find any on-line presence. No website, no Facebook page. Lots of references to her from the Island County Republicans, Island County, and a hodge-podge collection of organizations on various sides of a lot of issues. Most peculiar that she does not have an on-line presence. 

Whatever. Her choice. There was plenty of other material on which to base a report, including too much personal experience. I spent a whole day going through my totally disorganized clipping file and came up with the following:

11-3-16 Water Resources Advisory Board minutes say Jill and Rick Hannold (district 3 commissioner) voted against authorizing use of the $1 mil in the Clean Water Utility fund to implement phase 2 of the Clean Water Utility.  The board expressed its disappointment.

She crowed proudly about reaching a settlement on Wonn Road public shore access, considering it a great success to give away half of our public shore access to a very wealthy, very persistent, and terribly obnoxious neighbor who continues to this day to attempt to block public use of our own public shoreline. 

3-29-17 Whidbey News Times.    County Board Revisits Debate over Heath Impacts of Noise 
Jill: “Then what? If it comes back there’s an unmitigable health impact, then what?” Johnson said she fears the board is heading toward a choice “between health impacts on our citizens and our Navy presence. Are we prepared to choose?” She pointed out that as a county entity, they could only control land use and land planning. “I don’t understand the tie-in between health and land use planning.” Grethe Cammermeyer (Hospital Board, County Board of Health) favors continuing to ask questions. “Our concern is for the health of the community. For us to follow up and look and evaluate the situation is part of our role. It may be difficult to separate roles when you’re a county commissioner. This is the Board of Health (the commissioners sit as part of the Board of Health) and we should be in tune to the citizens on this.” This boils down to Jill being more concerned with keeping the Navy happy than with the health of her constituents.

4-1-17 Whidbey News Times.     The Navy Effect (a long story about an economic impact study on the effect of NAS Whidbey on the local economy. The study concludes that overall the impact is a negative one, draining cash out of the local economy.) “Jill Johnson questioned the motives behind the creation of the report. ‘The fact remains that the Navy is the economic driver of the island and brings much more good than bad to the table. I don’t know what they hope to accomplish by putting this out there. What’s the purpose of pointing out the negative? To create more divisions in the community?’ Johnson said the report doesn’t seem to contain any new information and makes assumptions that she believes are inaccurate, including overestimating the number of Navy people who live in base housing.” Basically, Jill refuses to believe that NAS is actually a drain on the county’s economy, which is what the study showed. 

6-3-17 Whidbey News-Times   Commissioners Make Grant for Trail Contingent on Jet-Noise Statement. 
Jill and Hannold made funding for a central Whidbey connecting trail contingent on a requirement that the county health officer, National Park Service, Ebey’s Landing Trust Board, and Whidbey Camano Land Trust all state that the project would not expose the public to potential health harm or cause other conflicts related to noise. Helen was away and it was done behind her back. She was not favorably impressed upon discovering the move 2 weeks later. WCLT had applied for $50k Conservation Futures matching toward the trail system. 
“Earlier this year Johnson and Hannold were criticized for denying a $600k “rural counties economic development” grant to the Town of Coupeville for a community green project, citing town officials’ and citizens’ supposed lack of support for the Growlers.”
Jill: “If the community doesn’t have an issue, then I don’t have an issue. If, however the community has concerns, then the only thing I can do to address those concerns is to restrict activities in areas known for intense noise. I will just work to ensure that we don’t continue to make public investments in areas deemed by the community as incompatible with flight operations.” Price-Johnson was out of town and attended the meeting via phone. She had to leave early, which was when the other commissioners took the action. She found out about it from a citizen weeks later.
This was classic Jill backbiting combined with willful ignorance. She succeeded in punishing the people of Coupeville for their lack of enthusiasm for Growler noise. And she tried to punish everybody involved in the Ebey’s Reserve trail system by trying to demand a sort of loyalty oath. She cannot comprehend that people will walk the trail during the times when the jets are not flying.

