Nick Bordner for Bill Watson

I have seen many viewpoints represented in the letters supporting various candidates, but none from young people (as best I can tell anyways). So, I thought I’d add my perspective to the mix.

I’ve loved the San Juans and island life in general since I was a young child, growing up on Vashon and visiting the archipelago here often. I’ve traveled the world fairly extensively for someone my age, and the San Juans have maintained a special place in my heart as truly one of the most beautiful and unique places in the world – both the natural beauty and the incredible community. This year I realized a lifelong dream of becoming a San Juan County resident.

I hope to live here for most or all of my life. I want the San Juans remain a place where we can all continue to live happily, a place where it is possible to raise a family and envision a future for oneself, a place we are proud to call home. There are many different opinions on how this should be done, given the breadth of challenges facing the world. I firmly believe that Bill Watson is the man best equipped to help make this happen.

I believe both Bill Watson and Bob Jarman are honest, upstanding members of the community with the integrity to do what they think is right to the best of their ability. In that regard, they are both well qualified to be public servants, and indeed it appears that Mr. Jarman has been an excellent Council member by most standards.

However, it seems to me that while they both possess many of the necessary traits, their visions for and commitment to the future differ in critical and fundamental ways.

In essence, it seems that Mr. Jarman is more content with the status quo and seems often intent upon working to preserve things as they are. He often cites past accomplishments as assurance that he is well-equipped to rise to future challenges, sometimes without offering thorough or concrete plans for doing so. These themes underly most written statements, ironically often at the expense of the type of impressive, proactive analysis of the problems that Mr. Watson tends to provide in response to the same questions. When Mr. Jarman does mention the future, absent are the substantive detail found in Mr. Watson’s answers. That is concerning to millennials.

I fully understand why, to many of you, the perpetuation of the status quo and trusting in the familiar is very appealing. Those of you who are nearing the ends of your careers or are already retired naturally may not want to see large changes in the way things are done, because you are not in a strong position to adapt and worry the ‘rug will be pulled out from under you’ in one way or another. Also, life is probably pretty sweet if you’re happily retired here in the San Juans, so why rock the boat too much now, right? I can understand that, but I’d urge you to consider softening that stance just a bit, for the sake of your children, grandchildren, and beyond.

Intentions and character are only component of good governance in uncertain times, which these most certainly are in a way none have been before. The second component is an ability to understand the world at large, how the trends of the world will have local effects, and plan proactively for the future effects of the present undercurrents.

Both candidates have the best of intention and strong character, but Watson is clearly superior in the latter half of the equation. This is illustrated by their highly disparate fundamental approaches to determining what is best for the future of the Islands.

Bill Watson wants to use all available data to make the best decisions possible, something which Jarman effectively ridicules him for in an answer to the question of why voters should prefer him, saying ‘My opponent continually says he “needs more data… [which] in itself does not necessarily lead to better solutions or positive outcomes.” First, to anyone in my generation, ridiculing someone for seeking data or questioning whether better use of data can objectively and drastically improve outcomes is… well, frankly it’s mostly seen as just a way of revealing one’s own preference for willful ignorance and reactive politics over critical thought and proactive approaches to challenges. Second, Jarman is being misleading because more data almost always helps and almost never hurts if understood properly (relevant sidenote: Mr. Watson has more experience with data that Mr. Jarman). Third, data is getting cheaper and more readily available at an exponential rate, so seeking more data makes sense now and will only make more sense over time. We’re already not even making full use of the free, publicly available data we have at our disposal now.

Mr. Jarman also reprimands Mr. Watson for often being prepared to consider raising taxes as a way to solve problems. Again, to my generation, failing to consider this option in response to a variety of issues is willfully ignorant of the state of our nation and world. If you don’t believe this is the case, I urge you to read Capital in the Twenty First Century by Thomas Piketty, I urge you to listen to everything Bernie Sanders has said and figure out why it has resonated with millennials by overwhelming margins, I urge you to do whatever else helps deliver a reality check. The San Juan Island are rapidly becoming one of the most popular places for the socioeconomic elite to own property, and that makes our responses to the problems of the world all the more important and potentially scrutinized.

