Listening, learning and developing the economic strength further are the common threads for the three unopposed Langley City Council candidates.

On the ballot in Langley this year are incumbents Bruce Allen and Robin Black, and newcomer Ursula Shoudy.

Allen is seeking his second four-year term to continue the work the council and City Hall are engaged in now on infrastructure projects and economic development.

Black is prepared for one of two outcomes, depending on if husband Tim Callison is elected mayor, she will either stay on the council or step down.

Shoudy is a neophyte to elected public service, but a veteran of serving the public.

As the manager of the Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun Club for two years, Shoudy has seen hundreds of faces grab a meal in the club. Plenty of parents on South Whidbey know her from the day care she co-owned for 25 years, Little League and South Whidbey High School athletics.

She was encouraged to register for the council position in May by Black. Their children were both in South Whidbey schools and Shoudy was the president of the South Whidbey Athletic Booster Club for nearly 10 years — Black was a parent volunteer.

Shoudy and her husband, Scott Shoudy, have lived on Fourth Street for the past two and a half years. They owned the property and building for 15 years, however, and used to rent it out.

Having grown up on South Whidbey, Shoudy says she remembers Langley as a true village, a place where neighbors helped neighbors, people waved when they saw you on the sidewalk, and knew what you were going to order at the cafe.

A lot of the elements that made her love South Whidbey as a child in the 1970s still exist in Langley, and she wants to make sure it keeps that charm.

“I love the fact that I can walk around at 10 o’clock at night and feel totally safe,” she said.

When asked to address some of the more controversial issues in Langley, Shoudy said she wasn’t sure about the city’s course of action with the rabbit population. She opposed using eminent domain as a means to creating a connection from Seawall Park to the marina, wanted some kind of improved connection between the downtown and marina, and desired to see the city and Mo’s Pub & Eatery owner to work together to find a solution that works for all parties over noise.

“It can’t be a finger-pointing thing,” she said.

Her great strength, she said, will be her willingness to comfortably listen to anyone with whom she may disagree.

“I’m fair, I’m hard working and I listen to people whose opinions maybe differ from mine,” she said.

As for Black, running unopposed guarantees her seat on the council but it could be short lived. She notified the city in October that she will step down if her husband, Tim Callison, is elected mayor of Langley this November. He is challenged by Sharon Emerson for the open post after Mayor Fred McCarthy chose to not seek re-election after filling out a term vacated by former mayor Larry Kwarsick.

Black’s resignation would take effect Jan. 1, 2016. Such an end would cap a term she was first appointed to in May 2014. The position was vacated by former councilwoman Margot Jerome, whose family moved to North Carolina shortly after she began her four-year term.

Langley has changed quite a bit since then, Black said.

“The city has pushed a lot, and we can refer to Fred’s long list of accomplishments,” she said. “The vitality of the city is really coming in strong. Listening to the different business owners, for the most part, their businesses are booming.”

She credits the city’s focus on economic development, including an emphasis on tourism, as a catalyst for commercial improvements in town. Since the peak level in 2007 when sales tax revenue was $347,075, the city dipped to $290,563 in 2010 before rebounding to $322,774 in 2014. This year, the monthly sales tax revenue has surpassed the 2008 figures in four months and is on pace to be near the historic amount.

Similarly, hotel/motel tax has increased in the past four years, from $113,087 in 2012 to $124,554 in 2014. This year, the tax revenue is on pace to surpass last year’s total, according to Langley tax revenue documents from the city.

That, Black said, is a sign that businesses are rebounding after the economic downturn of 2009.

“By all metrics, we are up,” Black said.

That work will need to be continued and expanded, Black said. She also wants to see the council make policy decisions on affordable housing.

Bruce Allen is ready for his second term after four years of focusing on economic recovery and growth. Allen, along with Jerome, spearheaded and planned a series of economic forums asking what the city can do to help, attract and retain businesses.

The work wasn’t without snags. Mainly, criticism of the city’s interest for a bluff-side bridge and elevator or funicular have slowed the council’s momentum, he said.

“It’s showing some response as far as what’s going on with the growth of the city,” said Allen of the economic focus from City Hall. “We got bogged down by the funicular, but I’m not convinced that’s dead yet.”

Allen wants the city to continue the path it is on, identifying ways to encourage affordable housing and economic development, finding ways to create jobs to support families and balancing residents’ needs with economic interests.

That final point has culminated in the city’s ongoing struggle with noise complaints filed against Mo’s Pub & Eatery by its residential neighbors.

He is still uncertain how the city should address the rabbit population, and has remained open to a capital project to move people up and down the hill to the marina from downtown.

A recently proposed idea that has captured Allen’s interest is the development of Seawall Park into a public art trail.

Overall, the city is trending upward in his mind, and that is a direction he wants to continue as a city councilman.

“We’re moving along on the right track … as long as the city continues to grow and people are happy,” he said.

Ballots are due and must be postmarked no later than Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.