||| FROM SADIE BAILEY |||

Justin Paulsen has stepped up for over two decades as a community advocate for adults, children and youth. He has volunteered much of his time and skills to give to our community in a positive way. His community activism page on his campaign website is impressive. I hope people from other islands will take time to read it and learn how he walks his talk. I want to tell you why I’m voting for him.

After many thoughtful conversations with Justin over the years, he has consistently been direct, truthful, fair, balanced, and realistic. He knows and understands land use issues. He is approachable, an attentive listener, and a creative thinker, communicator, and collaborator. As a board member in taxing districts, he understands the importance of the Open Meetings Act and upholding Public Comment period for all voices to be heard. He understands the people’s desire to uphold our Comp Plan Vision, which specifically states Rural character and Quality of Life as priorities. He understands that we need to think generations out – not just 5 or 10 years – and that departments in our local government need to be more connected with each other so that one hand knows what the other is doing. I want someone inclusive who will listen to our concerns and try to come up with solutions – or at least, compromises and steps we can take. I want an advocate for the middle class. I’m looking for all of this in a representative.
We can’t afford to be slack about environmental issues. These lands and waters we call Home support us – it’s time we support them back and put them ahead of growth-for-profit. This concerns all the islands, but Orcas in particular is impacted, since its Urban Growth Area (UGA) sits atop a riparian, forested, wetland watershed between two big hills, at sea level with salt water ecosystems on both sides of the one-mile-wide core of our UGA. Our UGA has fast become an unrecognizable deforested wind tunnel riddled by vacation rentals and threatened by sea level rise, erosion runoff, and liquefying soils in the event of a major earthquake. Our UGA watershed provides much of our drinking water and aquifer recharge. The gross misinterpretation of the GMA by many of our former politicians will not allow our UGA any environmental protections. I have fought for decades against this wrong-headedness.

I believe that Justin will fairly represent all the islands. But as an Orcas Islander, I want someone familiar with this island because One Size does NOT fit all. It’s crucial for the future for many generations going forward to work together on the problems affecting us as Island Dwellers and the current supposed caretakers of these lands and waters. We have a lot of reparations to do, including to First Nations. It’s my hope that Justin will continue the works that some have started. He has shown maturity and professionalism in his dealings with many different kinds of people, and his understanding of the problems and concerns we face is broad and thorough. What he doesn’t know, he will put in the time to learn. Justin will bring clarity and ingenuity. He will listen to citizen solution-oriented ideas. We can do better toward saving our island communities from further gentrification, urbanization, deforestation and degradation of the environment at the expense of the working class, Rural Character, and Quality of Life. Justin is the right person for the job.

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