— from Christopher Evans —
I don’t know where to begin. As someone who voted for you and who has been your supporter, I can’t express my disappointment in your leadership. Especially since it seemed like you were in inches of doing the right thing at the Council meeting and then swayed by Jamie Stevens and his semantical word play between Pause and Withdraw.
I don’t know who you’re talking to that thinks you’re doing the right thing here, but EVERYONE I talk to feels the council is taking us down the wrong path. To quote the Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman:
“In these trends, we are seeing the impact of our collective decisions. We are jeopardizing the gains we made as a state with the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order and the actions each one of us takes now will determine what happens next. If we want to send our kids to school in the fall and avoid new restrictions, we must all make a conscious shift in the way we live our lives. That means staying at home as much as possible, reducing how many people we see in person and continuing to wear face coverings and keep physical distance in public.”
Is that what I’m seeing in the San Juan Islands? A conscious shift? Staying at home?
So now, the conversation is shifting not from whether or not to move to Phase 3, but whether we need to pull back to Phase 1. (Which nobody wants, but may now be a reality.) Because the county council bowed to financial pressures and chose to serve the Tourist economy over the local economy and its residents, you hedged your bets and hoped like a miracle the whole thing would disappear. Your gamble failed And we still don’t know its cost. And now with your non-decision at the last council meeting you’ve chosen to kick the can of little bit further down the road.
You are the chair of the County Council and a community member of Orcas Island. Will you please start acting like it?
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I could not agree more. I listened to last week’s Council meeting on Dr. James and the Health Department’s Phase 3 withdrawal recommendation, and was very disappointed by Mr. Hughes’ change of heart in response to Jamie Stevens’ strained reasoning. The Council agreed to meet again tomorrow to act on the withdrawal recommendation. I hope Mr. Hughes will now vote to withdraw the application, which arguably was ill-founded when submitted but is now unquestionably out of step with the changed reality. Elections are coming and we will soon be able to express our approval or disapproval of our elected officials’ performance in this unprecedented crisis with our votes.
I too listened to the Council Meeting and the Board of Health meeting, and was quite disappointed with the conversation between the Council members.
I encourage folks to listen to Mr. Stevens’ reasoning in the recording of the meeting, as well as Mr. Watson’s explanation of his vote during the Board of Health meeting. It is a shame neither of them are on the ballot this election…
vote ‘em out. No realtors , no business owners—let’s find some actual taxpaying residents who have the interests of long term health and safety of the islands and residents,
and get a Council that cares what we think.
It’s a great luxury to judge by hindsight. With hindsight, Viola! The outcome was inevitable! How foolish to have guessed wrong! Throw the bums out!
We are all groping. The only time council members can discuss matters that could lead to official action is at an open public meeting. No one should complain about this level of transparency, nor expect lines and logic to be smoothly delivered. If you see that happening, start worrying. Changing one’s point of view is part of the process for those who have open minds, a characteristic I personally prefer.
Rick Hughes is a multi-business owner. This does not surprise me. Consummate politician. I don’t even want to start on Jamie Stephens after the unanimous State Supreme Court ruling against our County.
Our island is not our island during the summer. During Covid 19 it should be. The majority of us living on the island are over 60 and the most vulnerable. Moran State Park full, boat harbors full, bicyclists abound, Island Market an incubation tube. Christopher Evans is spot on. We lack responsible leadership.
There is no judgment here by hindsight. This is foresight. It’s looking at the facts, the numbers, the situation, and making courageous decisions that demonstrate vision. And this is exactly my point. We need leadership with foresight. that can see where things are going, and be adaptable enough to change the course when aspirations don’t meet reality. Furthermore, to be honest, it doesn’t even take a visionary to see where we’ve been heading these last few months. We’re going nowhere.
The current county council has been stuck and entrenched in one way of doing things for so long, that they cannot see any other way. After eight years of the same three guys stuck in a room together with power over all of us, they have figured out a way to work really well together for their own best interests while forgetting about the constituents that elected them.