David Turnoy for Bill Watson

Bill Watson for County Council

From David Turnoy of Orcas Island

You may have heard recently that the county employees of San Juan County are supporting Rick Hughes and Bill Watson in the two races for council seats. A really telling source of information when evaluating an incumbent county councilor’s record is to look at the questions posed by the employees who work for that councilor when deciding whom to support. These questions can be very informative as to the concerns of the county employees in performing their jobs and serving the people of our county. Here are the three questions posed by the local union representing the employees, each followed by my comments in bold:

  1. Over the past 6 years some county departments have seen the proliferation of managers who ‘oversee’ one, two, three or four staff members. Is having a manager for so few people an efficient use of taxpayer money? Obviously not a good use of our money.
  2. Supervisors have ordered employees to perform tasks in violation of or in conflict with written county policy or state regulations. Failure to obey a supervisor’s direct order may lead to discipline or discharge. What protection would you provide employees facing this dilemma? This is a serious charge that has merit.
  3. The County Councilors take no active part in bargaining nor do they hear grievances directly from employees. Instead, County Councilors receive all their information from administrative staff. Do you believe maintaining this buffer between elected officials and employees is sound public policy? While the council is not meant to be directly a part of contract negotiations, there needs to be a way for the issues, positions and ideas of the employees to make it through to the County Councilors without being filtered by management. At this point the union employees do not trust management.

Bill Watson has many decades of successful managerial experience. He believes that the council establishes goals and values, ensuring that these goals and values are communicated throughout the organization, top to bottom, across departments. He will work with staff to improve the employee work environment, ensuring that employees feel safe, respected and valued. Bill will listen to and understand their rationale for interpreting regulations and applying them to the issue at hand. The employees are the professionals with specific skills and experience, with no personal agenda, therefore their thoughts are to be valued. Valued employees are happy and motivated, and therefore they are more productive employees. Bill wants to work to make San Juan County one of the top municipalities to work for in the state.

A final thought about Bill: He believes county government must be fair and transparent, and that the council must abide by its own rules. Each member must represent the entire county, not just his or her residence district.

So if you want a County Councilor who will represent you and not just a particular group of people, if you want county employees who perform their tasks efficiently, who give us the most bang for our buck, vote for Bill Watson for County Council Seat One. Remember, all of us vote for all council seats in the election, so be sure to cast your ballot for both council seats, including Bill Watson for Seat One.