6-17-17 report that grant was approved over objection by Jill. 

10-14-17 Whidbey News Times Commission split 2-1 over expanding planning area. Oak Harbor asked to expand its Urban Growth Area to include Wright’s Crossing. Wright’s Crossing, you may recall, is the proposal to build 1500 houses on 250 acres of farmland near the Blue Fox drive-in south of Oak Harbor. Jill liked the idea. “This step is not a step that gives this project any more momentum.” Well, in fact, it does. It is the necessary first step. 

11-29-17 Whidbey News Times. County Changes Evaluation Conservation Grants Process. The story reports that Jill and Hannold over-ruled Helen to remove objective scoring from the Conservation Futures evaluation process. Instead, it will be completely subjective, based on the opinions of members of the Conservation Futures Board – appointed by the commissioners. “The reality is that people are using subjective opinions to get to their indisputable numbers, so that’s where I’m more supportive of the narrative.” They also voted to remove the funding priorities from the application. Hannold and Johnson said they would give precedence to sites for stormwater drainage and shoreline access. “I would suggest that if people are considering applying that they do outreach to individual commissioners to make sure they know what we’re thinking, so that they know.” (huh?) 

1-6-18 Whidbey Record. Johnson Calls Banks ‘Snake’, Liar.
Tensions boiled over when prosecutor Greg Banks asked the commissioners for permission to hire outside counsel for litigation regarding Wright’s Crossing. The combative meeting included yelling, name calling, and accusations of lying. Wright’s Crossing is asking a judge to reverse the commissioners’ decision to exclude a requested expansion of the Oak Harbor UGA (Urban Growth Area) from the planning docket. This would have been the first step toward allowing the proposed large scale development south of the city. “This kind of litigation could involve teams of lawyers on opposing sides” Banks said. His request was not well received by commissioners Helen Price-Johnson and Jill Johnson. Johnson pointed out the ‘irony’ of the ask, referring to a lawsuit involving the board, Banks and a private attorney. In 2016 the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the commissioners acted in an unlawful and unconstitutional manner when they hired a private attorney over the objection of Banks. This lawsuit was referenced frequently during the discussion which lasted approximately 45 minutes.
It’s a long story, involving yelling on all sides. ‘Johnson made it clear the past lawsuit was not water under the bridge.’ “I would say I don’t trust you, and that’s my issue with outside counsel and under your direction” she (Jill) said. Banks grew visibly frustrated during the heated discussion and was told multiple times by Helen to stop interrupting. “I’m sitting here putting up with the usual torrent of abuse because this should be such a simple thing, but you want to dig back into your illegal actions from a couple years ago because you can’t acknowledge the fact that I advised you that it was illegal, you did it anyway, and you lost. Can we move on?”
Banks said he had been bullied by the board for years, after being called a bully himself by Johnson. Further on: Jill said “We know for a fact you notify the press on those things, because we’ve seen the text messages. You make us look bad.” and further “You can stab me in the back when you have the chance, we all know your personality. You’re a snake.”

1-6-18 News Times editorial: Fighting among elected officials is unhelpful, unacceptable.
An Island County commissioner acted outrageously and shamefully this week in attacking the county’s elected prosecutor because she was still sore about losing a court case to him a year ago.
Commissioner Jill Johnson lost her temper and accused Prosecutor Greg Banks of lying and even called him ‘a snake.’
This is not the first time commissioner Johnson was accused of losing her temper at Banks and acting inappropriately. In 2016 at least two staff members in the prosecutor’s office complained to HR after Johnson got upset in his office and screamed profanities for all to hear. She allegedly continued her tirade after she left the building. Its no small matter. One staff member said she was left shaken. 
This is not the way elected officials should act. They should be models of civility and rationality. They shouldn’t let vendettas color their discussion or decision-making process.

