There was more than one surprise at Wednesday’s candidate forum in Freeland where both local and national issues were discussed by general election candidates.
Island County Commissioner candidate Rick Hannold told the audience that the threat of global warming is largely overstated.
“I feel it’s just part of the natural course of things,” said Hannold, a Republican. “You can skew the facts either way depending on who’s paying for the study.”
No matter how you view climate change, Hannold said, the county leaders need to be good caretakers of environmental resources with balanced solutions that aren’t “at the expense of our businesses.”
His Democratic opponent, Karla Jacks, disagreed. She said that climate change is a real threat that needs to be mitigated.
“We are experiencing global warming,” Jacks said. “I think we need to help promote protections of our climate and work on different sources of energy.”
The Wednesday night forum was held by the League of Women Voters of Island County and Sno-Isle Libraries. A second forum is at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge.
While she wouldn’t want to raise taxes, Jacks said she couldn’t say she would never do it, adding she prefers to look first for other revenue sources to offset the costs of county services.
Hannold said he advocates for a lean budget focused on essential services and being “good stewards of the money we are given to spend.”
Asked about potential solutions for the county’s growing population of people with mental illnesses, Hannold said that “we need to have compassion.”
Hannold said he believes that mental health issues start in homes and schools, and the government should “unshackle” parents and teachers from “a lot of liberal rules and regulations.”
Jacks said she understands the problem first hand and described her mother’s nervous breakdown and resulting hallucinations.
“A lot of families struggle with the system the way it is,” she said.
The county’s top two issues are balancing the budget and providing better, more efficient service to the community through upgrades in Information Technology, Jacks said.
Public safety and boosting the county’s economy are the top two issues, Hannold said.
TREASURER RACE
Island County Treasurer candidate Wanda Grone pointed out a $1 million loss experienced by that office last year.
If elected, Grone said, she would diversify the county’s portfolio to prevent losses of this size and ensure that a secondary person reviews the investment decisions.
Incumbent Treasurer Ana Maria Nuñnez, a Democrat, defended her investment practices, saying that “all investments by me follow current policy.”
Grone, a Republican, served as Nuñez’s chief deputy until she filed to run against her and was fired.
(Photo below: Republican Wanda Grone, left, is challenging her former boss Island County Treasurer Ana Maria Nunez, right, for her position in the November general election.)
Nuñez said it is not easy to invest and that the risk of loss is inherent.
“I try to be a good steward of public money,” Nuñez said.
Grone said she believes the treasurer should network with other treasurers to find best practices and that the county should stay away from more risky extended maturity bonds.
If she wins the election, Grone said the public can expect “action and answers, not excuses and delays.”
Nuñez cautioned voters not to “get sidetracked by rhetoric” and asked for their support for a second four-year term.
10TH DISTRICT
Tenth Legislative Rep. Dave Hayes, a Republican completing his first term in the state House, said he supports Initiative 591, which prevents the state from regulating guns beyond federal requirements.
Initiative 594, which would require background checks on all firearm sales and transfers, is “focused on the wrong people,” Hayes said.
Hayes’ challenger, Democrat Nick Petrish, said that, even though he is “a shooter” and a gun enthusiast himself, he believes I-594 is a “great way to bend into the demands of the public.”
Petrish said he would advocate for closing tax loopholes in order to come up with funding for the state’s public education mandate. He also supports a measure he calls “clawbacks,” which would force companies to repay tax incentives they received if they break promises to keep jobs within the state but later broke those promises.
Looking at the budget “piece by piece” is going to be the only way the state is going to be able to come up with funding for education, Hayes said.
Hayes said he is not a supporter of a state-wide minimum-wage increase to $15 because it would “create an even worse business environment for Washington state.”
Petrish said he supports a $15 wage but would also support a law that allowing workers at large corporations to unionize and negotiate their own wages.
“I am 100 percent in support of the worker,” Petrish said.
NO-SHOWS
There were several no-shows at Thursday’s forum. Neither of the 10th Legislative Position 1 candidates, Republican incumbent Norma Smith and Libertarian challenger Michael Scott, attended.
A brief statement by each candidate was read aloud.
Republican Island County Auditor Sheila Crider was also absent, but her challenger, Independent Rebecca Wagner, was in attendance to make her own statement.
