From 2004 to 2011, I served as your county engineer working under both the county commissioner and the current charter-based county council forms of government. Based on this experience, it is my opinion the county council together with a professional county administrator following the charter best serves our needs.
I will be closely following the results of the Initiative 502 concerning marijuana laws. I urge everyone in the county to study that measure and vote. Even if the measure conflicts with federal law, I will use the results to revise my policies regarding the prosecution of marijuana offenses.
I would like to encourage my fellow Lopezians to vote YES for the Lopez Solid Waste Levy, Lopez Proposition No. 1.
On Nov. 6 Lopez residents have a great opportunity as a community to take full responsibility for the solid waste we generate. While evaluating the options for solid waste disposal and recycling in my role with the Port of Lopez, I listened to the desires of many community members.
I am very pleased that San Juan County was granted a scoping hearing for the Gateway Pacific Terminal – the proposed coal export facility outside of Bellingham at Cherry Point. The hearing will be held in Friday Harbor on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Friday Harbor High School (45 Blair Avenue) from 12 – 3 p.m.
I have served on the San Juan County Council for almost four years. Much of this time your county council has dealt with the problems of the past.
A passionate defense for an unrevised charter might make sense if San Juan County residents are satisfied that government has improved in the ways we hoped it would when we voted to make a change six years ago.
I’m writing to express my concern about the Gateway Pacific Terminal proposed for north of Bellingham by Peabody Energy (Peabody Coal) and Seattle-based SSA Marine.
“Save Our Charter” is sure catchy—and rhetorical. It is intended to convince people unsure of the issues that voting yes is a return to the old commission form of government. I don’t buy it. I plan to vote yes for the charter amendments and here’s why.
The suggested changes to the charter provide one thing for each and every citizen of this county—empowerment, and I support all three recommendations. When I was a commissioner, I noticed that few people at the State level took our part-time council member counterparts seriously.
This to express our support for San Juan County Initiative 2012-4, which would prohibit the growing of genetically modified organisms in open systems such as agriculture and landscaping. Having worked in the natural products grocery industry for the past decade (eight of those here on Lopez Island), we are well versed on the problems of GMOs and how they could hurt our community and local ecology.
Our county council is the citizen-elected body that represents us, the citizens. To represent us effectively our elected commissioners must have the authority to direct and guide a county manager.
Art Lange’s letter to the Sounder, in which he says “reverting to council members elected county-wide is a step in the opposite direction of representative government,” overlooks the way in which Proposition 1 actually increases his representation.