5-12-18 Whidbey News Times. Commissioners Decline Federal Funds for Trail. 
Jill: “given that we have 2 other improvement projects planned for the Clinton area, it is also important that we provide services to citizens throughout the county.” The project has been on the county’s long term plan for 2 years, part of the Bridge to Ferry trail system. Johnson previously expressed skepticism about the bridge to boat concept, especially because many of the connections are on different sides of the highway. Two years ago the project was awarded $750k from the federal Surface Transportation Block Grant program and another $225k from a transportation enhancement grant. These funds will be declined, and staff from public works are working to apply instead for grants for 3 different projects. One is a trail from a park & ride near Liberty Grocery, along the highway to the Oak Harbor city limits. Another is a loop around Boz (Swantown) Lake using both existing shoulders with side paths and soft-surface trails near Swantown Road from Fairway Lane. The 3rd would connect the North end of the paved Kettles Trail to Fort Ebey State Park using road shoulders along Hill Valley Road from Libbey Road to the park. (my note: note that these are all in or near Jill’s district, and that there is an assumption of either/or rather than both/and).

8-8-18 Commissioner shows impatience with Planning Board. Basically, Jill disagreed with their conclusions and went off on them. As noted above, this is not unusual. 

10-13-18 Jill proposed to allow increased commercial uses in the Rural zone “I don’t want it to be one use per 5 acres. That doesn’t accomplish anything other than sporadic sprawl.” That 1 unit/5 acres in the Rural zone was set by the Growth Management Hearings Board to comply with the Growth Management Act. It is really not open to amendment.

11-28-18 Whidbey News Times. Jill complains that the entire board of commissioners don’t have a say in the rules governing development within Ebey’s Landing. Because the entire reserve is within District 1, only the commissioner from that district is empowered to appoint members to the trust board. That has Jill tweaked. At this particular time the trust board is reviewing and updating its rules and that is what Jill is complaining about. They’re doing it without her or any appointees of hers. 

12-8-18 Whidbey Record re county budget. Jill votes against any increase in Conservation Futures. “This keeps the program alive without having it grow too fast or too far.” This article reports on budget priorities. 60%  of the budget goes to law & justice. 

5-4-19 Whidbey Record    Commissioners vote 2 - 1 to apply Conservation Futures funds to acquire a property near the corner of Hwy 20 and Libbey Road, which will provide access and parking for the Kettles Trail complex. She has voted against other acquisitions because they did not provide for public recreation. This parcel specifically expands recreation, so now she is concerned about acquiring too much land and not focusing on maintaining and upgrading previous acquisitions. One has the distinct impression that Jill does not love Conservation Futures, either the program or the results. The county’s share was a whole $45k, with the Navy kicking in $585k. Not bad leveraging of our property tax dollars. So now Jill says she’s worried about the county’s responsibility toward the property, and that they rely too much on the volunteers - bikers and back country horsemen who have been maintaining it for years. 

6-30-19 www,goskagit/com/news
Jill commented on Attorney General Ferguson suing the Navy for its failure to measure actual noise at OLF: “What health impacts outweigh the impacts of people losing their jobs?” she said.
“The planes can be irritating, but the mission is of a much higher value to everyone I talk to,” she said, adding that the dissenters are a vocal minority. She accused Ferguson of making a political decision, saying he chose to get involved in this issue to appeal to potential donors in a bid for governor next year. “Pandering isn’t something we should respect,” she said. Again, she demonstrates her loyalty to the Navy over the people she claims to govern. 

7-31-19 Jill asked Economic Development Council to disavow AG Ferguson’s lawsuit against the Navy. 

12-4-19 Whidbey Record. Jill once again voted against the 1% increase in Conservation Futures. She objected to increased capacity, which would lead to increased land purchases, which would lead to increased costs of maintenance. 

