Editor,

On behalf of the Sustainable Economy Collaborative and other concerned citizens, I would like to respond to Jill Johnson’s recent statements on the Town of Coupeville’s Community Greens Grant request. She said there is a “growing disconnect between the elected voices for the Town of Coupeville and the overall beliefs of its citizens.”

There is indeed a big disconnect, but not between the elected voices of Coupeville and those of Coupeville residents. It is between Jill Johnson and Island County residents.

Ms. Johnson did not support Coupeville’s grant request, which was to be submitted to the Board of Island County Commissioners, because she said she sees Coupeville’s leadership as being anti-Navy, and that is a matter of record.

Her vote was not, in fact, due to what she later stated as solely a lack of merit of the town green project. This kind of tit-for-tat action is not becoming of any commissioner in any county, anywhere. The request for funds for a town green, and the town’s stance on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and its Draft Environmental Impact Statement, are not related. Even if they were, our elected officials are supposed to represent the people, which means listening to us and acting accordingly, not pushing their personal agendas on us.

When a Coupeville Town Council member made a public statement that having all of the U.S. armed forces’ Growler jets on Whidbey Island makes us a possible terrorist target, that is not an exaggeration. We must compare OLF Coupeville to Pearl Harbor, because taking out all United States electronic warfare equipment and training in one attack could easily be done.

Further, it is true that the only way to mitigate jet noise is to look at expanding to other bases rather than increasing jet numbers and flight training here. Some residents do not want any jets here because of the noise problem, and some simply want to limit how much more noise we must endure.

Laurie Riley

Langley