Don Meehan, upon retiring as director of Island County’s WSU Extension program, said this about his 800 volunteers and half-dozen paid coordinators: “Sometimes it’s a challenge to work with the county commissioners. They cannot hire or fire you, but they can chase you out of the county. They have that ability and probably know it, because they hold the purse strings to most of your staff and infrastructure.

“You try to show them great respect and obviously you want them to value educating the community. That ought to be a big part of what they are about as leaders.”

However, two of our commissioners seem more interested in keeping control than keeping Island County the paradise that Meehan spent 26 years trying to maintain. (The only commissioner not running for re-election contributed to Angie Homola’s and Helen Price Johnson’s campaigns.)

A few weeks ago, on Mac McDowell’s behalf, the editor of the Whidbey News-Times printed an unprecedented rebuttal to a letter that cracked open the window on McDowell’s considerable real estate holdings. Wednesday’s lead editorial supported Commissioner Phil Bakke’s slander of Homola, an “October surprise” that appeared in the South Whidbey Record last week. The editorial also implied that McDowell somehow deserves credit for the county’s low tax rates, a sure-fire vote getter. Federal impact aid, not the county commissioners, deserves that credit.

The Public Disclosure Commission’s online database lists 16 pages of contributions to Angie Homola, from people like Meehan’s volunteers and staff. Mac McDowell’s three pages are mostly Oak Harbor businesses and builders. It isn’t hard to figure out who will better serve those who love Island County’s quality of life.

We desperately need Angie Homola and Helen Price Johnson as our commissioners.

James Bruner

Oak Harbor