The truth is that, while not belittling what good the Baby Boomers have done for the world, we must acknowledge that you all are mostly still in control politically and economically, and you have all (collectively, of course) left my generation with a socioeconomic mess of severe and rapidly worsening economic inequality, exponentially worsening ecological destruction and climate change, crumbling infrastructure, and insufficient investment in the middle class to name a few. This is exemplified, among many other places, in the extremely regressive tax laws across the board in Washington State, so making the tax code more progressive (which sometimes raises taxes for some people or across the board) may well be a very sensible option in the current day and age – and is certainly within the realm worth considering. It will become even more sensible in the future as automation and A.I. influence our economy more. Mr. Watson sees this reality, Mr. Jarman does not appear to.

On the Climate Change Questionnaire, Mr. Watson offered concrete and thorough explanations. Mr. Jarman led off by deferring to scientists (fair sometimes, but you don’t have to be a scientist to understand and strongly embrace the conclusions of the scientific community) and wikipedia for even a definition of Climate Change, and the remaining answers were mostly vague and noncommittal in some way or another – often boiling down to ‘we’ll deal with it at some point’ or ‘we’ve dealt with it enough for now.’ I honestly can’t tell if he even believes that climate change is a serious, human-induced problem that threatens the future habitability of our planet. I can’t imagine he doesn’t, but his answers seem to contort to avoid acknowledging this. This, to a millennial, is downright terrifying that he doesn’t offer a strong, unequivocal answer about the importance of strong action on climate change.

The list goes on, and the pattern is clear.

Mr. Watson is, in short, playing at a higher intellectual level, and we would be wise to avail ourselves of that, especially given that he also has extensive management experience and a wide range of other qualifications similar to Mr. Jarman’s.

To scorn use of data and openness to progressive economic reform is to scorn the best hopes of my generation in rising to the myriad existential challenges that you, our forebears, have left us. To believe we should simply ‘continue with a cohesive Council going forward,’ when said council is not as forward-thinking as it could be by including Mr. Watson, is foolish.

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It reminds me of an observation on the Baby Boomer & Gen X vs. Millennial generation gap, by a comic whose routine I once saw online and now can’t remember who it was (anyone with a source, much appreciated!). It goes something like this:

“People who grew up before the internet, and more specifically the internet in your pocket by way of smartphone, really knew how to just hang out. Young people these days don’t know how to hang out. They try to hang out, but sooner or later in the course of having a conversation someone says something that someone else doubts. This used to just get discussed and mused over, general ‘hanging out’ fodder, but nowadays the definitive answer is just looked up; that’s no longer ‘hanging out,’ it’s just a group research project”

This observation is apt, and it’s because we understand the power of data in making decisions. To have grown up with the internet is to instinctively crave data, to think critically at all times, to investigate everything as fully as possible. Say what you want about millennials in general, or what our mindset of constant research has done for the art of conversation, but this quality – this curiosity and craving for data – is without question one of the most powerful tools we have, and I am delighted to find it in one of the candidates for County Council.

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Your service has been honorable Mr. Jarman, but your attitude does not appear to be the one we need for true leadership at this moment in time. Bill Watson’s is, and is he is equally or more highly qualified in the management of large groups and projects. He may not have lived here as long, but he’s been here long enough and he came here for the same reasons we all did. He seems better equipped to protect those reasons in the times that lie ahead. The San Juan County Employee’s Union, the San Juan County Democrats, and others agree with this assessment and have endorsed Mr. Watson.

I have no doubt that, regardless of the result, both of these fine men will continue to serve the community in varying and honorable ways. I personally will be voting for Watson for Council, and I hope you will consider joining me in doing so.

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Thank you for your time and attention, and most importantly – no matter who you vote for, remember to vote!

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Nick Bordner