Letter to Editor | Partisanship of SJC County Council is wrong

||| FROM MIKE CARLSON, et. al* |||

Kari McVeigh has sought and received the endorsement of the San Juan County Democratic Party. In doing so, she has demonstrated her newness to San Juan County and that she lacks the local knowledge and background about what the citizens of San Juan County thought to be an important condition written into article 5 of the San Juan County Home Rule Charter:

5.32: “Qualified voters of the County shall nominate candidates for the County Council. Such candidates shall be nominated by countywide primary election for non-partisan office in the same manner as candidates for other County offices”.

It’s common in our small county to understand what party a given candidate prefers but to openly and blatantly run a campaign that flaunts partisanship as a prominent aspect of her campaign is violation of the spirit of our County Charter. The McVeigh campaign has run roughshod over the non-partisan tradition of our County Charter.

The McVeigh campaign has insensitively chosen “Team Blue” in lieu of representing ALL islanders regardless of party affiliations.

Mutual tolerance must be well rounded. Kari’s choice to ignore the spirit of non-partisanship is offensive and comes across as intolerant to many island folks who would rather view islanders as neighbors instead of Republicans vs. Democrats.

At a candidate forum I was at, Kari boasted that she has the endorsements of our House and Senate Representatives (all Democratic) in Olympia so she will “hit the ground running”. In my mind that’s a “gee thanks” circumstance so we can look forward to more “gifts” from Olympia and even D.C. such as the Trails through San Juan Valley, the Destination Management Plan, Subsidized Solar Farms on our San Juan Valley farm land and Electric Ferries over a common sense reliable ferry system.

San Juan County does not need a county counselor who comes from an urban, out-of-state bureaucratic background, but rather a counselor who has had real involvement with the working families who work hard to survive and raise families, farm, run-work in small businesses and the locals who make this county of islands such a special place to live. “Saving the Islanders” must be a priority for San Juan County.