||| FROM CHRISTINE MINNEY and CINDY WOLF |||
Thank you for trusting us to serve San Juan County in the capacity of County Council members these past four years. We have worked hard to build an organization with the values of good, sensible government. We are pleased to leave this Organization in the hands of a highly skilled, professional County Manager and we are proud of the team running the many County departments.
In the interest of seeing the important work of the county continue, we believe it is time to endorse a candidate in the District 2 race.
Justin Paulsen has shown a thoughtful, respectful approach to preparing for this position. Justin will also bring authenticity, critical thinking, and a record of community service to the role.
We endorse Justin Paulsen and believe he is the right choice to take San Juan County into the future.
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I am extremely disappointed to see this endorsement for Paulsen from two sitting County Council members. I can’t call the Prosecuting Attorney regarding this poorly thought out action because it is Friday and outside of normal working hours due to the 32 hour work week.
I suspect this is “legal” but cannot accept that such an endorsement is appropriate or ethical.
This is particularly odious to me as the election is close and I have long understood that Ms Wolf dislikes ex Council member Rick Hughes.
If these two one termers, with at best a patchy record over the past 4 years, to some extent not entirely their fault, as the previous County Mgr was kinda running amok.
If Ms Wolf and Ms Minney feel so inappropriately moved, why no endorsement in the San Juan district race?
A poorly thought out action indeed
Steve,
It is interesting and sad to note women’s opinions are often dismissed with “like” or “dislike” when they express well founded judgments on another person’s professional competence or performance. Based on past interactions, I have no reason to “like” or “dislike” either candidate more than the other. Up until now I had refused to give my opinion on who to support, and I did do a good deal of thinking and soul searching before speaking up. At the end of the day, it felt unethical to stay silent purely for my own comfort when I have insight to offer on a choice critical to the future of the County. This was a statement based on my experience of the job and an educated guess on which of the two candidates will work best with staff and other Council members for the benefit of the people. It is simply business and I genuinely hate that it causes hurt feelings.
By the way, I walked down the street as a proud San Juan County Democrat in the Orcas Island 4th of July parade with a sign for Bob Fergusson in one hand and a sign for Kari McVeigh in the other!
Cindy,
My comment has absolutely nothing to do with gender or your rights to express your personal opinion as an islander as appropriate.
Perhaps a better descriptive word for your comments as I remember them in a sidewalk talk we had when you were running against incumbent Rick Hughes would be casually disrespectful or dismissive.
My point remains; I feel that for you and council member Christine to pen a support letter for a person running to replace you while you are still holding office as one of the 3 highest elected officials in the County is putting your thumb on the scale and trying to affect an outcome in a way that I, and likely a few others, perceive as inappropriate and unfortunate.
Thanks for your community service in challenging times
I understand emotions run high during campaigns, and it is hard to hear disagreement, but Joe Biden endorsed Kamala Harris, Jay Inslee endorsed Bob Ferguson, and Kris Lytton endorsed Debra Lekanoff. It is quite traditional for outgoing office holders to endorse. A lot of people value hearing from people who have done the job and who are familiar with the current demands.
I do not ever remember being dismissive of Rick Hughes. Rather than dismissing him, I ran against him in a way that never dismissed or underestimated him. That is why I won. Four years later, I have experience with this job. I drove the ordinance that capped vacation rental permits, proposed the framework that empowered the Department of Environmental Stewardship to tackle Climate Resilience planning, and took the political heat necessary to complete Prune Alley and to rein in the obstructive behavior blocking the Comp Plan update which we had to adopt to access funds for affordable housing and all kinds of other planning. Thank you for your work on the Housing Advisory Committee. I agree with you that respectful tones are needed in this emotionally fraught season.