Letter to Editor | McVeigh will provide meaningful support to community

||| FROM ADRIAN KILPATRICK |||

My name is Adrian Kilpatrick. I was born in San Juan Island and I am a recent county council candidate, member of the Climate and Sustainability Advisory Committee and am a member of the Friday Harbor Arts Commission.

I hereby endorse Kari McVeigh for a seat on the county council in the upcoming November election. After lengthy conversations with Kari in person, I believe that our interests are aligned when speaking about our vision for the future of the San Juan islands.

I initially put in my bid to run for the district 1 county council seat because I felt like the working class in this county were highly underrepresented, which has led to a lack of affordable housing, lack of rentals, and an overall increase of living expenses, making this island inaccessible for many of the people who wish to live here full time. I also felt that the extreme division we are seeing in America as a whole, was beginning to take root here in the San Juans, ultimately driving us away from a space where we have the ability to work together in finding shared common interests.

My feeling was that the islands need someone who can bridge this gap of division and also provide meaningful support to the underrepresented groups that reside here. I think that Kari’s experience in administrative positions has given her the tools to help coordinate effective and lasting changes that will positively impact current and future generations of islanders. She has shown overall empathy to the struggles of low/middle income people living here and provides thoughtful solutions on how to get these islands back to a place where people from every walk of life are able to thrive and find success.

I hope you consider voting for Kari McVeigh in November to assure the success of current and future generations of island residents.