Curt Gordon is not a run-of-the-mill candidate, and not just because he announced his campaign in the middle of an international pandemic.

This will be the third time the nearly lifelong South Whidbey resident and asphalt man has run for the District 1 position on the Island County Board of Commissioners. He previously ran in 2008 and 2012.

Once again, Gordon is eschewing party affiliation and running as an independent.

And if he wins, Gordon is not going to give up being a commissioner for the Port of South Whidbey, which he says is allowed by law.

Gordon has several issues that are near and dear to him — including obtainable housing and transportation alternatives — but his ultimate goal is relatively simple.

“I care a lot about Island County,” he said. “I want to try to maintain some of the middle class that’s been disappearing, and that’s going to take some work.”

Helen Price Johnson, the current commissioner, announced last year that she will not seek reelection as she is going to run for state senate. Gordon is the fifth candidate to announce running for the position and is the only independent.

“I never could pick a party,” he said. “I never could align myself with the specifics of either party.”

Also, Gordon sees county commissioner as being more of a management role, and he believes he will be more unbiased if he’s neither a Republican nor a Democrat.

Gordon was on the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation Commission for 20 years and has been a port commissioner for 10 years, a position he’s not ready to give up.

While county commissioners consider their jobs to be full-time, Gordon said he can do both; he usually doesn’t spend more than four or five hours a week doing port commissioner work.

He also owns a well-known asphalt paving company.

As a port commissioner, Gordon has concentrated for years on establishing an overnight parking lot in Mukilteo, where he hopes visitors could leave their cars and then walk on the ferry.

It’s one idea, he said, for shortening ferry lines and encouraging public transportation.

As a commissioner, Gordon said he would continue to look at creative solutions to transportation problems, which would likely mean working with other agencies. A passenger-only ferry and additional specialized bus routes are worth exploring, he said.

“I would love to see more people be able to commute to work without a car,” he said.

Gordon said he and his wife own and rent housing to “workforce people” and understand the challenges they face when it comes to being able to afford to live on the island. He said he has some creative ideas for adding housing density — which would lower housing prices — without changing the county’s rules.

Finally, Gordon points out that nobody knows what county government will be like when the country finally starts recovering from the pandemic. He said he would be a stable influence in the position since he has 30 years of local government experience, particularly when it comes to managing budgets, levies and municipal projects.

“I’ve always been very, very active in the budget process,” he said. “I’ll be able to step in without a problem.”

Democrats Nathan Howard and Melanie Bacon and Republicans Gary Wray and Damian Greene have also announced their intentions to run for the position.