San Juan County Council Candidates Q&A

Priorities Differ on Governance, Economy, Environment

Four San Juan County Council candidates set themselves apart by offering different experiences, visions and priorities to voters in their responses to a new candidate questionnaire.

Community Rights San Juan Islands, Friends of the San Juans and the Madrona Institute put together a list of six questions for the four county council candidates with the hope that the citizens of San Juan County would learn more about the candidates as they compete for two available county council seats.

All four candidates, Christine Minney and Ryan T. Palmateer for Council Residency District 1, and Cindy Wolf and Rick Hughes for Council Residency District 2, submitted their responses.

Their full responses have been tabulated and can be viewed at http://tiny.cc/SJCcandidates.

The candidate questions range from assessment of county governance to views on tourism and economic growth, lessons from the pandemic and recent upheavals, climate change, and ecological health. The questionnaire also draws attention to a newly launched initiative New Deal San Juan Islands putting forward draft ordinances on agriculture, climate, housing, justice and plastics for candidates to consider as the beginning of an ongoing community conversation that leads to action.

Candidates’ responses highlight their differing analyses of problems, priorities and plans for the county if they were elected to serve for three years as council members. 

The ballots will be mailed on Oct. 16, 2020. Register to vote online or by mail up till Oct. 16, or in person, during business hours until Election Day on Nov. 3. Please vote. 

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