||| FROM AFSCME LOCAL 1849 EXECUTIVE BOARD FOR SJC EMPLOYEES |||
Approximately 55% of San Juan County’s 293 employees are represented by the public employee union AFSCME, Local 1849. Our Union represents a broad array of staff employed across a diversity of disciplines, including the County’s public works road crews, facilities maintenance staff, park and land stewards, administrative, financial, and emergency management employees, nurses and health care professionals, planners, scientists, specialists, technicians, and educators.
Our members work in collaboration with our local community members and partners to provide essential services, seek grant funding, and implement projects and programs for the benefit of our islands, our communities, and the environment. As
public sector employees, we share a dedication to service with our community’s public education providers, health providers, and emergency responders.
Our Union recently held a County Council candidate forum, where we invited both candidates from District 1 and both from District 2 to speak with our members. We are grateful to all of the candidates for participating in the forum. They each presented interesting and constructive ideas to move our County forward and provided thoughtful answers to the questions posed by the members of our Union.
After hearing from all four candidates, our members voted to endorse Kari McVeigh for the District 1 seat. The membership expressed appreciation for her approach to leadership and management, as well as her experience in public administration,
and we feel that she would be the best candidate to address the challenges that the County is currently facing.
For District 2, after much discussion, the Union decided not to express a preference between former Council Member Rick Hughes and newcomer Justin Paulsen. The members agreed that both candidates contributed positive leadership ideas, and that either candidate would be a constructive member of the County Council for the next four years.
We look forward to cooperative collaboration with the new Council starting in 2025, as we continue working to provide essential services and implement projects and programs for the benefit of our County’s communities.
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Thank you, AFSCME, for your report on your members’ forum and endorsements. I personally agree with your endorsement of Kari McVeigh, and also that we are fortunate to have two good candidates for the District 2 position. You are right to point out that a very important part of this decision is our opportunity to have a collaborative and constructive County Council at a time when we’ll be facing many critical issues and decisions. It is important for voters to look closely at those candidates’ positions on the issues most important to them. I’d be interested to hear more about how the membership viewed those issues from the “inside” and what policy responses your decisions were based on.