What I cherish about living in the San Juans:

The very talented, fiercely independent, and relatively diverse people who choose to live here...the unsurpassed natural surroundings and abundance of wildlife...the quality and tranquility of island life. My love of these islands is summed up on the cover of the Comprehensive Plan: "WE THE PEOPLE of San Juan County recognize that these rural islands are an extraordinary treasure of natural beauty and abundance, and that independence, privacy and personal freedom are values prized by islanders."

What we can do to help make it possible for working families and senior citizens to afford to live here:

Foster a continued and concerted effort to provide areas that are suitable for affordable housing. The recent passage by the Planning Commission of the Lopez Village UGA is an example of practical efforts to encourage low- and moderate-income housing. I will support such changes to the UDC, as long as we have extensive community input in the process like that continues today in Eastsound. We must recognize that there will always be market factors that influence most housing prices that we cannot control. We also must understand that construction and maintenance of summer and retirement homes create an important and stable source of income for working families as well.

Affordable housing:

Encourage small lots near current and future utilities (water, sewer, roads), like in the Lopez Village UGA. We can encourage and support self-help undertakings. Some funds will be needed from the County for planning and helping to seek grant and loan funds that may be available from state and federal programs. We can be strong advocates to encourage innovative, non-profit affordable housing projects like Homes for Islanders on San Juan Island and the community land trusts. The successful programs of Lopez Community Land Trust, OPAL on Orcas, and San Juan Home Trust are models.

Education and jobs for our youth:

Encourage all of our young people to get as much education as possible so they develop the skills that may be needed on the islands. Computer skills and tele-commuting may be fields that can help young people. Try, wherever possible, to hire young persons from island families. OPALCO, for example, recently recruited three young men with strong ties to the islands for its apprentice program.

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Bringing the Comp Plan into compliance with the GMA:

The Lopez and Eastsound UGA's and Eastsound Airport Overlay are the main reasons that the WGMHB continues to find the Comp Plan invalid and non-compliant. The County Commissioners have now accepted the Lopez UGA and the Eastsound Airport Overlay District.

The Planning Department is currently working on the Eastsound UGA that should come before the Planning Commission and the County Commissioners within a few months. This process will require continued a great deal of dialogue with the Orcas community.

Good, bad, or indifferent, the county committed itself to the Growth Management Act in 1990. In its essence, it is now the law that we must follow. I believe that, as painful as it seems to be at times, the GMA has a significant positive influence on this county by requiring us to think ahead and carefully plan the management of future growth. I intend to support its oversight and goals, always keeping mind the input of our citizens and making sure it does not go beyond our needs. We will likely continue to have to work with GMA as our planning process continues.

The revenue sources should be associated with each of the particular infrastructure items requiring construction. They should be paid for as add-on costs to development, by loans, grants, and development fees. The County can help identify grant and loan sources for meeting infrastructure costs.

The Community Development and Planning Department:

We have good people working for county government. We need to let them do their work according clear policy guidelines without interference from the Commissioners. Hire well qualified planners with excellent backgrounds and skills. Allow them to carry out their work according the overall planning policy documents provided by the Commissioners and report back to the BOCC. Most of the planning staff that was on board during the last ten years was very skilled. They worked to take into account planned growth as well as to consider the effects of growth on our environment. We recently lost very good planners primarily because of frustration and interference in their work. I would encourage getting more planners of the quality of those of the past several years and of those recently hired. The Planning Department function is one of the most important aspects for the long-term health of our community.

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Economic base of the islands:

Tourism and construction will continue to be major factors in our economy. Even more important economically and often overlooked, will be the economic benefits from the retirement community. Retirees in the San Juans provide a stable, year-around source of income for local businesses and do little to increase the demand for county services. Tourism is seasonal and provides summer jobs for our young people, but offers little for year-around employment. An effort to encourage tourism in the “shoulder seasons” needs further evaluation. Construction (including a growing element of extensive remodeling of vacation and retirement homes as they become outdated) benefits a lot of skilled personnel and will continue to be a major factor to provide for middle income. The retirement community will need continued EMT support, local clinics, and home care facilities and retirement homes for those who wish to live out their days on the islands--and be a source of employment. Forestry and farming still provide income for families and make significant contributions to our open and natural landscapes. Our conservation district and agricultural extension office can continue to help support the people who carry out these traditional uses of the land. Finally, information technology and tele-commuting may offer jobs for highly trained people, but logistics of island living still make it difficult.