2-22-20 Whidbey Record   Johnson Seeking 3rd Term on County Commission.    Jill says she is a
steadfast supporter of the Navy and law enforcement, that she commonly questions spending decisions, and that she cares about challenging social issues. She says she is a strong advocate for affordable housing and behavioral health treatment. “Its easy to talk about what you have done, but its harder to communicate things that haven’t happened because you were in the room. I am often the brakes. I believe that knowing when to say no is as important as saying yes.”

My personal experiences with Jill, and there have been too many, have not been pleasant. Possibly the most characteristic/outrageous happened after a hearing in the basement dungeon hearing room. It was Jill’s birthday and after adjourning everybody was invited to stay and have cake. We were picking up our coats to get out of there when Jill came up to us with paper plates of cake in hand. Neither Steve nor I eat commercial cake so we demurred. Jill then said that the best birthday present we could give her would be to retire and spend our “golden years” somewhere other than Island County. 

I find it frustrating that Jill evidently finds no need to communicate with the public during this re-election campaign. Seems just a tad arrogant. The best thing I can say about her is that she might be better than the shill being run by Scott Thompson, Mr Wright’s Crossing. Damning with faint praise. No, I will not be voting for Jill. 


 Fe Mischo D


Check out her weekly Facebook Live events, every Sunday 11:00 am

Community Compassion Commitment

She serves on:
Community Health Advisory Board
Community Campus Plan
District Parents’ Advisory Board
Housing Project Network
Library Board
Autism Partnership of Island County
Local Planning Area
Friends of the Library
Indivisible Whidbey
League of Women Voters
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
Save the Children Action Network, Seattle Chapter

Fe’s vision for Oak Harbor:
Affordable and Attainable Housing
Community Center
Improved Mental and Behavioral Health Services
Quality Childcare
Environment – protecting our land, water, and wildlife
Public Transportation – retaining and expanding fare-free Island Transit 

She elaborates on all of these points but I’m not going to copy them all out. I encourage you to visit her website. 

I have met and spoken with Fe a number of times and find her young, engaging, idealistic, very family and community oriented, thoughtful, just plain a really nice person who cares about people around her, near and far. You can see from the long list of organizations in which she participates that she sees a problem and jumps in to try to correct it. 

She does not have much if any government experience, so will have a steep learning curve, but that’s the case for pretty much every candidate who is not an incumbent. She has been teaming up with Nathan Howard, who is running for Commissioner, district 1, and who, because of his previous employment in Island County Planning, is very familiar with the details of how the county works and what needs doing. She’s a quick study and she has a great mentor. 

Because I care about Island County and I know she does too, I will be voting for Fe Mischo. 



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Thursday, February 13, 2020

2020 presidential primary

2020 Washington presidential primary February 21 to March 10, 2020

This is a first for Washington, a presidential primary. Let me explain. Most countries have multiple parties, and each party chooses its own candidate for positions such as president or prime minister. The US is a politically depauperate country, with only 2 parties. All other things being equal, each party should hold its own elections to determine a candidate for the final, general election. Some years ago the Washington Grange went to court and won a ruling that political parties do not have the right to choose their own candidates. Rather, the top two vote getters in a primary advance to the general election. That means that it is quite conceivable that two members of one party could end up on the general election ballot. Gives us lots of choice, yeah? 

Until now, Washington chose its presidential candidates in party caucuses. If you’ve been to a caucus, you know that it is every bit as loud, disorganized, and frustrating as what we saw happening in Iowa weeks ago. It is also very limiting. The democratic caucuses on south Whidbey were held in the high school cafeteria. It was terribly loud. People wandered about lost. Our precinct was lucky to have the benefit of Steve and his pre-programmed laptop, and my crib sheet from having attended the caucus officer workshop. For all that, only a few hundred people crowded into that space.

So this year we will receive ballots in the mail in mid-February, to be returned by March 10. For purposes of the primary you will have to state a party preference. On the red side there will be only a single candidate. On the blue side there will be a rather long list of 13 options. These ballots were printed back in December, so they do not reflect today’s political reality. Several candidates have withdrawn but their names are still on the ballot. Several others are really out of the running but have not officially withdrawn. I have given them short shrift below.

