||| FROM ROBERT WAUNCH |||
Fire District. A very important part of a good functioning board is historical memory and experience. Currently the only person running for a board position with historical memory and experience is Leith Templin. Leith has not only been a very active member of several organizations serving our community, but when several of the Fire District board members left, she stepped up, volunteered, and served on the finance committee working closely with a professional Fire Department consulting firm analyzing expenditures, requirements, and future cost solutions; then compared the solutions to other Fire Departments with the same
problems. Leith knows the complete and complex financial requirements required, both now and in the future, to operate and maintain the excellent level of service we receive from our Fire District and Emergency Personnel. Leith already has the required historical financial knowledge. I highly recommend Leith as the most qualified to serve.
Port of Orcas. My second recommendation is Rick Fant for Port Commissioner. I have known and worked with Rick for many years and know him to be a man of high energy: if something needs to be done – he gets it done. He has been a successful businessman, an active pilot who knows airport operations, and has been involved in several voluntary charitable organizations and Port activities. He understands what a vital asset the airport is to Orcas and he also knows a Port has the ability to participate in other activities that can support our island. I know he will ensure the Orcas Port will operate in an efficient responsible manner and our tax dollars are
spent wisely and efficiently.
Yes. Ok Mr. Waunch. Thx. I am all in on your thoughts.
Small town politics al at its finest!
Bob,
Thank you for your thoughtful recommendations. I personally feel you are spot on with respect to the Port.
With respect to Fire I have a comment and a question. I want to make sure that it is known that while Leith did step up and take on the role of fire commissioner she was the 5th of 5 interested people to volunteer. It was not emergent she step in and solve the situation. Of the 4 other volunteers, one was a 10 year veteran of OIFR, one had 15+ years of active community engagement with the OIFR board of commissioners and one had professional experience in fire department administration in King County. They had all filed promptly when the request for volunteers went out. Leith filed 3-4 weeks later. Did she feel these other candidates were inexperienced? The contrary must be considered as well.
Lastly, I have known you for over a decade. You are one of the most reliably fiscally conservative people I know. You and I have discussed every levy as far back as I can remember and I am not sure I remember a levy you enthusiastically supported. However I read your endorsement as a endorsement of the fire levy as well as an endorsement of Leith. Given you support her analysis of the needs of the department you must also support the doubling of our fire taxes. Please confirm your endorsement of Leith includes your endorsement of a yes vote on the levy her analysis determined as necessary. She voted for it twice, are you voting for it Bob?
Bob, thanks for your thoughts, well I’m voting for Rick, and we’ll.. I need a better choice for Fire/EMS Commissioner so voting for Kate. It’s time for new blood.
Leith is great but her voting again in November.. That’s foolishness. ..
Bob, thanks for your thoughts, well I’m voting for Rick, and we’ll.. I need a better choice for Fire/EMS Commissioner so voting for Kate. It’s time for new blood.
Leith is great but her voting again in November.. That’s foolishness. .. I imagine a huge pushback by our voters in August .. why follow shortsightedness.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Bob. I’m perplexed about these recommendations for both commissions. I was at the Port meetings all through the Master Plan process with Dowl and beyond, and watched Mia and the elected members of that commission in action – they had to inherit a mess – it took time to straighten that out and do the will of the voters – and they did great! We got a fantastic manager in Jeannie and have an even more fantastic manager in Kim Kimple. A LOT of improvements have been made under THIS elected commission.
Mia Kartigainer has done an excellent job as Port commissioner in her elected term. I am hoping people will vote for her in the primary, to allow her continue to do the work and build on it. Please vote for Mia. My second choice is Bob Phalan. Why? Because one doesn’t need to be a pilot to be a port commissioner. Nowhere does it state that as a requirement, nor is there anything that states that ALL commissioners have to be pilots. One only needs sincerity, transparency, a sense of fairness, willingness to learn, humility, ability to listen to all viewpoints, and a collaborative spirit. One needs to be a team player. There is no room on boards or commissions for self-appointed leaders. Commissions have chairs; they ideally change each year for shared leadership purposes -but they are not leaders or bosses of anyone; they are facilitators.
Mia has shown she has what it takes, and I don’t think lack of being a pilot automatically disqualifies candidates from being able to do the job well – Mia or Bob! Commissions are supposed to be diverse – that is when all viewpoints get fairly heard and represented.
The promises to get middle income housing for us is pie in the sky when it comes to spending Port monies on Port owned lands to do it. The current Port commission has been looking into what they can do on that score. Aviation-related seems to be the requirement for MOST expenditures… would that housing then only be allowed for pilots? Seems discriminatory.
This leads to my questioning motives – and fantasy vs reality in what we can really do as a Port district; sadly. How I WISH Ports could provide middle income housing that is non discriminatory or favoritism-heavy. The AIP (Airport Improvement Program) is quite narrow and specific on what it will allow.
As for the fire district choice… experience is not the only qualification; anyone can gain experience – all they have to do is be willing to learn and do the work. Again, the quality of listening and hearing all viewpoints without getting defensive, sincerity, non-shaming of people who ask questions, and fiscal responsibility to not allow this levy to pass as-is – that’s what I’ll be looking for in a fire commissioner. The money piece is huge. I can’t in good heart or conscience vote for anyone pushing that levy and using fear porn to get us to vote for it. Thankfully, we still all can vote how we want to, at least locally.