I believe the County should undertake a new and thorough study of the current economic factors that drive our economy, how it has changed in recent years, and the trends for the near-term future. Such a study can help plan for the future and help us manage our destiny for the benefit of all islanders.

Recycling and renewable resources:

The County can establish policies and permitting processes that further encourage solar sources, fuel cells, and wind (to the extent it is of a scale that is not invasive on the surroundings or wildlife). Experiments, such as are currently funded in the US east coast, to harness tidal energy in an environmentally sensitive way should be explored if sufficient grant funding is available. We can encourage the purchase of "green power." We will be less dependent on fossil fuels only as other economic solutions emerge, but the County can lead in encouraging new technology to be used if it is environmentally friendly manner, as it already has in allowing building permits based on catchment systems for residential water supplies. The county can use electric and/or hybrid cars in appropriate situations.

Recycling is an important part of our local economy and island way of life. We should focus on a clear analysis from staff and consultants of the relative costs and then make policy decisions that reflect the community's wishes. We have to recognize the costs and be willing pay them if the community support is there.

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Life sustaining resources of the San Juans:

Our life sustaining resources are twofold: First, the natural environment around us as outlined in the vision statement of the Comp Plan: "Our islands have exceptional natural beauty and healthy diverse ecosystems surrounded by pollution-free marine waters. The air is fresh and clean, the water quality is excellent, and the soil is uncontaminated. As careful stewards of these islands, we conserve resources, preserve open space, and take appropriate action to assure healthy land and marine environments. Native plants and animals of the islands thrive, and are identified, appreciated and conserved." We need to keep reminding all of the community of the fragility of these resources, hear what the people value, and lead in protection of these resources in our county policies. We can be advocates for innovative programs and policies that help protect the environment such as hybrid cars, electric cars, solar panels, eco-sports, removal of derelict fishing gear, and more.

The second sustaining resource is the creative and talented people who live here. Their independence, diversity, wide range of skills, ideas, convictions as citizens of the county, past experience...all help sustain a lively and exciting community. These are the farmers, scientists, artisans, writers, actors, young people, and many others who make the island a stimulating community. We want to continue with programs and facilities -- like local markets, theaters, galleries, recreational parks and playfields, preserves, other items -- that support and enhance their work and play. We need also to keep hard drugs completely out of the County so they do not destroy our youth and other citizens.

Citizen input:

I will listen. My door will always be open to all, to persons from all walks of life. I will make a point of meeting with citizens and community groups. I will hear all points of view--pro and con--on any issue in order to make informed decisions. Those citizens who attended and participated in the work of the Comp Plan District and Steering Committees or in proceedings of my other board and committee involvement may attest that that is the way I work. My work with the Preservation Trust required extremely careful listening to the needs of property owners to encourage them to conserve their land for the benefit of the entire community.

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On Tourism:

The current distribution of the additional 2% is focused on encouraging tourism in the "shoulder seasons." These efforts to support tourism need further evaluation. It may be time for a careful review. The tourism industry is a key factor in our economy. We may want to establish a method of clear performance standards that will accurately measure the most effective use of these funds, making sure we have a better understanding of the cost-benefit ratios related to use of these funds in supporting our local businesses that serve tourists. If the funds can be made available, some support for public restrooms would help enhance the experience of our visitors and take pressure off local businesses, especially in the summer months.

My interest and familiarity with tourism increased in 1988 when my wife began management of the newly formed San Juan Islands Visitor Information Service. For the next ten years this non-promotional/educational service was based in our home. Hearing about the expectations, desires, and experiences of visitors (many of whom become repeat visitors or eventually residents) was an educational experience for me. We must focus on providing visitors with accurate information and realistic expectations in order to benefit both visitors and islanders alike.

Leadership of the Commissioners:

The BOCC should be responsive to desires and needs of our citizens. Above all, the BOCC should work as a team and provide leadership to share our common vision and achieve our common goals while respecting our diversity and independence. I intend to work with the other two Commissioners to create a good team-working environment for not only the BOCC but for all county employees as we work together to serve the needs of our citizens.

Our BOCC leadership includes following the policies adopted in the Comprehensive Plan process. It means to continue to review and update the Plan and its elements based on collective input from the community and the demands of growth and change. It means to search for and support innovative solutions to address our common concerns. It means to lead in the protection of the essential community and environmental characteristics that we all cherish.

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