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.

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