For more detailed information, check out good old Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Washington_Democratic_primary
This gives the details of the byzantine process by which delegates to the national Democratic convention are chosen. Yeah, we get to vote, but our votes only account for about 2/3 of the delegates. Party bosses and elected officials get the other 1/3 of the decision. Seems less than fair to me. 

From the state elections website:

For the March 10 Presidential Primary only, the major political parties require voters to mark a party box on the return envelope. You must mark and sign the political party declaration (box) on your envelope for your vote to count per  RCW 29A.56.050.  Each major party wrote its declaration and provided it to the Secretary of State’s Office for ballot materials. Attempts to change the party declaration wording could result in your ballot not being counted. Your choice of party will not affect how you may vote in future elections. In the November General Election, you will not declare a party and may vote for any Presidential candidate you wish.

Your ballot is divided into 2 sides: Democratic Party (blue) and Republican Party (red). For your vote to count, you must vote for one candidate from the political party you marked on your envelope. If you vote both sides of the ballot, or the opposite side of the ballot, your vote will not count. Ballots are mailed February 21.


Ok, here are the basics: 

First, you need to know that you are registered to vote. To check, go to https://weiapplets.sos.wa.gov/MyVote/#/login 

Ballots will be mailed by February 21, 2020. If you don’t have one in hand by about the 24th or so, contact the elections office. 

The deadline for registering on line or for changing name or address is March 2. If you miss that deadline you will have to go to the Elections Office at 400 N Main Street in Coupeville. For more information call 360-679-7366 or email   elections@co.island.wa.us 
They’re open 8:00 – 4:30   Monday - Friday

The Elections Office tells us that ballots must be postmarked on or before election day, March 10. The League of Women Voters has informed us that the Postal Service is being less than helpful. Ballots dropped in mailboxes in Island County get shipped to Seattle for processing, and are usually postmarked the next day. Which means your ballot would be postmarked too late.   So if you drop your ballot in the mail on March 10 it may very well not be counted. NOT GOOD!

There are several solutions.
1. Get your ballot in the mail by Monday, March 9.
2. If you can’t do it before March 10, take it to the counter and ask the postal clerk to hand stamp it. And no, you don’t need to put a stamp on it, but you do need to get there by closing time, between 4:00 and 4:30.  Check your local post office.
3. Drop it in one of the 6 ballot drop boxes before 8:00 pm on Tuesday, March 10. They are located at:
    
    Island County Elections Office
    400 N Main Street    Coupeville

    Trinity Lutheran Church
    18341 Hwy 525    Freeland

    Ken’s Corner Shopping Center
    4141 Hwy 525 (at Langley Road)    Clinton

    Island County Camano Annex
    121 N East Camano Drive    Camano Island

    Langley Post Office, front patio
    115  2nd Street        Langley

    Oak Harbor City Hall
    865 SE Barrington    Oak Harbor

If you haven’t received a ballot by February 24, contact the Elections office.

And here is Marianne’s regular disclaimer: I would never presume to tell you how to vote. That is very much your business. I’m merely telling you how I intend to vote and why. You can make your own decisions from there.

Whatever else you do, VOTE. And encourage, hassle, bug, and convince everyone you know to vote as well. Feel free to forward information about the blog to all and sundry. 



If you’re voting in the Republican primary, you have no choice at all.

Republican: Donald Trump

I didn’t think there was any point in writing about the Republican candidate for emperor, but a friend forwarded this and I think people will appreciate it. Very well done. Have fun.

https://youtu.be/-Ue5F57dZMU

“The Day Democracy Died”
sung by The Founding Fathers

No, don’t let democracy die
He’s a famous ignoramus
Can’t tell truth from a lie
And if he wins we’ll kiss our country goodbye
Singin’ vote for anyone but this guy

Vote for anyone but this guy


Democrats:

The center of the road, as Jim Hightower so famously put it, is occupied predominantly by roadkill.  Which is why I have been referring to the self-proclaimed “mainstream” democrats as the roadkill dems. Not the place for genuinely progressive activists, especially those running for president. 

