The results of the Island County commissioner elections were indeed revolutionary. When the votes were certified last week, the two Republicans on the three-member board had been ousted, replaced by two Democrats — both women. A mandatory recount is under way in one race, but a change in the outcome is unlikely.

While the gender change is historical with Helen Price Johnson and Angie Homola winning the vote count and giving Island County its first two female commissioners, the change in philosophy is more substantive.

Only a couple of years ago, Island County was its old conservative self, with three men and their pro-development philosophy in charge. They were almost always on the same page, pushing for more development to add dollars to the county’s bottom line and benefit their supporters.

The message from the top was well known throughout county government: Help make projects happen, give developers as much as you can, interpret state environmental laws as laxly as possible. Whether you wanted to build a gas station in a wetland, storage sheds at the entryway to town, a modern McMansion in a historical reserve, or block public access to the water with a wall, the county was supportive.

Today the thinking from the top is different. Price Johnson and Homola join the now-senior commissioner, Democrat John Dean, who has only two years of experience in office. But they have varied backgrounds, they’ve all lived in Island County a long time, and they all seem to appreciate what we have here and want to protect it. They will work under the same laws as the old commissioners, but their attitude will, we believe, invigorate Island County’s planners and environmental staff members. Their work will be supported and efforts to better protect the environment rewarded.

This is not to say that development will come to a screeching halt. But when cities want to expand their urban growth areas, more questions will be asked. When citizen advisory boards make recommendations, they will be listened to carefully. As planning commission appointments are made, fewer positions will be given to people who profit directly from land development.

It’s not an easy time for two new commissioners to take office. The national economy is on the brink and it’s dramatically impacting revenues received by local governments. They’ll have to run a tight ship, strongly support appropriate development, and increase sources of revenue such as tourism not dependent on more development.

One thing we know for sure, it won’t be business as usual. And for that we can thank the voters of Island County, who showed on election day that they’ve had enough of that.