By Margie Doyle
Tomorrow evening, the League of Women Voters will hold its Candidates Forum for the April 23 election of County Council Candidates. (Disclosure: I am the LWV of the San Juans Board Member at Large for Orcas Island).
By voter approval last November, it was decided that all county registered voters, regardless of residence, will cast votes for all three Council positions. The primary election held on Feb. 12 of this year determined that those candidates are:
- Brian McClerren vs. Jamie Stephens (currently a “Winter” Council member) for the Lopez residency district;
- Lisa Byers vs. Rick Hughes (currently a “Winter” Council member) for the Orcas residency district;
- Bob Jarman (currently a “Winter” Council member) vs. Lovel Pratt for the San Juan residency district.
At the Orcas LWV election forum tomorrow night (Wednesday, March 27) the introductions and questions will be entertained from all six candidates sequentially, as was done at the Eagle Forum debate on Orcas last February. So it is less likely that people will leave the forum in the middle of it.
However, it’s worth emphasizing that in this election, every county voter will cast a vote for every residency district — that is, Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands. This is, to our knowledge, the only opportunity for people to form in-person decisions about which candidate to vote for. Questions to all candidates will be taken from the audience, as well as a few prepared questions by members of the League of Women Voters.
In the interests of serving yourself, your island community and your county community, it behooves you to attend the Candidates Forum at 5 p.m. at the Senior Center and to decide after hearing them out, which candidates will best represent your interests and values.
For people unable to attend tomorrow evening this illustrates a fundamental flaw with all of us voting county-wide on candidates. Does anyone actually believe we have come to better know the candidates that are not from our own island through this county-wide election process? I am being asked to choose at least two candidates that I only can know, hear from and compare with the others in 2-3 public meetings? This is not a system of electing people that makes any sense to me…especially since with the former districts we KNEW, the people who ran for office and how they IN REALITY served our community and the County.
I am eager to meet with Martha Farish and anyone else who is interested. Please give me a call – 378-7172 – to talk by phone and/or set up a time to meet on Orcas. This week, in addition to the League of Women Voters Forum on Wednesday, I will be on Orcas for a lunch meeting on Thursday.
Lovel Pratt
Candidate for San Juan County Council, District 1
Thank you for your responsiveness but my real issue was the lack of meaningful opportunities to see all candidates together and compare answers on issues in a variety of ways. All candidates have busy lives. We all live on separate islands in ways that don’t allow for easy movement and thus natural barriers are limiting County-wide consideration. Running and being elected from Districts assured all of us a meaningful chance to meet and work along side the person(s) we elect. We have lost that gift. But again, thanks for your offer.
In reference to Martha’s comment above, I would just like to point out that prior to 2006 all San Juan voters voted in the election of each and every council member. Historically, it is the way we have always elected the people who represent us. Voting by district has been our experience for only six years. The sad divisiveness that we see and hear all around us is one of the results of that change. County residents used to be able to say “we.” Now, we mostly hear about “us” and “them.” With a little effort, it is not so hard to discover who you think will best represent you. The beauty of being able to choose all of your council members is that, if one falls short, you can hope that another person, with whom you have invested your trust, will represent you better.
Angie, whether we vote by district or by counting for our elected officials there will always be “us” and “them.” The “us” will always be the candidate and like voters whose views we support. The “them” will always be the candidate and like voters whose views we do not support. Unfortunately, as time marches on and the world becomes more complex the division between “us” and “them” will probably become even greater. Angie this is why they have horse races, differences of opinion. The difficulty lies in all parties keeping the discussion civil and above all truthful. Unfortunately it seems that emotion, the drive to succeed and/or control and suppress a differing point of view cause some go off the deep end. There’s for truth, justice and the American way in all our deliberations. Good luck.
Don.
I agree. Some do go off the deep end. Thanks.
Having watched the toll on candidates trying to go from island to island while holding down Council positions or full-time jobs, I agree with Martha that it seems to make more sense to choose among candidates who live here and whom we get to know organically. The forums just don’t allow the kind of give-and-take about issues necessary for vetting candidates, despite valiant efforts to make them work. I’m hopeful that tomorrow’s forum will provide direct answers to important questions. Thanks to LWV and Eagle Forum for the good work they do.
Some of the candidates have begun posting videos on You Tube that might be of interest. Slightly longer opportunities for answers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDo29MP_Kog
A couple of years ago I had a question about one of the proposed CAO regulations — something that meant a lot to me at the time.I wrote to all of the Council members. The one who read my letter, answered it, and made sure that my issue was addressed was Bob Myhr from Lopez — not the member from my district. I like the idea that if he were running now, I could vote for him. I like the idea that I am not restricted to voting only for the candidate from my island.
I have lived in San Juan County for 22 years now and therefore most of it under the three Council person system. Without question the three Council person system is preferable to me for a number of reasons. All are accountable to every citizen of the County not just their fiefdom. If you have a project or initiative you want to bring forward there are way fewer of them you need to talk to and coordinate with; which makes for a more efficient decision making process. When we had the three Council person system, all took the time to be on other islands and connect with the entire San Juan County community. That did not seem to happen very much these last six years. Let’s hope the “winter council” does not mess with what the voters clearly decided was in their best interest.