The roadkill dems tried to refuse to allow significant debate on the single most important issue of the day: climate change and the destruction of world civilization which has already begun. So maybe its time for those progressive activist candidates to ignore the roadkill wing of the party. I learned many years ago that when someone puts me (or anyone) in a position of “its him or me”, the appropriate response is “Goodbye. Sorry to see you go.” I think its high time for the progressive wing to tell the roadkill wing goodbye – and then to offer them a route back if they mend their ways. 

The roadkill dems appear genuinely to believe that no one can win an election without their blessing and support. Is that truly the case? In 2016 the roadkill wing foisted Hillary Clinton on the country and we all watched the utter disaster that resulted. I hold this very much against them. And now they’ve tried to do it again with Joe Biden. The man is no progressive. He is a sexist with little or no regard for half the population. He really does not understand the crisis of climate change. He is Trump light when compared with the field of highly qualified progressive candidates. The roadkill dems delude themselves into believing that everyone who votes left of the KKK will automatically vote for their anointed candidate. It ain’t necessarily so. There were a very large number of progressives who simply did not vote in 2016. Do we really want to see a repeat of that?

So, to the (remaining) candidates:

Joe Biden former vice president and a loser. I dislike intensely his history of racism, sexism, and general buffonishness. He seems at this point to have lost focus. He’s against universal health care, does not appear to understand the climate crisis, and greatest of crimes, speaks of considering a Republican running mate. Not my guy.

Could he beat Trump? No way, not after the whole Ukraine/impeachment affair.

Bernie Sanders Vermont senator, true pragmatist, and a hero of mine for many years, starting back in the late 1960s when we were both anti-war activists. Through all these years his actions have reflected my ideas. Not surprising, as I was raised as a Democratic Socialist. He has proven himself at every level of government to have the best interests of all the people at heart. If I have any criticism, it is that I would like to see him take stronger actions on environmental/climate issues. Of course he has endorsed the desperately needed Green New Deal. 

And then there’s the pragmatic argument: but can he beat Trump? Well, if we have anything like a genuine election, yes he can. At this point the integrity of the election is very much an open question, with Repubs advising their people to vote for the weakest Dem, and rich Dems advocating for anyone but Bernie. 

Tulsi Gabbard Hawaii representative. Not clear to me if she is still in the race at all. I like what I see of her platform, but don’t consider her a serious enough candidate to spend a whole lot of time on her.

A friend contacted me to complain of the unfairness of my writing off Ms Gabbard. So I am posting what he sent me for your consideration:

Tulsi Gabbard, a 16 year member of the National Guard who did two tours in Iraq is currently a major. She is a 7 year congresswoman representing Hawaii. Elected in 2012, she is the first Hindu member of Congress and the first Samoan-American voting member of Congress. Gabbard’s announcement of her intention to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential election made her the first female combat veteran to run for president. Gabbard has served for 7 years on the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, and Homeland Security committees, where she has been intimately involved with sensitive national security issues.

In 2016 Gabbard was vice chair of the DNC. She resigned the position to support Bernie Sanders due to conflicting views of foreign policy with Hillary Clinton. From the moment of Gabbard’s announcement of her candidacy she has been smeared by the mainstream media, the DNC, and Hillary Clinton for her foreign policy views and her support for Bernie Sanders in 2016.

