If voters form a Whidbey Island PUD Nov. 4, there will be three commissioner seats to fill. Here is a look at the candidates from District 1 (North Whidbey), District 2 (Central Whidbey) and District 3 (South Whidbey).

District 1

It was noon on the last day to file as public utility district commissioner for District 1, the northern part of Whidbey Island.

No candidate had filed, putting the entire PUD measure in jeopardy. The three districts on the island (divided by south, central and north) required at least one filer each, or the commission would be “frozen” if voters approved the November initiative.

Marshall Goldberg, a retired physician from Oak Harbor, decided to step forward. He turned in the paperwork to the auditor’s office at 12:30 p.m.

“I was sympathetic to the idea of locally controlled power,” he said.

The group “People for Yes on Whidbey PUD” began the movement in May to take over Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy’s facilities and create an island-based public utility district. They promise lower rates and greater reliability.

Goldberg was enticed by this notion, and also by the potential for wind, solar and tidal energy on Whidbey. Washington PUD’s get 80 percent of their power from renewables, mostly hydropower.

While he doesn’t have direct utility experience, he said he knows the importance of alternative energy and conservation. If there is tidal power located around Whidbey Island, he would like to be in a competitive position with others to access it.

“PSE doesn’t have the same incentive to create renewables, especially because 37 percent of their energy comes from coal-fired plants. They’ve invested money in other resources,” he said.

If a PUD is authorized, Goldberg expects to use the Washington Public Utility Districts Association as a resource, a trade group that offers training for utility leaders.

“We will also reach out to our neighbors in Jefferson and Skagit County and talk to people who have gone through the process,” he said. Those two counties are also battling Puget Sound Energy for control of electrical facilities.

Goldberg is the only candidate running uncontested.

Because a PUD is non-profit by statute, he sees the potential for savings, for renewable energy programs and for benefits to the local economy. People living on the island would be on the payroll, he said.

The pay for commissioners is minimal and wouldn’t begin until a PUD generates a profit. But Goldberg said he has reasonable expectations.

“I expect to work long, hard hours and I’ll have the personal satisfaction of doing a job no one else wanted to do, for the public good,” he said.

District 2

The political arena is no mystery to Pat Harman and Brien Lillquist, each having served in public office, but their reasons for running as District 2 PUD commissioner were both personal and mixed.

Harman was motivated by a lengthy experience record. He served nine years as a PUD commissioner for Municipal Light and Power in Anchorage, Alaska. During his final two years, he was chairman. Working as an aide for the Alaskan legislature, Harman tackled electric power issues during the Enron era.

Lillquist attached his name to the ballot when he saw the post might be unopposed.

“I hate to see a one horse race,” he said.

A former North Whidbey Park and Recreation District board member, Lillquist is tired of long stretches of power failure during storm season and high electrical rates.

Power outages were rare in Alaska, Harman said, because power was reliable. As commissioner, he would make right-of-way clearance a priority by hiring local line crews. Most storm-related outages are caused by trees and limbs falling on power lines.

“Clearance should be an ongoing routine maintenance item,” Harman said. “PSE has stated that they plan to do right-of-way clearance in 2010.”

However, the two candidates each agreed the changes and turnover would take time.

“It’s possible we will sit on this for a couple years and just take input,” Lillquist said.

The commission would first create a feasibility study to judge the cost of a PUD, then decide how to finance a buyout of Puget Sound Energy facilities.

“I don’t see anything happening quickly and if we got in business today, I’m not sure we could do it for much cheaper. But the delta is getting narrower between what they charge and what we have to charge,” Harman said, referring to PSE’s upcoming rate increases.

Each of the five PUD candidates vowed to keep the public informed and involved with their decision-making process. If the authorization of the PUD is approved and the cost of condemnation is determined, commissioners would hold a series of public meetings before moving forward.

As a Park and Recreation Distrcit board member, Lillquist said he was involved with a controversy over money. He said past errors make him a stronger candidate.

“I learned the hard way on local politics and know what mistakes not to make,” he said.

Community involvement is critical, Harman said, and the commissioner meetings would be public.

“I don’t want to operate in a vacuum,” he said.

In the future, Harman envisions a system that takes advantage of 21st Century technology. He hopes to one day provide incentives for citizens who use off-peak hours for tasks such as charging electric vehicles, heating water, running dishwashers and running clothes dryers.

District 3

Few people know Puget Sound Energy’s Whidbey-based electric system as well as South Whidbey resident Tim Arnold ­— he managed it for two years. At the same time, his opponent Georgia Gardner spent years as a public servant, serving two years in the House of Representatives and four years as a state Senator for Whatcom County.

“I expect this will be close race,” Gardner said.

Gardner, who is an accountant, began her early political career on the Blaine City Council for six years, then as a commissioner of public lands. She moved to the Legislature in 1996.

“Blaine had its own power municipality. It was more reliable because they got into aggressive undergrounding. Their lines weren’t taken down by trees,” she said. “You save so much from a PUD and can invest in other services.”

While Gardner is a proponent of a PUD, Arnold admits he’s more neutral. Before taking a stance, he would like to see a feasibility study.

“I understand the reluctancy. We can’t gloss over economic issues that could potentially drive up electrical costs,” he said.

Along with Arnold’s two years as PSE general manager, he spent eight years working with PSE’s Kitsap and Jefferson county division. He majored in electrical engineering at the University of Washington and graduated from the University of Idaho Utility Executive Course, a program designed to prepare utility leaders.

“I decided that if people vote for a PUD, I want to see that it’s done right,” Arnold said. “There is nothing in the system that I haven’t done or experienced.”

Gardner, too, is looking forward to solid data. By approving the measure, voters would authorize a PUD and appoint commissioners. Commissioners would then create the cost study funded by a property tax. The commission could move forward with condemnation of Puget Sound Energy without an additional public vote; however, Gardner proposed having a public vote regardless.

“We need a ‘yes’ vote to go after the hard numbers,” she said.