We will be receiving our ballots this week. Here are the candidates that I believe will do the most to benefit the environment in Jefferson County and the Olympic Peninsula. Check back for updates in the next week. This should get you started.
- Senator, State of Washington – Patty Murray.
- Senator Murray continues to do a superb job of being the senior Senator in the state. Her work on VA funding, and numerous environmental bill support allows her to easily gain our vote.
- Governor – Jay Inslee
- Jay is the most devoted environmental governor we have ever had. He is leading the state forward in many key areas, such as Ocean Acidification, Global Warming issues, coal and oil train issues, and many others. He’s on the correct side of almost all environmental issues. Maybe not always as far as we’d like, but he does have to work with the State House and Senate to get things done, along with convincing the public of the correct course.
- 6th Congressional District – Derek Kilmer
- Representative Kilmer has done a solid job of promoting environmental issues in his first term. He has proven his ability to fight for climate change and other important issues, though on thorny issues closer to home such as the Whidbey Island Naval Base jet expansion, and the Electronic Warfare Range on the west end of the Peninsula, he has been too lukewarm about digging in and representing citizen concern over the military. There are serious environment issues that the expansion of the base and it’s operations raises, including whether it is even appropriate to continue to use this base as a staging location given the growth of the population around it since it was originally put in place. Remember that over tens of thousands of signatures were collected protesting this issue, yet Derek has not responded other than a small token effort. Derek’s middle of the road position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a difficult policy decision for him. We live in the State of Boeing and Microsoft, two companies that benefit from more free trade, creating tens of thousands of jobs, and much wealth for our State. Since the TPP is not yet complete, (though leaked copies have enflamed Democrats and Republicans like Trump alike) it’s understandable that Kilmer would want to wait and see how the final wording lands. However, given other issues that he has worked on, and the lack of background in environmental issues from his opponents, we suggest to re-elect him. We’re hoping that he will become more focused on correcting TPP (it’s unlikely he would work to defeat it), seriously questioning the Navy’s expansion plans, and listening to his constituents to a greater degree. Any Republican elected will likely support TPP and the military wholeheartedly.
- State Senator District 24 – Kevin Van De Wege
- Kevin’s long time support of environmental protection is quite impressive. He came around on eliminating fire retardants in products in the State, being willing to listen to facts and change his opinion by thinking through the issues. Very rare in a politician these days. He now is the champion in the State House for banning fire retardants. Vote him into the Senate!
- State Representative District 24 – Mike Chapman
- Mike Chapman has been doing heavy lifting in the highly contentious world of Clallam County politics. He has sided with environmental protection and convinced his constituents that he has their backs. Vote in Mike.
- Jefferson County District 1 – Kate Dean
- Kate has been a seriously committed community activist, both in our leading edge small farm community and in environmental issues. We highly recommend Kate to join our county commissioners. She is vying to replace long time commissioner and environmental supporter, Phil Johnson, who is retiring. We will miss Phil’s great intense devotion to wild salmon and fighting net pens in our county.
- Jefferson County District 2 – David Sullivan
- David is uncontested, but could face a write in candidate if one appeared. Vote for him anyway, to ensure his re-election. He has done a good job of supporting citizen needs in health care, and supports environmental efforts when they arise. He comes from a health care background, so he knows those issues well.
- State Commissioner of Public Lands
- This is a hard decision at this moment, either Hilary Franz or Dave Upthegrove are excellent candidates. Upthegrove has been on the correct side of many important environmental issues in the past, including the Maury Island gravel pit. He has been a long time State House member, and has the support of numerous key environmental organizations. Hilary has been an environmental lawyer working at Futurewise, an NGO. She also has numerous significant endorsements. Both candidates are worth voting for. But I believe that Dave Upthegrove is likely to make a better head of a major bureaucracy.
- PCOs of Jefferson County. These are the contested races. Some of these are not about environmental issues. I’ve noted the ones that are. Some of the people I know personally and can support their being voted into PCO roles. (more to be updated soon)
- 102 – Al Scalf – longtime environmental issue supporter.