Gabbard supports a Medicare for All health care plan she calls “Single Payer Plus” and strengthening Roe v Wade by codifying it into federal law. She co-sponsored the Family Act for paid family and medical leave. Until 2004 she voted and lobbied against same-sex marriage in Hawaii. She publicly apologized for those positions in 2012, and again after launching her presidential campaign in 2019. Since 2013 she has been a member of the LGBT Equality caucus in Congress

Her decision to meet Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and her skeptical approach to two claims that he had used chemical weapons were controversial, although new information has come out from whistleblowers who actually investigated the gas attacks and claim that contrary evidence was suppressed from the official investigation. The whistleblower information is now being suppressed to justify US intervention in Syria.

Gabbard is the only candidate who is outspoken against regime changing wars. She believes that the trillions of dollars spent on the unnecessary wars should be spent at home taking care of the American people and that these regime changing wars increase the likelihood of nuclear war.

Tulsi brings the spirit of Aloha. Aloha is a way of life. Aloha means “I come to you with an open heart, with love, respect, and an acknowledgement that we are all brothers and sister, that all life is interconnected.” The famous Hawaiian cultural leader Aunty Pilahi Paki said “The world will turn to Hawaii as they search for peace because Hawaii has the key, and that is Aloha.”

More information about Tulsi Gabbard can be found at  Tulsi2020.com

Could she beat Trump? No way.
Elizabeth Warren - withdrawn (as of 3-5-20). Massachusetts senator and brilliant scholar. She’s got a plan for everything. Like Bernie, she’s down home good people. There are those who hold against her the fact that she was raised a Republican and thought of herself as such – until she saw the logical fallacies of that political outlook and became a Democrat. Unlike Bernie, she is a proud capitalist. I consider that a failing, but I also see that she defines the term very differently than the Wall Street investors do. Her capitalism is the Adam Smith small business/yeoman farmer model. I would love to hear a friendly debate between Warren and Bernie on the question of fairness in government finance. As with Bernie, I wish she were more outspoken in her support of the Green New Deal and environmental/climate issues in general. 

On the pragmatic question of whether she can beat Trump, she can obviously think and talk circles around him. What she can’t do, as Bernie can’t, is make the elections honest and inclusive. I am terribly worried that we’re going to see a complete botch of the election, leading to the final step of the fascist takeover of the US government.

Michael Bloomberg - withdrawn. (as of 3-3-20) former New York mayor and former Republican. I can’t take seriously someone who buys himself onto the ballot. I have taken the trouble to check out his website, in which he claims to be an entrepreneur, mayor, and problem-solving philanthropist. I know that as mayor of New York he approved the “stop and frisk” cops coming down on people of color for the crime of living while black. That is pretty hard to forgive. In 2008 he blamed the recession on the Democrats because they outlawed redlining (the practice of refusing to sell houses in certain neighborhoods to people of a certain skin color) back in the 1970s. He claims to have been the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for climate action. His program looks good. I just don’t trust him.

Just watched the Vegas debate, and Elizabeth Warren dismembered Bloomberg, who simply had no response to all of the allegations and accusations - which were verifiable facts. To quote one commentator: "Titanic Bloomberg, meet iceberg Warren."

Can he beat Trump? Since that seems to come down to who is willing to spend the most money, it might be possible. There are just too many painful similarities between the two.

Amy Klobuchar - withdrawn Minnesota senator. Well, to start with, I’m offended that I can’t get to her website without signing in and avowing my support. So I’m stuck with Wikipedia, which duly reports a situation of employee abuse in her senate office. While a lot of employees have signed onto a letter claiming there is no abuse, one does wonder. She claims the Green New Deal is “unrealistic”. Sorry, lost me there. She claims she would take steps such as rejoining Paris, investing in green jobs, etc. She is a former prosecutor with a “tough on crime/war on drugs” background. She is credibly accused of knowingly prosecuting an innocent 16 year old, suppressing evidence to obtain a verdict, and seeing him sentenced to life without parole. Kind of unforgivable – and consistent with reports of employee abuse. She finds free higher education “unrealistic.” She does not support universal health care, or even Medicare for All (there is a difference). 
Just found a report that one of her largest contributors is agribiz giant Cargill – everything that is wrong with ag. She has consistently voted in their favor on issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, labels on genetically modified foods, and even sodium in school lunches. Her legislative director is a former Cargill lobbyist.
Latest news is that Klobuchar is supporting proposals for two metals mines on the border of the Boundary Waters, by a Chilean company notorious for the environmental and human damage from its existing mines. The more I see, the less I like.

