Letter to Editor | Candidates: Bring each other up, not down

||| FROM AYN GAILEY |||

Months ago I was asked by elected officials and island leaders to run for County Council. They had donors ready to support me, and my favorite graphic designer willing to work for free. I said no. I did so for the same reason that I will not be voting for Justin.

Our county is at a crucial moment in time. The problems are more complex than ever with a lot riding on the solutions. This is not the time to bring in someone without a breadth of experience and the deep state and regional relationships we need to secure funding and legislation that can help our county.

Rick has 8 years of experience that Justin doesn’t. And, experience matters this term. If my husband, Sam, needed open heart surgery, I wouldn’t want him operated on by a medical resident who’s never performed open heart surgery. Would you?

Rick is also the candidate who has proven he cares about diversity and inclusion. I mean the inclusion of women, transfolx, people who group and identify by color or culture or sexual identity, and, yes, even old wealthy white men. Because judging anyone by the color of their skin, age or income is unjust. Rick is the only candidate who has a website in English and Spanish, and he consistently participates in and supports DEIJ and LGBTQIA events and programs. Rick has created opportunities for Latinx islanders on his properties, and the Ray’s General Store team is a beautiful cross-section of Asian, Latinx, white, non-binary young and senior employees. I see more women and men of color and artists supporting Rick because he supports them. When it comes to the environment, all candidates could stand to be better at protection, but Rick is the most progressive and actively trying to learn more. He has a bold single-use plastic ban proposal on his HughesforSJC.com website, he helped get the Orcas Exchange and Lopez Solid Waste launched, he was the county liaison to the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank and is endorsed by Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and Rep. Debra Lekanoff. Rick is also one of only eight council candidates/commissioners in the entire state endorsed by Washington Conservation Action.

He is the only candidate to earn the Planned Parenthood of Washington State endorsement and the endorsement of dozens of state legislators. The word is that’s because they desperately need someone in our county seat who knows the lay of the land.

A future Justin I can get behind. As a former School Board Director, we saw eye to eye when it came to school issues. I’d like to help him get to know our island artists, BIPOC residents, and environmentalists more. I hope that if Rick is re-elected, he will help Justin prepare to run in the future. Because isn’t that the island way? We help raise each other up not bring each other down.

In that spirit, please join me, Samuel, and Gray Gailey in voting for Rick Hughes. See Rick’s vision with fine print at www.hughesforsjc.com.

The opinions stated here are my own and in no way representative of my director, volunteer, or ambassador positions with local or state nonprofit organizations.