Running an efficient county government, bringing jobs to South Whidbey, and Conservation Futures money were some of the issues up for discussion as candidates for Island County commissioner, District 1, faced off in a public forum.

District 1 includes South and Central Whidbey, roughly to San de Fuca. Only voters in that district will vote in its primary election.

In a forum held Aug. 26 and sponsored by the South Whidbey chapter of the League of Women Voters, Republican incumbent Mike Shelton and challengers Republican Reece Rose and Democrat Dean Enell debated the issues facing Island County. Rose and Enell are seeking to unseat Shelton, who has held his seat for 12 years.

Shelton and Rose are competing in the Sept. 14 primary election. The winner then faces Enell in the Nov. 2 general election went all voters in the county can cast ballots in the race.

Approximately 75 people, including candidates, their supporters and voters, filled the fireside room at Freeland’s Trinity Lutheran Church to hear the debate. Each candidate received about three minutes for opening comments, approximately 15 minutes for answering questions and about two minutes for closing comments.

The candidates played upon their differences. Stating an obvious but contentious fact on Democrat-leaning South Whidbey, Enell noted that there is a dissatisfied population in Island County that has not been represented by a Democratic county commissioner for many years. Democrat Bill Thorn served one term, ending in 2002, but he was from Camano Island.

Enell said he wants to bring efficient government with a clear vision and a strategic plan for spending to Island County, as well as promote economic development that doesn’t compromise quality of life or the environment. Specifically, he said he wants to find jobs on Whidbey Island for the 6,000 people who commute off the island daily on the Clinton-Mulkiteo ferry. Enticing industries to set up cottage industries would help, he said.

The Republican challenger in the race could not have agreed with Enell more.

“We need jobs in Island County,” said Reece Rose, who came to the race as a Republican after initially filing as a Libertarian.

But it was when the candidates started talking about where and how to trim Island County’s budget that differing viewpoints emerged. For his part, the incumbent, Shelton, said that with the loss of revenue due tax-cutting state initiatives, the county government’s been cut down to where no more cuts are possible. At the same time, he said county government is still running well overall.

Rose said she feels Island County residents are overtaxed. She said she decided to run for office the Board of Island County Commissioners increased taxes 5.8 percent last year, after voters had approved Initiative 747 in 2000 to limit property tax increases to a 1 percent annual increase. She said she supports a smaller, more efficient government and term limits. Referring to Shelton’s 12-year stay in office, Rose also pledged to only stay in office two terms.

Picking at a side issue related to the cost of government, Rose the county lacks quality customer service. She said sometimes people leave “in tears” from some departments.

Shelton disputed Rose’s 5.8 percent number. He said that because the commissioners did not raise the levy rate the previously allowed 6 percent in the past, the county was able to save some of its taxing capacity for a rainy day. With revenues shrinking precipitously over the last two years, the commissioners chose 2003 as the year to budget for that extra money.

When it came to talking about cutting the cost of government, Rose said she would look for savings in every county department, except the sheriff’s office. In all, the criminal justice component of the county budget makes up 55 percent of general fund expenditures, Rose said.

At one point in the discussion, the topic of Island County Conservation Futures funds came up. The fund, supported by a property tax levy, is used to buy property for conservation.

Following the 1997 purchase of the Greenbank Farm for $2.3 million and the earlier acquisition of Double Bluff Beach Access for $880,000 in futures funding, the board of commissioners voted to stop spending on South Whidbey properties until more had been purchased on North Whidbey and Camano Island.

Shelton said there’s parity in the fund now, so South Whibey will start getting more funds for project.

“It’s almost a non-issue,” he said.

Enell disagreed, sayin a public advisory board and the public need to get into the debate. He said Greenbank farm should not have been counted against South Whidbey. Doing so has put off the purchase of other properties, including one that recently went on the market next to the Island County maintained Goss Lake swimming beach.