Can she beat Trump? While it appears she can be every bit as mean, that does not translate to votes.

(March 2, breaking news. Klobuchar withdraws and endorses Biden) 

Pete Buttigieg - withdrawn former South Bend, Indiana mayor and bright boy. He is using his youth and his gayness to try to pass as what he is not – progressive. Pete is establishment lite. He’s against universal health care, which for me is a drop dead. He can’t seem to understand that making health care or higher education universally available is actually cheaper than having to go through the sorting/vetting process to determine who is eligible. He is mildly, blandly in favor of not cooking the planet but doesn’t seem to take it very seriously. I am deeply offended by his claim, before the votes were counted, to have won the botched Iowa caucus. His website claims that he takes no $ from federal lobbyists, corporate PACs, or the fossil fuel industry. Checking that statement, we find Forbes reporting in December that 40 billionaires are financing him. Most of those made their bux in investments, hedge funds, and silicon valley. So while the campaign fund statement is technically true, it is not true that he is independent of corporate interests. Bottom line: he is too much in the mold of Hillary and Biden for my taste.

Can he beat Trump? I don’t know. There are a lot of closet homophobes out there.
(latest bulletin. As of 3-1-20 he has withdrawn)

Tom Steyer - withdrawn businessman, largely self-financed. His website reports that he has submitted 3200 pages of tax returns in service to openness. It also tells us that he and his wife pledged in 2010 to give the vast bulk of their wealth to charitable pursuits during their lifetime. He is committed to the wealthy paying their fair share. Refreshing. He would use that income to improve public education, access to healthcare, and Social Security. His platform includes taking back power from the corporations, climate justice and climate change, limiting capitalism, supporting labor unions. He espouses the “5 rights.” health, equal vote, clean air & water, education, a living wage. I conclude that not all rich people are dipwads. Tom Steyer appears to be the genuine article and I would like to see him in a position in federal government where he can do some good. Sadly, I don’t think he has a snowball’s chance at the presidency.

Can he beat Trump? Probably not. While he has tons of $$, he also has ethics. That makes it hard.
(He withdrew after the South Carolina primary)

Deval Patrick (withdrew) 
Cory Booker (withdrew)
Andrew Yang (withdrew)
Michael Bennett (withdrew)
John Delaney (withdrew)

Of this now-winnowed crop of candidates, I am torn between Bernie and Elizabeth. I wish I didn’t have to decide between the two of them. What I would really like to see is a joint candidacy (hey, I can dream), with the two as co-presidents and no need for a vice president. Given that at this point the Constitution is a quaint document cited for historical purposes and having precious little to do with the governing of the country, why not have co-presidents?

This past Saturday I attended a Warren organizing meeting, and now I'm more torn than ever. I really want to see both of these two working together to lead this country. I found out at that meeting that Warren organized all her campaign workers into a union so they would have health care and so they wouldn't overwork themselves into burnout. That impresses me. 
I will be voting for  either Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren for democratic candidate for president.

We're getting right down to the line. Super Tuesday has been and gone - sort of. Seems that roughly half the votes in California have not been counted yet. Bloomberg has withdrawn. Good riddance. Elizabeth Warren has withdrawn and that is painful. That makes it all the more important to vote for Bernie, since Biden will/would almost certainly lose, and that is a fate too painful to contemplate. In light of all of this, I ended up voting for Bernie Sanders. 

National nominating convention Milwaukee, Wisconsin summer 2020
Washington has 107 delegates


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