To the Editor:
Lovel Pratt, in my opinion, is the best candidate from San Juan Island for the new County Council. At the League of Women Voters candidates’ forum, her openness to all questions, even the most difficult, was further evidence of the mature judgment and clarity that she brought to the issues facing her during the time that she served on the Council.
Pratt’s command of the facts was exemplary as well. While her opponent, Bob Jarman, implied that the wetlands section of the CAO (Critical Areas Ordinance) would cost people more to build their houses, Pratt set the record straight. Some of the costs have actually gone down; for example, people can now determine themselves what type of wetlands they have on their property and do not need to hire a wetlands specialist.
Pratt was in favor of honoring the November 2012 decision of the voters for a three-member Council, all of whom would represent the entire county instead of small districts. For that reason, she did not support the County Council putting more proposed charter amendments on the November ballot that would change the three-member Council to five. Jarman agreed – at the public forum; at the Council meeting the next day, he flipped and voted to continue the discussion, ostensibly in order to find out more information.
About what? It is an insult to the intelligence of those who voted for the new system in November to witness their elected official even thinking about yet another significant change in the structure of the County Council before there had been a chance to implement the charter changes approved in November. To actually vote on a second discussion shows how little he regards those he supposedly serves. Any candidate who engages in such skullduggery, in my opinion, should not be in office.
The voter’s job in a nonpartisan election is to assess the integrity and depth of experience of candidates, ignore the craven anonymous bloggers that would cloud our vision, and make a sensible choice. Mine is Lovel Pratt.
Wendy E. Shepard
San Juan Island
