||| FROM MELONIE WALTER |||

I’m a full-time resident of San Juan Island, a homeowner since 2000 and a small business owner since 2002. I’ve been lucky to be a part of this amazing and unique island community since 1996. I’ve served on several community boards, including President of the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce, and I volunteer my time and skill to causes that are important to me.

We all understand the islands have their own unique set of challenges and I believe the candidate best able to address these challenges is the candidate with a plan: Ryan Palmateer.

We’ve all seen a lot in these last four years, much of what we’ve all witnessed is how bad government can get when we elect inexperienced, unqualified, un-prepared people to office. You get a government that is essentially ineffective at best, deadly at worse. I’m voting for Ryan because he has experience in
government, non-profit, private-public partnerships and the private sector. Experience is strength, and he’s the strongest candidate. He’s qualified, having written policy and argued issues like affordable housing, climate change, vacation rentals and technology.

Ryan doesn’t need to crowdsource his policies. Nor will he dismiss important issues by writing them off as “Parenting 101”. Ryan also knows that we are far from “post Covid,” in-fact he knows we’ll be fighting Covid for the foreseeable future and I want someone with a plan to keep the islands and our economy
safe & strong into 2021 and beyond.

I’m also excited to vote for Ryan because he understands the honor and duty of voting! Last week, Ryan told me his story of registering to vote when he turned 18 and how excited he was to vote in his first Presidential race, and then how disappointed he was that John Kerry lost but how happy he was that
Chris Gregoire had won. The other didn’t register to vote until 2008, I guess better late than never. I’m also a lifelong Democrat. I don’t vote for GOP-endorsed Democrats. That’s another reason I’m voting for Ryan.

I didn’t think age discrimination would play an issue in this race, but sadly, Ryan’s opponent seems to think his age makes less qualified. I’d just like to point out that since I have moved here, we’ve had two County Commissioners elected to office while in their 30s. Nationally, some of our greatest leaders
elected to office were actually younger than Ryan. JFK elected to MA State Congress at 30, Vice President Joe Biden elected to the US Senate at the age of 30, the sixth youngest elected to Congress. One of our greatest President’s Theodore Roosevelt was elected President at the young age of 42, younger
than Ryan’s opponent.

I always vote for women when given the chance, but the most qualified candidate in this race happens to be male. I’m enthusiastically for Ryan Palmateer for San Juan County Council, District 1.

 

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