- 104 – Marty Gilmore
- 106 – Claire Roney
- 303 – Heidi Eisenhour – Longtime supporter of land conservation work.
- 501 – Adele Govert
- 702 – Gary Engbrecht
- 703 – Gary Larson
- 706 – Dan Erlenborn
- 708 – Rick Doherty – Medical professional with clear understanding of the issues.
- 709 – Pat Vaughn
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Puget Sound |
Al, thank you so much for your endorsement and recommendation! If any of your readers have any questions or concerns they can reach me on my personal cell phone 360-477-1131 or email chapman@olypen.com.
Again, many thanks to all who have endorsed and supported my campaign.
Mike Chapman
Representative Kilmer sent me a very long reply about wanting to support TPP. He discussed keeping jobs on the Peninsula. Here is my reply to him.
Representative Kilmer,
Yes, TPP is a bigger issue than I first realized. Thank you for giving me a look at all the complicated issues. Your reasoning is sound but you are missing some other points about the environment.
My biggest concerns are environmental issues — we send our products away rather than using them in the U.S. If we promote more trade with far off countries, our environmental footprint grows. Container ships loaded with cargo use crude oil fuel, spew pollution and are not counted in the country they originate or in the country they visit. This air and sea pollution in Port Angeles, Port Townsend and all over the area you serve is growing and growing. We here on the Olympic Peninsula worry about spills, and the non-stop disturbance of sea animals too.
Minimizing our footprint is the only way we can slow global warming. Eating locally, manufacturing locally, living locally without traveling all over the world is the smart way to proceed. Sending more ships overseas is the opposite of conserving our resources. We don’t want to send our coal or oil to China. We want to reduce the pollution. Washington State has an opportunity to make a difference in this country. We can open many eyes to the possibilities of not sending trains across our state and shipping overseas. We can make the same decision to live locally. We have many resources right here to make products that serve the U.S. rather than need to trade overseas. Does Congress care about all the planes and ships and pollution?
Jeanette Richoux
I live in Port Townsend and the growler jets start flying at 4:30AM and continue all day. We feel we are in some Navy War Zone. Derek Kilmer has supported the Navy and treated his constituents like we are collateral damage. Olympic National Park has become a loud noisy place that seems to have moved next to SeaTac.
Kilmers approval to fast track TPP and approve $350 million out of Medicare funds to support all the people who lose their jobs is despicable. I will never never vote for Derek Kelmer.
Gerald, I get it. Derek’s lukewarm feedback on the very real concerns of many people on the Peninsula is very disheartening. I do understand that he is not in a position to come out directly against the Navy, as we have a huge contingent of retired Navy personnel on the Peninsula and they vote too. He cannot alienate Sequim to placate PT. We also have the Navy themselves in Bremerton and they employ a lot of people. It’s likely political suicide for him to take a stand against it directly. I don’t see another candidate that would do better for this issue in our choices, so voting in his opposition is like actually supporting more Navy jets!
As to TPP, it’s clear that what exists at present is not a final deal, and we have many politicians who are now demanding changes to it. Once it is finalized, I think we can clearly state where the flaws are. I have no idea if the entire thing should be abandoned. Trade is very important to our State’s economy. If we can fix the TPP and gain it’s benefits, then it could be worth doing. I am not an expert here and all I do know is that it’s a political football, and the truth of it’s benefits is not being discussed, only its’ downsides. And it’s still a draft!
Taking back control of the Senate and House is likely to allow a great deal more freedom for Derek to get things done that we can all stand behind. Right now, the Republicans are driving the agenda. He can only try and work as best he can with them, without becoming one. That’s not easy. It’s easier to just say no.
Great and timely suggestions – be interesting to see Heidi Eisenhour delve into the policy/political side… Joel
Thanks, Al for your thoughtful recommendations. It does help!
Al- Thanks for the endorsement and your ongoing support.
Kate
Kate Dean kdeanconsulting@gmail.com 360-301-1750
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